Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
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 impact of reductions in the Official Development Assistance budget on his Department’s ability to tackle hunger and famine.
Answered by Nigel Adams
The UK economy is facing the worst economic contraction in over 300 years. Our borrowing is the highest it has been outside of wartime. Against this backdrop, we have been forced to prioritise public spending, including temporarily reducing the ODA spend from 0.7% of GNI to 0.5%. FCDO allocates our aid budget in accordance with UK strategic priorities, and to remain a force for good across the world. Our aid is targeted at the highest priority global challenges and the Foreign Secretary has been clear that poverty reduction remains at the heart of UK ODA.
The number of people requiring humanitarian assistance this year is at a record high, with acute food insecurity and malnutrition also rising. Preventing famine is a key priority for FCDO, as evidenced by the launch of the Foreign Secretary's Call to Action in September 2020. But this is not only about money. It is also about diplomatic action, smarter financing and more effective responses to crises. The UK will combine our funding with our diplomatic strength and world-leading aid expertise to protect people across the world from increasing risk of famine.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
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 scale up social protection in countries experiencing extreme levels of food insecurity.
Answered by James Duddridge
FCDO recognises the vital role of social protection in boosting household food security and helping people to meet basic needs. We work with national governments to help them strengthen and scale up their social protection systems, including building systems that can flex to respond to shocks, to mitigate their impact on food security. For example, in Kenya the FCDO has routinely delivered cash transfers to nearly 600,000 people since 2013, and the programme is designed to scale up to an additional 1.62 million people during periods of drought. Since 2012, the Government of Kenya has co-financed these cash transfers.
The FCDO programme 'Better Assistance in Crises' is providing technical assistance and generating evidence on how social protection can help poor and vulnerable people better meet their basic needs in crises, including contexts of food insecurity. At the G7 meeting in May 2021, through the famine prevention and humanitarian crises compact, we committed to work with the World Bank to support existing and shock-responsive social protection systems in the most vulnerable and conflict-affected countries.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the findings of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention on Jau Prison, what the evidential basis was for the UK Ambassador to Bahrain's statement that Jau Prison is a well-run facility with good medical provision and measures against covid-19 on 6 May 2021.
Answered by James Cleverly - Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
As stated in my answer of 9 June, the Ambassador and other international representatives visited Jau Prison on 3 May. The visit enabled our Ambassador to raise human rights matters, to see and assess the facilities and current conditions at Jau Prison first hand and to understand the measures implemented to counter Covid-19.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the opinions of the 90th session of the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention on inmates of Jau Prison in Bahrain, what assessment he has made of the UK Ambassador to Bahrain's comment that Jau Prison is a well-run facility, with good medical provision on 6 May 2021.
Answered by James Cleverly - Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
The Ambassador and other international representatives visited Jau prison on 3 May. That visit enabled our Ambassador to raise human rights matters, to see and assess the facilities and current conditions at Jau prison first hand and to understand the measures implemented to counter Covid-19.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the Answer of 26 April 2021 to Question 185465 on Bahrain: Political Prisoners, whether they will now answer the question put, namely, what representations he will make to his Bahraini counterpart on (a) inviting the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture to visit and (b) allowing (i) Human Rights Watch, (ii) Amnesty International and (iii) other human rights organisations and monitoring bodies to enter Bahrain.
Answered by James Cleverly - Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
We regularly raise human rights matters with the Government of Bahrain and continue to encourage both the Government of Bahrain and the UN to engage with each other on human rights issues. We understand that the Government of Bahrain has taken steps to engage with the United Nations, and that the Ombudsman has reached out to Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, noting that they are keen to work cooperatively on concerns raised. We support and encourage all such engagement.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the answer of 17 May 2021 to Question 615 on Israel: Palestinians, what assessment his Department has made of the level of child casualties in the conflict in Gaza; and what representations he has made to his Israeli counterpart to request the cessation of Israeli airstrikes in densely-populated civilian areas.
Answered by James Cleverly - Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
The UK welcomes the announcement of a ceasefire in Israel and Gaza on 20 May, which is an important step to ending the cycle of violence and loss of civilian life. Every effort must be made to avoid loss of life, especially that of children.
The Foreign Secretary visited Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories on 25 and 26 May for talks with senior leaders and reiterated the UK's firm commitment to the two-state solution as the best way to deliver Palestinian self-determination and ensure Israel's status as a Jewish, democratic state.
The UK has provided an initial $4.5 million of UK aid to UNRWA's emergency flash appeal, to help address immediate humanitarian needs.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will condemn the reported threats from the arrested Iranian diplomat Assadolah Assadi in Belgium to influence and subvert his trial on terrorism charges in that country.
Answered by James Cleverly - Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
We are aware of the trial of four Iranians in Belgium in relation to the 2018 plot against a conference in Paris. We are deeply concerned that an Iranian diplomat is one of those standing trial in connection with the incident and are actively monitoring media reports that the diplomat has threatened "retaliation" should he be convicted. The UK Government does not have access to the court documents on which these reports are based. While the legal process is ongoing it would be inappropriate to comment further.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 12 November 2020 to Question 113155, how many of the 15 projects and programmes referred to were subjected to an Overseas Security and Justice Assistance assessment.
Answered by James Cleverly - Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
I refer the Honourable member to my response of 12 November to question 113154.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 23 October 2020 to Question 106362, how many projects delivered through the Integrated Activity Fund (a) were and (b) were not subject to an Overseas Security and Justice Assistance assessment in each of the financial years (i) 2016-17 and (ii) 2017-18.
Answered by James Cleverly - Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
I refer the Honourable Member to my response of 12 November to 113154.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 12 November 2020 to Question 106364, how many projects were applied for by his Department under the Integrated Activity Fund in financial year (a) 2016-17, (b) 2017-18, (c) 2018-19 and (d) 2019-20; and what the (i) allocated budget and (ii) actual spending was for each project.
Answered by James Cleverly - Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
I refer the Honourable Member to my response of 12 November to 113156.