International Vaccine Programmes: Funding
Debate between Baroness Chapman of Darlington and Baroness Sugg
Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)
I am not sure which financial spokespeople the noble Lord is speaking about. On behalf of the Government, I can say that the decision to reduce our ODA spend was taken in order to invest more in defence. That is a decision I support; it was the right decision to take at that particular point in time. It is our hope that, in time, as the economy improves, we can increase our spending. We understand the long-term benefits of enabling countries to develop and to become safe and more secure, more prosperous and able to stand on their own two feet. This is what countries are telling us repeatedly. They want to be partners with us and move on from simply being recipients of aid.
Baroness Sugg (Con)
My Lords, I appreciate that the Minister is facing some really tough decisions about where the substantial cuts to international development will fall, and I hope she will look favourably on Gavi for the reasons she has set out. On the cuts more broadly, is the Minister able to say when the details of the cuts will be published following last week’s spending review?
Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)
I thank the noble Baroness for the question and acknowledge her work in international development over many years. She has remained a stalwart advocate for the benefits of development ever since, and I thank her for that. We will be publishing the more detailed decisions that we are currently taking shortly. We will be consulting over the summer with partners, stakeholders and countries, to make sure that we are getting this as right as we can in, as she says, the constrained financial circumstances that we are in.
Myanmar Earthquake
Debate between Baroness Chapman of Darlington and Baroness Sugg(3 months ago)
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Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)
The Government are prepared to consider any measures that might bring about the peace, security and stability that we wish to see. We are aware of reports such as those the noble Lord suggested, and we are working to verify them. The sad truth is that the reports that we have had thus far may not be the full picture and, equally, the death toll of around 2,800 that we have so far is unlikely to be the final picture. So we are watching events very closely and we will consider carefully what the appropriate action from the Government will be.
Baroness Sugg (Con)
I welcome the emergency assistance announced by the Government. Health professionals are on the front line here; will any of this additional UK aid be allocated specifically to them?
Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)
The noble Baroness is right and, yes, we are working in particular to ensure that health assistance is available, as well as getting the food, the medicines, the water and the shelter in immediately. I am aware that the noble Lord, Lord Crisp, who asked this Question today, has been doing some important work on training nurses in Myanmar. So there is the immediate response that the noble Baroness refers to, but there is also the longer-term work that we must continue to do.
Official Development Assistance
Debate between Baroness Chapman of Darlington and Baroness Sugg(4 months ago)
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Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)
That is an important point. The Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary were very clear with me that they wish to avoid cliff edges, which is why we will maintain the 0.5% that we currently have for the next financial year. We need to work closely with our partner countries and organisations and make sure that this is done in a responsible way that avoids some of the dramatic changes that have such a devastating impact, which we know can happen in these circumstances.
Baroness Sugg (Con)
My Lords, while I fully support the increase in defence spending, I am afraid I deeply regret where the money has been found. I genuinely wish the noble Baroness well in what are going to be incredibly difficult decisions on deciding where to spend the remainder of the money. The Minister will know that, historically, women and girls have been disproportionately impacted by cuts. Will she use her best endeavours to ensure that that is not the case this time? Will she also commit to carrying out and publishing an impact assessment in relation to women and girls?
Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)
First, I commend the noble Baroness for her own work and her track record of being a champion for women and girls globally and for the work she did as part of government—we should all thank her for that. Ordinarily, yes, we would conduct an impact assessment; that is part of making sure that we make sensible decisions and that we understand the impact of the choices that we make. She made that point very well.
British Indian Ocean Territory
Debate between Baroness Chapman of Darlington and Baroness Sugg(8 months, 3 weeks ago)
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Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)
The agreement, which noble Lords will be able to look at in detail in the treaty, will allow for Chagossians to return to the outer islands. There has been a lot of old nonsense spoken about China in relation to Mauritius. Mauritius is one of only two African countries that do not take part in belt and road. It is a member of the Commonwealth and a close ally of India.
Baroness Sugg (Con)
My Lords, the previous Government consistently consulted the Chagossian people and consistently concluded that this deal is not in the UK’s national or security interests. I am interested in the financial settlement. The Foreign Secretary said yesterday that Governments do not normally reveal payments but, of course, that is up to the Government to decide; and, for example, the US has revealed that it pays $63 million a year for its Djibouti military base. Does the Minister agree that it would be helpful, in the interests of transparency, to explain just how much taxpayers’ money is going to be spent on this deal? Where will that money come from—from the overseas development budget?
Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)
My Lords, we never reveal the cost of basing our military assets overseas—we never have, we never will, and I do not think other nations do either. There are very good reasons for that. If we started to do so, I expect we would see the prices of these things start to go up fairly rapidly. No, we will not be disclosing that.
Ethiopia and Somalia
Debate between Baroness Chapman of Darlington and Baroness Sugg(8 months, 4 weeks ago)
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Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)
We want to work with any partners who will be helpful and active in trying to de-escalate the situation and relieve the tensions. We have been active in providing funding for the port but, as the noble Lord knows, the issue here is not just about whether Somaliland should have a port. This is about the ambitions of Ethiopia to gain access to the sea. That is causing tensions, which in turn is involving other nations in the region, which takes us back to the point made earlier about making sure that we do not look at these issues in isolation but are mindful at all times of the impact that these discussions have on the wider region.
Baroness Sugg (Con)
My Lords, the noble Lord, Lord Browne, highlighted how al-Shabaab will take advantage of the tensions in the region. Will the Minister outline how the Government are continuing the important international efforts to ensure that al-Shabaab and other extremist groups do not take that advantage?
Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)
That is absolutely right. It is one of the key reasons why we are being quite so active in this space, why my noble friend Lord Collins is there this week, why the Foreign Secretary and Minister Dodds have had so many conversations with Ministers in Ethiopia and Somalia, and why we will continue to support the security services on the ground. The mission is up for renewal at the end of the year, and we support work to see it continue for as long as necessary.
Bangladesh: Aid and Development
Debate between Baroness Chapman of Darlington and Baroness Sugg(10 months ago)
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Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)
The noble Lord makes a very good point. A few noble Lords have now mentioned women and girls, and it is absolutely right that we continue to keep women in Bangladesh at the front of our minds. Women and girls are an important part of our development agenda; Bangladesh signed the joint statement on sexual and reproductive health and rights to mark the 30th anniversary of the International Conference on Population and Development. We will continue to support women and girls in Bangladesh, especially with their education.
Baroness Sugg (Con)
My Lords, I hope the Minister will agree that education is absolutely key to making the progress that we want to see in Bangladesh and around the world. I was appointed as the first Prime Minister’s Special Envoy for Girls’ Education and was ably succeeded by Helen Grant MP. When we were in post, we both visited Bangladesh to discuss how best to reach the most marginalised girls and girls’ education. Can the Minister confirm that this Government will continue to support girls’ education and say whether there are any plans to appoint a new Special Envoy for Girls’ Education?
Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)
As the noble Baroness would wish me to, I can absolutely confirm that we will continue to support the work she describes. On the issue of the appointment of an envoy, I do not believe that a decision has been made but I note her strong support for that position. I also note the success and vigour with which she fulfilled that role herself.