Bilateral Aid Review

Debate between Baroness Verma and Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale

Wednesday 6th July 2016 Lords Chamber

[Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they will publish the outcome of the Bilateral Aid Review.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for International Development (Baroness Verma) (Con)]

As my right honourable friend the International Development Secretary confirmed last week, the outcome of the bilateral aid review will be published shortly, together with DfID’s other aid reviews. This enables us to present a more complete picture of our future plans and publish more detailed priorities for each country programme.

[Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale (Lab)]

My Lords, the confirmation by the Secretary of State that it would be in the early summer is indeed welcome, because the delay has been unfortunate. Can the Government confirm that these new bilateral plans will be targeted to seek the fullest possible implementation of the sustainable development goals agreed at the United Nations last September, and to building the institutional and government capacity in our partner countries to ensure that they can deliver on the goals themselves?

[Baroness Verma]

My Lords, the noble Lord is absolutely right—I will take his second point first—about ensuring that we build capacity and strengthen institutions in the developing world so that countries are able to make the programmes that we are working on in those countries work for them much more effectively and efficiently. On his first point, it is really important that we do not lose focus on the SDGs. That is the start of the process and I am pretty certain that, as we go forward, develop our programme plans and work with other multilaterals, others will also look closely at what we are doing and will, we hope, support our work to ensure that those goals are met and we end up leaving no one behind.

United Nations World Humanitarian Summit

Debate between Baroness Verma and Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale

Tuesday 12th April 2016 Lords Chamber

[Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government who will represent the United Kingdom at the United Nations World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul in May.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for International Development (Baroness Verma) (Con)]

My Lords, the UK is committed to making the World Humanitarian Summit a success and we will send high-level representation to Istanbul. We are progressing a strong agenda for humanitarian reform, including a new approach to protracted crises. Last week we hosted a forum at Wilton Park on protracted displacement and at the end of this week we will co-host, with the World Bank, the third grand bargain Sherpa event in Washington DC.

[Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale (Lab)]

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has stressed that this summit, the first of its kind in the 70-year history of the United Nations, has to deal with the urgency of these complex challenges and the scale of the suffering that we see around the globe. He has called on global leaders to,

“act decisively, with compassion and resolve”.

Given that the UK is one of the biggest donors of development aid to humanitarian crises around the world, and given that the British public have consistently shown a generosity that is unmatched in most of the world, will the Prime Minister take a lead and attend the summit? It might give him a slight distraction from some of his current troubles.

[Baroness Verma]

My Lords, as I have already mentioned, there will be high-level representation at the summit.

Bilateral Aid Review

Debate between Baroness Verma and Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale

Wednesday 27th January 2016 Lords Chamber

[Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they will publish their Bilateral Aid Review.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for International Development (Baroness Verma) (Con)]

My Lords, we expect to publish the outcome of the bilateral aid review by the spring. The BAR-MAR and DfID’s other reviews aim to build the most effective foundation on which to deliver the new UK aid strategy and respond to the new global goals. Together, they will ensure that we allocate our budget in the right places in the right way and deliver the best possible value for money.

[Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale (Lab)]

My Lords, I am grateful for that Answer. If we are to achieve the global goals or make progress towards them by 2030, surely we need to invest in the capacity of national institutions to deliver services and to raise revenue domestically in the developing world. Will these bilateral aid programmes include significant investment by the United Kingdom in capacity-building and institution-building in the developing world, rather than simply in the provision of services by us and other donors?

[Baroness Verma]

My Lords, the noble Lord raises some really important questions. That is why we are looking at all our programmes and the programmes we do with the multilaterals to make sure that ultimately, we capacity-build in those countries where the need is greatest. While we are undertaking these reviews, it would not be prudent of me to comment further.

United Nations World Humanitarian Summit

Debate between Baroness Verma and Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale

Wednesday 2nd December 2015 Lords Chamber

[Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what priorities they have agreed for the United Nations World Humanitarian Summit taking place in Istanbul in May 2016.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for International Development (Baroness Verma) (Con)]

My Lords, the UK has four objectives for the World Humanitarian Summit. Most importantly, we want a renewed commitment to the protection of civilians in conflict but also smarter financing, a new approach to building resilience to natural hazards before they take place, and a stronger focus on protecting and empowering women and girls. The global community—humanitarian, development and political actors—must come together to address these challenges.

[Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale (Lab)]

While the priorities for this summit will undoubtedly focus on financing and the immediate scale of the humanitarian crisis around the world today, will the UK Government do all they can to ensure that the summit also addresses the issue of child protection, particularly in the immediate aftermath of natural disasters, when human traffickers and others who would abuse and exploit children move all too quickly to trap and ensnare them, sometimes taking them across borders to carry out their evil deeds?

[Baroness Verma]

I am grateful to the noble Lord for his Question. He raises some very important issues around children given that 59 million children are growing up in the midst of humanitarian crises. I reassure him that we are committed to keeping children safe from harm, ensuring that they can access education and basic services wherever they are and that in health emergencies, such as we saw with Ebola in Sierra Leone, we are there on the ground to work not only with Governments but with local civil society organisations too.

UN: Global Goals

Debate between Baroness Verma and Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale

Thursday 29th October 2015 Lords Chamber

[Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they will publish their plans to deliver the global goals for sustainable development agreed by the UN in September 2015.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for International Development (Baroness Verma) (Con)]

My Lords, DfID will champion the SDGs internationally, encouraging the implementation of the framework in its entirety. DfID’s existing portfolio is highly relevant and we will support the countries that we work in to implement the SDGs, using our commitment to 0.7% as a strong foundation. Our strategic objectives will be finalised after the spending and strategic defence and security reviews, alongside the bilateral aid, multilateral aid and civil society reviews, which will provide an opportunity to refine our approach.

[Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale (Lab)]

My Lords, the goals are indeed ambitious, which is welcome. Particularly important is goal 16, which reflects the importance of peace and justice if we are to truly leave no one behind. That is a welcome addition to the old millennium development goals. Do the Government intend to ensure that the objectives of goal 16 are reflected in the new national security strategy and in those other plans that the Minister referred to so that it reflects not just the work of the Department for International Development but that of the Government as a whole?

[Baroness Verma]

My Lords, the noble Lord raises a really important point. But we will not be able to put the plans into action until we have the indicators. I know that the noble Lord is very interested in this area, so he will be aware that they are not expected to be finalised until March or April next year. We look forward to working closely together on this issue because I absolutely agree with the noble Lord that goal 16 is equally as important as the other millennium development goals to ensuring that we deliver good governance and justice to the poorest in the world.

Malawi

Debate between Baroness Verma and Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale

Wednesday 20th July 2011 Lords Chamber

[Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they intend to distribute United Kingdom aid in Malawi following their suspension of general budget support for Malawi on 14 July.

[Baroness Verma]

My Lords, the UK has indefinitely suspended general budget support to Malawi. We are determined to continue funding other programmes in Malawi that protect the poor. We will continue to work through specific government ministries like health and education and with trusted NGOs.

[Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale]

My Lords, I declare an interest: I am engaged in a number of charities supporting development in Malawi. I thank the Minister for her Answer.

Over the past six years UK budget support to Malawi has contributed to a number of the most successful development programmes anywhere in Africa. The Malawi growth and development strategy has delivered growth rates among the highest in the world. The farm input subsidy programme has supported 1.6 million households and turned famine into food surplus in Malawi. Malawi has one of the best records in Africa for reversing the increase in HIV/AIDS.

I ask the Minister, first, for an assurance that overall aid to Malawi will not be reduced as a result of this decision on budget support; secondly, for an assurance that there will be speedy discussions with those government departments in Malawi to ensure the continuation of those programmes so that money is not underspent by the end of this financial year and these programmes can continue; and, thirdly, whether she would be prepared to meet the Scotland Malawi Partnership to discuss its interest in this very important subject.

[Baroness Verma]

My Lords, UK aid to Malawi has not been reduced; it has just been redirected through sector support now. We will look at ways of ensuring that the budget support that we are giving and our aid programmes do not fail the poor, which I think is what the noble Lord wishes to hear. I assure him that we will continue to work with those sectors and with NGOs to ensure that, whatever difficulties we are having with the Malawian Government, we work collectively to ensure that aid goes out to the poor. On his point about meeting the Scottish Malawi Partnership, I spoke to my officials yesterday and they would be happy to arrange a meeting.

World Development Report 2011

Debate between Baroness Verma and Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale

Thursday 5th May 2011 Lords Chamber

[Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they will respond to The World Development Report 2011: Conflict, Security, and Development by the World Bank.

[Baroness Verma]

My Lords, I congratulate the noble Lord and other noble colleagues across the House on meeting the challenge of living on £1 a day to raise awareness of the challenges facing the poorest people in the world. The Secretary of State welcomed this excellent, challenging report last month at the World Bank spring meetings. Its key messages are consistent with our commitment to spending 30 per cent of UK aid on supporting conflict-affected and fragile states. Her Majesty's Government will focus development efforts on 20 fragile states, working to strengthen government institutions, civil society and the private sector, and increasing support for security, justice and jobs. We are urging the World Bank and the United Nations to implement the report’s recommendations.

[Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale]

My Lords, I thank the Minister for her comments. This excellent report highlights the centrality and importance of building national institutions in both conflict prevention and post-conflict reconstruction. It also highlights the urgency that is required in the reform of international responses to conflict and in conflict prevention. It details in a very comprehensive way the importance of these matters for development and reaching the millennium development goals. Will the Government step up their efforts both to take a lead in pursuing reform of the international response to conflict and to prioritise stabilisation at the centre of our overseas development assistance?

[Baroness Verma]

We agree completely with the noble Lord and recognise that the UK alone cannot deal with the challenges of conflict and fragility. Therefore, it is crucial that the World Bank and the United Nations also put the necessary reforms in place to improve their effectiveness in fragile states. The Secretary of State has already discussed the development report with the World Bank at its spring meetings, and has highlighted the specific reforms that need to take place.

International Development Aid

Debate between Baroness Verma and Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale

Monday 7th February 2011 Lords Chamber

[Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale]

My Lords, one year ago this week the previous Government launched the Civilian Stabilisation Group, allowing 1,000 UK citizens to be deployed to fragile and conflict-affected states. The current Government have promised to expand the work of that group. Can the Minister confirm for us today that the budgets will be available for the new stabilisation response teams and that the UK will continue to press the United Nations to make its own ambitious proposals on the international response for civilian secondments in a way which will enhance and add value to the UK’s own Civilian Stabilisation Group?

[Baroness Verma]

I should first like to pay tribute to the great work that the noble Lord did when he was a Member of another place. I should also like to congratulate him on the work that he is continuing to do to ensure that the relationship between Scotland and the African countries is maintained. The United Nations is of course one of our key partners; but, as I said, we are going through the multilateral and bilateral review process. This process will ensure that we are able to target and focus all our aid budget on the programmes and countries that need it the most and where the outcomes are best achieved.