Asked by: Julian Sturdy (Conservative - York Outer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what support his Department is providing to Syria following the earthquake in that country last year.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
In 2023, the UK committed up to £43 million to support the response to the earthquakes in Northwest Syria and Turkey, including £28 million for Syria. The UK also committed up to £150 million to support Syrians at the Brussels Pledging Conference in June 2023. In financial year 2022/23 UK aid in north west Syria supported the provision of over 203,000 health consultations and nutrition support to over 27,000 women and children.
Since 2012, the UK has spent over £3.8 billion to provide lifesaving and life-sustaining assistance to those in need, both inside Syria and to refugee hosting countries.
Asked by: Julian Sturdy (Conservative - York Outer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps his Department is taking to promote freedom of religion and belief in other countries.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
We continue to ensure that freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) is central to our human rights and wider work. Our International Development White Paper published in November includes a commitment to prioritise FoRB in our bilateral and multilateral work.
We work with UN, G7, and other multilateral fora to promote FoRB. In June this year, the UN Security Council adopted, unanimously, a UK-United Arab Emirates (UAE) co-penned resolution on Tolerance and International Peace and Security, which contained language on FoRB. Bilaterally, Ministers and officials regularly raise specific cases of concern, and do not shy away from challenging those we believe are not meeting their obligations, whether publicly or in private.
This year, the Prime Minister's Special Envoy for FoRB, Fiona Bruce MP served a second consecutive year as Chair of the International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance, a network of 42 countries committed to the promotion and protection of FoRB.
Asked by: Julian Sturdy (Conservative - York Outer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps he is taking to help ensure that humanitarian aid reaches those in need in Sudan.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK has announced £36 million in humanitarian aid this year to assist people in urgent need in Sudan. Securing improved humanitarian access into and across Sudan remains a top UK priority. Lack of security remains the biggest constraint for international agencies and NGOs delivering life-saving assistance. We continue to raise humanitarian access, including bureaucratic and administrative impediments, with the warring parties, our international partners and in international fora such as the UN. The UK is working with the UN, other donors and humanitarian agencies to coordinate the effective delivery of aid, and continues to put pressure on both parties to the conflict to abide by their commitments under International Humanitarian Law and to allow lifesaving humanitarian aid to reach the Sudanese people.
Asked by: Julian Sturdy (Conservative - York Outer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his international counterparts on antimicrobial resistance awareness, prevention and education goals ahead of the UN General Assembly high-level meeting in September 2024.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
I attended and spoke at the UN General Assembly last month during which I discussed multiple global health challenges, including Antimicrobial Resistance, with my international counterparts.
Asked by: Julian Sturdy (Conservative - York Outer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what information his Department holds on the amount of aid disbursed by the Disaster and Emergency Committee in Ukraine since the Russian invasion of that country.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
We have provided £347 million of humanitarian assistance to Ukraine since February 2022. This includes £25 million to the Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal, which raised over £400 million in the first 6 months of the war. The first funds (£85 million) were spent by 13 Disaster and Emergency Committee member charities in the initial six months after Russia's invasion.
Asked by: Julian Sturdy (Conservative - York Outer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will increase funding for water, sanitation, and hygiene infrastructure in healthcare facilities to contain antimicrobial resistance.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The Statistics on International Development publication confirmed that UK bilateral Official Development Assistance (ODA) spend on WASH totalled £46 million in 2022. Multilateral spend on WASH was £63 million in 2021. At this stage we are unable to confirm FCDO's future allocations to WASH.
Asked by: Julian Sturdy (Conservative - York Outer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implication for his policies of the joint statement of 15 September 2023 by the British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy and the Pharmacists’ Defence Association entitled Conflict, natural disaster and the risk of rising resistance.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The joint statement was right to highlight antimicrobial resistance (AMR) as a pressing global challenge, including in conflict-affected countries and natural disasters. The FCDO champions action through its diplomacy and bilateral and multilateral investments to better prevent, detect and respond to AMR, supporting stronger health and water, sanitation and hygiene systems and tackling infectious and vaccine-preventable diseases. In 2022, the UK provided £1.1 billion in humanitarian aid, including support for Emergency Medical Team deployment. We look forward to engaging domestic and global stakeholders to identify joint action to tackle AMR at the UN High-Level Meeting on AMR in 2024.
Asked by: Julian Sturdy (Conservative - York Outer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what (a) material and (b) financial support his Department has offered to countries affected by (i) armed conflict and (ii) natural disasters to help control and contain the spread of (A) drug-resistant and (B) other infections in the last 12 months.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
Through a combination of diplomacy and funding, the FCDO works bilaterally and with multilateral agencies to support countries affected by conflict and natural disasters. Our work strengthening health and water, sanitation and hygiene systems supports countries to be better prepared to prevent, detect and respond to outbreaks and tackle antimicrobial resistance. Our humanitarian response includes deployment of Emergency Medical teams, supporting WHO (World Health Organisation) and UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund) and bolstering national responses with key medical supplies, such as recent deployment to Malawi to combat cholera, or responding to the previous Ebola outbreak in Uganda. In 2022, the UK provided £1.1 billion in humanitarian aid.
Asked by: Julian Sturdy (Conservative - York Outer)
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 protect and promote freedom of religion and belief in Pakistan.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
Promoting the right to Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) for all is one of the UK's longstanding human rights priorities. On 16 August, the Minister for South Asia, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, wrote to Pakistan's caretaker Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani, urging the government to ensure the safety of Pakistan's Christian community following the attacks in Jaranwala. On 6 September Lord Ahmad publicly condemned the most recent attack on an Ahmadiyya mosque in Karachi. He has called for those responsible for attacks on religious minorities to be brought to justice. On 6 September Lord Ahmad condemned these attacks in his meeting with the Pakistani High Commissioner.
Asked by: Julian Sturdy (Conservative - York Outer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to help ensure safe access to food in conflict zones.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK supports populations living in conflict zones with a range of assistance to ensure safe access to food, including cash assistance. Last year we provided £156 million in humanitarian assistance across East Africa, including food assistance. The UK champions UN Security Council Resolution 2417 on conflict and hunger which enables reporting and early warnings to the Security Council when parties to conflict are blocking access and destroying assets like crops.