Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to figure 5 in Statistics on International Development: final UK aid spend 2020, how much Official Development Assistance Belarus received in the financial years (a) 2020-2021 and (b) 2021-22; and how much of that money was spent on research and development in each of those financial years.
Answered by James Cleverly
The Statistics on International Development (SID) National Statistics report, published on the gov.uk website, provides an overview of all official UK spend on Official Development Assistance (ODA). ODA is an international measure and is collected and reported on a calendar year basis. UK bilateral ODA to ODA-eligible European countries is reported in Table A4d. In 2020, non-state and other non-government actors, who are working on behalf of the people of Belarus, received £1.5 million of UK bilateral ODA. None of this funding was classed as Research & Development though small amounts of funding for analysis and evaluation is often included in programme and project work.
Figures for 2021 will be available in the Autumn when FCDO publishes "Statistics on International Development: Final UK Aid Spend 2021".
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to Figure 5, Statistics on International Development: final UK aid spend 2020, how much UK Official Development Assistance did Belarus receive (a) in 2020-21 and (b) so far in 2021-22; how much of that assistance was spent on R&D; and whether any of that funding is yet to be disbursed.
Answered by James Cleverly
The Statistics on International Development (SID) National Statistics report, published on the gov.uk website, provides an overview of all official UK spend on Official Development Assistance (ODA). ODA is an international measure and is collected and reported on a calendar year basis. UK bilateral ODA to ODA-eligible European countries is reported in Table A4d. In 2020, non-state and other non-government actors, who are working on behalf of the people of Belarus, received £1.5 million of UK bilateral ODA. None of this funding was classed as Research & Development.
Figures for 2021 will be available in the Autumn when FCDO publishes "Statistics on International Development: Final UK Aid Spend 2021".
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 4 February 2022 to Question 115899 on Visas: Afghanistan, what steps her Department is taking to secure more routes out of Afghanistan.
Answered by James Cleverly
We continue to work including with international partners to relocate British Nationals and eligible Afghans through third countries. We also provide as much information as we can through our Travel Advice. We have supported over 3,700 individuals to leave Afghanistan since the end of Op PITTING. This includes over 1,200 British nationals and eligible dependants.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assistance is available for people in Afghanistan with visas to enter the UK to travel to the UK.
Answered by James Cleverly
Providing support to those in Afghanistan with valid visas to enter the UK remains an HMG priority. We have been assisting British nationals and their Afghan dependents who have the correct UK visa or Indefinite Leave to Remain/Enter, to travel out of Afghanistan including through Qatar-sponsored flights. These flights are limited and controlled by the Qatari government. Commercial flights are also operating from a number of airports in Afghanistan to regional capitals, allowing individuals to travel independently where possible.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent steps she has taken to help secure justice for the victims of flight MH17, including John Alder and Liam Sweeney.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris
The British Government continues to support the ongoing work of the MH17 Joint Investigation Team. We made a financial contribution towards the specialist criminal court in the Netherlands, which is conducting the MH17 trial. This trial will ensure that families and friends of the victims receive answers, and that those responsible are held to account for this appalling crime. FCDO consular officials have provided support to UK bereaved families, including hosting briefings for bereaved family members with representatives from the Dutch Public Prosecutors Office, the Joint Investigation Team, and Victim Support Netherlands.
The Government joins the Netherlands and Australia in calling on the Russian Federation to accept state responsibility, and to cooperate with the court to deliver justice for the victims of this tragedy.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much the Government investment in Africa in 2021; and how that figure compares with investment made by (a) China, (b) the US, (c) France and (d) other major partners of Africa.
Answered by Vicky Ford
In 2020, CDC - the UK Government Development Finance Institution (DFI) - invested over $1 billion of finance into Africa (60 per cent of its portfolio) and the Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG), of which the UK provides approximately 70 per cent of total funding, invested a further $370 million into Africa (69 per cent of its portfolio).
Due to its investments, the UK Government also mobilises additional private sector finance into Africa. Latest available figures of private finance mobilised by the UK and other OECD countries can be found at https://www.oecd.org/development/financing-sustainable-development/development-finance-standards/mobilisation.htm
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what proportion of research funded by Overseas Development Assistance is carried out (a) in the UK and (b) overseas.
Answered by Vicky Ford
Effective Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) research projects are undertaken in partnerships of two or more organisations. UK-overseas partnerships are common. Information on specific FCDO programmes is provided on the UK's Development Tracker: https://devtracker.fcdo.gov.uk/, with some additional information on funding of organisations available through the d-portal of the International Aid Transparency Initiative: https://d-portal.org/ctrack.html#view=search. However, in light of the way in which individual project budgets are presented it is not practical to aggregate the data to provide the requested breakdown.
UK institutions have strong capability in development research, in which the UK is a global leader. Researchers in these institutions are relatively successful in open competitions for FCDO ODA research funding. Therefore, a substantial proportion of FCDO ODA-funded research is undertaken within the UK.