Oral Answers to Questions

Alan Duncan Excerpts

Wednesday 12th June 2013 Commons Chamber

[Stephen Doughty (Cardiff South and Penarth) (Lab/Co-op)]

5. When the Government plan to bring forward legislative proposals to enshrine in law their commitment to spend 0.7% of gross national income on official development assistance.

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

This Government will be the first in the G8 to reach 0.7%, and we are doing so this year.

[Stephen Doughty]

The Minister wants us to believe the Government’s 0.7% aid promise, but first we find no Bill in the Queen’s Speech, and secondly we see a massive underspend in the Department in the last few months of last year. Who made the decisions to omit the Bill and to underspend? Was it the Secretary of State, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, or the Prime Minister?

[Mr Duncan]

Very nice try, but there is not a massive underspend. Previous mentions in the Queen’s Speech were about the objective of meeting the target, and if the hon. Gentleman wants the proof to be in the pudding, that is exactly what we are doing.

[Mr Peter Bone (Wellingborough) (Con)]

Would the excellent Minister agree with me that we should not set targets for overseas aid? We should give what is required.

[Mr Duncan]

We are doing both, because as the United Nations’ objective of 0.7% established, the continuity that comes from countries meeting it ensures that aid is delivered in the best possible way, and that is why the objective is so important for the poorest people in the world, whom we are all trying to help.

[Mr Gregory Campbell (East Londonderry) (DUP)]

Now that we are the first of the G8 nations to reach 0.7%, perhaps the Prime Minister will make that declaration in the magnificent surroundings of County Fermanagh next week. When he has done that, will he ensure that we target that aid, that it is free from corruption, that people can see that there is a point behind the aid, and that it goes to those most in need?

[Mr Duncan]

I am confident that not only would the Prime Minister enjoy making such a commitment, but that he could do so truthfully and accurately, because my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State, and indeed all of us in the Department for International Development, ensures that the money that we spend on behalf of taxpayers goes to people in need, and not into the pockets of anyone who might be corrupt.

[Mr Tobias Ellwood (Bournemouth East) (Con)]

May I invite the Minister and the Secretary of State to look at the Ministry of Defence’s stabilisation activities, such as mine clearance, police training in Afghanistan, and the replacement of the Kajaki dam turbine? Those activities are not claimed as going towards the ODA target of 0.7%; if they were, I believe that we would be exceeding it.

[Mr Duncan]

One of the great achievements of this Government is the great co-ordination between the Ministry of Defence, the Foreign Office and DFID, under the auspices of the National Security Council. When it comes to spending, we work very closely with those two Departments, but we must stick within the OECD rules that govern the definition of official development assistance.

[Keith Vaz (Leicester East) (Lab)]

How much of that percentage will be made available to the people of Yemen? Only yesterday, Jamal Benomar, the UN special representative, said that 1 million children were dying from malnutrition there. How can we save those children?

[Mr Duncan]

Our focus on Yemen is acute, and I take charge of that personally. The right hon. Gentleman is absolutely right. Indeed, one of the comments at the nutrition event at the weekend, attended by Ministers from Yemen, was that more than half of their children under five are stunted. We have to focus on that need, and I assure the right hon. Gentleman and the House that through our programmes in Yemen, that is exactly what we are doing.

[Alun Cairns (Vale of Glamorgan) (Con)]

6. What her Department’s spending priorities are for 2012-13.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr David Ward (Bradford East) (LD)]

8. What research her Department has undertaken into the humanitarian effects of the occupation of the west bank.

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

We are deeply concerned by the impact of the occupation on the lives of Palestinians in the west bank. DFID assesses this constantly. Reports from the UN and others clearly document poverty, displacement, constrained growth and the demolition this year alone of 247 Palestinian structures.

[Mr Ward]

Those who have been to the west bank and to Gaza will be frustrated constantly to see international aid used to pay for buildings which are promptly knocked down by the Israeli regime. Is the Minister aware that according to figures in the United Nations “Humanitarian Monitor” monthly report for April, there was a 30% rise in the number of Palestinians displaced by house demolitions, with a total of 46 structures demolished by the Israeli army, which included five paid for by international donors?

[Mr Speaker]

We are grateful to the hon. Member, but we need to have time for the answer.

[Mr Duncan]

The Government share the hon. Gentleman’s concerns about the nature and scale of the demolitions. I am pleased to say, however, that we have contributed to the construction of a number of schools in Gaza, where we hope children will be educated without their premises ever being demolished.

[Chris Evans (Islwyn) (Lab/Co-op)]

T1. If she will make a statement on her departmental responsibilities.

--- Later in debate ---

[Jim McGovern (Dundee West) (Lab)]

T10. A member of my staff, Lee Butcher, recently visited Palestine. He was shocked and stunned to see how Palestinians are treated by the Israelis, for example having no water for weeks on end. What can the Government do to help those Palestinians who are suffering such pain?

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

We put as much pressure and argument as we can to improve the condition of Palestinians in Area C, and we very much hope that such issues will be addressed in the peace process, which we wish every success, as it continues over the next few weeks.

[Rehman Chishti (Gillingham and Rainham) (Con)]

T4. What discussions have been had with the Government of Pakistan to tackle the issues of population growth, lack of family planning and high maternity deaths?

[Mr Michael McCann (East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow) (Lab)]

On a recent delegation to the west bank, we met President Abbas, who confirmed that the Palestinian Authority pays the families of convicted criminals a salary dependent on the length of time they spend in prison. Since DFID provides direct budget support which is indivisible from the Palestinian Authority’s funds, will the Minister explain and justify how British taxpayers’ money can be spent on paying criminals?

[Mr Duncan]

We have dealt with this issue on many occasions in written and oral parliamentary questions. I can assure the hon. Gentleman that British funding is ring-fenced and does not in any way go to purposes of that sort.

[Richard Graham (Gloucester) (Con)]

T5. Does my right hon. Friend agree that it would be possible to link our large aid presence in the British embassy in Jakarta more effectively with our trade presence in order to promote new energy solutions like the first biodiesel plant in the country from Gloucestershire’s Green Fuels?