Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
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 ensure that education projects in Myanmar funded by the British taxpayer do not discriminate against ethnic minority languages.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The UK, together with the US, Australia and Finland, is providing funding to the Myanmar Education Consortium (MEC). MEC's principle focus is providing education for ethnic communities, often living in areas outside the military regime's control. MEC is supporting over 200,000 children in hard-to-reach areas and is also promoting ethnic languages so children can learn in their mother tongue as well as gender equality, disability and social inclusion.
Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department has taken recent steps to help prevent the supply of aviation fuel to the Myanmar military.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
On 31 January the UK sanctioned two companies and two individuals responsible for supplying the military regime with aviation fuel. We have also updated our Overseas Business Risk Guidance to make it clear UK businesses should conduct thorough supply-chain due diligence to ensure commodities, such as aviation fuel, do not reach the Myanmar military. The UK is committed to targeted sanctions which impose a cost on those profiting from, or supporting, the regime's campaign of violence against the civilian population.
Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what his Department's Overseas Development Aid budget was for Kenya in each of the last 15 years.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The official source of data on UK Official Development Assistance (ODA) is Statistics on International Development (SID).
Table 1 below provides the volume of country-specific UK bilateral ODA provided for the benefit of Kenya from 2009 - 2021 (the latest year for which data is published). The UK also spends ODA in the form of unearmarked contributions to multilateral organisations and there is also bilateral spend to programmes which benefit multiple countries/regions. Some of this may benefit Kenya but it is not possible to provide a specific breakdown for Kenya.
Table 1: Volume of UK bilateral ODA provided for the benefit of Kenya (2009-2021)
Year | Total UK Bilateral ODA (£ thousand) |
2009 | 84,026 |
2010 | 68,136 |
2011 | 88,593 |
2012 | 101,656 |
2013 | 159,405 |
2014 | 134,850 |
2015 | 155,575 |
2016 | 133,813 |
2017 | 152,807 |
2018 | 116,123 |
2019 | 134,334 |
2020 | 91,958 |
2021 | 71,993 |
Source: Statistics for International Development https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-on-international-development |
Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he plans to make reductions in his Department's budget to fund the recently announced £16.6 million aid package to Ethiopia; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The funding forms part of the £156 million in humanitarian aid that the UK previously committed to East Africa in financial year 2022-2023. The £16.6 million of UK funding is going towards the Productive Safety Net Programme (PSNP) and to the World Food Programme.
Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 28 October 2022 to Question 70949 on Israel: Palestinians, what response his Department has received to its representations on Palestinians killed and injured by Israeli Defence Forces in the West Bank and Gaza and the need for investigations.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We regularly raise the issue of the high numbers of Palestinians killed and injured by Israeli Defence Forces in the West Bank and Gaza with the Israeli authorities. We encourage them to carry out swift, transparent and thorough investigations and, if wrongdoing is found, that those responsible be held to account. We will continue to stress the importance of the Israeli security forces providing appropriate protection to the Palestinian civilian population, particularly the need to protect children, and urge restraint in the use of live fire.
Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to triple adaptation finance by 2025.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK has a strong track record of supporting adaptation and resilience programmes in developing countries; since 2011 our International Climate Finance has supported over 95 million people to cope with the effects of climate change. We will build on our successful portfolio of programmes and partnerships to meet the target of tripling adaptation finance to £1.5 billion in 2025.
Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
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 support east Africa in tackling the spread of hunger.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
Across East Africa conflict, climate change and the Covid-19 pandemic are placing communities under huge pressure. More than 68 million people in the region now require life-saving aid of whom 51 million people face severe food insecurity. Needs are most pressing in Somalia, Ethiopia and South Sudan. The UK is playing a lead in responding. UK funding of £156 million will help to provide millions of people with essential services and supplies including food, nutritional support, clean water and healthcare. We are also working with the UN and the World Bank to ensure appropriate responses from the multilateral system.
Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
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 levels of hunger in east Africa; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
Across East Africa conflict, climate change and the Covid-19 pandemic are placing communities under huge pressure. More than 68 million people in the region now require life-saving aid of whom 51 million people face severe food insecurity. Needs are most pressing in Somalia, Ethiopia and South Sudan. The UK is playing a lead in responding. UK funding of £156 million will help to provide millions of people with essential services and supplies including food, nutritional support, clean water and healthcare. We are also working with the UN and the World Bank to ensure appropriate responses from the multilateral system.
Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
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 use of live ammunition by Israeli forces against Palestinian children in the West Bank; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
We regularly raise the issue of the high numbers of Palestinians killed and injured by Israeli Defence Forces in the West Bank and Gaza with the Israeli authorities, encouraging them to carry out swift, transparent and thorough investigations and, if wrongdoing is found, that those responsible be held to account. We will continue to stress the importance of the Israeli security forces providing appropriate protection to the Palestinian civilian population, particularly the need to protect children, and urge restraint in the use of live fire.
Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
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 his Israeli counterpart on launching independent investigations into the death of (a) Mohammad Akram Ali Taher Abu Salah on 14 February 2022 and (b) Mohammed Rezq Shehadeh Saleh on 22 February 2022.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
We regularly raise the issue of the high numbers of Palestinians killed and injured by Israeli Defence Forces in the West Bank and Gaza with the Israeli authorities, encouraging them to carry out swift, transparent and thorough investigations and, if wrongdoing is found, that those responsible be held to account. We will continue to stress the importance of the Israeli security forces providing appropriate protection to the Palestinian civilian population, particularly the need to protect children, and urge restraint in the use of live fire.