Asked by: Lord Chidgey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the letter from the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs of 22 July regarding Official Development Assistance, (1) what analysis and evaluation techniques will be deployed in prioritising the various streams of development projects across the Sustainable Development Goals spectrum, and (2) what measures will be taken to establish the non-recoverable costs of cancelled or reduced programmes as a result of (a) the reduction in funding, (b) the impact of COVID-19, and (c) the merger of the Department for International Development and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
DFID’s evaluation approach is underpinned by the principles of transparency, rigour and independence, achieved with skilled analytical staff that have a deep and extensive evaluation experience.
Every DFID programme is subject to an annual review which looks at the performance of partners and DFID, including consideration of Value for Money. These reviews are published. Controls are in place to ensure that costs will be identified and recorded in line with Managing Public Money, including where necessary any write-offs or losses. The anticipated decline in GNI and hence ODA, the impact of covid-19, alongside all other key issues will be disclosed as necessary within the department’s 2020/21 Governance Statement.
We will continue to look at how money can be spent most effectively against our priorities, including through the Integrated Review, and the Spending Review – both of which will inform the priorities of the new Department.
Asked by: Lord Chidgey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the extensive flooding across East Africa and the Horn of Africa in the context of the UK aid programme.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
Across East Africa and the Horn of Africa, 25.8 million people are severely food insecure and 1.3 million have been affected by floods since March. The UK has responded to localised flood impacts through the START Network, including provision of relief items and recovery programming.
We are deeply concerned about the food security situation. Heavy rains in the region have provided conditions conducive to the unprecedented locust outbreaks, which will affect the food security situation even further. The UK is supporting the Food and Agriculture Organisation’s (FAO) emergency appeal to help to control the increase of locusts across East Africa, as well as reduce the risk of swarms spreading into the Sahel.
The humanitarian situation will be exacerbated by the impact of COVID-19. We are urgently redirecting UK aid programmes right across Africa to respond to these compound risks.
Asked by: Lord Chidgey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what management and oversight precautions, if any, they are putting in place to (1) increase accountability of aid spending; and (2) prevent non-attributable day-to-day spending being re-badged as aid.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
The Government is committed to ensuring that every pound spent on Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) achieves maximum value for money for taxpayers based on the same high standards of accountability and effectiveness as all areas of public expenditure. Individual departments are responsible under public spending rules for monitoring all public money including their UK aid programming and ensuring that they deliver value for money. Robust parliamentary and independent scrutiny of the aid budget will continue – the form that Parliamentary scrutiny takes is for Parliament to decide. UK ODA continues to be spent in accordance with international rules on what constitutes aid as set by the Development Assistance Committee of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.
Asked by: Lord Chidgey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the World Food Programme FAO–WFP early warning analysis of acute food insecurity hotspots, published on 17 July, and in particular of the recommendation to preserve and scale up critical humanitarian food, nutrition and livelihood assistance.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
We welcome this joint report and the recommendations made as they promote a comprehensive approach to tackling food insecurity. The FAO-WFP early warning analysis highlights countries that are at risk of significant food security deterioration, including the secondary impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, and aims to inform urgent action to safeguard the food security of the most vulnerable communities in these locations.
The UK is working with international partners, including FAO and WFP, to closely monitor the situation and take action. As a leading donor to the COVID-19 response we are supporting our partners to ensure essential commodities and services, and pre-position food supplies for those most in need. We have also adapted our existing social protection, agriculture, and food security programmes, including support to the FAO on locust control, to support the most vulnerable.
Asked by: Lord Chidgey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the World Food Programme on (1) the availability of food, (2) agricultural production, (3) food supply chains, and (4) governments’ capacities to protect vulnerable populations; and what are the expected outcomes of any such discussions.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
The UK is concerned about the increasing risk of acute food insecurity, and we engage regularly with the FAO and WFP to discuss the global food security outlook. Recent discussions have focused on the indirect impacts of COVID-19 on food access and availability, agricultural production and food supply chains, and deteriorating trends.
The FAO and WFP regularly update the UK on their responses, in particular under the Global COVID-19 Humanitarian Response Plan (GHRP). Efforts have prioritised anticipatory action to safeguard livelihoods and increase access to food, alongside global humanitarian logistics services. These aim to ensure continuity of critical food supply chains, strengthened national social protection systems, and safety of key food supply chain workers. The UK remains among the largest donors to the global COVID-19 response and the GHRP. The UK remains among the largest donors to the global COVID-19 response and the GHRP. We will continue to work closely with key partners to ensure assistance reaches those who need it most.
Asked by: Lord Chidgey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the diversion of 30 per cent of Official Development Assistance budget to departments other than the Department for International Development on (1) support for the poorest people, (2) the maintenance of transparency and effectiveness procedures, and (3) maintaining focus on poverty reduction.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
The 2015 Aid Strategy set out the Government’s new approach to aid where we embraced an integrated approach to delivering Official Development Assistance (ODA). This recognised the role of aid in tackling poverty and global challenges such as insecurity and that this serves our national interest. The delivery of ODA programmes by departments other than DFID has enabled us to leverage knowledge, skills and expertise from across government, delivering programmes that contribute to achieving the sustainable development goals and addressing the diversity of today’s development challenges. This collective effort has allowed our ODA programmes to deliver both strong development impact. The Government remains committed to ensuring that every pound spent on ODA is spent transparently and achieves maximum value for money for taxpayers.
Asked by: Lord Chidgey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the Department for International Development’s involvement in Haiti, given reports by the community and international agencies of the continuing levels of poverty, unrest, sexual exploitation and abuse.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
While the UK does not have a bilateral development programme in Haiti, we support Haiti through our contributions to agencies such as the United Nations, European Union and the World Bank Group who have a strong presence on the ground. Our contributions are helping to make sure reconstruction reduces future disaster risks, health facilities are more climate resilient and the economy is better managed and supported. DFID holds itself to the highest standards and UK Aid must be delivered at all times in ways which do no harm. We will not fund any organisation that does not meet our high standards on safeguarding. Evidence suggests that sexual exploitation and abuse increase during crises and we must never be complacent. This is a long-term agenda and DFID continues to drive work to tackle sexual exploitation and abuse and sexual harassment. We are making good progress with initiatives that root out perpetrators and improve support to survivors and victims.
Asked by: Lord Chidgey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress they have made in redirecting aid programmes in each relevant country in Africa through (1) their country programmes, (2) multilateral programmes, and (3) the World Food Programme; and for full details in each case.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
Many bilateral and multilateral aid programmes across Africa have been redirected, prioritising health, humanitarian, growth and trade as well as education and nutrition, recognising that these components are vital both for the immediate response to COVID-19, and for longer-term recovery. The UK has successfully pivoted huge amounts of programming to support nimble and innovative responses in African countries.
For example, in South Sudan, the UK is making a significant contribution to government-led efforts to prevent and respond to cases of COVID-19, including through support for infection prevention and control as well as water, sanitation and hygiene activities. The UK’s flagship Sexual and Reproductive Health Programme (WISH) has been adapted in 24 countries across Africa to ensure the continuation of lifesaving services to marginalised women and girls despite COVID-19. Multilaterally, £20m has been provided towards the African Union’s new COVID-19 response plan which funds and deploys health workers, clinical equipment, and capacity building training to all 55 AU Member States. In 2020, DFID has so far provided USD 254million to support the World Food Programme’s operations – this includes a USD 19million contribution to The World Food Programme’s Global Services in response to COVID-19.
Asked by: Lord Chidgey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made, if any, of the proportion of the UK aid budget now spent outside of the Department for International Development.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
In 2019, 27% of UK ODA was spent outside of the Department for International Development. This includes spend by other government departments and funds as well as non-departmental spend such as debt relief and the proportion of gift aid used on ODA eligible activities.
Asked by: Lord Chidgey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made, if any, of the reduction in the annual UK aid budget as a result of the reduction in the UK Gross National Income due to the economic impact of COVID-19.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
Given the likely decrease in the size of the economy this year, and therefore a decrease in the value of the 0.7% commitment, a package of £2.9bn of reductions in the Government’s planned ODA spend has been agreed. This package includes underspends, delaying activity and stopping some spend. The package will see some reductions made now, with arrangements in place to tailor spending further during the remaining months as we start to gain a clearer economic picture. As normal, there will continue to be adjustments in-year to individual departmental ODA spend to meet the 0.7% commitment.