Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Mark Menzies and Justine Greening

Wednesday 3rd September 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mark Menzies (Fylde) (Con)]

7. What humanitarian relief efforts the UK is undertaking in connection with the Ebola epidemic.

[The Secretary of State for International Development (Justine Greening)]

The UK is playing a leading role and working with the international community to combat Ebola. In total, around £25 million of British funding is supporting the global effort to contain this disease. That includes £5 million of direct funding to help partners working on the ground such as Médecins sans Frontières and the Red Cross.

[Mark Menzies]

Many of us have been shocked by the devastation that Ebola has brought to west Africa. Will the Secretary of State update the House on how closely we are working with the United States and France?

[Justine Greening]

We are working very closely with other UN agencies, but also with the US and France. The UK is very much leading the efforts to respond to Ebola in Sierra Leone, with the US leading in Liberia and France in Guinea, but we continue to encourage other international partners to join those efforts.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Mark Menzies and Justine Greening

Wednesday 18th June 2014 Commons Chamber

[Justine Greening]

This is an important scheme that enables us not just to provide support to people in the region—the overwhelming majority of them are still there—but to be one of those countries that provides a haven for people who need to be removed from the region and supported here in the UK. I am proud that we have that programme in place. We expect several hundred to benefit from it, and I can assure the hon. Lady that it is up and running.

[Mark Menzies (Fylde) (Con)]

T10. Given that the unity Government of Palestine have unequivocally endorsed the Quartet principles, will the Secretary of State confirm that she will robustly continue DFID’s financial support to them, or even increase it?

[Justine Greening]

We will continue to provide support to the Palestinian people. The UK has welcomed the formation of the new interim technocratic Government. We have also made it clear that our continued support for that new Government will rest on their commitment to the principles of non-violence and their acceptance of all previous agreements and obligations, including Israel’s legitimate right to exist.

High-speed Rail

Debate between Mark Menzies and Justine Greening

Tuesday 10th January 2012 Commons Chamber

[Justine Greening]

One of the most important parts of the decision was looking at the alternatives to see whether they could answer the critical capacity question that, as the hon. Gentleman points out, we face. High Speed 2 is the best answer to that question. I urge other Members who have asked themselves that question, but who have perhaps not done quite as much research as he has, to look at the Network Rail report published over the weekend, because it gives a compelling and robust assessment of some of the alternatives and sets out precisely why they would not have delivered the capacity that we so badly need.

[Mark Menzies (Fylde) (Con)]

Businesses across Lancashire will welcome today’s announcement on High Speed 2. When will the Secretary of State be in a position to lay before the House details of the region-by-region economic gain that HS2 will bring to the north?

[Justine Greening]

We have already looked at the wider economic impact, but I will see whether it is possible to break it down by region. There is no doubt that the broad overall economic impact of HS2 will be substantial.