Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness Featherstone and Michael Fabricant

Wednesday 18th June 2014 Commons Chamber

[Michael Fabricant (Lichfield) (Con)]

4. If she will make it her policy to provide targeted aid for residents of Cuba.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Development (Lynne Featherstone)]

DFID has no plans to establish a bilateral aid programme with Cuba. We provide assistance through our share of contributions to multilateral agencies, and the British embassy provides some funding to promote economic development.

[Michael Fabricant]

Look, I understand why we do not wish to aid Cuba generally—it still has many political prisoners, for instance—but the Minister knows as well as I do that it has a good national health service for its citizens, which, because of a lack of foreign exchange, is unable to buy modern drugs. Surely we can target aid in that area without actually assisting the Cuban Government.

[Lynne Featherstone]

I am afraid that we cannot do as my hon. Friend wishes. We carried out bilateral and multilateral aid reviews to help us to determine where our aid was best focused, and the results did not include Cuba, so we have no plans to give it any bilateral aid.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness Featherstone and Michael Fabricant

Wednesday 17th July 2013 Commons Chamber

[Lynne Featherstone]

We are using our influence with all other donors to ensure that they step up to the mark in the autumn replenishment, as we intend to do.

[Michael Fabricant (Lichfield) (Con)]

What discussions has my hon. Friend had with the Department of Health to ensure that the right sort of drugs, particularly antibiotics, are prescribed in these development areas?

[Lynne Featherstone]

I personally have not had such discussions, but we nevertheless work closely with the Department of Health and drug companies to ensure that the right drugs get to the right people for the right diseases in the right places.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness Featherstone and Michael Fabricant

Wednesday 30th January 2013 Commons Chamber

[Lynne Featherstone]

I appreciate that desire, but it is not possible to do everything at the G8 that everyone would wish us to do. However, the hon. Gentleman is right. The only solution in the end is a long-term, measured and intelligent political solution.

[Michael Fabricant (Lichfield) (Con)]

6. What estimate she has made of the number of (a) internally displaced people in Syria and (b) Syrians displaced to Turkey and other countries; and if she will make a statement.