Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, in the light of proposed cuts to overseas aid spending, whether they plan to reduce the headcount of staff; and how they will ensure the necessary technical staff are retained to deliver on the UK’s commitments.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
As part of Phase 2 of the Spending Review, all departments are expected to meet savings and efficiencies of more than 5% of their Financial Year 2025-26 budgets by the end of the period (Financial Year 2028-29). Detail of these proposals will be confirmed once the Spending Review concludes. The proposed cuts to overseas aid spending will also be confirmed through the Spending Review. The UK government is committed to ensuring it has the development capability and technical expertise needed to deliver its ambition on international development.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has already taken action. Since the merger, the department has strengthened the technical expertise required to boost capabilities.
Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to honour their existing commitments to multilateral aid for the years of 2025, 2026 and 2027, and how much they anticipate this will be.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Reducing the overall size of our Official Development Assistance (ODA) budget will necessarily have an impact on the scale and shape of the work we do. Decisions on how the ODA budget will be used will be worked through as part of the ongoing Spending Review, based on various factors including impact assessments.
Multilateral cooperation is an important part of working through partnerships and allows a global scale of investment and delivery that outstrips what countries can achieve alone. However, with less money in the system, we must have a laser focus on delivering more effectively and efficiently.
Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, in the light of the announcement that overseas aid spending will be reduced to 0.3 per cent of gross national income (GNI) from 2027, what percentage of GNI will be spent on (1) overseas projects and (2) projects on gender, once the costs of housing refugees have been taken into account.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government is committed to ensuring that asylum costs fall and has already acted. The Government has taken measures to reduce the asylum backlog, reform the asylum accommodation system to end the use of expensive accommodation in the next Spending Review (SR) period and increase detention capacity to facilitate more asylum removals. Whilst there will always be volatility in asylum forecasts, we expect these decisions to drive down overall in-donor refugee costs over the next SR.
All UK Official Development Assistance (ODA) spending is consistent with the international rules agreed by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development's Development Assistance Committee. This includes ODA spent on in-donor refugee costs.
Decisions on how the ODA budget will be used will be worked through as part of the ongoing Spending Review, based on various factors including impact assessments. The UK is committed to empowering women and girls around the world through our international work.
Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to make changes to the UK Women, Peace and Security National Action Plan 2023–2027, and if so, how they plan to make those changes, who they will consult, and when they plan to make the changes.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The UK's fifth Women, Peace and Security National Action Plan was published in February 2023. The Government intends to build on the approach and ambition displayed in the UK's fifth Women, Peace and Security National Action Plan during this 25th anniversary year of United Nations Security Council resolution 1325.
The Government looks forward to setting out its priorities for the 25th anniversary year to the Women, Peace and Security All-Party Parliamentary Group and civil society in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to implement the strategy in the UK Women, Peace and Security National Action Plan 2023–2027 which sets out how they propose to deliver on their global commitment to women, peace and security.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The UK remains resolute in its commitment to the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda. The government intends to build on the approach and ambition displayed in the UK's fifth WPS National Action Plan, during this 25th anniversary year of UN Security Council resolution 1325. We will prioritise advocating for women's full, meaningful and safe participation, engaging with Women's Rights Organisations and tackling violence against women, including Conflict Related Sexual Violence.
We look forward to providing a written update to Parliament on the progress the UK has made towards the National Action Plan's five strategic objectives in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Chapman of Darlington on 17 March (HL5246), what steps they took when considering the International Finance Corporation's loan to Higest Mozambique (project number 41386) to ensure that (1) chickens are stocked at a density that minimises the risk of heat stress, (2) litter is provided and kept dry, (3) fresh air and natural light is able to enter the poultry houses, and (4) chickens that are caught prior to transport to the slaughterhouse are carried in a way that minimises leg injuries.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The UK Government is committed to promoting high standards of animal welfare internationally. The International Finance Corporation (IFC) have rigorous and internationally recognised standards, which align to those of other jurisdictions including the EU. The IFC assess all potential industrial livestock projects against these standards as part of its due diligence processes. This project (41386) met the IFC's thresholds for environmental and social standards and Higest is incorporating the Global Good Agricultural Practices principles to enhance its animal welfare practices. The UK has robust policies in place to oversee the work of IFC, including through our seat on the World Bank Board, and conducts regular and ongoing monitoring.
Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to provide assistance in Tigray and the surrounding areas to those displaced by conflict and persecution.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The UK is providing humanitarian assistance for displaced populations in Tigray, working with partners including United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF), the Ethiopian Red Cross Society and the International Committee of the Red Cross. This financial year, UK assistance has provided life-saving nutrition services to over 60,000 children and 20,000 pregnant or breastfeeding women. In support of displaced women and girls, the UK provided financial and technical support for one hospital, one health centre and six One Stop Centres, providing safe spaces and comprehensive support to those who have survived gender-based violence.
Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will prioritise support for women and girls in Tigray when setting future levels of Official Development Assistance.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Women and girls are a priority focus of UK aid across Ethiopia. Detailed decisions on how the future Official Development Assistance budget will be used, including for the Tigray region, will be determined as part of the ongoing Spending Review.
Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the decision by the United States of America to withdraw from the World Health Organization's HIV and AIDS treatment programmes and to freeze aid funding for centres for victims of torture which support survivors of conflict-related sexual violence in Tigray; and of the impact of this reduction of essential services to survivors of conflict in Tigray.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
We are assessing implications of the US funding pause across development sectors and geographic regions including Ethiopia. We are gathering information and working with donor partners to share analysis of the pause and understand its impact.
Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of how effectively livestock projects funded by the International Finance Corporation implement the good management practices set out in its Good Practice Note on Improving Animal Welfare in Livestock Operations, published December 2014.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government works internationally to promote high standards of animal welfare and recognition of the overlap between animal welfare, animal health and sustainability.
The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has rigorous and internationally recognised standards which align to those of other jurisdictions such as the EU. The IFC assesses potential industrial livestock projects which it supports against these standards as part of its due diligence processes.
The UK will continue to engage with IFC to ensure it applies its Performance Standards to all investments, including related to livestock production, and where appropriate, provides guidance and support to clients to achieve these.