Lord Rana

An exit and sustainability plan has been agreed between DFID and partners for every closing programme. In November 2012, we announced we would end our programme of financial aid grants to India by the end of 2015. That is exactly what we are doing. We set this three year transition period so that we could responsibly fulfil commitments to existing financial grant aid projects – all of which will be completed by end of 2015 – after which we will only provide support in the form of private sector expertise and technical assistance

We selected this three year transition period specifically so that we could responsibly fulfil commitments to existing financial aid projects and ensure government partners were able to build the capacity needed to meet development needs after our support ends.

In November 2012, the Secretary of State for International Development announced the UK would end our programme of financial aid grants to India by the end of 2015. That is exactly what we are doing. We will responsibly fulfil commitments to existing financial grant aid projects – all of which will be completed by end of 2015 – after which we will only provide support in the form of private sector expertise and technical assistance.

The post-2015 transition plan was agreed in 2012 following extensive consultation with the Government of India (GoI), and has been reviewed annually with the GoI, including most recently in October 2015.

The UK can be proud of the results that its aid to India continues to achieve. For example, during the five years to 2015, UK aid has ensured that over 3.5 million pregnant women and children under 5 are covered by nutrition programmes in eight low income states; that over 1.3 million people have sustainable access to improved sanitation; and that over 600,000 additional people have access to low carbon energy.

The UK has been at the forefront of the international response to the humanitarian crisis in Syria. We have committed over £1.1 billion to date, making us the second largest bilateral donor to the international response.

We have planned for the endgame since the beginning of the conflict and during the Geneva process. We are now updating our planning to reflect the timeline envisaged in the Vienna process and are asking others to do the same. The initial priorities for Syria post-conflict will be protection, security, stabilisation and confidence building measures, including meeting basic needs and helping displaced people to return. Over time the focus will shift to longer-term re-building of Syria’s shattered infrastructure, harnessing the expertise of the UN, International Financial Institutions and the private sector. On 26 November, the Prime Minister announced at least £1 billion for Syria’s reconstruction. We anticipate that we would allocate reconstruction funds against a plan agreed between a new, inclusive Syrian government and the international community, once the conflict has ended.

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is making flexible use of internal resources and additional fixed-term contractor staff, to help manage the short-term increase in applications. This has increased the available resource by 35%, and the CAA consequently expect to have returned to its target turnaround time of ten working days by the end of June. The CAA is also actively recruiting additional permanent staff to improve resilience over the medium to long term.

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) regulates civil flying displays and publishes requirements and guidance on the organisation, administration and participation of flying displays. Protecting the public is of paramount importance and as such any participant or organiser of a flying display is responsible for carrying out their tasks with the utmost professionalism and to the highest standards.

The assessment of liability for any potential harm that may arise for members of the public who deliberately put themselves at risk at civil flying display events is the sole responsibility of the organisers themselves.

The Government is working with the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and other key stakeholders to modernise our airspace. The specific needs of general aviation, including whether existing areas of controlled airspace should be reclassified, will be considered by the independent airspace regulator, the CAA, which is responsible for the classification of UK airspace.

Last year, the Secretary of State for Transport commissioned NATS to produce a feasibility assessment of the potential future demands for airspace of airports in the South of the UK. This work was the first step in the co-ordination of airspace modernisation, examining its feasibility and potential implementation. It was a design requirement of the NATS modelling that the total volume of controlled airspace does not increase and that where possible, controlled airspace would be released to other airspace users, including general aviation. The Government expects to publish the high level findings of this later in 2018.

The UK does not hold numbers of extremists from Commonwealth countries fighting in Syria and Iraq. The latest UN report on foreign fighters (April 2015) estimates there are over 1,350 foreign fighters in Syria and Iraq from Commonwealth nations. Over 800 Britons of national security concern have travelled to the region since the start of the conflict, around half of whom have returned.

We are committed to tackling extremism and radicalisation. A number of Commonwealth countries face significant challenges. The Commonwealth Secretariat has done some work in this area but additional capacity is required to coordinate the sharing of expertise and support efforts to counter the causes of radicalisation. The Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), announced UK funding of £5m over 5 years to establish a Counter-Extremism and Counter Radicalisation Unit in the Commonwealth Secretariat. Setting up a new unit recognises that Commonwealth countries must work together to counter extremist ideologies and build their counter extremism capabilities. The unit will:

•Provide technical assistance to governments developing counter-extremism strategies.

•Mobilise Commonwealth civil society networks to counter radicalisation through targeted counter-narratives and strategic communication training.

•Enable Commonwealth members to meet their international counter extremism obligations. There is a demand from Commonwealth countries for support in implementing international counter extremism obligations (e.g. in relation to UNSCR 2178.).

We will work closely with the Commonwealth Secretariat, Commonwealth members and key stakeholders to ensure that UK funding supports the work of countries across the Commonwealth to tackle the threat of extremism.

The Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), announced UK funding of £5million over 5 years to establish a Counter-Extremism and Counter Radicalisation Unit in the Commonwealth Secretariat. Setting up a new unit recognises that Commonwealth countries must work together to counter extremist ideologies and build their counter extremism capabilities. The unit will:

•Provide technical assistance to governments developing counter-extremism strategies.

•Mobilise Commonwealth civil society networks to counter radicalisation through targeted counter-narratives and strategic communication training.

•Enable Commonwealth members to meet their international counter extremism obligations. There is a demand from Commonwealth countries for support in implementing international counter extremism obligations, for example in relation to UN Security Council Resolution 2178.

Other Commonwealth partners have also pledged a contribution to this unit. We will work closely with the Commonwealth Secretariat, Commonwealth members and key stakeholders to ensure that UK funding supports the work of countries across the Commonwealth to tackle the threat of extremism