Water: Developing Countries

Lord Bates Excerpts

Wednesday 24th January 2018 Lords Chamber

[The Minister of State, Department for International Development (Lord Bates) (Con)]

My Lords, I join other noble Lords in paying tribute to the noble Lord, Lord Cameron, for the way in which he introduced this fascinating and compelling debate, which has been full of insight. Many of the insights were drawn from noble Lords’ experience of seeing activities and projects on the ground.

The noble Lord, Lord Cameron, reminded us of what a precious commodity water is and about the importance of managing it carefully and of community-based solutions. My noble friend Lord McColl stressed the importance of safe sanitation, especially for girls. The noble Earl, Lord Sandwich, talked about SDG 6 and climate change. My noble friend Lord Freeman spoke about faith organisations, particularly the Busoga Trust, and about the importance of maintaining things. The right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Derby spoke about the consideration which is given in wider infra- structure projects to the importance of the sustainability of water and of how we should engage more with small, passionate local organisations such as the one in his diocese.

My noble friend Lord Leigh spoke about the impact of water scarcity on education, particularly that of young girls. We all pay tribute to him and wish him well this Sunday as he embarks upon his half-marathon in support of WaterAid. He paid tribute to my fundraising efforts, but they were so good because he was such a good supporter. That was a very good plug to remind me that I can support him on his website, but it is also of course a great investment, because DfID will aid match the money given. We wish him well with that.

The noble Baroness, Lady Sheehan, quoted that very poignant proverb—when we drink water, we must remember the spring—and talked about sustainability. She also stressed the importance of data. The noble Lord, Lord Collins, wound up the debate by reminding us of the importance of working at a high level within international, multilateral organisations and of the work of the high-level panel.

Ensuring that everyone has safe water and sanitation is one of the most important functions of all Governments. Every day, the lack of safe water and toilets means that nearly 1,000 children aged under five die from diarrhoea, as referenced by the noble Lord, Lord Collins. Poor water and sanitation contribute to many neglected tropical diseases. It is women and girls who suffer most, as they must bear the burden of collecting water and place themselves at risk while having to find safe sanitation.

We were of course given an insight here about the passion of my noble friend Lord McColl not only in taking up the issue and supporting so many good causes but also in getting involved in direct action in Nepal and actually demanding change on the streets. The fact that he was joined by the noble Earl, Lord Sandwich, just shows that they have a better class of public demo in Nepal, with two Peers, including an Earl, among their number. It demonstrates the importance of the issue and their personal passion for it.

Investing in water and sanitation is good value for money, as so many noble Lords referenced. With each £1 of investment, there is a return of over £4. In many countries, the returns are even higher.

The world has made huge progress providing water and sanitation services. Between 1990 and 2015, 2.6 billion people gained access to improved water supplies, and 2.1 billion to improved sanitation. The UK played an important role in this by helping 64.5 million people gain access to these services between 2011 and 2015, as the noble Baroness, Lady Sheehan, referred to. Since 2015, we have helped nearly 30 million more people get access.

The noble Lord, Lord Cameron, spoke about the challenges the world faces in securing sufficient water to meet the needs of people, economies and the environment. The Water Resources Group in the International Finance Corporation estimates that water insecurity costs the global economy over £350 billion a year. But there is not enough investment in improving water governance and infrastructure. Indeed, it is estimated there is a shortfall of some £142 billion a year that we must address.

Through the water security programme, the UK Government are investing £51 million over six years to support improved management of water resources and are working with business to invest more to make water available for agriculture, industry and energy. The UK is also supporting a number of regional programmes to support better management of rivers that are shared by countries in Africa and Asia. For example, we are investing in the transboundary water management programme of the Southern African Development Community to help 3 million of the poorest people do more to cope with floods and drought.

Through research programmes funded by the Department for International Development and the Global Challenges Research Fund managed by the UK research councils, we are supporting ground-breaking research to improve knowledge on water resources and to improve their management. We are ensuring that our world-leading institutions such as the British Geological Survey, which the noble Lord, Lord Cameron, referred to, are providing the answers African countries need so badly. They are helping to build the capacity of those countries to address these problems in the long term.

At this point, I also pay tribute to the work of the small charities we heard of, particularly of the Busoga Trust, which my noble friend Lord Freeman referred to. As a former member of the congregation of St Michael’s, Chester Square, I of course know of its work and am very impressed by it. I should say immediately that I am very happy to meet with it, not just at its reception but at any time with my noble friend in order to discuss how we can work with it more.

But more needs to be done. The noble Earl, Lord Sandwich, was right to remind us of the call in the sustainable development goals for universal access to water and sanitation by 2030. The noble Baroness, Lady Sheehan, was right to remind us of the knock-on effect that supporting that SDG has on other SDGs, be they on gender equality or education. Achieving this goal will require countries to invest much more of their own resources in water and sanitation. The UK Government will continue to work with countries to help to allocate and spend more money from their public budgets and attract finance from private investors.

My noble friend Lord Leigh asked about the allocation of the UK’s aid budget to water and sanitation. DfID supports water and sanitation projects in 29 countries in Africa, Asia and the Middle East, spending nearly £185 million in the year 2015-16. We allocate the resources that are required to meet the results that we aim to achieve. As we know, many of these countries, such as South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, are suffering from ongoing conflict. Our support will help to ensure sustained access to services by building the capability of Governments, businesses and charities, including faith-based organisations, to ensure that services can be sustained.

Several noble Lords, including my noble friend Lord Leigh, the noble Lord, Lord Collins, the noble Baroness, Lady Sheehan, and the noble Earl, Lord Sandwich, asked how DfID will implement the recommendations of the Independent Commission on Aid Impact’s review. I am pleased to say that DfID is fully addressing the recommendations of the ICAI review of DfID’s results in water and sanitation, and we will be responding to that fully.

On a point made by the noble Baroness, Lady Sheehan, we are collecting more data on the sustainability of services, and we will be commissioning an analysis to determine how many of the 64.5 million people whom we helped to get access have maintained it since 2015. We are collecting more data on the value for money of our programmes, working closely with all our partners to get better and more comprehensive figures. The UK Government also support programmes to improve the management of water services for agriculture, industry and cities. Our support is helping countries to make good decisions about developing and protecting their water resources, including ensuring that water services are resilient to climate change, which the noble Earl, Lord Sandwich, referred to.

We know that new challenges are emerging. As the climate changes, so services are at greater risk of disruption and damage from floods and droughts. DfID has recently started a new £27 million programme to support the development of more resilient water and sanitation services in Africa and Asia, including through better catchment management and upgrading infrastructure—a point to which the noble Lord, Lord Cameron, referred us.

I shall address some of the specific questions that were put to me. The right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Derby asked about the long-term provision of functional infrastructure. DfID is working with partners and the private sector on strategies such as smart hand pumps and solar pumping stations to maximise the functionality of water points. DfID supports community-led total sanitation to ensure that the toilets that are built will last, with support from private sector improvements—for example, the Toilet Board Coalition. Community ownerships ensure that project management reflects cultural priorities.

The noble Earl asked about the involvement of church organisations and faith groups, and we heard of many examples during the debate. Faith groups make a very important contribution not just in raising funds but in delivering on the ground. DfID supports more than 25 faith groups, including more than 20 Christian-based faith groups. I have referred to the Busoga Trust, which I am happy to meet. The noble Baroness, Lady Sheehan, asked about CDC. It is working on a new water and sanitation strategy, and DfID is engaging with it on this. The noble Baroness referred to leaving no one behind, and the data results methodology sets out clear requirements for DfID programmes to disaggregate on the people’s groups that are served by it, including by disability and gender.

The noble Lord, Lord McColl, asked about sanitation in Nepal. DfID’s programme in Nepal includes £19 million for rural and water sanitation for the poor, and it has funded work on reducing the risks of violence against women and girls related to poor sanitation and water access. The right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Derby asked about partnerships with business, and DfID considers the diverse range of business from individual entrepreneurs to multinationals. For example, as I have mentioned already, we engaged closely with the Toilet Board Coalition—a global business-like coalition to accelerate the scale-up of innovative solutions to sanitation.

The noble Lord, Lord Collins, talked of the importance of promoting water in multinationals and internationally. DfID supports the sanitation and water for all initiative, which aims to improve the targeting of financial aid and human resources for water and sanitation provided by donors and developing countries. Being able to drink water and have a private and sanitary toilet are surely among some of the most basic needs that we take for granted.

I hope that the debate will demonstrate not only the importance of the issue but that Her Majesty’s Government, DfID and the UK taxpayer are working hard with our international partners in this area to ensure that we meet our international obligations through the SDGs to which we have referred, and continue to provide leadership and, as the noble Lord, Lord Collins, said, ambition on an international stage to ensure that we get greater access and greater investments, and by doing so, we help to save lives and build livelihoods.