Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what country-specific direct support his Department is providing to Zambia to (a) support economic development and (b) strengthen democratic institutions in that country.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
The DFID Zambia economic development portfolio comprises programmes primarily focused on job creation and private sector investment, infrastructure and energy development. It supports the poorest with tools they can use for their own development. These initiatives include:
DFID also provides direct support to create an enabling environment for citizens’ representation. Our support has contributed to 1.7 million new voters registering for the 2016 elections, and it enables Zambians to raise and debate issues that matter to them with their leaders, locally and nationally.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what country-specific direct support his Department is providing to the Seychelles to support economic development in that country.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
The Department for International Development does not provide country-specific direct support to Seychelles to support its economic development as it is a high income country. The UK does fund international organisations working in Seychelles that support maritime security, tackle illicit finance flows, and help Seychelles assess its vulnerability to climate change.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether he plans to support the International Fund for Animal Welfare's initiative to provide detection dogs in Benin which can sniff out shipments of animal parts, in order to disrupt trafficking networks.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
The Government is committed to tackling the illegal wildlife trade (IWT) and helping to conserve nature and wildlife. Strengthening law enforcement is a key strand of our work. It is one of the topics on which organisations, such as the International Fund for Animal Welfare, can bid for funding from the Government’s Illegal Wildlife Trade Challenge Fund. Currently through the IWT Fund and with some additional funding from Defra, the UK is funding Interpol and the International Consortium on Combatting Wildlife Crime, which is an international initiative to help countries strengthen their criminal justice systems and enhance enforcement. The UK has committed up to £4 million to this initiative.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether he plans to make aid to Indonesia conditional on the removal of virginity tests for women applying to the Indonesian military.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
The Department for International Development does not have a traditional bilateral aid programme with poverty reduction as the main objective in Indonesia. Instead, the UK Climate Change Unit (UKCCU)’s work in Indonesia is focused on making a difference to a critical global public good – the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.
So-called ‘virginity testing’ is cruel and degrading to women forced to undergo it. There is no justification for it. UK government officials have raised this issue with their counterparts in the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much Official Development Assistance his Department was allocated to Azerbaijan in 2019.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
The Department for International Development does not operate a country programme in Azerbaijan and therefore has not allocated any resources to that country. The most recent figures for all UK ODA spend are available in Statistics for International Development (https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/statistics-on-international-development-final-uk-aid-spend-2017).
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to increase the level of English language training in under-developed countries.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
The UK has significant investments in English language, especially through the British Council and the BBC World Service. In DFID we support a range of programmes including: improving the quality of English language teaching in Rwanda, a skills hub supporting the biggest African economies (including Kenya, South Africa and Nigeria) to scale up English language learning and providing opportunities for UK teachers to volunteer in schools overseas. The Foreign Secretary launched English Connects for francophone countries in West Africa on his recent visit.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much Official Development Assistance her Department plans to allocate to Ethiopia in 2019.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
The 2019/2020 budget for DFID Ethiopia is £292 million. This will support the delivery of essential health, education, climate resilient, water and sanitation, and humanitarian services, as well as support Ethiopia to become a more prosperous, climate resilient and stable nation that can graduate from aid in the future.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether more UK aid will be provided to Sudan in response to the military coup.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
DFID (with colleagues across HMG) continues to monitor closely developments in Sudan. We are at the early stages of the political transition, with no surety of outcome. However, recent negotiations between the Transitional Military Council and the civilian opposition indicate that progress towards a civilian-led administration is possible. DFID has resources within its current framework to support macro-economic reform, the process of political transition and the provision of ongoing support to the eight million that depend on humanitarian assistance. These will be the main priorities for UK support in the coming months. We will keep developments in Sudan under close review and will make any decisions on potential shifts to UK aid in Sudan on the basis of careful analysis of needs and dialogue with partners in country.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps the Government is taking to support the recovery (a) Mozambique and (b) other east coast African nations after the recent cyclone which affected those countries.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
So far, the UK has provided a package of up to £36m support to the response to Cyclone Idai in Mozambique, Malawi, and Zimbabwe. This UK aid funding is supporting the provision of food (through both in-kind assistance and cash transfers) to hundreds of thousands of people; life-saving relief supplies, such as family tents and hygiene kits; and child protection assistance. Up to £4m of UK aid funding will also be used to support the provision of education to affected people in Mozambique following the destruction of schools during the cyclone.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps are being taken to address the humanitarian crisis which has followed the territorial defeat of Daesh.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
We are committed to meeting humanitarian needs in areas of Syria and Iraq liberated from Daesh. In Northeast Syria we provided over £40 million in UK aid last year to meet urgent needs. DFID-funded partners are delivering critical activities including demining, child immunisation, nutritional supplements for children and pregnant women, and supporting primary health centres and mental health work.
In Iraq last year, the UK also committed over £40 million of humanitarian support, providing a vital lifeline to millions of vulnerable people. Since 2014, UK funding in Iraq has helped provide: food assistance to over 408,000 people; emergency cash transfers to over 274,000 people; shelter kits, upgrades to camps and household items to over 836,500 people; life-saving healthcare services to over 4.1 million people; and safe drinking water, toilet and shower facilities to more than 2 million people.