Education: Disability Financing

Lord Elton Excerpts

Monday 10th July 2017 Lords Chamber

[Lord Bates]

Through the disability framework, we now ask a question about disability inclusion as part of all business cases. I am very happy to write to the noble Baroness with specific numbers. Our annual report was produced last week and the numbers are listed in it, as they should be. I am sure that there is more that could be done, but we can take a degree of pride from the report on what UK aid is doing for those with disabilities around the world.

[Lord Elton (Con)]

My Lords, this is obviously work of great international importance. However, does the provision for our own children meet the criteria that we are recommending for international communities?

[Lord Bates]

The international standard that has been adopted by the UN recommends that between 4% and 6% of GDP should be spent on education. In the UK it is currently 5.6%. In many of the countries that we are helping most, such as Pakistan and Bangladesh, it is 2.4% and 2.2% respectively, so there is a lot more that those countries can do themselves—and, of course, there is always a need to keep spending in this country under review to ensure that we continue to maintain our standards.

Syria: Refugees

Lord Elton Excerpts

Wednesday 20th January 2016 Lords Chamber

[Lord Elton (Con)]

My Lords, this House has been frequently reminded that the established camps in the area are not regarded as safe places for Christians. Consequently, the Government’s efficient help, financial support and so on for the established camps is leaving the Christian community from several countries uncatered for. What steps are the Government taking to address this problem through the voluntary sector? What support are they giving there and what quotas are they providing for the admission of these most unfortunate fellow sufferers?

[Baroness Verma]

My Lords, my noble friend raises a very important and concerning issue. However, we work with local partners and faith communities on the ground and we provide support to people regardless of their religious background or ethnicity. We just need to focus on the most vulnerable; that is where we must target our support. However, this issue has come to me on a number of occasions and I have asked noble Lords to engage with us to see how we can better reach those vulnerable communities.

Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013

Lord Elton Excerpts

Wednesday 30th July 2014 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Northover]

As the noble Baroness may remember, the protections given to various religions in the equal marriage Act protect them in this regard from the operation of the Equality Act. It is up to the Church of England, but I note what the right reverend Prelate said.

[Lord Elton (Con)]

My Lords, to clarify the position for Church of England clergy during the next two years, will my noble friend confirm that clergy in civil partnerships are able to carry out their ministry in the normal way?

[Baroness Northover]

I think I need to write to the noble Lord to clarify exactly what the situation is at the moment within the Church of England—but again, it is a matter for the Church of England.

Sudan

Lord Elton Excerpts

Tuesday 11th February 2014 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Northover]

We are not negotiating any debt relief with the Government of Sudan. As the noble Lord probably knows, that has to be achieved through the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries process.

[Lord Elton (Con)]

My Lords, will my noble friend tell us why it is unlikely that a second resolution could be achieved, what we are doing to change that situation and what other means there are to bring this terrible man to justice?

[Baroness Northover]

My Lords, if we could deliver what is already there, that would be a signal achievement, and we are doing our best to achieve that. The noble Lord will be aware that the aim to ensure that the dire situation of those in Sudan is addressed means that often one has to negotiate at every level of government to try to ensure that Sudan does not hold its people to ransom as we try to get humanitarian aid in.

Syria: Aid

Lord Elton Excerpts

Wednesday 18th December 2013 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Northover]

The noble Baroness is absolutely right. That is a major concern of ours, but it hinges so much on access. She will be well aware, for example, of the cases of polio in an area where it had been eliminated. As we try to seek the elimination of polio worldwide, to see it going backwards in this region is extremely concerning. It is a problem of access. We are working to try to ensure that all medical supplies, including for the vaccination of children, get through.

[Lord Elton (Con)]

My Lords, I presume that the most difficult people to reach are those who are being targeted by the various forces active in Syria. Can my noble friend tell us in particular whether aid is able to reach and support the Christian communities in Syria, which are under very great pressure?

[Baroness Northover]

They are indeed under great pressure and a number of them are in hard-to-reach areas. Those who are blocking humanitarian access come from all sides in this conflict and we urge all parties to the conflict to remove those barriers to humanitarian operations.

Badgers

Lord Elton Excerpts

Tuesday 18th June 2013 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Northover]

The noble Lord will know the scale of the problem that we seek to tackle and the difficulty of using the various measures that we have. That is why we are using a range of measures. The open season dates take account of the breeding season, so the assessment could happen any time from the beginning of this month on. Operators will be required to follow best practice guidelines, and it will be very carefully monitored. A number of organisations are involved in this.

[Lord Elton]

Will my noble friend remind us how many cattle have had to be slaughtered because of bovine tuberculosis in recent years? Is the number growing and what has been the cost of compensation?

[Baroness Northover]

My noble friend is absolutely right to highlight this. Last year 28,000 cattle had to be put down. Through this cull, we are looking at reducing the number of badgers by 5,000, so noble Lords can see the scale of this. The cost to the taxpayer over the last decade was £500 million for the cattle destroyed, and that could reach £1 billion in the next decade.

Family Planning: London Summit

Lord Elton Excerpts

Thursday 12th July 2012 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Northover]

These issues were discussed. In fact, I heard the Malawian delegation saying that they would be committing to raising the legal age of marriage to 18—that is above ours. People were acutely aware of the challenges here and the number of girls as young as 12, 13 and 14 who are having their first children and trying to delay that.

[Lord Elton]

The noble Lord, Lord Patel, raised the question of drawing the importance of family planning to the attention of young girls. Surely the question arises equally in relation to young men. Much more pressingly for our society as a whole, how about telling them about the importance of families themselves?

[Baroness Northover]

The role of boys and men was also discussed. I was on a panel yesterday with a very impressive young man from Togo who was involved in this. When his brother died of AIDS, his family, who in the earlier stages had opposed what he had done, then took him to task for not having said enough.

Sudan and South Sudan

Lord Elton Excerpts

Thursday 17th May 2012 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Northover]

The right reverend Prelate makes a very good point on what is, I think, his birthday—many happy returns to him. The UK has contributed £10 million to the World Food Programme for general food distribution and £15 million to the Common Humanitarian Fund. We are acutely aware that it is children who will be particularly vulnerable in this situation. Therefore, the provision that the international community is trying to make is very much focused on their needs.

[Lord Elton]

My Lords—

[Baroness Tonge]

My Lords—

[Noble Lords]

Order!

[Lord Elton]

My Lords, are there plans in place to maintain the integrity of the delivery of humanitarian aid to the people who are intended to receive it at a time in the future when the application of sanctions may make Governments very anxious to acquire it for themselves?

[Baroness Northover]

All these issues are extremely complex and the noble Lord rightly points to the potential impact of sanctions. As for humanitarian relief, a huge logistical effort is going on at the moment to get food and other supplies in place, particularly with the onset of the rains coming down the track and the potential of mass migration that may result, as noble Lords may be aware. We are monitoring this very closely and my colleague, Stephen O’Brien, is watching all the time what is happening.

Pakistan: Child Welfare

Lord Elton Excerpts

Thursday 14th October 2010 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Verma]

My Lords, all of DfID’s funds are in line with the strict guidelines of the OECD.

[Lord Elton]

My Lords, is the funding of which my noble friend speaks delivered to the eventual beneficiary by agencies of the Government of Pakistan, by voluntary agencies or by other means—and, if so, what means?

[Baroness Verma]

I thank my noble friend for that question. All humanitarian aid is given through NGOs, but DfID government programmes go through a number of organisations, and some go through the Pakistan Government.