Venezuela

Debate between Alan Duncan and Robert Halfon

Monday 28th January 2019 Commons Chamber

[Sir Alan Duncan]

I am aware of the letter, and, for the benefit of Members, if they do not know already, I confirm that the Bank of England holds a significant amount of Venezuela’s gold under a contract. The answer to my hon. Friend is that this is a decision for the Bank of England, not the Government. It has to make the decision on this, and no doubt when it does so it will take into account that many countries across the world are now questioning the legitimacy of Nicolás Maduro and recognising that of Juan Guaidó.

[Robert Halfon (Harlow) (Con)]

Why does this matter to the streets of Harlow? It is because 50% of cocaine shipments come through Venezuela. If there is a new regime there, will the Government work with it to stop cocaine reaching our shores and affecting the millions of people on hard drugs?

[Sir Alan Duncan]

My right hon. Friend is right. This has significance across the world because large amounts of drugs are trafficked through Venezuela. Of course, one cannot tackle that problem with the Government of Venezuela because they are party to that inappropriate drug trafficking themselves. Therefore, the solution for the streets of Harlow when it comes to Venezuela is to deal with a legitimate Government who are prepared to tackle the problem head-on in Venezuela.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Alan Duncan and Robert Halfon

Tuesday 27th March 2018 Commons Chamber

[Robert Halfon (Harlow) (Con)]

8. What recent assessment he has made of the strength of the UK's diplomatic relations with Poland.

[The Minister for Europe and the Americas (Sir Alan Duncan)]

British-Polish relations are excellent and go from strength to strength. We enjoy a strategic partnership that is broad and diverse. The most recent milestone in the relationship was the second UK-Poland civil society Belvedere forum. May I say, Mr Speaker, that we remember with deep respect the Polish citizen who died in Harlow after a violent attack in 2016?

[Robert Halfon]

Will my right hon. Friend recognise the suffering of the Poles from Nazism and communism; their efforts, through the extraordinary Warsaw Jewish museums, to build relations with the Jewish community; and their prompt action in expelling Russian diplomats? Will he do everything possible to build relations between Britain and Poland and encourage our education system to recognise the Polish contribution to the United Kingdom?

[Sir Alan Duncan]

I wholeheartedly agree with my right hon. Friend. We all have the utmost respect for the significant contribution that the 1 million Poles living in the UK make to our society. He has been very supportive of his own local Polish community and his constituents fully recognise that. May I say on this occasion that we would like to thank the Polish Government for their full and vocal support for the United Kingdom following the attack in Salisbury?

Global Hunger

Debate between Alan Duncan and Robert Halfon

Wednesday 23rd January 2013 Westminster Hall

[Mr Duncan]

Absolutely. A proper legal framework for ownership of land is crucial if property rights are to be exercised fairly, particularly among some of the poorest people. That building block in any country’s framework of law is crucial for the guarantee of such rights.

To tackle hunger, we need to improve poor people’s access to food. They spend a large proportion of their income on food, so are least able to cope when food prices rise unpredictably. UK aid provides money to a consortium, led by FARM Africa and Self Help Africa, which aims to increase the production and returns of nearly 1 million smallholders. We also provide support for safety nets so that the poorest people have a buffer to help them to survive and recover from economic or natural shocks that threaten their ability to feed themselves and their families. For example, DFID supports the Ethiopian Government’s productive safety net programme, which provides predictable cash or food payments to around 8 million people.

[Robert Halfon]

I fully support the campaign for enough food for everyone, and I particularly congratulate Save the Children. Does my right hon. Friend agree that the UK should support increased fiscal transparency in developing countries so that their citizens can hold their Governments to account and press for greater civil participation for local citizens to see better how their money is spent to increase food supply?

Mr Duncan: I share my hon. Friend’s enthusiasm for such transparency, and indeed part of the menu of DFID’s activities in many of our bilateral country programmes is to enhance such political accountability and better governance of the people their politicians serve. We want to help countries to extend accountability, which we take for granted in this country, to their own people wherever possible.

Ultimately, our aim is to ensure that poor households, particularly those with young children, do not suffer from the sort of malnutrition that the right hon. Gentleman described. DFID is scaling up its nutrition programmes in more than 10 countries. We recently announced a new three-year £35 million programme in Yemen, for example, to treat and prevent under-nutrition among 1.65 million women and children. I take a particular interest in that country, where it is thought that perhaps a third of all children under five are malnourished.

We also contribute to research and development to improve the nutritional content of staple food crops. In Africa and Asia, with UK support, HarvestPlus is providing seeds and tubers nutritionally enriched with vitamin A, zinc and iron, which should benefit more than 3 million people.

Of course, no country or Government can tackle global hunger alone. Last year, the UK supported the launch of the G8’s new alliance for food security and nutrition, which aims to lift 50 million people in Africa out of poverty through economic growth and agriculture. This year, during our G8 presidency, the Government will attempt to improve and expand the new alliance. We will work to bring in more African countries and deepen its impact; for example, providing a strong focus on empowering women, who make up 40% of the world’s agricultural work force, and on promoting responsible private sector investment in African agriculture.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Alan Duncan and Robert Halfon

Wednesday 16th February 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Duncan]

I think that I can give the hon. Gentleman the assurance that he seeks. We are watching closely the treatment of the five NGOs concerned and we will do our utmost to ensure that they remain free to do their good work, even though some of their conclusions might disagree with the those of the Israeli Government.

[Robert Halfon (Harlow) (Con)]

Is the Minister aware that an increasing amount of aid to the Palestinian territories ends up in the hands of extremists and is used for extremist purposes? Will he take steps to stop that and ensure that aid gets to the Palestinians who need it most?

[Mr Duncan]

I do not share my hon. Friend’s conclusion. We are very careful how we spend our money in the occupied Palestinian territories and have done our utmost to support the legitimate government of Salam Fayyad with, I think, great success. We would abhor any money falling into the hands of extremists, and we do everything possible to ensure that such an accusation can never be verified or proved valid.

Overseas Voluntary Sector

Debate between Alan Duncan and Robert Halfon

Wednesday 24th November 2010 Westminster Hall

[Mr Duncan]

I cannot say whether that is true in all cases; I do not want to mislead the hon. Gentleman by saying for certain that it is true in all cases. However, in many if not most cases, I believe it to be true. I undertake to write to him with a clear explanation of how the system works in detail, which is one of the advantages of having a debate such as this in Westminster Hall.

[Robert Halfon]

Will my right hon. Friend the Minister give way?

[Mr Duncan]

I will give way for the final time, because I only have two or three minutes left.

[Robert Halfon]

I thank my right hon. Friend for giving way and for his remarks on the international citizen service. However, will he give real incentives to companies, particularly multinational companies, to ensure that the service offers real apprenticeships for people to work overseas in the countries we have discussed?

[Mr Duncan]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for raising that point, because one of the important thrusts of DFID under the coalition Government is that we want far greater engagement from the private sector, both in the delivery of development and in the likes of the apprenticeship scheme he is describing. So, the answer is yes—that is exactly the direction in which we want to go. That is why my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Development is setting up a specific, bespoke private sector section within DFID, to ensure that the private sector can be a real engine for development in the years ahead.

In today’s difficult fiscal landscape, the increased funding that DFID is making available imposes a double duty to ensure that every pound of taxpayers’ money is well spent and can demonstrate real value for money. We cannot maintain support for a growing aid budget unless we can offer the British public independently verified evidence that funds are being well spent and achieving practical results. That is why the coalition Government have established the independent commission on aid impact, and why we are seeking value for money in every review we conduct and decision we make.

Earlier this year, the Secretary of State announced that DFID was undertaking comprehensive reviews of the UK’s bilateral aid, multilateral assistance and humanitarian and emergency support. Those reviews aim to ensure that UK aid focuses on the areas where we can have most impact and deliver maximum results and maximum value for money. We are also working to ensure maximum value for money from our support to voluntary organisations. That will mean higher levels of competition.

Many British organisations are doing a brilliant job in tackling poverty. We will continue to support those excellent organisations, and through greater competition we will ensure that every pound of taxpayers’ money is well spent and produces top quality results.