Philippines: Typhoon Odette

Lord Foulkes of Cumnock Excerpts

Wednesday 5th January 2022 Lords Chamber

[Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Con)]

My Lords, I take from the question that the immunisation relates to Covid. We anticipate that, because of the difficulties of deploying vaccines, Covid cases will rise. We are absolutely committed, as we have been since the start of the pandemic, to supporting the rollout of vaccinations across the world, particularly in vulnerable countries. Although those barriers exist as a consequence of this storm, we are nevertheless working with partners to figure out how best to restore the rate of vaccinations that preceded it.

[Lord Foulkes of Cumnock (Lab Co-op)]

My Lords, returning to disaster resilience, does the Minister recall the excellent report commissioned by a former Tory Secretary of State for International Development, Andrew Mitchell, and produced by the late Lord Ashdown, a Liberal Democrat? It was on disaster resilience and how important it is. Can the Minister therefore tell us exactly the effects of the cuts announced to the development programme on the money spent on disaster resilience?

[Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Con)]

My Lords, I do not think it is possible to provide an exact answer—

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[Lord Foulkes of Cumnock (Lab Co-op)]

Why not?

[Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Con)]

Because I do not think that answer exists, and it is hard to assess. However, our support for humanitarian crises remains a priority, and that will be reflected in our upcoming development review.