Asked by: Lord Naseby (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the International Crisis Group is in receipt of any Government funding; and if so, whether that funding is provided to the charity (1) in general, or (2) for specific projects.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
The International Crisis Group (ICG) receives DFID funding through UK Aid Connect. UK Aid Connect supports programmes led by consortia of diverse organisations to create solutions to complex problems facing the poorest people. ICG is a partner within the Smart Peace programme led by Conciliation Resources and receives funding to carry out particular work within that programme.
Overall funding to the Smart Peace programme is £11.9m for the period 2018-2022. The consortium combines expertise in conflict analysis, community dialogue, elite mediation, evaluation, policy influence and behavioural science to deliver targeted and adaptive conflict resolution interventions in Central African Republic (CAR), Myanmar and Nigeria.
Asked by: Lord Naseby (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many medical doctors they have sent to assist in the disaster zone affected by Hurricane Irma; when those doctors left the UK; and where they went.
Answered by Lord Bates
DFID is liaising urgently with governments in the region to understand their needs for medical staff. We are also working with the Department of Health, and Public Health England to carry out needs assessments and UK medical experts are standing by to deploy as required and if requested by local governments.
DFID has already offered up to £2.5 million to the Pan American Health Organisation, which is supporting them to provide health services including deployment of medical staff to the region.
The Government will continue to do all it can to support those affected.
Asked by: Lord Naseby (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what additional aid they have offered to Sri Lanka to help cope with the severe drought and floods which have affected over one million people.
Answered by Lord Bates
Our assessment is that the crisis in Sri Lanka is being adequately managed through existing mechanisms in Sri Lanka, including the Government’s National Disaster Management Office (NDMO) and humanitarian agencies on the ground, including the Sri Lankan Red Cross Society. The UK provides significant amounts of funding to UN humanitarian emergency agencies (such as UNHCR, UNICEF and WFP), the EU’s humanitarian emergency response agency (ECHO) and the Red Cross, all of whom are contributing to the response. At the moment therefore we do not anticipate that a bilateral response from the UK will be needed. Other countries in the region are also providing assistance, and the US and EU have offered their support.
Asked by: Lord Naseby (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
Her Majesty's Government whether any official aid money has been or is planned to be allocated to North Korea; and if so for what purpose.
Answered by Lord Bates
The Government condemns both the persistent widespread human rights abuses of the North Korean regime and the consistent attempts of that regime to develop nuclear weapons in defiance of international law. No UK money goes directly to the regime in North Korea, and there is no DFID bilateral aid programme. A number of multilateral agencies that work in North Korea receive funding via the UK’s core contributions to these organisations. The FCO scaled back project work after the fourth nuclear test – but continues to fund some small-scale projects aimed at improving the lives of the most vulnerable in DPRK society. This will be kept under review.
Asked by: Lord Naseby (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what response they have made to Chile's appeal for help in dealing with the aftermath of widespread forest fires.
Answered by Lord Bates
The UK is not providing a direct response to fires in Chile. However, the UK has supported the deployment of a disaster management expert through the UN.
Asked by: Lord Naseby (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will provide emergency funding from the international aid budget to help Sri Lankan citizens affected by the recent floods and landslides.
Answered by Baroness Verma
The UK provides substantial funding to international NGOs and UN agencies, enabling them to respond to disasters around the world, including Sri Lanka. This includes the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), which was established by the UN and other leading donors to enable rapid emergency response. The CERF is doing an assessment of the situation following the rainfall and landslips in Sri Lanka. The UK, along with other leading donors, will provide support as required through this coordinated response mechanism.
The UK is the biggest contributor to the CERF, having provided in excess of $855m in the last 10 years. The UK also provides funding to the European Union humanitarian agency (ECHO) which is also undertaking an assessment.