Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
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 (a) reach older people with targeted humanitarian and social protection support and (b) ensure data on humanitarian and social protection is (i) age-disaggregated and (ii) inclusive of older people.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK works to ensure that all humanitarian assistance reaches the most vulnerable, including those who are vulnerable because of their age. FCDO works with governments and partners to strengthen and expand inclusive social protection systems to reach more vulnerable people, including older people.
The FCDO is signed up to and provides a leading role as a co-facilitator of the Inclusive Data Charter which commits the FCDO to collecting data disaggregated by gender, disability, age and geography where possible. We currently do not have comprehensive age disaggregated data at an aggregate level but continue to work with partners to collect more disaggregated data, including on age, in a standardised way.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much funding the UK pledged to Unitaid in the period from 2006 to 2026; how much and what proportion of that funding has been disbursed; and whether he plans to disburse the full amount of the pledged funding by the end of 2026.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK has been a strong supporter and partner of Unitaid for over 17 years. We continue to highly value Unitaid's work to drive access to life-saving new health technologies for those who need them most.
The UK has a 20-year donor arrangement with Unitaid from 2007-2026, for a total commitment of €1.1 billion converted to £789 million at the outset. The UK has contributed £574 million to date. Allocations for 2025-26 and beyond will form part of the next Spending Review process.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the £785 million pledged by his Department to the United Nations Population Fund Supplies Partnership from 2020-25, what the planned schedule of payments was for that funding; and how much of that funding has been disbursed and on what dates as of 23 October 2023.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
In 2019, the UK pledged £425 million to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Supplies Partnership (not £785 million)
Following the signing of its first agreement, the UK disbursed £65 million in 2020 as planned. The UK signed a second agreement in 2020 to provide the remaining £360 million from 2020-2025 but this was reduced in 2021 following reductions in ODA spending. We are currently providing £60 million a year to UNFPA Supplies Programme.
Payments can be found on DevTracker: https://devtracker.fcdo.gov.uk/projects/GB-GOV-1-300713/documents.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much official development assistance his Department has spent on disability-specific projects in each year since 2010; and what proportion of total official development assistance spending in those years was spent on disability-specific projects.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) tracks spending on disability-specific official development assistance (ODA) programmes through the OECD-DAC disability policy marker.
The UK was one of the first countries to adopt a disability policy marker, introducing it in 2018, and was central to the OECD-DAC adopting it in 2019. The marker has been used throughout FCDO since 2021.
The table below provides FCDO spending on disability-specific ODA programmes and total bilateral ODA spending from 2016 onwards.
Department | Total bilateral1 ODA (£ million) (a) | Bilateral ODA spent on disability-specific programmes (£ million) (b) | Percentage of bilateral ODA spent through disability-specific programmes (c) |
20162 | |||
Department for International Development | 6,369.7 | 2.0 | 0.0% |
Foreign & Commonwealth Office | 479.6 | 0.0 | 0.0% |
Total | 6,849.3 | 2.0 | 0.0% |
20172 | |||
Department for International Development | 6,312.8 | 6.3 | 0.1% |
Foreign & Commonwealth Office | 594.6 | 0.0 | 0.0% |
Total | 6,907.4 | 6.3 | 0.1% |
2018 | |||
Department for International Development | 6,352.9 | 6.7 | 0.1% |
Foreign & Commonwealth Office | 603.4 | 0.0 | 0.0% |
Total | 6,956.3 | 6.7 | 0.1% |
2019 | |||
Department for International Development | 7,063.5 | 19.6 | 0.3% |
Foreign & Commonwealth Office | 642.3 | 0.0 | 0.0% |
Total | 7,705.7 | 19.6 | 0.3% |
2020 | |||
Department for International Development | 6,362.9 | 22.4 | 0.4% |
Foreign & Commonwealth Office | 559.6 | 0.0 | 0.0% |
Total | 6,922.5 | 22.4 | 0.3% |
2021 | |||
Foreign Commonwealth & Development Office | 4,485.3 | 16.2 | 0.4% |
2022 | |||
Foreign Commonwealth & Development Office | 4,607.5 | 19.0 | 0.4% |
Footnotes
1. Following the OECD-DAC guidelines, the disability policy marker cannot be applied to core multilateral ODA. Core multilateral ODA has, therefore, been omitted from the table.
2. DFID introduced the disability inclusion marker in 2018. Figures for disability-specific ODA spending in 2016 and 2017 have been estimated by retrospectively applying the marker to programmes that were running prior to 2018 and marked as being disability-specific in 2018.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with President Kagame and Foreign Minister Biruta in Rwanda on the human rights abuses committed by the M23 armed group in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK Government has a long-standing commitment to supporting prosperity, development, and stability in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). We regularly raise the conflict in eastern DRC with the governments of DRC and Rwanda, where we urge all parties to deliver on their commitments, agreed through the Nairobi and Luanda processes, including the withdrawal by armed groups including M23. We will continue to work with members of the international community to bring an end to the violence, human rights abuses and the violations of international humanitarian law documented by armed groups including M23. I met with President Kagame and Foreign Minister Biruta during my visit to Rwanda in late August, where I encouraged de-escalation and emphasised the need for a peaceful political solution.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made a recent assessment of the implications for his policies of the Government of Israel’s level of compliance with the recommendations made in UNICEF’s report entitled Children in Israeli Military Detention: Observations and recommendations, published in 2003.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK draws on a wide range of sources when assessing human rights issues in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs). We have a regular dialogue with Israel on legal issues relating to the occupation, including the treatment of Palestinian children. We have issues about Israel's extensive use of administrative detention which, according to international law, should be used only when security makes this absolutely necessary. The Israeli authorities must comply with their obligations under international law and either charge or release detainees. We remain committed to working with the Israeli government to secure improvements to the practices surrounding children in detention and continue to raise this with the Israeli Ministry of Justice through our embassy in Tel Aviv. The Minister of State for the Middle East, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, also frequently meets with charities and NGOs regarding issues relating to the occupation. He most recently discussed child detention in a meeting with representatives of Save The Children, Oxfam GB, Medical Aid for Palestinians and Christian Aid on 4 July.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
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 work with the Israeli Government to help secure improvements to the condition of Palestinian children in military detention.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK draws on a wide range of sources when assessing human rights issues in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs). We have a regular dialogue with Israel on legal issues relating to the occupation, including the treatment of Palestinian children. We have issues about Israel's extensive use of administrative detention which, according to international law, should be used only when security makes this absolutely necessary. The Israeli authorities must comply with their obligations under international law and either charge or release detainees. We remain committed to working with the Israeli government to secure improvements to the practices surrounding children in detention and continue to raise this with the Israeli Ministry of Justice through our embassy in Tel Aviv. The Minister of State for the Middle East, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, also frequently meets with charities and NGOs regarding issues relating to the occupation. He most recently discussed child detention in a meeting with representatives of Save The Children, Oxfam GB, Medical Aid for Palestinians and Christian Aid on 4 July.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had recent discussions with his counterpart in Israel on the treatment of Palestinian children in the Israeli military detention system.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK draws on a wide range of sources when assessing human rights issues in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs). We have a regular dialogue with Israel on legal issues relating to the occupation, including the treatment of Palestinian children. We have issues about Israel's extensive use of administrative detention which, according to international law, should be used only when security makes this absolutely necessary. The Israeli authorities must comply with their obligations under international law and either charge or release detainees. We remain committed to working with the Israeli government to secure improvements to the practices surrounding children in detention and continue to raise this with the Israeli Ministry of Justice through our embassy in Tel Aviv. The Minister of State for the Middle East, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, also frequently meets with charities and NGOs regarding issues relating to the occupation. He most recently discussed child detention in a meeting with representatives of Save The Children, Oxfam GB, Medical Aid for Palestinians and Christian Aid on 4 July.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many projects under the Women’s Integrated Sexual Health programme his Department has allocated funding to; and how many of those projects closed before their initial planned end date.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The Women's Integrated Sexual Health (WISH) programme initially operated in 27 countries. In response to budgetary re-prioritisation and contextual changes (such as the security situation in Afghanistan), adjustments were made to the scale and pace of delivery. This included focusing support on 17 countries to ensure better value for money and coherence. Despite these changes, the WISH programme has continued to deliver strong results. In the last year alone, WISH has averted 6,800 maternal deaths and 2.2 million unintended pregnancies, and supported 873,540 additional users of modern methods of contraception.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
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 implications for his policies of the treatment of Palestinian children in the Israeli military detention system.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We repeatedly call on Israel to abide by its obligations under international law and have a regular dialogue with Israel on legal issues relating to the occupation, including the treatment of Palestinian children. We continue to monitor Israel's extensive use of administrative detention which, according to international law, should be used only when security makes this absolutely necessary rather than as routine practice and as a preventive rather than a punitive measure. We remain committed to working with the Israeli Government to secure improvements to the practices surrounding children in detention and continue to raise this with the Israeli Ministry of Justice through our embassy in Tel Aviv. The Minister of State for the Middle East, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, also frequently meets with charities and NGOs regarding issues relating to the occupation. He most recently discussed child detention in a meeting with representatives of Save The Children, Oxfam GB, Medical Aid for Palestinians and Christian Aid on 4 July.