Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made, if any, of the work of the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development (CAFOD) and its affiliated organisation Caritas Internationalis.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Any partner who is intended to be a direct recipient of FCDO funding must have a documented due diligence assessment in place. A due diligence assessment for a grant recipient determines whether an Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) partner has the capacity and capability to manage programme funds and deliver the programme or project objectives specific to the context. Our records indicate that the legacy departments of the Department for International Development and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office conducted due diligence assessments on Catholic Agency for Overseas Development (CAFOD) and Caritas Internationalis; however, our records indicate that there has been no assessment since the departments merged to form the FCDO.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the value for money provided by global multilateral organisations in receipt of funds from the Official Development Assistance budget.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The value for money and performance of multilateral organisations receiving Official Development Assistance (ODA) is continually assessed in FCDO annual reviews and business cases, as well as by the independent Multilateral Organisation Performance Assessment Network (MOPAN), which the UK is a member of. Multilateral ODA offers value for money by providing economies of scale and leveraging private sector investment. The UK's funding to multilateral organisations was reviewed for alignment to UK objectives and organisational effectiveness through the Multilateral Development Review (MDR) in 2016. The Independent Commission for Aid Impact also independently scrutinises the impact of UK ODA to multilaterals, for example reviews of 'The UK support to the World Bank's International Development Association' and 'Tackling fraud in UK aid through multilateral organisations' were completed this year.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they last assessed the World Bank’s use of donations from the Official Development Assistance budget; and what conclusions they reached from this.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
In 2022, the Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI) scored UK's support to the World Bank's International Development Association (IDA) as green/amber. This view is supported by FCDO which monitors and shapes Bank operations at the World Bank Board and in borrower countries.
In 2021, during IDA20 replenishment negotiations, FCDO ensured IDA priorities are well-aligned with UK's aims for its Official Development Assistance (ODA) including on gender, disability and fragility. IDA and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development were judged as value for money for UK ODA in business cases (IDA 2021, IBRD 2018).
In internal 2021 IDA19 and 2020 IBRD Annual Reviews both programmes met expectation.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what percentage of the Official Development Assistance budget is paid to global multilateral organisations rather than direct to recipient countries; and how much money this represents.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
In 2021 UK Official Development Assistance (ODA) was £11,496 million. Of this, 38.4 percent was delivered through core contributions to multilateral organisations (£4,411 million).
Source: Statistics on International Development: Provisional UK Aid Spend 2021.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the availability of food and water for the population of Somalia; and what aid the UK (a) is providing in 2022, and (b) intends to provide in each of the years 2023 and 2024.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The crisis in Somalia continues to worsen. Drought is causing significant levels of food insecurity and recent data from Bay region in Somalia projects that famine is likely to occur between October and December. Recent Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) data from September forecast that 6.7 million people are likely to experience food insecurity over the remainder of 2022, including over 300,000 people in famine-like conditions.
In financial year 2022/23 the UK intends to provide approximately £156 million in humanitarian aid across East Africa. To alleviate the impact of drought and address the risk of famine, since 1 April 2022, the UK has allocated £52.8 million in humanitarian, health and nutrition support to Somalia. This includes £22.8 million which the UK announced at United Nations General Assembly in September.
Decisions on aid allocations for financial years beyond 2022/23 have not yet been made.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the government of Ukraine regarding the damaged infrastructure in that country; and what plans they have, if any, to provide financial assistance to help with the rebuilding of that infrastructure.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK and Ukrainian Governments have regular discussions on the UK's support to Ukraine, including on damaged infrastructure. Such discussions have informed the UK's plan to support Ukraine's reconstruction. This was presented at the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Lugano on 4 July. It includes support to address the Government of Ukraine's financial gap to ensure it can pay wages and restore critical infrastructure. Additionally, in response to President Zelenskyy's request of the Prime Minister, the UK will champion the recovery of Kyiv region. Alongside this, the UK-led £37m Partnership Fund for a Resilient Ukraine has already begun identifying priority repair works.
We are a leading donor in response to the crisis, committing economic, humanitarian and military support totalling approximately £3.8bn. This includes £10m to the Energy Support Fund for repairs to energy infrastructure, and £10m for equipment to facilitate the movement of grain by Ukrainian railways to neighbouring countries.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the safety of, and freedom of religion for, Christians in Nigeria
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
Nigeria's Constitution guarantees freedom of religion or belief. The security situation in Nigeria, and its impact on Christians and other religious or belief minorities is complex.
In the North East, terrorist groups such as Islamic State West Africa (ISWA) and Boko Haram have caused immense suffering to both Christian and Muslim communities. These groups seek to undermine the right to freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) by indiscriminately attacking those of all faiths or beliefs who do not subscribe to their extremist views.
Elsewhere in Nigeria, intercommunal violence has had a devastating impact on both Christian and Muslim communities. Our assessment is that religious identity can be a factor in incidents of intercommunal violence, but the underlying drivers are more complex. These include competition over land and natural resources, which has been exacerbated by climate change, historical grievances, and criminality.
We will continue to make clear to the Nigerian authorities at the highest levels the importance of protecting civilians, including religious or belief minorities, and human rights for all Nigerians.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the safety of, and freedom of religion for, Christians in Syria.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We remain deeply troubled about the severity and scale of violations and abuses of freedom of religion and belief in many parts of the world, including Syria. We understand that Christians in Syria are subject to daily insecurities, including arbitrary arrest, forced disappearance and conscription. Our assessment is that, like all Syrians and religious or belief groups, Christians also face threats from militias and warlords who act with impunity, and they face acute economic hardships and lack of services. The UK will continue to call for a political settlement that protects the rights of all minorities, including Christians and continue to hold the Asad regime to account.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the safety of, and freedom of religion for, Christians in Iraq.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Promoting the right to freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) is one of the UK's longstanding human rights priorities in Iraq. The UK is committed to defending FoRB for all, and promoting respect between different religious and non-religious communities. We continue to monitor the situation of Christians and other minority groups in Iraq, regularly engaging with Christian leaders and civil society, as well as other minority groups. Our Embassy in Baghdad and our Consulate in Erbil will continue to highlight to the Government of Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government the need to protect ethnic and religious minorities, including Christians.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 30 May (HL266), what assessment they have made of whether frozen Russian assets released by a licence from the Treasury's Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation are likely to be redeployed for (1) humanitarian, and (2) reconstruction, purposes, in eastern Europe including Ukraine.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
An asset freeze requires that all funds and economic resources belonging to, held or controlled by a designated person are frozen immediately by the person in possession or control of them. The release of frozen assets may be legally granted with a licence from the Treasury's Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) under specific circumstances and for specific purposes, as set out in the regulations. The UK along with our allies will continue to put more pressure on Putin's regime until he withdraws his troops and ends this unjust war. Nothing and no one is off the table.