Philippines: Typhoon Haiyan

Debate between Earl of Sandwich and Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

Tuesday 3rd February 2015 Lords Chamber

[Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth]

Yes, that is also happening. We recognise the danger of water-borne disease, so immunisation and healthcare are very much at the forefront of ensuring that money is well spent, as is being done on shelter as well. These are priority areas.

[The Earl of Sandwich (CB)]

Does the noble Lord agree that these additional priorities in the Philippines, the Middle East and so on have brought the United Kingdom’s share up to and past the 0.7% figure? This must be enshrined in law and noble Lords must support that.

[Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth]

I personally strongly support the party-political broadcast that the noble Earl has just given. This is important. We have a very good record on international aid and I hope very much that the figure is enshrined in law.

Afghanistan: Development Strategy Post-2014

Debate between Earl of Sandwich and Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

Thursday 20th November 2014 Lords Chamber

[The Earl of Sandwich]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their development strategy for Afghanistan post-2014.

[Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Con)]

My Lords, DfID is committed to maintaining development assistance to Afghanistan of £178 million per annum until at least 2017. Our assistance will be focused on supporting peace, security and political stability, improving lives and opportunities for women and girls, promoting economic stability, growth and jobs, and helping the state to deliver improved services.

[The Earl of Sandwich (CB)]

I thank the Minister for that reply. He will know that violence against women in Afghanistan is continuing unabated. Only last weekend Mrs Shukria Barakzai, a prominent woman MP, survived a suicide attack. Will the London conference that is coming up signal a new emphasis on women’s rights and the economic empowerment of women, and will DfID also put more resources into the elimination of violence against women, which has become our national strategic priority?

[Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth]

The noble Earl is quite right to draw attention to the importance of the situation regarding violence against women in Afghanistan and to the importance of the London conference on Afghanistan, which will be opened by my right honourable friend the Prime Minister on 3 December. It certainly will be looking at that issue. The attempt on the life of Shukria Barakzai was awful. She was not badly hurt—just minor injuries. It is worth noting that progress is being made in relation to women. She is one of 69 women MPs.

Immigration Bill

Debate between Earl of Sandwich and Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

Monday 10th March 2014 Lords Chamber

[The Earl of Sandwich (CB)]

My Lords, the Minister will not be surprised that I wanted to have a last word about colleges. We have many illustrious representatives of the universities but every time that we have this debate I think, “Why has no one mentioned the colleges?”. The proportion of foreign students in our colleges and other institutions is quite a bit higher. The noble Lord, Lord Hannay, refers in the amendment to “all institutions”, so they are covered, but the noble Baroness, Lady Williams, made an important point about the sustaining of courses: if you do not have enough students, you do not have enough courses. This is happening right now. I know personally of a college in London—I am not a representative of it—that is losing staff and courses as fast as it is losing its students. I think that last year they had an 80% loss, which they are now trying to make back up again. I remind the Minister of my interest there.

[Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Con)]

My Lords, in opposing the amendment, I certainly do not do so in any spirit of being against the importance that higher education students have to this country; clearly, they are important. We have had some very passionate speeches, with which I find myself much in agreement, about the danger of speculation, rumour and perception. However, it is important that we keep the changes that are put forward in perspective, and that we look at some of the facts as well. I put down some Written Questions and had back some answers based on figures from the Office for National Statistics about student numbers from some of our important markets. The latest figures available show significant rises from China, Hong Kong and Malaysia. Admittedly there are falls from India, but that is against a background of a fall in the value of the rupee, and other countries, such as Australia, have also noticed a fall in Indian student numbers. One or two noble Lords suggested that already a drop in student numbers was feeding through. That is certainly not true of many of our important markets.

Yes, perception is important, as are overseas students, but I would like to say something specific about the health charge, because I do not think that the amount has been addressed directly. The noble Lord, Lord Patel, suggested that we were suggesting that students were making calls on the health service disproportionately. I do not think that that is being suggested. I accept that that is not remotely the case.