Oral Answers to Questions

Lord Wharton of Yarm Excerpts

Wednesday 14th September 2016 Commons Chamber

[Scott Mann (North Cornwall) (Con)]

4. What steps her Department is taking to ensure that its funding goes to legitimate causes.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Development (James Wharton)]

DFID is engaged in tackling some of the great global challenges of our time. The Department has in place rigorous systems and processes to ensure that the money we spend gets to those for whom it is intended.

[Scott Mann]

Does the Minister agree that UK taxpayers need to be considered at every single step of the way when it comes to our aid spending?

[James Wharton]

I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend. He is absolutely right. He may have seen the words of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State in the Daily Mail only today setting out her vision for the future direction of the Department’s spending. We need rigorous accountability. We need proper business cases. We need a clear sense of what we want to achieve. That is exactly what this ministerial team will bring and what this Government will deliver.

[Catherine McKinnell (Newcastle upon Tyne North) (Lab)]

9. The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria is on track to save 22 million lives by the end of 2016. Can the Secretary of State confirm whether the UK will pledge the £1.2 billion called for at the Replenishment conference? How will she ensure that Britain’s contribution will retain its value in light of the pound’s post-Brexit fall against the dollar?

[James Wharton]

The UK has been a key contributor to the global health fund, which has made a real difference. I met only yesterday the chairs of the all-party groups on HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria to discuss the contribution the UK intends to make. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State will be making an announcement in Montreal in the coming days to set out just what the UK will be doing.

[Mr Dominic Raab (Esher and Walton) (Con)]

14. I welcome the Secretary of State’s refreshing approach. May I urge her and her ministerial colleagues to revise the criteria for bilateral aid, so that countries refusing point-blank to accept foreign national offenders deported from the UK do not receive millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money?

[James Wharton]

As always, my hon. Friend has an eye for value for money in the interests of the British taxpayer. We are, of course, looking at what DFID does. DFID delivers a huge amount of difference: it changes lives and helps people across the globe. We want to ensure that every penny we spend is spent wisely. The comments he makes are very important, as part of that debate and discussion.

[Mr Nigel Dodds (Belfast North) (DUP)]

There are grave concerns about the Palestinian Authority continuing to pay reward payments to convicted terrorists and the possible misappropriation of international aid from the UK to the Palestinian Authority. Will the Minister look carefully at that once again in the light of the grave concerns that are being expressed?

[James Wharton]

It is vital that the money that UK taxpayers spend on aid is spent on the right things and the right priorities. Where concerns are raised, they will of course be looked into in detail. If there are issues found to be arising, they will be addressed and tackled. The UK also believes in its commitment to helping the poorest in the world. Every penny spent on the purposes for which it is intended is a penny well spent. Any penny that goes missing is a life that may go unsaved.

[Edward Argar (Charnwood) (Con)]

5. What steps her Department is taking to ensure value for money in its aid budget.