Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Wansbeck)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment she has made of the effect of recent locust swarms in Africa and South Asia on food security in those regions.
Answered by James Duddridge
We are deeply concerned about the locust outbreak in Africa and South Asia, and the devastating impact on food security in those regions. It is destroying crops, livelihoods, and essential food supplies, compounding the effects of existing humanitarian disasters and putting millions of people at risk of food insecurity.
To date the UK has provided £5 million to FAO’s regional appeal for surveillance, control and coordination activities. Additionally, DFID Sudan has provided £2 million bi-laterally and DFID Pakistan £1 million to FAO’s response in-country. The Department for International Development (DFID) has significant humanitarian and development programmes in the affected regions that are adapting to support vulnerable communities in response to the outbreak. The Desert Locust Control Organisation for Eastern Africa, based in Nairobi, has also been using a DFID-funded super computer to predict movements of locusts and geographically target the response.
Our support is having an immediate impact. We continue to monitor the situation closely and stand ready to help further.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Wansbeck)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment she has made of the effect of recent locust swarms in Africa and South Asia on those regions' ability to respond to the covid-19 pandemic.
Answered by James Duddridge
We are deeply concerned about the locust outbreak in Africa and South Asia, which is compounding existing humanitarian need caused by the residual effects of humanitarian disasters, conflicts and the COVID-19 pandemic. It is affecting the regions’ ability to respond to these crises by destroying livelihoods and essential food supplies, putting millions of people at risk of further insecurity during the pandemic.
The UK is supporting the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation’s (FAO) Regional Emergency Appeal for the locust outbreak and has contributed £5 million for the spraying of pesticides on the ground and by air. Additionally, DFID Sudan has provided £2 million bi-laterally and DFID Pakistan £1 million to FAO’s response in-country.
We are also playing a leading role in the global response to COVID-19, working with international partners to slow its spread and pledging £764 million of UK aid globally to end the pandemic. Additionally, the UK is providing up to £150 million to the International Monetary Fund’s Catastrophe Containment Relief Trust to help developing countries, including many in Africa and South Asia, meet their debt repayments so they can focus available resources on tackling COVID-19. The UK has worked closely with G20 creditors and the Paris Club on a temporary suspension of debt repayments from countries that request relief, further boosting response capacities.
Finally, the UK is urgently redirecting existing programmes in Africa and South Asia to respond to the locust outbreak and the COVID-19 pandemic. Our support is having an immediate impact. We are closely monitoring the situation and stand ready to help further.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Wansbeck)
Question to the Department for International Development:
What steps she is taking to cancel the debt of countries in the Global South affected by the covid-19 pandemic.
Answered by James Duddridge
It is essential to help developing countries deal with the secondary economic effects of coronavirus. This will protect vulnerable people and help the world economy recover. The UK is taking a leading role by contributing up to £150m to the Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust, to fund the poorest countries’ debt repayments to the IMF. We also support the suspension of debt repayments from the poorest countries by G20 and Paris Club creditors. We are working hard to stop the poorest suffering the most.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Wansbeck)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what proportion of Overseas Development Aid her Department used to tackle the refugee crisis in the last 12 months; and how much her Department plans to allocate in future years to tackling that situation.
Answered by Justine Greening
My department has contributed nearly £16 million for the refugee crisis in Europe this year to date. In the long term we are focussed on using the UK’s aid budget to support refugees to have a viable option to stay where they are by tackling the root causes of migration.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Wansbeck)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether any employees of Rio Tinto plc have been seconded to her Department in the last five years.
Answered by Justine Greening
Fewer than 5 former DFID officials have taken employment with Rio Tinto plc in the last five year. The exact number has been withheld to protect the identity of those individuals involved. No employees of Rio Tinto have been seconded to DFID in the last 5 years.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Wansbeck)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether any former officials in her Department have taken employment with Rio Tinto plc in the last five years.
Answered by Justine Greening
Fewer than 5 former DFID officials have taken employment with Rio Tinto plc in the last five year. The exact number has been withheld to protect the identity of those individuals involved. No employees of Rio Tinto have been seconded to DFID in the last 5 years.