Government Overseas Aid Commitment: Private Investment

Baroness Berger Excerpts

Tuesday 9th October 2018 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

My right hon. Friend is right. We have the opportunity to look in future years at what we might do with the £1.5 billion that we channel into the EU. I have set out very clearly that we would like to continue to work with our European partners. If that is done through the EU, we would have to ensure that they do not discriminate against British non-governmental organisations, and I have outlined both before the Select Committee and in my speech today how we would protect British NGOs and their beneficiaries in such circumstances.

[Luciana Berger (Liverpool, Wavertree) (Lab/Co-op)]

Does the Secretary of State stand by the unnamed briefing to newspapers done today on her behalf, which stated that

“when investors step in, the taxpayer can step back”?

Does she think there is any interpretation of such a statement other than that she intends to resile from this country’s honourable commitment to spend 0.7% on development?

[Penny Mordaunt]

I and my staff—both my political staff and my DFID staff—did not brief that. What I can say is that if we can lift people out of poverty, which we need the private sector to do, as they are the ones who can create jobs and close that enormous funding gap on the global goals, I hope that in future years we will be able to spend less money on these things, because there will not be the need. But that lies many years ahead. There will always be a need for humanitarian aid, but we have made huge progress over the past few decades in lifting people out of poverty, and I want us to finish the job in Africa.

Oral Answers to Questions

Baroness Berger Excerpts

Wednesday 26th October 2011 Commons Chamber

The Prime Minister was asked—

[Luciana Berger (Liverpool, Wavertree) (Lab/Co-op)]

Q1. If he will list his official engagements for Wednesday 26 October.

[The Prime Minister (Mr David Cameron)]

This morning—[Interruption.] At least they do not have to do it in French.

This morning I had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. This afternoon I shall travel to Brussels for further talks about the eurozone.

[Luciana Berger]

Yesterday it was reported that the Prime Minister had compared the families of those who had died at Hillsborough to

“a blind man, in a dark room, looking for a black cat that isn’t there”,

and had complained that he was not being given enough credit for the release of all the Government documents relating to the tragedy. Will he take this opportunity to apologise to the relatives and friends of the 96 Hillsborough victims for those grossly offensive comments?

[The Prime Minister]

What I would say to all the victims and their families is that it is this Government who have done the right thing by opening up the Cabinet papers and trying to help those people to find the closure that they seek.

Oral Answers to Questions

Baroness Berger Excerpts

Wednesday 8th June 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr O'Brien]

The hon. Lady is right that in sub-Saharan Africa, HIV/AIDS is primarily a disease that affects women; they are now in the majority compared with men. It is right that in putting women and girls at the heart of all our policies, we measure all the impacts on women, in particular those on the poorest women in the poorest countries. In tomorrow’s meetings at the UN, there will be a keen focus on women, and we hope that something will come of that.

[Luciana Berger (Liverpool, Wavertree) (Lab/Co-op)]

8. By what means he plans to assess value for money in his Department’s funding for climate change prevention in developing countries.

[The Minister of State, Department for International Development (Mr Alan Duncan)]

We rigorously assess costs against benefits in all our programmes. To measure the value for money of our climate programmes, we will look at metrics including the number of poor people protected from extreme weather events, the number of hectares of forest protected, and the number of people with access to energy.

[Luciana Berger]

The Minister will be aware of the decision at the last climate change summit to establish a green climate fund, and that the UK has a representative on the transnational committee that is designing the fund. Will he update the House on the progress made to date by the transnational committee and on what concrete outcomes the UK Government hope to see by the next summit in Durban later this year?

[Mr Duncan]

The hon. Lady is absolutely right that the fund is not yet up and running. We are on the design committee for the fund and are playing our full part in it. We want to ensure that the fund delivers results for poor people in the best possible way.

Oral Answers to Questions

Baroness Berger Excerpts

Wednesday 7th July 2010 Commons Chamber

[Mr O'Brien]

I am grateful to the hon. Lady for highlighting these issues. I assure her that when I visited Rwanda between 15 and 17 June I raised these very matters at all levels, including the very highest levels, in the various meetings I had. It is important that as part of the general support that DFID gives to help the Rwandan people, we press for the opening up of political space and that we make sure that pertains up to the election. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State will take the opportunity, later this week in a meeting with the Rwandan high commissioner, to press the issues that the hon. Lady has rightly identified.

[Luciana Berger (Liverpool, Wavertree) (Lab/Co-op)]

4.. What support his Department has provided to the 1GOAL Education for All summit on 7 July 2010 in South Africa.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Development (Mr Stephen O'Brien)]

DFID has given the 1GOAL campaign £804,800 so far and will give a further £195,200 this financial year. In addition, DFID offered support to the Government of South Africa for a summit during this World cup, and we have received an invitation to that summit this very morning. It will take place this Sunday and we are considering who should attend.

[Luciana Berger]

I am grateful to the Minister for his reply. There have been a great many goals in this World cup, but signing up to a road map to deliver education to 72 million children around the world by the next World cup could be the greatest goal. How will he ensure that the momentum of today’s education campaign summit is not lost between now and Brazil 2014?

[Mr O'Brien]

I am grateful to the hon. Lady for her excellent question. She, like all hon. Members across the House and particularly Her Majesty’s Government through DFID, is passionate about the need to boost education, particularly for the millions who have yet to receive the benefit of a primary education. There are few bigger prizes to grasp, and she is right to say that we need to maintain the momentum of the 1GOAL campaign, which we have been very pleased to support. The summit that is about to take place should help to boost that momentum and we shall do all we can to help to maintain it.