Oral Answers to Questions

Philip Hollobone Excerpts

Wednesday 23rd October 2013 Commons Chamber

[Justine Greening]

I very much take the hon. Lady’s point on board. A lot of DFID’s work is in addressing corruption, and that includes illicit flows of money. As part of the G8 this year, for example, we led the way on challenging the leading economies of the world to up their game on tax, trade and transparency. Illicit flows of money were a core part of that. I assure the hon. Lady that I take her point on board and will follow it up.

[Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)]

Is it not the case that diarrhoea caused through poor sanitation is one of the leading causes of infant mortality in the developing world, and that in the Congo it results in the second highest rate of infant mortality in Africa? How many people will benefit from Britain’s investment in the water and sanitation system in that benighted country?

[Justine Greening]

We have delivered life-saving support to 2.1 million people in DRC. My hon. Friend is absolutely right. If we look at the millennium development goal on child mortality, we see that one of the reasons it has not had more success is the continued fatal effect of diarrhoea. He is right to highlight that. It is one of the things we particularly work on in DRC, and it is why sanitation is so key.

Oral Answers to Questions

Philip Hollobone Excerpts

Wednesday 17th July 2013 Commons Chamber

[Justine Greening]

I am grateful for the right hon. Gentleman’s question. DFID has health programmes and general programmes to lift people out of poverty, but also to ensure that they have access to services like health care that can help them get on with their day-to-day lives. I will write to him with a fuller update on whether we engage in any direct diabetes-related programmes, which I hope will be helpful to him.

[Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)]

What is the total size of our aid assistance to Bangladesh and how much of it goes on ameliorating the appalling environmental conditions, given that Bangladesh is situated on the Delta?

[Justine Greening]

The overall programme is about £200 million a year, which is split across a range of activities. Part of it is for basic services like health and education, as I have said; part of it is for economic development; and part of it is to address humanitarian conditions and disaster prevention, readiness and resilience. The final part of the programme is for governance programmes, as I said in my initial answer—these support the Electoral Commission and free and fair elections in Bangladesh—and supporting people so they can access the services and the welfare protection that they deserve.

--- Later in debate ---

[The Prime Minister]

Everyone across the House will have been very concerned to hear the news about the right hon. Member for Belfast North (Mr Dodds) being knocked unconscious at the protests in his constituency. Everyone wishes him well and I gather he is now improving. We look forward to welcoming him back to this House.

On the issue, it is very important that we see responsibility on all sides in Northern Ireland and that we take steps, as the hon. Member for East Londonderry (Mr Campbell) suggests, to make sure that these marches can go ahead in a way that respects the fact that communities must be good neighbours to each other. That is what is required in Northern Ireland and I know my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State will help in any way she can.

[Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)]

Q4. How many foreign national prisoners (a) are in prison and (b) were in prison in May 2010; and what steps are being taken to send them to secure detention in their own countries and to negotiate compulsory prisoner transfer agreements with high-volume countries.

[The Prime Minister]

Overall, over 4,500 foreign national offenders were removed from the UK in 2012 and the annual removal rate has remained broadly consistent since then. However, the number of foreign nationals in prison in England and Wales is still far too high, and while it is lower than at the election, we can do more. That is why the Justice Secretary is working to secure compulsory prisoner transfer agreements with those countries with the highest populations of foreign offenders. The Government will make it clear in the immigration Bill this autumn that foreign national offenders will be deported except in exceptional circumstances. I think that everyone in this House can celebrate the removal of one foreign prisoner, Mr Abu Qatada, who has returned to Jordan, and I congratulate the Home Secretary on her hard work.

[Mr Hollobone]

Now that my right hon. Friend and the Home Secretary have deported Abu Qatada—something the previous Government completely failed to do—will he do all he can to send foreign nationals in prison in our country back to prison in their own country, which would save British taxpayers hundreds of millions of pounds?

[The Prime Minister]

I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend on this issue and the fact that it requires real drive from the centre of this Government. That is why we have held a National Security Council meeting on it and why we are trying to sign compulsory prisoner transfer agreements with countries such as Albania and Nigeria. I make sure that all Ministers raise these issues in all their meetings with other countries where there are foreign national prisoners to be returned to. We should not rule out any steps, including in some cases helping countries such as Jamaica with their own prison regime so that it is easier to return people. This is a major priority for the Government and I want us to do better.

Oral Answers to Questions

Philip Hollobone Excerpts

Wednesday 12th June 2013 Commons Chamber

[Justine Greening]

I think I can absolutely reassure the right hon. Gentleman on that point. My Department is looking at what needs to happen in not only the immediate time frame, but the far longer term. We know that more than half the hospitals in Syria have been damaged, and that the water and sanitation systems are essentially no longer working. There needs to be not only a short-term plan to examine humanitarian needs in all circumstances—he is right about that—but a longer-term plan to examine what Syria’s needs will be afterwards.

[Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)]

With the Council for European Palestinian Relations, I recently visited Palestinian refugees in Lebanon who had fled from Syria. Is the Secretary of State satisfied that the United Nations Relief and Works Agency is doing all that it can to help those people, who are living in miserable conditions?

[Justine Greening]

I thank my hon. Friend for that question, because that important aspect of the crisis is often not recognised. We have provided £5 million to UNRWA particularly to support its work with Palestinian refugees. That will support more than 350,000 Palestinian refugees in Syria, and will go on food parcels and other relief items.

UK’s Development Work (Girls and Women)

Philip Hollobone Excerpts

Thursday 7th March 2013 Commons Chamber

[Justine Greening]

My hon. Friend is right; in a nutshell, we have got to walk the talk. However sensitive and difficult it can sometimes be to discuss what is happening in our own country on women’s rights, particularly regarding FGM or forced marriage, I think we have to have that debate. It is time that we did. I hope we can lead by example. I pay tribute to the work that my right hon. Friends the Home Secretary and the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport are doing in this area. If we are to be credible, that work is vital and it must go on alongside the work my Department is doing.

[Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)]

I congratulate my right hon. Friend on her statement and on all the work she is doing as Secretary of State for International Development. She quite rightly mentioned in her statement that she will apply special measures to the Afghanistan programme, but which other countries that are recipients of UK aid have most to do to improve their record on women and girls?

[Justine Greening]

Unfortunately, it is quite difficult to single out any particular countries, but we know that when we invest £35 million to tackle female genital cutting, we are aiming to eradicate the practice in 15 countries. In some communities, however, this practice is starting up, so we are not necessarily combating a problem that has reached its zenith so that we are trying to get it down to zero. We are working against the tide in some places, so I am not going to single out particular countries, not least because we want to hold out a hand to them to get them to move along the path we want. We are careful about how we manage to achieve that.

UK Aid (Uganda and Rwanda)

Philip Hollobone Excerpts

Monday 19th November 2012 Commons Chamber

[Justine Greening]

The hon. Gentleman touches on an important issue. The Government have been clear that progress on the extractive industries transparency initiative is very important to ensuring that, critically, when countries with clear mineral or natural resources want them exploited for the benefit of that country, that happens, and that they are supported in getting the most out of the revenue stream that those minerals can help unlock. There are several causes of the particular situation in eastern DRC, but I can assure him more broadly that the Government take seriously the issue about extractive industries and are seeking to make more progress on it, along with our international partners.

[Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)]

Nothing enrages my constituents more than the prospect of Britain’s international aid falling into the hands of corrupt officials, because my constituents want the money that we provide to go to the poorest people who need the help the most. Is the Secretary of State satisfied that her Department has a sufficiently robust early-warning system, so that she is advised of any potential corruption in any of Britain’s aid programmes?

[Justine Greening]

I am going through that process right now, so that I can assure myself of that, but it is worth pointing out that in the case of Uganda we suspended donations and aid to the office of the Prime Minister when fraud and corruption issues were seen by other donors, not in relation to our budget, so we have always taken a precautionary approach wherever we can.

Oral Answers to Questions

Philip Hollobone Excerpts

Wednesday 31st October 2012 Commons Chamber

[Justine Greening]

The hon. Lady is absolutely right. Approximately half the support that we provide has been for refugees, and half to help people inside Syria. I have had discussions with the International Committee of the Red Cross and the World Food Programme, the key providers of aid within Syria, and we are working with them to ensure that they can do their job efficiently. Clearly, they are neutral and dispassionate in regard to the politics, and it is vital that we use them.

[Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)]

The Christian community in Syria is one of the oldest in the world, and one of the largest in middle east. Indeed, was it not St Paul who was converted on the road to Damascus? If the wrong people come out on top in the Syrian civil war, there is every chance of a bloodbath in the Christian community on a biblical scale. Will my right hon. Friend do everything she can to ensure that the humanitarian provision addresses that very real fear?

--- Later in debate ---

[The Prime Minister]

I would be very happy to meet the hon. Gentleman and his colleagues to talk about the implementation of the covenant in Northern Ireland. It is something I have spoken about with the First Minister and Deputy First Minister in Northern Ireland. I know that there are issues about its implementation, but I hope that it can be done, and I would be happy to have that meeting.

The hon. Gentleman spoke very strongly and movingly about Corporal Channing Day. I think he is absolutely right that those in the Royal Army Medical Corp do a fantastic job. It has been a huge honour and privilege for me to meet some of them, including in Afghanistan. When you see the service they provide, you really can put your hand on your heart and know that British military personnel in theatre are getting medical care that is as good as that which anyone in history ever got. What they do is truly remarkable.

[Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)]

Q8. If he will make it his policy that the accident and emergency and maternity departments at Kettering general hospital will not be downgraded or closed as part of the Healthier Together review of NHS acute services in the south-east midlands; and if he will ensure that patients and clinical staff at Kettering general hospital will be involved fully in that review.

[The Prime Minister]

Healthier Together has promised that Kettering hospital will retain its accident and emergency and maternity services. Any suggestion otherwise, including by the Opposition, is simply scaremongering of the worst kind.

[Mr Hollobone]

Kettering has the sixth highest household growth rate in the whole country, and accident and emergency admissions are up 10% year on year. Given that Kettering general hospital has been at the very heart of the local community for well over 100 years, do not local people deserve a clear assurance that our much-loved and badly needed local hospital has a bright future ahead of it?

[The Prime Minister]

I gave my hon. Friend the strongest possible assurance. The point that I have made, and which I made to the hon. Member for Lewisham East (Heidi Alexander), is that there cannot be any changes unless there is full public consultation and unless there is the support of local GPs and strong public and patient engagement. In the case of Kettering, that is not on the agenda. As I said, any suggestion by the Opposition is simply scaremongering of the worst kind, and I can see that they are at it again.

Oral Answers to Questions

Philip Hollobone Excerpts

Wednesday 11th July 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr O'Brien]

Part of our contribution to the multilateral agencies goes towards that, not least through the United Nations Relief and Works Agency. Its work is important in the provision of water to the peoples of the Occupied Palestinian Territories, not least to provide fair access to drinking water.

[Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)]

Having visited the Gaza strip earlier this year, may I stress to the Minister the importance of the breakdown of the water and sewerage systems in that benighted territory? Some 20,000 children under three are suffering from avoidable illnesses because 90% of the water is contaminated. Whose fault that is does not bother the Gazans; they just need the systems to be sorted out. Britain could play an important role in doing that.

[Mr O'Brien]

My hon. Friend makes an extremely powerful point. Broadly, the answer is yes, not least because we make extremely strong representations at every opportunity on all the points that he has raised. Equally, we are working closely with UNRWA to provide a practical solution to many of these difficult problems.

Humanitarian Emergency Response Review

Philip Hollobone Excerpts

Wednesday 15th June 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Mitchell]

The right hon. Gentleman makes a good point on which I sought to be absolutely clear in my opening remarks. Humanitarian relief must be needs-based, and must not take account of such extraneous factors. That is the commitment of the British Government —it has long been a commitment of Governments of all parties, and it continues just as strongly today.

[Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)]

Whenever disaster strikes, and in almost whatever form it takes, there always seems to be a shortage of helicopters. What can we do to improve international co-ordination to ensure a quicker and better helicopter lift capacity in emergency zones?

[Mr Mitchell]

My hon. Friend makes an extremely good point. He rightly identifies that problem as one of the critical pinch points, as it was particularly in Pakistan last summer. We are considering that and a number of similar issues, and I hope to have more to say in due course.

Oral Answers to Questions

Philip Hollobone Excerpts

Wednesday 8th June 2011 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

What I would say is that the first decision was taken in 1995, when there was all-party agreement that we should equalise men’s and women’s pension ages, and that was done over a long period of time. The second point is that it is right to lift the pension age for men and women to a higher level more rapidly than the last Government decided. However, the key fact is that 85% of the women affected are going to lose one year or less in terms of their pension. The last point that I would make is this. Because we have linked the pension to earnings, people who retire today will be £15,000 better off than they were under the policies of the last Government.

[Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)]

Q5. Why do magistrates have to retire at the age of 70, when the Lord Chancellor, who appoints them, is 71 this year?

[The Prime Minister]

The point that I would make to my hon. Friend—I speak as someone whose mother served as a magistrate for over three decades—is that it is important to get turnover in the magistracy so that new people come in. To be fair to my right hon. and learned Friend the Lord Chancellor, he has been in his job for only a year. He is doing a superb job, and I can tell the House that there is plenty more fuel in his tank.

Aid Reviews

Philip Hollobone Excerpts

Tuesday 1st March 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Mitchell]

CDC is not one of the organisations that has been assessed as part of the multilateral aid review, because we are in the process of reforming the way in which it operates. The point that we have made in a written statement to the House is that widespread consultation is taking place on how we inject more development genes into CDC. Those negotiations and discussions are continuing, and I hope to be able to say more to the House shortly about how that will proceed.

[Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)]

What proportion of the ongoing aid budget will be absorbed by India, and across the global programme what is the split between funding direct to Governments and funding to non-governmental organisations?

[Mr Mitchell]

My hon. Friend will be able to see that the figure for India is frozen at its current level for the next four years. If he looks at the results, which are available on the internet, he will see the different proportions of spending, but I can tell him that there will be less direct budget support under this Government’s programme than there was under the previous Government’s.