Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham, Edgbaston)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department has had discussions with Afghan women's groups on human rights in that country since August 2021.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The Government condemns restrictions the Taliban have imposed on Afghan women and girls. Ministers and officials engage regularly with a range of Afghan women. On 27 June, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad, Minister for South Asia hosted a meeting of Afghan women leaders based in the UK and in Afghanistan where they discussed the impact of the Taliban's restrictions on Afghan women as well as the inclusion of Afghan women in the future political process. Officials continue to work closely with the Afghan Women's Support Forum, established by Baroness Hodgson of Abinger, with the most recent meeting taking place on 5 July.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham, Edgbaston)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the International Development Committee's Eighth Special Report of Session 2022–23, HC1393, published on 8 June 2023, whether his Department commissioned research to assess the level of private sector lending to low-income countries in the last decade to support his Department's conclusion that a legislative approach to debt relief is not needed.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government recognises the importance of private sector lending to low-income countries. Government borrowing can be a positive source of development finance if done sustainably.
At this time, the Government is focused on delivering a market-based (contractual) approach to private sector participation in debt restructuring.
An International Monetary Fund (IMF) Review in September 2020 found this approach has been largely effective. As such the UK led the recent development of Majority Voting Provisions for private loans.
The UK, alongside international partners, expect private creditors to participate in debt restructurings on terms at least as favourable as bilateral (i.e. country) creditors.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham, Edgbaston)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many full-time equivalent staff are working on policies under the UK International Development brand.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
As the Foreign Secretary stated in his oral evidence to the International Development Committee on 20 June, although not everyone in the FCDO is a development professional, everyone should be thinking about, talking about and helping to deliver the development priorities set out in the International Development Strategy. Development is at the heart of our foreign policy and is a core part of all of our work. We do not therefore hold a list of officials working on development policy.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham, Edgbaston)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of increasing the localisation of bilateral development programmes by increasing the amount of aid delivered through local organisations.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
On 27 April, I [Minister Mitchell] launched our campaign to re-invigorate the UK's leadership on international development. I pledged to work in patient, long-term partnership with people and governments around the world. We recognise that we need to transform our development partnerships, and that sustainable development must be led locally.
Strengthening partnerships with national and local organisations, to boost impact and sustainability, builds on our commitments to the 2011 Busan Partnership and the 2016 Grand Bargain. We have also been vocal advocates of the OECD Development Assistance Committee Recommendation on Enabling Civil Society in Development Co-operation and Humanitarian Assistance, which promotes investing in local civil society leadership.
Our 2022 International Development Strategy affirmed that those who benefit from our work must have a voice in what we do, and how we do it. The difficult reforms and good policies that drive progress must be locally owned. Design, decision-making and delivery should involve local partners, who understand the context of the challenges to be addressed.
We are reviewing our approach to central support for civil society. The future of our programming will align with strategic priorities including reducing bureaucracy and supporting patient and locally led development.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham, Edgbaston)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of reports of schoolgirls being poisoned in (a) Iran and (b) Afghanistan.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
Reports of poisonings of school girls in Afghanistan and Iran are disturbing. We, alongside our international partners, NGOs and the UN continue to monitor the reports. The Minister for the Middle East, North Africa, South Asia and United Nations Lord (Tariq) Ahmad has made clear that it is essential that all girls can exercise their human right to education without fear. We regularly press the Taliban on human rights priorities, including women's and girls' access to education. We continue to raise women and girls rights alongside broader human rights issues with Iran, at all appropriate opportunities.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham, Edgbaston)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what the total estimated value of bilateral Official Development Assistance to Rwanda was in 2022.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
Total bilateral Official Development Assistance to Rwanda in 2022 will be available in Statistics in International Development: Final UK Aid Spend 2022. This will be published in Autumn 2023.
Further detail of UK international development programmes in Rwanda are available here: DevTracker Country Rwanda Programmes Page (fcdo.gov.uk). This information is being updated imminently.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham, Edgbaston)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that the psychosocial needs of children are being met in (a) fragile, (b) conflict-affected and (c) other humanitarian contexts.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
As part of our role on the UN Security Council Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict (CAAC), we call for access to non-discriminatory and comprehensive specialised services, including psychosocial support for children affected by conflict.
The FCDO has recently funded a project to provide protection services for children in Yemen; over 1300 children accessed high quality and safe psychosocial support.
Our UNICEF funding supports children in humanitarian situations who experience or are at risk of sexual violence including projects like the Blue Dot Shelters, which provide a safe space for families and children on the move in emergencies.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham, Edgbaston)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help protect children who have been forcibly displaced following climate-related events.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Within the UK's humanitarian responses, children are often the most vulnerable and therefore routinely prioritised for assistance by our partners in most contexts, including those caused by climate shocks. All of the UK's core humanitarian funding to UN partners has specific activities relating to child protection or assistance. Specifically the UK is a major supporter of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) which has an international mandate to protect children. The UK provided £125 million of humanitarian funding to UNICEF in 2022, including in various crises where children have been displaced. UNICEF have recently published their guiding principles for children on the move amid climate change.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham, Edgbaston)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department is taking steps to consult with children's groups to help tackle barriers to education in developing countries.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The FCDO is committed to addressing barriers to education. An essential part of this is engaging with children, particularly girls, on the issues that affect them. In May 2023, officials met with adolescent girls to hear about the barriers to education they are facing, including early marriage, gender-based violence, poverty and conflict. Girls' Clubs, implemented through the UK's Girls' Education Challenge projects, consult students on the barriers they face to education and how best to overcome them. Club members in the Somali Girls' Education Promotion Programme achieved significantly higher gains in learning - 6.6 percentage points over and above their peers.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham, Edgbaston)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether Official Development Assistance spending by the devolved Governments is included in (a) reporting to the OECD Development Co-operation Directorate and (b) the overall UK aid target.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK is required to report its Official Development Assistance (ODA) spend to the OECD Development Assistance Committee. This includes eligible spend by the Devolved Governments to reflect ODA spend across the whole of the UK. Support given to asylum seekers and refugees in the UK that meets the OECD ODA rules, including support given by the Devolved Governments, is reported to the OECD and contributes to the UK Government's commitment to spend around 0.5 per cent Gross National Income (GNI) as ODA.