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Written Question
Overseas Aid
Thursday 9th July 2020

Asked by: Tracey Crouch (Conservative - Chatham and Aylesford)

Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure that the situation of religious minorities is considered as part of decisions on the allocation of UK Official Development Assistance.

Answered by Nigel Adams

The UK Government works to ensure that Official Development Assistance is allocated to those who are most vulnerable and most in need of this assistance irrespective of race, religion or ethnicity. This includes minority religious communities, who are assessed by our partners when determining those most in need of protection and assistance.

Vulnerable religious minority groups will experience crises such as COVID-19 outbreaks differently. Crises are likely to reinforce their marginalised position in society, their experience of discrimination, violence and stigma, and further limit their access to essential support and services. For this reason, guidance was circulated across DFID highlighting that inclusion must be central to our response and the specific contexts and needs of vulnerable religious communities and other vulnerable groups should be taken into account when developing practical programmes of assistance.

On 8 June, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon hosted a roundtable to hear from faith leaders and faith-based development organisations about the specific challenges minority faith communities were facing during this COVID-19 pandemic.


Written Question
Overseas Aid
Thursday 9th July 2020

Asked by: Tracey Crouch (Conservative - Chatham and Aylesford)

Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment she has made of the level of demand for aid from countries that receive UK aid where people are persecuted due to their faith.

Answered by Nigel Adams

The UK Government works to ensure that UK aid is allocated to those who are most vulnerable and most in need of this assistance. This includes persecuted religious communities, who are assessed when determining those most in need of protection and assistance. DFID’s use of country context analysis has increased the extent to which religious dynamics and religious groups are factored into all of our country programmes. DFID undertakes interdisciplinary analysis of a country’s politics, society, state and economy to identify the most significant problems that hinder development and the main entry points and opportunities to create change. There is a strong emphasis on how politics, security, and demographics interact with economic growth and human development. This includes the role of religion and the persecution of religious minorities.

On 8 June, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minister of State for Human Rights, hosted a roundtable to hear from faith leaders and faith-based development organisations about the challenges minority faith communities were facing, especially during this COVID-19 pandemic.


Written Question
Overseas Aid: Religion
Wednesday 8th July 2020

Asked by: Tracey Crouch (Conservative - Chatham and Aylesford)

Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her the Government is taking to help ensure that recipients of UK aid from (a) Christian and (b) other religious minorities not are not discriminated against because of their faith.

Answered by Nigel Adams

The UK Government works to ensure that recipients of UK Aid, including Christian and other minority religious communities, are not discriminated against because of their faith. The UK is committed to delivering its humanitarian aid according to internationally recognised humanitarian principles. These principles ensure that humanitarian assistance is delivered to those who are most vulnerable and most in need of this assistance irrespective of race, religion or ethnicity. This includes minority religious communities, who are assessed by our partners when determining those most in need of protection and assistance.

Vulnerable minority groups will experience COVID-19 outbreaks differently. COVID-19 is likely to reinforce their marginalised position in society, their experience of discrimination, violence and stigma, and further limit their access to essential support and services. For this reason, guidance was circulated across DFID highlighting that inclusion must be central to our response and the specific contexts and needs of vulnerable religious communities and other vulnerable groups should be taken into account when developing practical programmes to tackle COVID-19.

On 8 June, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minister of State responsible for Human Rights, hosted a roundtable to hear from faith leaders and faith-based development organisations about whether minority faith communities were facing specific challenges during this COVID-19 pandemic.


Written Question
Overseas Aid: Sports
Monday 11th March 2019

Asked by: Tracey Crouch (Conservative - Chatham and Aylesford)

Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether her Department has made an assessment of the effect of sporting charities and development work on the UK's international reputation.

Answered by Harriett Baldwin

DFID has not made an overall assessment of the effect of supporting sporting charities on the UK’s reputation. We recognise the role sport can play in development, including social integration and inclusion, health and well-being and improving learning outcomes. As part of DFID’s due diligence process we assess all risks including reputational risk before funding a charity.

Last year we matched all donations to Soccer Aid pound-for-pound, up to the value of £5 million. The money raised was spent on UNICEF’s work to help vulnerable children in Swaziland and Lesotho. We will continue to support Soccer Aid with a new appeal in 2019.