First elected: 15th November 2012
Speeches made during Parliamentary debates are recorded in Hansard. For ease of browsing we have grouped debates into individual, departmental and legislative categories.
e-Petitions are administered by Parliament and allow members of the public to express support for a particular issue.
If an e-petition reaches 10,000 signatures the Government will issue a written response.
If an e-petition reaches 100,000 signatures the petition becomes eligible for a Parliamentary debate (usually Monday 4.30pm in Westminster Hall).
Update the Equality Act to make clear the characteristic “sex” is biological sex
Gov Responded - 26 Jan 2023 Debated on - 12 Jun 2023 View Stephen Doughty's petition debate contributionsThe Government must exercise its power under s.23 of the Gender Recognition Act to modify the operation of the Equality Act 2010 by specifying the terms sex, male, female, man & woman, in the operation of that law, mean biological sex and not "sex as modified by a Gender Recognition Certificate"
Commit to not amending the Equality Act's definition of sex
Gov Responded - 25 Jan 2023 Debated on - 12 Jun 2023 View Stephen Doughty's petition debate contributionsIt has been reported that the Government may amend the Equality Act to "make it clear that sex means biological sex rather than gender." The Government has previously committed to not remove legal protections for trans people, an already marginalised group, but this change would do so.
Ensure Trans people are fully protected under any conversion therapy ban
Gov Responded - 12 May 2022 Debated on - 13 Jun 2022 View Stephen Doughty's petition debate contributionsEnsure any ban fully includes trans people and all forms of conversion therapy.
Reform the Gender Recognition Act.
Gov Responded - 7 Oct 2020 Debated on - 21 Feb 2022 View Stephen Doughty's petition debate contributionsReform the GRA to allow transgender people to self-identify without the need for a medical diagnosis, to streamline the administrative process, and to allow non-binary identities to be legally recognised.
Make LGBT conversion therapy illegal in the UK
Gov Responded - 21 May 2020 Debated on - 8 Mar 2021 View Stephen Doughty's petition debate contributionsI would like the Government to:
• make running conversion therapy in the UK a criminal offence
• forcing people to attend said conversion therapies a criminal offence
• sending people abroad in order to try to convert them a criminal offence
• protect individuals from conversion therapy
Give further financial support to the Events and Hospitality industry
Gov Responded - 15 Oct 2020 Debated on - 11 Jan 2021 View Stephen Doughty's petition debate contributionsBeing the first to close and still no clue as to when we can open, this seasonal industry is losing its summer profits that allows them to get through the first quarter of next year.
Even if we are allowed to open in December, 1 months profit won't be enough to keep us open in 2021. We need help
Create a Minister for Hospitality in the UK Government
Gov Responded - 3 Nov 2020 Debated on - 11 Jan 2021 View Stephen Doughty's petition debate contributionsThe UK hospitality industry. Responsible for around 3m jobs, generating £130bn in activity, resulting in £38bn in taxation. Yet, unlike the Arts or Sports, we do not have a dedicated Minister.
We are asking that a Minister for Hospitality be created for the current, and successive governments.
Prioritise teachers, school and childcare staff for Covid-19 vaccination
Gov Responded - 23 Feb 2021 Debated on - 11 Jan 2021 View Stephen Doughty's petition debate contributionsAdvice from the JCVI on the priority groups for a Covid-19 vaccine does not include school/childcare workers. This petition calls for these workers, who cannot distance or use PPE, to be kept safe at work by being put on the vaccine priority list when such a list is adopted into government policy.
Implement sanctions against the Nigerian Government and officials
Gov Responded - 11 Nov 2020 Debated on - 23 Nov 2020 View Stephen Doughty's petition debate contributionsThe Government should explore using the new sanctions regime that allows individuals and entities that violate human rights around the world to be targeted, to impose sanctions on members of the Nigerian government and police force involved in any human rights abuses by the Nigerian police.
These initiatives were driven by Stephen Doughty, and are more likely to reflect personal policy preferences.
MPs who are act as Ministers or Shadow Ministers are generally restricted from performing Commons initiatives other than Urgent Questions.
Stephen Doughty has not been granted any Adjournment Debates
Stephen Doughty has not introduced any legislation before Parliament
European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2019
Sponsor - Yvette Cooper (Lab)
European Union Withdrawal Agreement (Public Vote) Bill 2017-19
Sponsor - Gareth Thomas (LAB)
Banking (Cash Machine Charges and Financial Inclusion) Bill 2017-19
Sponsor - Ged Killen (LAB)
Mutualisation of the Royal Bank of Scotland Bill 2016-17
Sponsor - Gareth Thomas (LAB)
Mutual Guarantee Societies Bill 2016-17
Sponsor - Christina Rees (LAB)
Small and Medium Sized Co-operative Development Bill 2016-17
Sponsor - Adrian Bailey (LAB)
The UK Government represents the interests of UK Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), including in negotiations at the annual Conference of the Parties (COP).
Whilst the Overseas Territories (OTs) are not part of the formal COP negotiating framework, as small island developing states (SIDS), they are also impacted by climate change. COP26 also provides an opportunity for the OTs to showcase their unique biodiversity, environments and marine protected areas and to highlight the importance of adaptation. The UK Government is working with all OTs to ensure that their unique perspectives are accurately represented and is designing a specific package to support Territory Governments in the run up to COP26 and beyond. I have asked my Regional Ambassador for Latin America and the Caribbean, for COP26, to also act as a liaison point for the OTs.
My officials are also engaging with the Crown Dependencies on preparations for COP26.
President Cyril Ramaphosa of the Republic of South Africa will be attending the upcoming G7 Summit in Carbis Bay.
Supporting Ukraine remains a high Government priority including long-term strengthening of commercial links.
Last year the UK led the world in becoming the first country to fully liberalise tariffs with Ukraine which we have extended until early 2024.
This year we signed a landmark UK-Ukraine Digital Trade Agreement and launched a Guide to Doing Business with Ukraine, to support UK business in Ukraine and encourage greater trade flows.
We are working closely with the FCDO to mobilise private sector support for the Ukraine Recovery Conference in London next month, a global event and opportunity to strengthen commercial support for Ukraine.
On 19 December, the Government publicly announced the Energy Bills Support Scheme Alternative Funding (EBSS AF) on GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/vital-help-with-energy-bills-on-the-way-for-millions-more-homes-across-great-britain-and-northern-ireland. Once customers have applied to receive support and their applications have been processed and verified, eligible customers’ details will be shared with Local Authorities across England, Scotland and Wales. Local Authorities will deliver the one-off, non-repayable £400 of support this winter in a single instalment.
Contractual terms offered to business customers are a commercial matter for energy suppliers. The Government remains committed to a fair and competitive energy market. Ofgem is undertaking a review of the non-domestic market following reports of challenges faced by business customers. My Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer has written to Ofgem to ask for a progress update before the Budget on whether further action is required to secure a well-functioning market.
Households in Great Britain that have a direct relationship with their electricity supplier are receiving a £400 non-repayable payment in six instalments under the Energy Bills Support Scheme as part of the £37bn cost-of-living assistance package announced in May 2022. The Energy Bills Support Scheme Alternative Funding (EBSS AF), which covers households in Great Britain that do not have a direct relationship with their electricity supplier, will provide equivalent support of £400 payable in a single instalment. The EBSS AF will launch later this month.
The application portal for the Energy Bills Support Scheme Alternative Funding is due to open in January 2023. Once customers have applied to receive support and their applications have been processed and verified, eligible customers’ details will be shared with Local Authorities across England, Scotland and Wales. Local Authorities will deliver the one-off, non-repayable £400 of support in a single instalment.
Through the Energy Bills Support Scheme (EBSS) Alternative Funding the Government has ensured that the £400 is available to households that do not have a direct relationship with their energy supplier and will therefore not automatically receive the EBSS. The total number of households eligible for EBSS Alternative Funding is estimated to be 900,000.
Those who are eligible for the EBSS Alternative Funding will need to submit a short online form via GOV.UK, with the application portal due to open in January. A dedicated customer helpline will be available to assist customers who do not have online access, with further details to be released next month.
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy provided a total of 856 generators to Ukraine. There was a range of capacity in generators provided: 3-9kVA (380), 10-14kVA (42), 15-35kVA (138), 40-50kVA (91), 60-75kVA (91), 80-90kVA (40), 100-175kVA (52), 200-330kVA (19) and 500+kVA (3).
The Government is finalising the eligibility, delivery arrangements and timescales for the Energy Bills Support Scheme Alternative Funding and will be announcing details shortly.
The Government is working urgently with a range of organisations, such as local authorities, as well as Devolved Administrations and across UK Government, to finalise the details and have the process up and running for applications this winter
The UK works closely with international partners to ensure that investment in energy infrastructure meets the needs of all parties.
The protection of infrastructure and critical services is a key priority for the Department, and any new projects are assessed on a case-by-case basis which may involve a range of stakeholders. Foreign investment in critical national infrastructure undergoes the highest level of scrutiny.
The Department continues to engage constructively with energy intensive industries to further understand and to assess the possibility of offering help to mitigate the impacts of high global gas prices. Our priority is to ensure that costs are managed and that supplies of energy are maintained.
The Department annually collates and publishes information on how much steel is purchased by Government for major infrastructure projects in the previous financial year, including what proportion is UK-produced, where available. Please find the latest publication here:
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) collates and publishes annually information on how much steel is purchased for the Government’s major infrastructure projects in the previous financial year, including what proportion is produced in the UK. This year’s data was published on 19 May and can be found at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/steel-public-procurement-2021.
The reported value of UK steel procured in 2019/20 for major public projects was £108m, a 33% increase on the previous year. BEIS will start collating data for 2020/21 in due course.
When fully operationally in 2022, the Vaccines Manufacturing and Innovation Centre (VMIC) will have several Good Manufacturing Process suites that will be able to accommodate a range of production scale capabilities. For pandemic response, the VMIC will be able to make up to 70 million doses of a vaccine within a 6-month timeframe. This is a significant increase to the VMIC’s originally anticipated capacity.
The VMIC has been designed to be a flexible manufacturing facility and will be able to manufacture a range of vaccine types, such as messenger RNA, viral vector, or protein sub-unit.
The Vaccines Manufacturing and Innovation Centre (VMIC) should be partially open in summer 2021, with the facility fully operational in 2022. The VMIC is working towards having fill-finish capability at the end of 2021. The objective remains to accelerate the readiness of the VMIC by a year and it is on track to achieve this, but it is also important to remember this is a complex project being delivered in unprecedented times.
The Government is currently undertaking its own laboratory work as a priority to better understand the impact of the new Covid-19 variants on the vaccines currently in deployment, in particular the risk of vaccine resistance. We maintain close contact with vaccine developers to understand their own studies as to the efficacy of their vaccines on variants and the impact on current supply chain arrangements for their manufacture.
We continue to take a portfolio-based approach that monitors the landscape of Covid-19 vaccine development and we remain confident that the three vaccines (Pfizer/BioNTech, Oxford University/AstraZeneca, and Moderna) that we have purchased, which have been authorised by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), will continue to be effective against the virus.
The Government is currently undertaking its own laboratory work as a priority to better understand the impact of the new Covid-19 variants on the vaccines currently in deployment, in particular the risk of vaccine resistance. We maintain close contact with vaccine developers to understand their own studies as to the efficacy of their vaccines on variants and the impact on current supply chain arrangements for their manufacture.
We continue to take a portfolio-based approach that monitors the landscape of Covid-19 vaccine development and we remain confident that the three vaccines (Pfizer/BioNTech, Oxford University/AstraZeneca, and Moderna) that we have purchased, which have been authorised by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), will continue to be effective against the virus.
The Government has procured 40 million doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech and 100 million doses of the Oxford University/AstraZeneca vaccines.
The UK was the first country in the world to start a vaccination programme using these vaccines. As of 26 January 2021, over 6.85 million people across the UK have been vaccinated with the first dose of the vaccine. We continue to work to meet our target of vaccinating all four priority groups by 15 February.
Vaccines are a precious resource in very high demand across the world; therefore, for security reasons it is not possible to provide detail about the size of our supplies and exact detail about deliveries.
The Government has made several strategic investments in UK vaccine manufacturing capabilities to increase its capacity, ensuring we are able to manufacture across different vaccine technologies and embed resilience. This includes:
Both the VMIC and Braintree sites are flexible to vaccine types, including messenger RNA (mRNA), viral vector, and protein sub-unit. These sites could have a role in providing capability to manufacture vaccines to address the emerging variants of the COVID-19 virus.
The Government has also invested through UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) to support the creation of a new Centre of Excellence in mRNA vaccine manufacture at the Centre for Process Innovation (CPI), with equipment that can manufacture mRNA for vaccines. This funding has upgraded CPI’s National Biologics Manufacturing Centre at Darlington to obtain good manufacturing practice certification for the manufacture of RNA products including mRNA for clinical trials. A key advantage of RNA vaccines is how quickly they can be developed compared with other platforms.
The Government invested over £300 million in 2020 to secure and scale-up the UK’s manufacturing capabilities to respond to this pandemic, including:
- £127 million towards the Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult Braintree in Essex;
- £93 million to accelerate the completion and expanded role of the Vaccine Manufacturing Innovation Centre in Oxfordshire;
- £4.7 million for skills training through the Advanced Therapies Skills Training Network, which will be delivered through both virtual and physical centres;
- £8.75 million for the set-up of the rapid deployment facility at Oxford Biomedica in Oxfordshire; and
- £65.5 million for the manufacture of the University of Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccine.
In addition to the above, we have also funded the fill and finish of vaccines through a contract with Wockhardt in Wrexham, North Wales, as well as the expansion of the Valneva factory in Livingston, Scotland. However, we are not able to give further details on these two developments owing to commercial confidentiality.
The Government takes security extremely seriously and is ensuring all necessary steps are taken.
Vaccines are a precious resource and are in very high demand across the world; therefore, for security reasons it is not possible to provide detail about the size of our supplies or give exact detail about future deliveries.
We have been monitoring the requirements across the supply chain from supplier through to patients for some time. All vaccine candidates’ supply and onward deployment have clear supply chain plans across the value chain, including materials, manufacturing, transportation, storage, and distribution.
As of 18 January 2021, over 4.6 million people in the UK had been vaccinated with the first dose of the vaccine. We are in the process of understanding the implications of Pfizer’s announcement on 15 January regarding upgrades to its manufacturing capacity. We continue to work to meet our target of vaccinating all four priority groups, as advised by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, by the middle of February.
We have been monitoring the requirements across the supply chain from supplier through to patients for some time. All vaccine candidates’ supply and onward deployment have clear supply chain plans across the value chain, including materials, manufacturing, transportation, storage, and distribution.
Three of the UK's seven COVID-19 vaccines are being manufactured in the UK. The Government has worked closely with the manufacturers to ensure that we have sufficient capacity secured.
The Government has also invested over £300 million in securing and scaling up the UK’s manufacturing capabilities to be able to respond to this pandemic.
We have been monitoring the requirements across the supply chain from supplier through to patients for some time. All vaccine candidates’ supply and onward deployment have clear supply chain plans across the value chain, including materials, manufacturing, transportation, storage, and distribution.
Three of the UK's seven COVID-19 vaccines are being manufactured in the UK. The Government has worked closely with the manufacturers to ensure that we have sufficient capacity secured.
The Government has also invested over £300 million in securing and scaling up the UK’s manufacturing capabilities to be able to respond to this pandemic.
The Department has been in close contact with the metals recycling sector during this challenging period. The sector has seen a reduction to material flows throughout the economy, which is impacting their output.
The metals recycling sector has made use of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and we have also promoted the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, alongside other business support schemes.
The Government is mindful of the important role that the metals recycling sector plays in keeping our economy moving and we continue to be receptive to their concerns.
Of the £750 million, £360m will be allocated by central government to charities in England. This will include up to £200m support for hospices, with the rest going to organisations including St Johns’ Ambulance and the Citizens Advice Bureau as well as charities supporting vulnerable children and victims of domestic abuse. Government Departments have made bids identifying which charities will require their support. The bids are currently being assessed with departments, No 10 and the Treasury.
A further £370m will support smaller, local charities working with vulnerable people. In England, £310m of this will be provided through the National Lottery Community Fund. To ensure funding is distributed equitably, £60m of this amount will be allocated through the Barnett formula so the devolved administrations are funded to provide similar support in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Finally, the remainder of the amount is Government match funding of the money raised during the BBC’s Big Night in. The first £20m of this will go to the National Emergencies Trust and the remainder will go through the BBC charities who will be administering this funding.
The new subjects of relationships education (for primary age pupils), relationships and sex education (for secondary age pupils) and health education (for all pupils in state-funded schools) will become compulsory in September 2020. Many schools are already teaching aspects of these subjects as part of their sex and relationship education provision or personal, social, health and economic education programme. These subjects are designed to foster respect for others and for difference, educating pupils about healthy relationships.
The Department is investing in a central programme of support for the new subjects, which is planned to be available to all teachers from spring 2020.
This support will be accessed through a new online service and will include an implementation guide, which will accompany the statutory guidance, case studies from early adopter schools, and innovative materials to support staff training. The online training modules will also support teachers in developing inclusive teaching, including LGBT-inclusive approaches. The Department is working with a wide range of schools, teachers and expert organisations, including Stonewall, the NSPCC and teaching unions, to develop this support. There will also be training available for teachers through regional networks, offering opportunities to improve subject knowledge and build confidence.
The Department has also been working closely with over 1,600 schools who are acting on a voluntary basis as early adopters of the new subjects, so that we can support their journey, learn lessons and share good practice amongst all schools.
The Department will ensure that the central programme and materials supporting implementation of the new subjects are inclusive. We recognise fully the need to disseminate the good practice in teaching about LGBT relationships that is seen in large numbers of our schools.
The new subjects of relationships education (for primary age pupils), relationships and sex education (for secondary age pupils) and health education (for all pupils in state-funded schools) will become compulsory in September 2020. Many schools are already teaching aspects of these subjects as part of their sex and relationship education provision or personal, social, health and economic education programme. These subjects are designed to foster respect for others and for difference, educating pupils about healthy relationships.
The Department is investing in a central programme of support for the new subjects, which is planned to be available to all teachers from spring 2020.
This support will be accessed through a new online service and will include an implementation guide, which will accompany the statutory guidance, case studies from early adopter schools, and innovative materials to support staff training. The online training modules will also support teachers in developing inclusive teaching, including LGBT-inclusive approaches. The Department is working with a wide range of schools, teachers and expert organisations, including Stonewall, the NSPCC and teaching unions, to develop this support. There will also be training available for teachers through regional networks, offering opportunities to improve subject knowledge and build confidence.
The Department has also been working closely with over 1,600 schools who are acting on a voluntary basis as early adopters of the new subjects, so that we can support their journey, learn lessons and share good practice amongst all schools.
The Department will ensure that the central programme and materials supporting implementation of the new subjects are inclusive. We recognise fully the need to disseminate the good practice in teaching about LGBT relationships that is seen in large numbers of our schools.
The Environment Agency does not hold the data for the volume of sewage released by storm overflows.
Working with water companies, the Environment Agency has concluded a programme to install Event Duration Monitors on the vast majority of storm overflows, just over 80% of the overflows in England by the end of 2020. These monitors provide a robust and consistent way of monitoring how often and for how long storm overflows are used, but do not measures volume. This underpins the Environment Agency planning, compliance and enforcement work. By the end of 2023, the remaining number will be monitored to provide a complete picture of permitted storm overflows in England.
This level of detailed information is not routinely collated and cannot be readily compiled from information held by Defra for residential or commercial waste originating in England. Waste is a devolved matter and the data on waste treated in Wales by incineration would be held by the Welsh Government.
Waste is a devolved matter. The data on waste treated in Wales by incineration would be held by the Welsh Government. No such assessment has been made by this Department.
This is a devolved matter and the information provided therefore relates to England only. Regulation of incinerators in England is split between the Environment Agency (EA) and local authorities. The EA regulates incinerators with a capacity of greater than 3 tonnes per hour for non-hazardous waste and 10 tonnes per day for hazardous waste. Incinerators below this size are regulated by local authorities.
Since the start of 2015 the EA has granted 27 permits for new incinerators which may take in waste arising from domestic, commercial and industrial sources and which can be classed under the following waste types for each year:
Principle waste type | Number of permits issued | ||||
2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | |
Mixed municipal waste | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
Waste wood | 2 | 2 | 5 | 2 | - |
Refuse-derived fuel | 1 | 1 | - | 2 | 1 |
Solid recovered fuel | 1 | - | - | - | - |
Non-recyclable waste plastics | - | - | - | - | 1 |
The EA also refused one permit in 2016 for a mixed municipal waste incinerator because the operator had failed to demonstrate that the height of its chimney was satisfactory.
While the EA has only refused one incinerator permit application in the last five years, other potentially unsuitable plants have been prevented during that time due to challenges from the EA, either as part of discussions before a formal application was made, or during the assessment process leading to the operator withdrawing their application. However, the EA does not keep records of such events.
No UK Official Development Assistance bilateral programmes have been suspended since 1 March 2020 in Zimbabwe, Zambia or Tanzania.
The PM has launched a government-wide review of the UK’s foreign, defence, security and development policy. As the UK’s Development Finance institution, wholly owned by the Crown, CDC will be part and parcel of this integrated review. The Crown’s shareholding in CDC is not expected to change. Ministerial oversight of CDC will continue to be exercised by the Secretary of State for International Development until September, at which time Ministerial oversight of CDC will pass to the Foreign Secretary as the Secretary of State responsible for the new Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. There will continue to be parliamentary scrutiny of CDC. It is not anticipated that the creation of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office will require any legislative changes in relation to CDC.
One DFID programme in Africa has been suspended since 1 March 2020. This is the ‘Promoting Learning in Agribusiness using New Technology Programme’ in Nigeria. More information about this programme can be found on the DFID DevTracker website https://devtracker.dfid.gov.uk/projects/GB-GOV-1-300779
Official Development Assistance is subject to the same rules as all public expenditure. In line with HMT’s Managing Public Money guidance, the Home Secretary and her accounting officer hold financial responsibility and accountability to Parliament and UK taxpayers for their ODA spend.
The business activities of these investments are:
Business name | Business activities |
Shan Orchard | An agri-business focussed on the production of avocados |
Frontiir Co. Ltd | An internet service provider |
Solar Home Pte Ltd | A provider of pay-as-you-go solar home systems. |
MC Easy Microfinance Co. Ltd | A microfinance institution |
Alliance for Microfinance in Myanmar Ltd | A microfinance institution |
Advans Myanmar | A microfinance institution |
Irrawaddy Green Tower | An infrastructure provider of telecommunications towers |
Neither the Government of Myanmar or local state authorities are on the shareholder lists of any of the above businesses.
As stated in Written Question 46671, CDC has invested a total of $78,795,576 into the above companies over the last five years (2015-19). A $50,000,000 direct debt investment was made in Irrawaddy Green Tower Project in 2016. A $20,000,000 direct equity investment was made in Frontiir Co. Ltd in 2019. The remainder has been invested through 4 investment funds. These are Anthem Asia Myanmar SME Venture Fund, Insitor Impact Asia Fund Private Ltd, Myanmar Opportunities Fund II and Advans S.A. These funds have made six investments over the last five years in Shan Orchard, Solar Home Pte Ltd, MC Easy Microfinance Co. Ltd, Alliance for Microfinance in Myanmar Ltd, Advans Myanmar and Frontiir Co Ltd.
CDC discloses on its website the amount it invests into companies, projects and investment funds. The amount invested by those funds into underlying investments is not disclosed as this information is commercially sensitive
CDC’s rigorous due diligence process involves assessing a wide range of Environmental and Social, as well as Business Integrity risks and involves the production of multiple separate documents and reports. Ordinarily, CDC does not publish the suite of documents related to the due diligence it undertakes in the course of making investments because these documents contain commercially confidential or sensitive information about the business being reviewed.
On that basis, DFID does not intend to publish the documents related to the due diligence of investments listed above.
CDC does publish an overview of expected development impact, including key elements related to Environmental and Social issues, for new investments into companies and funds. The next update of CDC’s database will be available from July when CDC publishes its Annual Review.
We are deeply concerned about COVID-19 and the desert locust outbreak compounding high humanitarian need already caused by residual effects of war and climate change induced disasters in Eritrea. Limited health infrastructure, limited diagnostic capacity, low levels of sanitation coverage and high pre-existing levels of malnutrition and morbidity, raise the Eritrean population’s vulnerability. The locust outbreak is destroying crops, livelihoods and essential food supplies. The impact of COVID-19 on domestic market supply chains and household food and income sources could also be significant.
Existing humanitarian and development programmes in Eritrea are being adapted to address current food security challenges. The UK has funded life-saving activity in Eritrea for several years, including providing £4 million to UNICEF in 2019-20 to help treat malnutrition in under-fives and provide access to safe hygiene and sanitation services. The UK has provided £7 million to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Regional Emergency Appeal for the locust outbreak, which includes Eritrea. With the UK’s support, the FAO is spraying pesticides on the ground and by air to prevent further damage to crops and livelihoods.
Recent changes in the Government of Ethiopia’s (GoE) asylum policies, alongside the impact of COVID-19, are affecting the ability of Eritreans to acquire refugee status in Ethiopia. The policy changes have seen a reduction in the numbers of Eritreans registering with the GoE and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Humanitarian agencies are now concerned that many Eritreans, including unaccompanied children, arrive in Ethiopia but do not complete the formal registration processes that facilitate access to lifesaving protection and other forms of assistance. This makes it challenging to assess their humanitarian needs.
We are not aware that unaccompanied children are being turned away at the Ethiopian border. However, in an effort to limit transmission of COVID-19 GoE asylum personnel are no longer deployed at border crossings, which complicates registration processes for newly arrived asylum seekers. Despite these complications we are encouraged that recent COVID-19 planning documents shared by the GoE stress Ethiopia’s commitment to uphold the right to asylum.
In Ethiopia, the UK has allocated £22.2 million to COVID-19 activities with urgent support now reaching refugees and other communities across the country. Ongoing UK funded programmes are also being adapted to meet COVID-19 needs, which refugees are also benefitting from.
In addition to a financial and development impact assessment, when making an investment CDC evaluates a wide range of Environmental and Social (E&S), as well as Business Integrity, risks through a rigorous due diligence process. All of CDC’s investments follow its Code of Responsible Investing.
In the case of CDC’s investment into Frontiir, this included a stand-alone E&S due diligence with the terms of reference explicitly aligned to the CDC Code of Responsible Investing. The methodology included a site visit to Frontiir’s operations and a review of relevant documentation. The scope of the due diligence placed a focus on contextual factors including implications for any disadvantaged or vulnerable groups, indigenous peoples, alignment with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, forced labour/child labour, occupational health and safety and understanding how data security and privacy are handled, including censorship and government disclosure.
CDC provides further guidance on due diligence in its ESG Toolkit.
The amount CDC invested into companies in Myanmar in the each of the last five years is:
2015 | Nil |
2016 | $50,965,888 |
2017 | $5,534,404 |
2018 | $2,021,605 |
2019 | $20,273,679 |
The names of companies that received investment in this period are: Shan Orchard, Frontiir Co. Ltd, Solar Home Pte Ltd, MC Easy Microfinance Co. Ltd, Alliance for Microfinance in Myanmar Ltd, Advans Myanmar, Irrawaddy Green Tower Project.
The Partnership Principles play an important role in the UK Government’s decision-making process, helping to inform the extent to which we work directly with partner governments in countries where we have a bilateral aid programme.
CDC invests in private companies to achieve development impact. It does not lend to governments or invest in state owned enterprises. The Partnership Principles do not readily apply when making investments in private companies, however CDC nonetheless ensures that all its investee companies meet high environmental, social and governance standards through their Code of Responsible Investing.
CDC’s investment into Frontiir followed their Code of Responsible Investing.
DFID’s Partnership Principles underpin our development relationships with partner country governments. The last major update to the Principles was made in 2015.
The Principles continue to reflect core UK values on human rights and good governance and are an essential tool in providing a balanced judgement of a partner government’s shared commitment to those values.
They allow UK Ministers to make informed choices on our aid relationships on a case by case basis, and they improve the effectiveness of our aid, ultimately supporting countries receiving it to become self-sufficient.
The most recent meeting between Peter Sands and UK Ministers was with the Secretary of State for International Development’s predecessor at the Global Fund Sixth Replenishment Conference in Lyon on 10 October 2019. The UK is a strong supporter of the Global Fund and the second largest donor to the Sixth Replenishment.