Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps she is taking to collect data on marginalised religious or belief groups in countries in which her Department operates in a way which does not put those groups at risk.
Answered by Alistair Burt
Through UK Aid Connect, DFID will provide funding to a consortium led by the Institute of Development Studies to collect data on marginalised religious or belief groups in a way which does not put those groups at risk. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is supporting a project to explore models for better data on Freedom of Religion or Belief through the Magna Carta Fund.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what support her Department provides to Fair Trade companies as part of its work to tackle human and labour rights abuses in the global supply chains of UK supermarkets.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
The UK government is a strong supporter of the Fairtrade movement, which plays an important role in helping producers around the world improve their lives through receiving fair prices for their products. Between 2010 and 2018, the Department for International Development invested over £20.2m into Fairtrade and the UK was the first country to produce a National Action Plan for the implementation of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.
DFID has funded the development of Fairtrace, a technology-based supply chain mapping tool which has helped Fairtrade to broaden their commercial customer base. The tool has been used by major UK businesses such as The Co-op and Ben & Jerry’s. In 2017, Fairtrace helped 7 major brands to map their supply chains; illustrating journeys from over 191 producer groups in over 23 countries.
The UK government will continue to champion this agenda as part of our commitment to improving the lives of smallholder farmers and to a free, fair and transparent trade system that helps lifts developing countries out of poverty.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what discussions he has had with his Nigerian counterpart on reducing the incidences of HIV in that country.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
DFID support helped Nigeria reduce new HIV infections by 21% between 2010 and 2016. DFID continues to help combat HIV in Nigeria as one of the largest contributors to the Global Fund to fight Aids, TB and Malaria. The Secretary of State for International Development has not recently held discussions with Nigerian counterparts on reducing the incidence of HIV in Nigeria.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what humanitarian support her Department has provided to Afghanistan as a result of the drought in that country.
Answered by Alistair Burt
We are extremely concerned about the impact of the deadly drought last year in Afghanistan. The UK is providing life-saving assistance to hundreds of thousands of Afghans affected by one of the worst droughts the country has ever faced, including vital food and shelter. We provided emergency food aid in July last year to 432,000 people to enable them to remain in their homes. UK Aid has also supported tents and urgent relief items for up to 260,000 people who are facing a severe winter away from their homes; cash transfers for 190,000 people to buy essential items; and special nutritious food for 90,000 children and pregnant women to prevent malnutrition. And, by contributing to the UN appeal, UK funds are reaching more people in need with food assistance. As the scale of the drought became clear over the course of the year, we increased our funding for the drought response to £35 million, bringing DFID’s total spend on the humanitarian response in Afghanistan to £67 million in 2018. This support is helping some of Afghanistan’s most vulnerable people.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent discussions her Department has had with the Government of Iraq on tackling the (a) number of displaced people and (b) need for housing in that country.
Answered by Alistair Burt
During my trip to Iraq in January, I emphasised to the new Government the importance of addressing underlying causes of conflict and the support that is required for the return of displaced families, which should be conducted on a safe, voluntary, sustainable and non-discriminatory basis.
Ensuring access to services and adequate shelter is essential for the return of IDPs. This is why the UK is funding the Iraq Reform and Reconstruction Fund (IRRF), which will provide support and technical assistance to the Government of Iraq as it reconstructs areas affected by conflict, including the rebuilding of houses, schools, hospitals, factories and roads. The IRRF will also support longer term economic reform and is aligned to the Government of Iraq’s strategic objectives, as set out in the National Development Plan and Reconstruction and Development Framework.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps she is taking to tackle the further outbreak of Ebola in Democratic Republic of Congo which took place in December 2018.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
UK aid has been playing a crucial role since the outbreak was first announced on 1 August. We quickly provided funding and expertise to the World Health Organisation (WHO) for response activities in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and for regional preparedness.
Our efforts are building on previous UK investments in preparedness and health systems; the experimental vaccine used in DRC was developed with UK support after the West Africa outbreak in 2014-15.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assistance the Government has given to Indonesia following the tsunami in December 2018.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
Following the Sunda Strait tsunami in Banten and Lampung provinces of Indonesia, the Secretary of State for International Development offered her condolences and expressed the UK’s readiness to offer international assistance in the response to the disaster. While the Indonesian Government has not requested any international assistance to the response, the UK remains in close contact and stands ready to help.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to increase the life expectancy of people in deprived regions throughout the world.
Answered by Alistair Burt
Ensuring access for all to quality essential health and nutrition services is critical to increasing life expectancy and leaving no one behind. DFID assists countries to strengthen their health systems to ensure access to quality health services, medicines, and other essential commodities; save lives and improve women’s and children’s health, including sexual and reproductive health and rights; protect communities from health threats such as disease outbreaks and antimicrobial resistance; prevent and treat malnutrition; and tackle diseases such as HIV, tuberculosis and malaria that cause death and disability. As the second largest donor to the Global Fund, our funding contributed to the distribution of 197 million mosquito nets and the treatment of 108 million cases of malaria in 2017. Our investment to Gavi between 2016 and 2020 will vaccinate 76m children and save 1.4m lives.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether she has plans to support the the allocation of additional funding to the Global Financing Facility for Every Woman and Every Child.
Answered by Alistair Burt
At last year’s Family Planning Summit in London, we announced £30m over 3 years to enable the Global Financing Facility to pilot innovative financing mechanisms. This investment will increase domestic and private sector resources for sexual and reproductive health and rights. It will save lives and enable women and girls to thrive, helping transform their countries. Decisions about potential future support will be taken in due course.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 15 May 2018 to Question 141795, what are the terms of engagement for the independent financial audit into DFID's project spending in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Answered by Alistair Burt
Financial audits are carried out on all individual DFID programmes operating in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs). The body carrying out the audits, and the terms of reference vary depending on the DFID programme, however all independent financial audits provide assurance to DFID that funds are spent and managed in line with agreed programme activities. The overall DFID OPTs portfolio is also subject to the regular audit cycle of DFID’s Internal Audit Department and the National Audit Office.