Asked by: Jim Murphy (Labour - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many and what proportion of (a) staff of her Department and (b) staff working for companies contracted by her Department in Ambercrombie House in Glasgow are paid less than the living wage.
Answered by Desmond Swayne
The Department for International Development (DFID) has no members of staff paid less than the Living Wage as defined by the Living Wage Foundation.
None of our contracted workers are paid less than the Living Wage.
Asked by: Jim Murphy (Labour - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the contribution by the Minister of State for the Armed Forces on 20 October 2014, Official Report, column 66, on troop deployment: West Africa, on how many previous occasions her Department has funded support from the armed forces for humanitarian efforts; and whether it is her policy that such support will continue to be so funded in future.
Answered by Justine Greening
MoD personnel are performing an invaluable role in the UK response to the Ebola crisis, working alongside DFID and NGO staff. All deployments are consistent with the Oslo Guidelines which define how military assets can be used for humanitarian purposes.
MoD and DFID have worked together in this way in Haiti, Chile and Indonesia, cyclones in Burma and the Philippines, flooding in Pakistan, the conflict in Iraq and the current Ebola outbreak in West Africa.
Asked by: Jim Murphy (Labour - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the contribution by the Minister of State for the Armed Forces on 20 October 2014, Official Report, column 66, on troop deployment: West Africa, whether it is normal practice of her Department to provide funding for support from the armed forces for humanitarian relief.
Answered by Justine Greening
MoD personnel are performing an invaluable role in the UK response to the Ebola crisis, working alongside DFID and NGO staff. All deployments are consistent with the Oslo Guidelines which define how military assets can be used for humanitarian purposes.
MoD and DFID have worked together in this way in Haiti, Chile and Indonesia, cyclones in Burma and the Philippines, flooding in Pakistan, the conflict in Iraq and the current Ebola outbreak in West Africa.
Asked by: Jim Murphy (Labour - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much the Government is spending on accelerating the development of vaccines and medicines for Ebola.
Answered by Justine Greening
DFID is co-funding clinical trials to find a safe vaccine for Ebola as well as providing critical care on the ground. Britain is a world leader in medical research and mobilising our unique strengths to find a vaccine could be pivotal to containing Ebola and preventing future outbreaks.
Asked by: Jim Murphy (Labour - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps the Government is taking to increase the production of promising Ebola drugs and vaccines and to negotiate the prices of those drugs and vaccines.
Answered by Justine Greening
DFID is co-funding clinical trials to find a safe vaccine for Ebola as well as providing critical care on the ground. Britain is a world leader in medical research and mobilising our unique strengths to find a vaccine could be pivotal to containing Ebola and preventing future outbreaks.
Asked by: Jim Murphy (Labour - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether the Government is contributing to the cost of the clinical trials currently being planned for candidate vaccines.
Answered by Justine Greening
DFID is co-funding clinical trials to find a safe vaccine for Ebola as well as providing critical care on the ground. Britain is a world leader in medical research and mobilising our unique strengths to find a vaccine could be pivotal to containing Ebola and preventing future outbreaks.
Asked by: Jim Murphy (Labour - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will support the inclusion of a reference to universal health coverage in the Health Goal in the Sustainable Development Goals.
Answered by Justine Greening
The UK government welcomed the emphasis on Universal Health Coverage in the report of the High-Level Panel, chaired by the Prime Minister, and was pleased to see its inclusion as a target in the proposal of the Open Working Group for Sustainable Development Goals.
Asked by: Jim Murphy (Labour - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps the Government has taken to promote strengthening of the health systems in those countries most affected by the Ebola outbreak.
Answered by Justine Greening
Ebola has clearly placed a huge strain on the health care system of those countries most affected and the UK is leading the international effort to tackle the disease. However, we recognise that we need to continue to support the health system and mitigate impact on wider health outcomes. The UK is the biggest bilateral donor to Sierra Leone and commenced a major health systems programme in 2012.
Asked by: Jim Murphy (Labour - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that, in the countries most affected by the Ebola outbreak, health services to treat other preventable diseases are not negatively affected.
Answered by Justine Greening
Ebola has clearly placed a huge strain on the health care system of those countries most affected and the UK is leading the international effort to tackle the disease. However, we recognise that we need to continue to support the health system and mitigate impact on wider health outcomes. The UK is the biggest bilateral donor to Sierra Leone and commenced a major health systems programme in 2012.
Asked by: Jim Murphy (Labour - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that, in the countries most affected by the Ebola outbreak, maternal and childbirth health services are not negatively affected.
Answered by Justine Greening
Ebola has clearly placed a huge strain on the health care system of those countries most affected and the UK is leading the international effort to tackle the disease. However, we recognise that we need to continue to support the health system and mitigate impact on wider health outcomes. The UK is the biggest bilateral donor to Sierra Leone and commenced a major health systems programme in 2012.