Syria

Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead Excerpts

Tuesday 19th November 2013 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Northover]

My noble friend is absolutely right, and that bears out the answer I just gave to the noble Baroness. We would require the buy-in of all the parties or that kind of military enforcement. That is why the major organisations working in the area—for example, the United Nations, MSF and the ICRC—have reservations about the proposal for a humanitarian corridor for the very reason that my noble friend referred to. Sometimes, these result in civilians being less safe. He pointed to the Bosnian example, but more recently, of course, there has been the Sri Lankan example. There are examples where not only civilians, who are supposed to be protected, are in greater danger, but the humanitarian workers who may appear to be shielded by particular military groups are also under greater threat.

[Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead (Lab)]

My Lords, will the Minister clarify whether discussions are taking place in response to the view expressed by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, that Syria should be referred to the ICC? Would an ICC referral not send an unequivocal message that such is the seriousness of the crimes—including denying the right to humanitarian aid—that strong measures to tackle impunity are essential and that criminal indictments of senior leaders, as was the case in the Balkans, can strengthen peace efforts?

[Baroness Northover]

It is clear that referring leaders in these situations to the ICC has, we hope, a chilling effect for other leaders thereafter. One can see that building in terms of leaders’ responses, and one has to hope that in the situation in Syria some of the rebel groups as well as the government groups will recognise the challenge there. However, at the moment, the most important thing is to try to bring about a political resolution to this problem so that the killing on all sides can stop.

Millennium Development Goals

Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead Excerpts

Tuesday 22nd October 2013 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Northover]

My noble friend is absolutely right. As he will know, the new goals will focus on eradicating extreme poverty within a generation. Central to this, as we all recognise, is reaching women and girls, many of whom were left behind by the MDGs. That is why we are very pleased that there is a proposed stand-alone gender goal and also that there is a lot of emphasis on disaggregating data—only if you have good data can you move things forwards.

[Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead (Lab)]

My Lords, will the Minister clarify where things stand on the leave-no-one-behind principle included in the 2015 framework which, of course, focuses on social justice and equity? Is the Minister aware that when asked at a press conference in Liberia whether the UK would prioritise inequality over economic growth the Prime Minister replied no, that economic growth was the priority? Surely we can agree that progress achieved will not be sustained unless there is a strong focus on equity within and between countries.

[Baroness Northover]

My Lords, the noble Baroness will, of course, know the range of goals. Taken together they include all the areas the noble Baroness is talking about. Obviously we need economic growth to try to pull people out of poverty but, as she also knows, leaving no one behind is included there. The aim of the new MDGs is to eradicate extreme poverty. One will not do that without addressing both social justice and economic growth.

Syria: Humanitarian Aid

Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead Excerpts

Monday 21st October 2013 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead (Lab)]

My Lords, does the Minister agree with Medecins Sans Frontières, which says that the Syrian people are now presented with the absurd situation of chemical weapons inspectors freely driving through areas of desperate need while ambulances, food and drug supplies are being blocked? Is it not the case that two weeks after the Security Council agreement on access for humanitarian aid, nothing has actually changed?

[Baroness Northover]

The noble Baroness highlights a key point. It is obviously encouraging that the chemical weapons inspectors have been able to get into the areas they wished to visit, but it has also been quite striking that humanitarian aid has not necessarily been able to get into those same places. That is one of the reasons why the international community is putting particular stress on trying to encourage the Syrian Government to grant those rights of passage for humanitarian reasons.

Overseas Aid: Post-2015 Development Agenda

Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead Excerpts

Thursday 25th July 2013 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Northover]

DfID is a strong supporter of Myanmar and we recognise that it is a very fragile state. I think that my noble friend went with an all-party group, and we are delighted that such a group has been able to visit. We recently announced £10 million in funding to help with the 2014 Myanmar population and housing census which will help to underpin the information required for the elections. We will continue to help the Government and other organisations in other ways as well.

[Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead]

My Lords, the managing director of the IMF, Christine Lagarde, recently said:

“Rising income inequality is a growing concern for policymakers around the world”.

Why, then, has the high-level panel omitted any reference to this issue, and why does it talk only about equality of opportunity? Does the Minister agree that Madame Lagarde’s evidence-based statement that,

“more equal societies are more likely to achieve lasting growth”,

should be considered in any future discussions?

[Baroness Northover]

If the noble Baroness looks at the 12 goals, and I am sure that she has, she will see that they include the issues that need to be addressed. For example, goal 8 is to,

“create jobs, sustainable livelihoods and equitable growth”.

I think that that addresses the problems that she highlights.

International Development: Diseases of Poverty

Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead Excerpts

Wednesday 24th July 2013 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Northover]

DfID has provided approximately £60 million for biomedical and scientific research into HIV/AIDS and £39 million for TB research over the past five years. Spending for the next five years is dependent on the results of the ongoing product development partnerships competition. If my noble friend looks online, she will find DfID’s research strategy priorities and commissioning practices, which were published earlier this year as part of the International Development Committee’s annual accounts inquiry. This information is also in the Library.

[Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead]

My Lords, while a malaria vaccine is the biggest need at this time, it receives virtually no research funding. Currently, 10 times more is spent on a cure for male baldness than on a cure for malaria. Does the Minister agree that the research conducted by pharmaceutical companies focuses, as Bill Gates has said, on what is most lucrative and not on what is most needed? Does she agree with him that it is unlikely that the global poor will ever be profitable enough to attract the interest of the pharmaceutical industry?

[Baroness Northover]

The noble Baroness gets to the nub of the problem. This is why special effort must go into supporting research in these areas because it is, of course, the poorest who suffer from these diseases and cannot pay the prices for the drugs. I think about 1% of any investment went into this area of neglected tropical diseases, which is of course why Gates took it up. At the moment, he funds 49% of the research being taken forward. That is a template for what we are doing and why we are supporting it.

Africa: Development

Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead Excerpts

Thursday 27th June 2013 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of Africa’s development prospects as set out in the African Economic Outlook 2013 report.

[Baroness Northover]

My Lords, we recognise the importance of economic growth and we support such growth across Africa to hasten poverty reduction. As the latest African Economic Outlook report says, sustaining economic growth requires capable, accountable government, well balanced tax systems, new and growing businesses, investment, for example in infrastructure and education, and freer trade across African borders.

[Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead]

I thank the noble Baroness for her response. Is she aware that the chair of the Africa Panel, Kofi Annan, has pointed out that some companies are using unethical tax avoidance, transfer pricing and anonymous company ownership to maximise their profits while at the same time millions of Africans suffer inadequate nutrition, health and education? NGOs, civil society and responsible businesses, such as Rio Tinto, are therefore calling for mandatory transparency rules. Why, then, did the Government not take an active lead in pursuit of the same objectives by pressing for the inclusion of mandatory rules in the G8 communiqué?

[Baroness Northover]

My Lords, as my noble friend Lord Ahmad said on an earlier Question, the previous Government and this one have taken this matter forward. As the noble Baroness recognises, it was very actively addressed at the G8. She will also appreciate from her time in government the difficulties of taking it forward. I hope she will pay tribute to the progress that was made in this regard because we all recognise that this is extremely important. We need to ensure that companies operating in Africa contribute to the development of African countries.

India: Aid

Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead Excerpts

Wednesday 15th May 2013 Lords Chamber

[Lord Tugendhat]

My Lords, India has one of the most rapidly growing economies in the world—

[Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead]

My Lords—

[The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (Lord Hill of Oareford)]

My Lords, if I may suggest, my noble friend Lord Avebury was ready to go before, and then the noble Baroness, Lady Kinnock. We will have some quick questions, and some quick answers from my noble friend, and we will get them both in.

--- Later in debate ---

[Baroness Northover]

I can assure my noble friend that we are talking to partner state governments about sustaining the benefits of DfID support once UK financial aid ends. DfID projects in these states are already aligned to the large government schemes and in most cases will be taken forward by the Government of India. However, in spelling out the details I am very happy to write to both noble Lords.

[Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead]

My Lords, is it not clear that the decision to end aid to India, as well as to South Africa, neglects the reality that three-quarters of the world’s poorest people now live in middle-income countries? Thirty-nine per cent of South Africans live below the poverty line, while India is home to one-third of the world’s poorest people. Is it not time, therefore, to end the simplistic and misleading reliance on national averages, which so severely undermines efforts to eradicate poverty?

[Baroness Northover]

The noble Baroness needs to bear it in mind that it is through economic development that you lift people out of poverty and that India has lifted 60 million people out of poverty. The changes in the UK’s aid arrangements reflect India’s rapid growth and development process. We will continue to be involved with it in how this is taken forward.

Overseas Aid

Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead Excerpts

Wednesday 27th February 2013 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Northover]

The right reverend Prelate is right. Those working in these areas are at huge risk anyway. That comes home very strongly. I have just come back from Pakistan and the difficulties of working in such areas are very clear. It is very important to draw the distinction that the right reverend Prelate makes. However, given that we are acutely aware of that, as are the organisations, I can assure him that that will continue to be the case.

[Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead]

Does the Minister agree that it is absolutely clear that both the UK’s International Development Act and the OECD guidelines would be breached if the Prime Minister’s statement on using aid money for military purposes was to be implemented? Should the Prime Minister therefore be heeding the OECD and British law instead of trying to appease recalcitrant Tory Back-Benchers who oppose the ring-fencing of development aid?

[Baroness Northover]

I suggest that the noble Baroness reads what the Prime Minister said. She will find that it is perfectly consistent with the approach taken by her Government. We work across the MoD, the FCO and DfID to do what we can to tackle instability in some of the poorest countries. It is because they are fragile states that there are such levels of poverty and such a lack of development. That is why it is extremely important to work to support those countries. DfID’s conflict pool and the Building Stability Overseas strategy build on what the previous Government rightly did. This is controlled by the OECD definition of ODA, which does not allow spending for military uses. Therefore it could not come out of DfID’s budget. DfID needs to reach its 0.7% contribution to aid, and we are committed to that. If this came out of it, it would not reach that 0.7%.

Crime: Domestic Violence

Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead Excerpts

Thursday 14th February 2013 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Corston]

My Lords—

[Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead]

My Lords—

[Lord West of Spithead]

My Lords, I will give way to my noble friend Lady Corston.

Global Hunger

Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead Excerpts

Monday 21st January 2013 Lords Chamber

Asked By

[Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the opportunities for tackling global hunger in 2013 and beyond, including at this year’s G8 summit.

[Baroness Northover]

My Lords, by 2015 the UK should reach 20 million pregnant women and young children with nutrition programmes and ensure that another 4 million people have sufficient food throughout the year. The UK will continue to tackle global hunger in 2013, including through a food and nutrition event just before the G8 summit. My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for DfID will also take forward the G8 new alliance on food security and nutrition as co-chair of its leadership council.

[Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead]

I am grateful to the Minister for her response. Millions of children whose diet lacks essential vitamins and minerals endure long-term malnutrition and consequent diseases, stunting and premature death. Does the Minister therefore agree that the G8 at County Fermanagh should offer clear support to the global Scaling Up Nutrition movement, which provides an excellent framework for donors and, indeed, for developing countries, calls for support for a global target to reduce stunting and offers solutions to combat the lifelong physical and cognitive impairment caused by poor nutrition?

[Baroness Northover]

The noble Baroness is right to highlight again the importance of good nutrition and the problems of stunting and malnutrition. The G8 is an opportunity to focus on these issues, but this needs to be taken throughout the year. I am glad, therefore, to be able to reiterate the United Kingdom’s commitment, throughout the year and right on through, to this very important challenge.