Asked by: Chris Williamson (Independent - Derby North)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what the value was of bilateral aid provided to (a) Bolivia, (b) Colombia, (c) Ecuador and (d) Peru in each year since 2015; and what plans he has for such spending in each of the next three years.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin - Shadow Minister (Business and Trade)
DFID provided no direct bilateral aid to Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador or Peru in the years 2015 - 2017, the latest year for which ODA spend has been published. DFID has no plans to allocate bilateral aid to those countries in each of the next three years.
Asked by: Chris Williamson (Independent - Derby North)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether her Department has (a) funded, (b) awarded contracts to and (c) procured the services of the Integrity Initiative in each financial year since 2015-16.
Answered by Alistair Burt
DFID does not have any record of direct payments or direct centrally let contracts with Integrity Initiative in each financial year since 2015-2016.
Details of DFID contracts above the OJEU threshold are published on Contracts Finder. Contracts published prior to 26 February 2015 can be viewed at: https://data.gov.uk/data/contracts-finder-archive.
Those published after 26 February 2015 can be viewed at: https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Search
Asked by: Chris Williamson (Independent - Derby North)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether her Department plans to increase funding for healthcare and other essential services in Gaza.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The UK’s long term support to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) supports their provision of basic services to 1.3 million people in Gaza, including basic education and healthcare. Additionally, the UK recently provided £1.9 million through the United Nations Children’s Fund to support around 1 million Gazans by providing clean water, rehabilitating sanitation facilities and promoting hygiene standards to stop the spread of disease.
Asked by: Chris Williamson (Independent - Derby North)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether the Government has provided financial assistance to the non-governmental organisation Global Justice Now in the last 12 months.
Answered by Alistair Burt
No financial assistance has been provided to the organisation Global Justice Now in the last 12 months.
Asked by: Chris Williamson (Independent - Derby North)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that the Myanmar Government is not using bureaucratic processes to block access of international non-governmental organisations and UN agencies to Central Rakhine state.
Answered by Alistair Burt
DFID and FCO officials continue to lobby for access to Rakhine at the highest levels of the Burma Government. We are closely monitoring impediments to humanitarian assistance in central Rakhine, where access to food and markets is severely limited for those in camp locations, and it is very difficult for international staff to move around. It is critical that protection, health and emergency referral services resume as quickly as possible.
On 12 October, Burma State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi announced the Union Enterprise for Humanitarian Assistance, Resettlement and Development in Rakhine (UE). We are pushing to get relief into Rakhine, safe and voluntary return of refugees and implementation of the Rakhine Advisory Commission’s recommendations. While the UE may be a practical mechanism to meet some needs, we continue to work with other development partners in Burma to press for international agencies to be allowed to work alongside it to provide the full range of humanitarian assistance and support that will be required. The UK has now raised Burma three times at the UN Security Council and we continue to press the government of Burma through all channels to allow immediate and full humanitarian access and support for the people and communities affected.
Asked by: Chris Williamson (Independent - Derby North)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that humanitarian organisations are granted access to Northern Rakhine state to deliver aid.
Answered by Alistair Burt
Access for humanitarian assistance in northern Rakhine is vital, and without it needswill not be met and lives will be lost. The UK has pressed for unfettered access directly with the Burmese government though ministerial and senior official calls and meetings, and as part of joint calls with other agencies and development partners working in Burma. The UK has also raised Burma three times at the UN Security Council. DFID has provided £1 million to the Burma Red Cross, which currently has limited access to Northern Rakhine. DFID is ready to support our partners already working in central Rakhine to act quickly to provide support in Northern Rakhine as soon as fuller access is granted.
Asked by: Chris Williamson (Independent - Derby North)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to support children in countries that benefit from UK aid to have access to high-quality childcare; and what plans she has to support an increase in nursery quality in those countries so that all children are prepared and ready for school at age five.
Answered by Alistair Burt
DFID delivers education, health, nutrition and water and sanitation services for young children in several countries benefitting from UK aid. This includes prioritising nutrition investments in children’s first 1,000 days and investing in high quality childcare through pre-school provision. In Burma the UK has supported 200,000 children to access quality pre-school education. In Tanzania the successful 16 week School Readiness Programme benefits 160,000 children.
The UK advocated for the inclusion of early childhood development in the Global Goals agreed in 2015. DFID invests in research to strengthen the evidence for future investments, launching a new research programme with the British Academy this year, the results of which will be disseminated broadly to shape future programming.
Asked by: Chris Williamson (Independent - Derby North)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assistance her Department plans to give to the removal of unexploded remnants of war in civilian areas in Gaza.
Answered by Desmond Swayne
DFID is supporting United Nations Mine Action Service with £450,000 of funding.
Asked by: Chris Williamson (Independent - Derby North)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent assessment she has made of the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
Answered by Desmond Swayne
The UN estimates that around 30,000 internally displaced people are still sheltering in UNRWA schools and that more than 100,000 people have been made permanently homeless. As winter approaches, the needs of these displaced people will become more acute. A health assessment led by the World Health Organisation indicates ongoing critical shortages of essential medicines and medical equipment. The UN also reports that food insecurity – already high in the Gaza Strip at 57 per cent– is likely to have significantly increased, and that significant constraints still impair the delivery of water and sanitation services.
Asked by: Chris Williamson (Independent - Derby North)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what help her Department plans to give to children in Gaza requiring specialised psychosocial support as a result of recent conflict.
Answered by Desmond Swayne
DFID is funding mental health and psychosocial support across the Gaza strip, including psychosocial care for 3000 children and 1500 mothers, psychological training for 120 child carers, and psychotherapy for 900 of the most traumatised children. We are also one of the largest donors to the UN Relief and Works Agency, which is providing psychosocial support and activities for children through its extensive network of schools.