Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what proportion of the Government’s £160 million humanitarian aid package for Yemen is being allocated to help the covid-19 pandemic response in that country.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The UK announced our new pledge of £160 million in humanitarian funding for Yemen in the 2020/21 financial year at the Yemen Pledging Conference on 2 June, of which 32% has already been disbursed.
The package as a whole will help tackle the wide-ranging, direct and indirect impacts of COVID-19 in Yemen which are already exacerbating a dire humanitarian crisis. Our support will also specifically provide over 700,000 medical consultations, train 12,000 healthcare workers to work safely in a COVID-19 environment and provide a much-needed boost to nearly 4,000 health centres.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps he is taking to ensure that some of the Government’s £160 million humanitarian aid package for Yemen is used to stop the spread of covid-19 in communities on both sides of the conflict; and what assessment he has made of the potential merits of using UN-backed Yemeni-led frameworks established by (a) the International Initiative on COVID-19 in Yemen and (b) other private sector organisations to deliver aid to both sides.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The UK announced our new pledge of £160 million in humanitarian funding for Yemen in the 2020/21 financial year at the Yemen Pledging Conference on 2 June.
As part of this commitment, the UK will support the UN’s plans to tackle the spread of COVID-19 in Yemen and expects to provide over 700,000 medical consultations, train 12,000 healthcare workers to work safely in a COVID-19 environment and provide a much-needed boost to nearly 4,000 health centres to continue providing existing health services.
In addition, the UK is also supporting the Yemeni Private Sector Cluster, which in April sourced a vital shipment of COVID-19 related supplies and equipment for Yemen.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of collaborating with (a) the International Initiative on covid-19 in Yemen and (b) other UN-backed Yemeni-led frameworks established by the private sector to support the WHO’s response to the covid-19 pandemic in Yemen, in order to distribute the £160 million humanitarian aid package announced by the Government on 2 June 2020.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The UK announced our new pledge of £160 million in humanitarian funding for Yemen in the 2020/21 financial year at the Yemen Pledging Conference on 2 June.
As part of this commitment, the UK will support the UN’s plans to tackle the spread of COVID-19 in Yemen and expects to provide over 700,000 medical consultations, train 12,000 healthcare workers to work safely in a COVID-19 environment and provide a much-needed boost to nearly 4,000 health centres to continue providing existing health services.
In addition, the UK is also supporting the Yemeni Private Sector Cluster, which in April sourced a vital shipment of COVID-19 related supplies and equipment for Yemen.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much Official Development Assistance has been allocated to programmes that support operational anti-narcotic services in developing countries.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Department for International Development (DFID) does not currently spend Official Development Assistance (ODA) specifically on operational anti-narcotic services, although the Department does spend ODA to tackle the underlying drivers, enablers and consequences associated with serious and organised crime in developing countries
Other government departments and agencies with responsibility for law enforcement spend ODA on counter-narcotics programming via the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF), which supports and delivers activity to tackle instability and to prevent conflicts that threaten UK interests. DFID does not keep track of this specific expenditure. Further information on CSSF ODA allocation can be found online at gov.uk.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many countries receive Official Development Assistance funding for counter-narcotic operations.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Department for International Development (DFID) does not currently spend Official Development Assistance (ODA) specifically on operational anti-narcotic services, although the Department does spend ODA to tackle the underlying drivers, enablers and consequences associated with serious and organised crime in developing countries
Other government departments and agencies with responsibility for law enforcement spend ODA on counter-narcotics programming via the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF), which supports and delivers activity to tackle instability and to prevent conflicts that threaten UK interests. DFID does not keep track of this specific expenditure. Further information on CSSF ODA allocation can be found online at gov.uk.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps he is taking to ensure the (a) transparency and (b) accountability of Official Development Assistance allocated to counter-narcotics programmes.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
Transparency and accountability are important for all DFID aid programmes. DFID has been rated the highest performing bilateral donor and third overall in the 2018 global Aid Transparency Index. DFID’s transparency commitments ensure accountability to the UK taxpayer and the populations our programmes are supporting. Greater transparency also enhances the quality and accessibility of information on value for money of DFID’s programmes.
We promote transparency in the wider development sector through our work to support the International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI) and by working with key delivery partners to help them publish data to IATI and link up to DFID’s data so that we can follow the delivery chain. We also encourage our programmes to build local accountability through engagement with programme beneficiaries.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether tackling the (a) production and (b) trafficking of illegal drugs are conditions of the allocation of Official Development Assistance to developing countries.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government takes the issue of tackling the illegal production and trafficking of drugs seriously. UK Aid currently support developing nations to strengthen their law enforcement and criminal justice capability, enabling them to tackle serious organised crime more effectively.
Most evidence concludes that attaching conditions to aid does not bring about policy changes that governments were not already prioritising. Instead DFID works closely with partner governments to make a positive, evidence-based case for change.
Our assessment of a government’s commitment to reducing poverty, achieving the Global Goals for Sustainable Development, along with respecting human rights and other international obligations is used to inform our overall strategy for engagement in all countries in which DFID has a bilateral aid partnership.