Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Paul Bristow and Anne-Marie Trevelyan

Wednesday 15th July 2020 Commons Chamber

[Anne-Marie Trevelyan]

The safety of children will always be our No. 1 priority, and I agree that it is completely unacceptable that children were being taught in tents because buildings funded by UK aid were not being built to the necessary standards. As soon as DFID knew that there was a problem, we took urgent action to ensure that all schools knew that the buildings should not be used, while we worked with the contractor to agree a plan for retrofitting the affected buildings. Covid has caused some delays to that progress, and schools are closed until 15 September, but I understand that the first of the buildings will be handed over shortly, in a state that is considered acceptable. Global education continues to be an absolutely key priority for the Government and, whether in Pakistan or elsewhere, we are working hard to get children back to school.

[Paul Bristow (Peterborough) (Con)]

What steps her Department is taking to support the Rohingya in (a) Bangladesh and (b) Myanmar.