Asked by: Dan Poulter (Labour - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent steps his Department has taken to support partnership schemes in Myanmar between UK and local clinicians.
Answered by Nigel Adams
In recent years, the UK funded the Rangoon General Hospital Reinvigoration Trust which helped to enhance health collaboration between UK and Myanmar institutions. The UK has also funded work by the Tropical Health and Education Trust (THET), through the UK Partnerships for Health Systems programme to share skills and knowledge between the UK and Myanmar.
We are committed to looking at innovative ways to share skills and knowledge between the UK and Myanmar, and will engage with THET to try to identify future opportunities to support this.
Asked by: Dan Poulter (Labour - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the reduction in the Official Development Assistance budget is limited to one year; for what reason the UK Partnerships for Health Systems Strengthening programme could not be delayed by a year rather than cancelled; and what assessment he has made of the benefits of a scheme which involves doctors and nurses giving their time voluntarily to support health services in developing countries.
Answered by Wendy Morton
The UK is facing the worst economic contraction in over 300 years, and a budget deficit of close to £400 billion. Given the impact of this global pandemic on the economy, the government has been forced to take tough but necessary decisions, of which one has been to close the UK Partnership for Health Systems (UK PHS) programme. The Government is committed to returning to 0.7% of GNI on ODA spend once the fiscal situation allows. This is confirmed in the Integrated Review.
The tough decision to close the UK PHS programme was made due to uncertainty around future levels of funding. Doctors and nurses who give their time voluntarily through this and previous programmes, have made a substantial contribution to achieving global health goals in developing countries. This has included support to the development of the global health workforce, and strengthening health service delivery and performance with partner countries.
Asked by: Dan Poulter (Labour - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to progress the allocation of the £5 million commitment to developing nursing made to commemorate Florence Nightingale's bicentenary.
Answered by Wendy Morton
The government is committed to supporting nursing and midwifery development in low and low-middle income countries through our work on strengthening health systems. This includes significant investment in global health initiatives, for example our £1.4 billion contribution to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria (2020-2024). With the closure of the UK Partnerships for Health Systems, programme we will not meet the commitment to allocate £5 million to support the development of nurses and midwives.
Asked by: Dan Poulter (Labour - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he plans to take with (a) the UN and (b) other international partners to ensure that the Myanmar military and police forces do not violate medical neutrality and uphold their obligations under the Fourth Geneva Convention.
Answered by Nigel Adams
The UK is appalled at reports that protestors and medical professionals have been subject to attacks by the Myanmar security forces. The violent crackdown on peaceful protesters and the obstruction of medical care-givers is completely unacceptable. The UK has coordinated a strong international response including through the UN Security Council and the G7. We secured a Presidential Statement at the UN Security Council on 10 March which condemned the violent crackdown on peaceful protestors. We are clear that the military must pay the price for their actions, We have worked with partners such as the EU, US and Canada to sanction military officers who are responsible for serious human rights violations and are exploring all options to put pressure on the economic interests of the military.
We have used the Burma sanctions regime and the Global Human Rights regime to target those responsible for human rights violations in Myanmar. On Thursday 26 March we imposed sanctions on military owned entity Myanmar Economic Holdings Limited (MEHL), in concert with the US to incur a cost on the military for the coup.
Asked by: Dan Poulter (Labour - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what plans his Department has to approve the next phase of the Volunteering for Development grant in a timely manner.
Answered by Wendy Morton
The impact of the global pandemic on the UK economy has forced us to take the tough but necessary decision to temporarily reduce our aid budget.
We are now working through the implications of these changes for individual programmes, including for the Volunteering for Development grant. No decisions have yet been made.
We understand the need to communicate with VSO in a timely manner regarding this grant.
Asked by: Dan Poulter (Labour - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what plans he has in place to enable to the single sign-off by his Department of all UK official development assistance (ODA); and who is responsible for ODA-funded projects.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
To maximise the Government's strategic focus in the use of ODA next year, the Foreign Secretary announced that he will run a short cross-government process to review, appraise and finalise all of the UK's ODA allocations across all departments with agreement of their Secretaries of State. It is the Government's intention to conclude this process by the end of the calendar year and communicate to the outcome to departments concerned. Secretaries of State and Accounting Officers will remain accountable for the ODA allocated to their departments as per Managing Public Money guidance.
Asked by: Dan Poulter (Labour - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what proportion of UK Official Development Assistance was spent in (a) Least Developed Countries, (b) Lower Middle Income Countries and (c) Upper Middle Income Countries in Asia in 2019.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The table below sets out UK Official Development Assistance (ODA) spend in Least Developed Countries, Lower Middle Income Countries and Upper Middle Income Countries in Asia as a proportion of total UK ODA.
| Total ODA Country Spend in Asia, 2019 £m | As a % of total UK ODA* |
Least Developed Countries | £1,016 | 6.7% |
Lower Middle Income countries | £937 | 6.2% |
Upper Middle Income Countries | £328 | 2.2% |
Source: Statistics on International Development: Final UK Aid Spend 2019,
* please note the Statistics on International Development publication calculates income group spend as a proportion of ODA assigned to a specific country rather than total ODA
Asked by: Dan Poulter (Labour - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his new Department plans to allocate the majority of its Official Development Assistance spending to programmes in the Least Developed Countries.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
Prioritising the least developed countries and the bottom billion will remain at the very centre of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. We have made sure that our Official Development Assistance in 2020 remains prioritised on poverty reduction for the 'bottom billion', as well as tackling climate change and reversing biodiversity loss, championing girls' education, UK leadership in the global response to COVID-19, and campaigning on issues such as media freedom and freedom of religious belief, thereby ensuring that the UK is a global force for good.
Asked by: Dan Poulter (Labour - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will take steps to help end the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan by urging Armenia to withdraw its military forces from the illegally occupied territories of Azerbaijan as stated in UN Security Council resolutions adopted in 1993.
Answered by Wendy Morton
We acknowledge the importance of these UN Security Council Resolutions, which reaffirm the primacy of the OSCE Minsk Group as the international forum via which a peaceful settlement to the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan should be reached. We consider that the Basic Principles for a settlement proposed by the Minsk Group co-chairs provide the basis for a reasonable compromise in this regard, taking due account of the relevant OSCE principles governing relations between member-states.
I raised UK concerns regarding on-going military action in Nagorno-Karabakh with the Armenian and Azerbaijani Foreign Ministers on 28 September and urged both parties to return to the negotiating table under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group.
Asked by: Dan Poulter (Labour - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he plans to ensure that official development assistance is spent effectively on tackling poverty and gender inequalities after the merger of his Department and the Department for International Development.
Answered by James Duddridge
Spending 0.7 percent of our national income on aid is enshrined in law. The UK International Development Act (Gender Equality) 2014 also makes a consideration of gender equality in all UK Official Development Assistance (ODA) a legal requirement, ensuring that gender equality remains at the heart of our work.
The Prime Minister is committed to a unified British foreign and development policy that will maximise our influence around the world, including on gender equality and poverty. We will continue to be guided by our responsibilities under the International Development Act, including a commitment to poverty reduction. As the Prime Minister has said, the work of UK aid to reduce poverty will remain central to the new Department's mission.