Asked by: Kate Osamor (Independent - Edmonton)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what plans her Department has to provide funding (a) directly and (b) indirectly to (i) Bridge International Academies and (ii) its parent or subsidiary companies.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
Through CDC, the UK’s Development Finance Institution, DFID has invested a total of $8.8m in Bridge International Academies (BIA) for its global operations in Africa and India. An investment of $1.6m was made in 2016. The remainder was invested in 2013 and 2014. These are long term capital investments made to fund expansion of BIA’s business in Africa. In addition, a DFID £3.45m grant, awarded competitively, was also provided to open 23 Bridge academies in Lagos, Nigeria. This grant is now completed. There are no current plans to provide additional funding.
Asked by: Kate Osamor (Independent - Edmonton)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what estimate her Department has made of the funds allocated to Bridge International Academies and its parent or subsidiary companies in each of the last three years.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
Through CDC, the UK’s Development Finance Institution, DFID has invested a total of $8.8m in Bridge International Academies (BIA) for its global operations in Africa and India. An investment of $1.6m was made in 2016. The remainder was invested in 2013 and 2014. These are long term investments and returnable to the UK taxpayer. In addition, a DFID £3.45m grant, awarded competitively, was also provided to open 23 Bridge academies in Lagos, Nigeria from 2014 through to 2016. This grant is now completed.
Asked by: Kate Osamor (Independent - Edmonton)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether she plans to prioritise data disaggregation for all forms of exclusion, including by ethnic group, in advance of next year's Data Festival and the development of an SDG Data Disaggregation Charter.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
At the World Data Forum in January 2017, DFID launched its Data Disaggregation Action Plan. Under the Action Plan, DFID will work with others in the international community to develop tools, methods and guidance across all Sustainable Development Goal disaggregation variables, including ethnic group, as well as disaggregating its own data. The UK is supporting the development of a new global, Inclusive Data Charter, building upon the DFID Data Disaggregation Action Plan and covering all forms of disaggregation.
Asked by: Kate Osamor (Independent - Edmonton)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what plans her Department has to work with France and Senegal to replenish funds for the Global Partnership for Education to 2020.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
DFID’s has been the largest bilateral donor to the Global Partnership for Education, providing £210m for the 2015-2018 replenishment period. We are pleased that France and Senegal will jointly host the replenishment conference in February 2018, which provides an excellent opportunity to bring more finance into the education sector. Officials in DFID are in discussion with their counterparts in France about this replenishment, and we look forward to working with both France and Senegal further in advance of the conference.
Asked by: Kate Osamor (Independent - Edmonton)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much the British Red Cross' appeal for hurricane recovery efforts in the Caribbean has raised; and whether the Government has paid or transferred matching funds.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
The British Red Cross’ appeal for hurricane recovery efforts in the Caribbean has raised over £5m in total to date. This includes £1,852,665 of match funding by the Government. The appeal is still open and the Government has agreed to match up to a total of £3m, donated before 7 December. Matching funds will be transferred after this date.
Asked by: Kate Osamor (Independent - Edmonton)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, on what date her Department's Office in Bangladesh became aware of the possibility of an influx of Rohingya refugees to that country; and what steps it took in response to that awareness.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
The DFID office in Bangladesh was aware that rising tensions Rakhine State that could lead to an influx of refugees in the week of 15 August. The UK was already providing support to Rohingya people and the communities that host them in Bangladesh long before the current influx began. This includes programming of £13.9 million since 2014.
In late August, our daily monitoring showed that numbers of new arrivals were rising. We released £5 million additional funding to meet urgent needs on 8 September. Since then we have announced a further £42 million, bringing the total to £47 million since the start of the cirisis. We are providing food, medical help, safe water and sanitation, shelter, nutrition and psychological support to Rohingya refugees.
Asked by: Kate Osamor (Independent - Edmonton)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what discussions she has had with the Bangladesh Government on providing refugees from Rakhine State, Myanmar, with safe passage and aid on their arrival in Bangladesh.
Answered by Priti Patel
I’ve spoken to the Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary and reiterated the UK’s commitment to relieve the plight of the Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh. The issue is a complex one, but the UK has not shied away from its responsibility and we are working closely with the Government of Bangladesh to provide life-saving assistance to thousands of displaced men, women and children. Our initial support is already enabling food to reach 65,000 refugees, health care for 50,000, and emergency shelter for more than 26,000. We are also supporting 7,500 children, many of whom are at risk of sexual violence and trafficking.
Asked by: Kate Osamor (Independent - Edmonton)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what discussions she has had with the Myanmar Government on allowing access for humanitarian workers and aid to Rakhine State.
Answered by Priti Patel
I am appalled by the ethnic cleansing and persecution of the Rohingya, including reports of the Burmese military and local militia forcing hundreds of thousands of men, women and children from their homes and villages being burnt. The relentless denial of aid is a matter of life and death for those still in northern Rakhine. I have repeatedly called on the Burmese authorities to stop the violence in Rakhine state, and to allow full and unfettered humanitarian access to provide a lifeline to all those living in Rakhine State. Government officials continue to raise this at the highest levels with the Burmese Government.
Asked by: Kate Osamor (Independent - Edmonton)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what plans her Department has to contribute to the Education Cannot Wait fund.
Answered by Priti Patel
The UK is a strong supporter of Education Cannot Wait and has been at the forefront of developing the fund. We were a founding donor and the largest contributor to the fund having pledged £30million from 2016 to 2018. We also provide technical expertise including through a DFID senior adviser seconded into the fund’s Secretariat.
75 million children and youth are affected by emergencies and protracted crises and are in need of education support. Education Cannot Wait is a critical platform to raise additional funds for education in some of the most challenging contexts, including inside Syria and Yemen, and to transform the delivery of education in emergency contexts globally.