Asked by: Lord Judd (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with UNWRA about any additional funding required to meet costs resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic; and what assessment they have made of the decision of the governments of Germany and Italy to increase contributions to that organisation.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
We are aware of increasing needs in the region due to the impact COVID-19, including in Palestinian refugee camps and continue to monitor the situation closely. We are currently reviewing options for support to UNRWA and recognise the central role it plays in the region until a just solution is found for refugees. Until that time, we support all efforts to increase funding to UNRWA, including from key partners such as Germany and Italy.
Asked by: Lord Judd (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they are having with international development related non-governmental organisations; and how they plan to incorporate the experience of such organisations into the future policy of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
UK and international NGOs play an invaluable role in our fight against poverty. We will continue to engage closely with them as we shape the new Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office, which will unite our development expertise and first-class diplomatic service to make the UK a greater force for good in the world.
Asked by: Lord Judd (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what arrangements they have in place (1) to safeguard, and (2) to maintain, the experience and expertise in international development of staff from the Department for International Development with their own dedicated administrative structure within the new merged department of the Department for International Development and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, (a) in the UK, and (b) in its operations overseas.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
The creation of the new Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office will bring together the best of what we do in aid and diplomacy and create new opportunities for staff. The ambition, vision and expertise of DFID staff will be at the heart of the new department – taking forward the work of UK aid, which will remain central to our mission. There will be no compulsory redundancies and we will work closely with staff throughout the process of implementing the merger. The full details of the merger, including the structure of the new department, will be set out in due course. This work will take place over the coming months, and we will engage fully with staff throughout this process.
Asked by: Lord Judd (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what arrangements they have in place to ensure that UK aid remains party to the Development Assistance committee rules of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development on minimum international standards of aid spending.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
Spending 0.7 percent of our national income on aid is enshrined in law and the UK continues to abide by the OECD DAC rules for aid. We will continue to look at how this money can be spent most effectively in our national interest, including through the Integrated Review – which will inform the priorities of the new department.
Asked by: Lord Judd (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans are in place to ensure that at least 50 per cent of their overseas aid budget remains committed to fragile and conflict afflicted states; and what proportion of that budget is earmarked for conflict resolution and peace building.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
DFID’s work on addressing the underlying drivers of fragility, conflict and instability in fragile and conflict affected states (FCAS) is vital. This is why the UK is pursuing a strong and co-ordinated global response to COVID-19, particularly for the most vulnerable countries. DFID is taking steps to ensure that both our immediate responses to COVID-19 and long-term recovery efforts do not exacerbate conflict and instead help to build peace and improve governance, especially in FCAS.
DFID has consistently spent at least 50% of its Official Development Assistance in fragile and conflict affected states from 2015 to 2017. Figures for 2018 will be published in due course.
Asked by: Lord Judd (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the (1) current, and (2) future, impact of COVID-19 on developing countries; and what steps they plan to take in response.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
We are using UK aid to its full effect to counter the health, humanitarian, and economic risks and impact of this pandemic in the developing world. The UK has, so far, pledged £744 million of UK aid to help end this pandemic as quickly as possible.
Our latest UK aid funding of £200 million, announced on 12 April, will enable humanitarian organisations to help reduce mass infections in developing countries which often lack the healthcare systems to track and halt the virus. This funding includes £130 million to UN agencies in response to their COVID-19 humanitarian appeals.
The UK is also providing up to £150 million of UK aid funding which will go the International Monetary Fund’s Catastrophe Containment Relief Trust to help developing countries meet their debt repayments so that they can focus their available resources on tackling COVID-19. The UK has also worked closely with other G20 creditors and the Paris Club to provide a temporary suspension of debt repayments from the poorest and most vulnerable countries that request relief, further boosting countries’ capacity to respond to the crisis.
Alongside our comprehensive COVID-19 response, which includes programmes in health, humanitarian support, financial aid and economic support, vaccines, and preparations for the recovery phase, we are redirecting existing support and programmes to be more responsive to COVID-19 and work on other DFID priorities will continue to help support the recovery phase and preparedness for future threats.
Asked by: Lord Judd (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how they intend to contribute to the UN Global Humanitarian Response Plan to tackle COVID-19.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
The UK strongly supports the UN’s Global Humanitarian Response Plan to tackle COVID-19. Our latest UK aid funding of £200 million, announced on 12 April, will enable humanitarian organisations to help reduce mass infections in developing countries which often lack the healthcare systems to track and halt the virus. This funding includes £130 million to UN agencies in response to their COVID-19 humanitarian appeals and £50 million to the Red Cross to help its efforts in difficult to reach areas, such as those affected by armed conflict. We continue to urge other countries to step up to support international appeals.
Additionally, the UK has pledged £50 million to match £50 million from Unilever for a joint global hygiene project targeting up to a billion people with awareness and behavioural change campaigns to promote handwashing and providing 20 million hygiene items like soap and bleach to help the most vulnerable communities protect themselves.
This humanitarian funding brings the total amount of UK aid committed to fight COVID-19 to £744 million. This includes support to develop new vaccines, tests and treatments; humanitarian aid and support for the International Monetary Fund to help mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on the world’s most vulnerable countries.
Asked by: Lord Judd (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to granting an immediate, condition free moratorium on debt interest payments for developing countries in order to release resources for such countries to deal with COVID-19.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
We are supporting the poorest countries, which represent a quarter of the world’s population, to avoid economic collapse. Economic disruption hits the world’s poor hardest and would deepen a global recession, making it harder for all of us to bounce back and prosper. The UK is providing up to £150 million of UK aid funding which will go the International Monetary Fund’s Catastrophe Containment Relief Trust to help developing countries meet their debt repayments. This will allow them to focus their available resources on tackling COVID-19. The UK has also worked closely with other G20 creditors and the Paris Club to provide a temporary suspension of debt repayments from the poorest and most vulnerable countries that request relief, further boosting countries’ capacity to respond to the crisis.
Asked by: Lord Judd (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have for the future role of the Department for International Development.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
This government has confirmed its commitment to 0.7 and has set out a series of ambitious development targets in the manifesto. This includes ending preventable deaths of mothers, new-born babies and children by 2030 and leading the way in eradicating Ebola and malaria.
Asked by: Lord Judd (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Sugg on 30 May (HL15801), what was the outcome of discussions on the Funding Compact at ECOSOC in May; and what action they are taking as a result of that discussion.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
The UN Secretary General set out the purpose of the Funding Compact during his address to the May 2019 ECOSOC Operational Activities Segment (OAS), welcoming it as a means “to shift away from funding practices that fragment action by UN country teams.”
While the content of the Funding Compact was discussed at ECOSOC, the Resolution summarising agreement on the matter is expected to be finalised later this month. The UK remains committed to the Secretary General’s reform agenda, of which the Funding Compact is a key component.