Oral Answers to Questions

Alan Duncan Excerpts

Wednesday 2nd June 2010 Commons Chamber

[Greg Hands (Chelsea and Fulham) (Con)]

10. What his policy is on the provision of aid to the Russian Federation.

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

DFID’s bilateral project work in Russia totalled £1.5 million in 2009-10 and is estimated to be some £1.4 million in 2010-11. The new Government will wind down bilateral spending in Russia as soon as is practical and responsible.

[John Howell]

I thank the Minister for his response and offer my congratulations to him on his position. Those of us who have been involved in our commercial careers in Russia would certainly agree that giving aid to such a prominent G8 country could risk confidence in the aid programme as a whole, but Russia still has a long way to go in developing a full civil society. Will the Minister look at how non-governmental organisations in Russia working towards civil society might be encouraged to do their job?

[Alan Duncan]

I thank my hon. Friend for his kind words. I am well aware of his work in the past on the know how fund and I appreciate his continuing interest in the matter. As I said, we intend to wind down bilateral aid to Russia in an orderly way. Ministers and officials regularly discuss with Russia both bilaterally and as part of the EU a range of issues, including human rights and freedom of expression. We remain committed to maintaining our dialogue with Russia as a donor colleague in the global effort to provide good quality aid.

[Greg Hands]

Further to that answer, will my hon. Friend also consider moving the aid that has been going to Russia to Russia’s former satellites in central Asia? For example, in Tajikistan more than 1 million people are living on less than $1 a day, and five years on from the Andijan massacre, Uzbekistan is desperately in need of help for rebuilding civil society and democratisation.

[Alan Duncan]

As I said, we intend to wind down bilateral aid to Russia in an orderly way, and we are carrying out a review of all bilateral programmes so that we can better prioritise the United Kingdom’s development assistance. At this stage in the review, I cannot make commitments to increase aid in the areas that my hon. Friend proposes, but I am happy to take his comments on board.

[David Cairns (Inverclyde) (Lab)]

I welcome the hon. Gentleman to his post. A moment ago he mentioned raising the issue of human rights with the Russians. He will be aware of the disgraceful and homophobic comments of the mayor of Moscow in his various attempts to ban gay rights marches in Moscow. What message can the Minister take to the Russians and to all the recipients of UK aid money that such disgraceful homophobic attacks and oppression will not be tolerated?

[Alan Duncan]

The hon. Gentleman may be surprised to know that that is the one homophobic comment of which I had not been fully aware. I am usually well on top of these matters. We take human rights issues in Russia very seriously and they will continue to be an important part of the dialogue between our diplomats and members of the Foreign Office and our Russian counterparts.

[Pauline Latham (Mid Derbyshire) (Con)]

4. What steps he is taking to ensure maximum transparency in the distribution of aid under his Department’s programmes.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Gordon Marsden (Blackpool South) (Lab)]

12. What recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of his Department’s work to promote stability and the development of civil society in the Caucasus.

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

DFID no longer has bilateral aid programmes in the Caucasus region. The UK Government’s conflict prevention pool, including civil society support, remains active in the region. The UK also continues to support development in the Caucasus region through its membership of multilateral institutions, including the EU.

[Mr Marsden]

I thank the Minister for his reply. Does he agree that given the continued progress towards a resolution of conflicts in the region, particularly in respect of Nagorno-Karabakh, it is very important that, at a multilateral and primary level, the Government give support to those sorts of activities?

[Alan Duncan]

We will look very closely at the hon. Gentleman’s representations in the context of all the reviews that we are currently making.