Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much each Commonwealth country receives from the EU Development Fund; whether the UK will continue to pay into the EU Development Fund after the UK leaves the EU; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The EU’s 2016 Annual Report provides information by country, including Commonwealth countries, on disbursements from the European Development Fund (EDF) in 2015. The report can be found on the following link: https://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/2016-annual-report-implementation-european-unions-instruments-financing-external-actions-2015-0_en
Each country’s current and future EDF allocations can be found in National Indicative Plans and Regional Indicative Plans on the European Commission’s development cooperation website: https://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/countries-territories-and-regions-where-we-are-active_en
There will be no decisions on the future distribution of UK aid until the Government’s negotiations on exiting the EU have concluded. While the UK remains a member of the EU, our commitments to the European Development Fund continue unchanged.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will make an assessment on the effect on the Fairtrade scheme of the decision of Sainsbury's and other retailers to withdraw from that scheme; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Alistair Burt
DFID is a longstanding supporter of Fairtrade and other standards organisations which fall under the International Social and Environmental Accreditation and Labelling (ISEAL) Alliance umbrella. Certification by these organisations assures consumers that standards are being met and can help producers receive a better price for their goods. There is not yet sufficient information available on the Sainsbury’s Sustainability Standards for DFID to make an assessment. Officials will monitor the progress of the scheme, including its impact on Fairtrade.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what discussions she has had with Ministers in other Departments on the value of the Fairtrade scheme to future trade deals; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Alistair Burt
DFID’s Economic Development Strategy sets out the need for sustainable economic growth and quality jobs in order to reduce poverty. DFID is working closely with other government departments, in particular the Department for International Trade, to ensure that future trade deals work for producers in developing countries as well as the UK national interest. DFID is a longstanding supporter of Fairtrade and is currently supporting the pilot of a supply chain mapping programme known as Fairtrace.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps she is taking to encourage and support agricultural co-operatives in developing countries; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The Department for International Development has supported and worked with co-operatives across sectors for many years. We recognise the benefits and opportunities that co-operatives can offer for small scale farmers, for example as a way to collectively negotiate better prices, increase productivity and access financial services. Co-operatives can also aggregate farmer produce to increase their selling power to the market or set up their own processing, trading or financing facilities. DfID programmes promote co-operatives as one way to support farmers to strengthen their links to markets and promote sustainable and inclusive economic development.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what discussions she has had with Sainsbury's on its decision to withdraw from the Fairtrade scheme; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Alistair Burt
Fair and ethical trade standards used by private sector firms can play an important role in creating and sustaining quality jobs in developing countries. DFID has been a long standing supporter of Fairtrade as well as other standards organisations that fall under the International Social and Environmental Accreditation and Labelling (ISEAL) Alliance umbrella. Officials are engaging with a wide range of stakeholders including business, standards organisations and NGOs and will monitor developments.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what support her Department has provided to earthquake recovery efforts in Nepal; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The UK has played a leading role in the Nepal earthquake response. Immediately after the 2015 earthquake, the Department for International Development (DFID) provided humanitarian relief for thousands of displaced people. This included reaching over 250,000 people with shelter support and providing over 200,000 people with clothes, blankets and mattresses.
We are now supporting reconstruction. We have already repaired water supplies for over 33,000 people, and rehabilitated 114km of remote trails. We are working with the Nepali Government to find solutions for all households who remain displaced by the earthquake. Over the next 5 years we will reach over 250,000 with improved water and sanitation and invest in housing reconstruction, supporting poorer households to rebuild safe homes.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what support her Department is providing to famine relief operations in Somalia; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Rory Stewart
The Secretary of State visited Somalia on 17 June where she announced a further £60m uplift in UK support to drought relief operations, on top of a contribution of £110m announced last February. During her visit she said: “The UK stepped up early with support, and lobbied others to do more, which has prevented the spread of famine. We are showing our continued leadership with more food, more water and more medicine for those at imminent risk of dying from drought and conflict. The world must follow our lead and act now to put an end to humanitarian crises that threaten our global stability and help accelerate progress on peace, security and prosperity – which is firmly in everyone’s interest.”
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether she or a representative of her Department plans to attend the She Decides conference in Brussels on 2 March 2017; what steps she is taking to ensure that women's access to sexual and reproductive health services is safeguarded; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Lord Wharton of Yarm
DFID will be represented at the She Decides conference by the Minister of State, Rory Stewart.
The UK is, and will remain, a global leader on family planning, women’s rights and sexual and reproductive health. Women should have the right to choose when to have children, and how many. This year, with UNFPA and the Gates Foundation, DFID will co-host a major follow up to the 2012 Family Planning Summit to accelerate global family planning efforts, so that we can get the world back on track to enable 120 million additional women and girls get the contraception they need.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether her Department permits its employees to join a credit union through payroll deductions; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Rory Stewart
I can confirm my department currently does not have the facility to allow staff to join a credit union through payroll deductions. Staff can still make arrangements to contribute to a credit union via direct debit.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, of the expenditure that her Department has allocated to its HIV and Aids response, what direct spend has not been coded under HIV prevention, treatment and care; and under what sectors that expenditure has been coded, in each of the last five years.
Answered by Lord Wharton of Yarm
The UK is the second largest international donor on HIV prevention, treatment, care and support. DFID has adapted spend on HIV to the changing epidemic and our assessment of how to maximise results, concentrating on key affected populations and the integration of HIV responses into the wider health system and broader development priorities.
The following bilateral expenditure for the years we have access to, relates to those programmes that have been marked under the HIV policy objective markers which are not included under HIV prevention, treatment and care input sector codes.
2012/13 | 2013/14 | 2014/15 | 2015/16 |
£195,828,861 | £188,313,091 | £99,748,580 | £116,031,030 |
These programmes are coded under a variety of other sectors including broader health and systems strengthening, education, governance and social protection which also have an impact on HIV outcomes. This in addition to direct HIV bilateral spending.
DFID’s expenditure on HIV and AIDS is now primarily directed through our multilateral support. The UK made a significant £1.1billion pledge to the Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria.