Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Kilburn)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, when his Department last made an assessment of the environmental effect of fossil fuel projects financed by his Department through the Private Infrastructure Development Group.
Answered by James Duddridge
The Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG) prioritises investments in renewables wherever possible. PIDG does not have any active fossil fuel extraction projects, and PIDG’s strategy rules out any investments in coal.
PIDG conducts an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment on all projects before approving any investment. Each investment must comply with PIDG’s Environment, Social, Health and Safety standards, which are based on the internationally recognised International Finance Corporation Environment and Social Performance Standards. This includes minimum requirements in areas such as use of natural resources, biodiversity, labour standards and land resettlement.
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Kilburn)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what environmental impact assessments his Department has made in relation to fossil fuel extraction projects financed by the Private Infrastructure Development Group.
Answered by James Duddridge
The Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG) does not have any active fossil fuel extraction projects, and PIDG’s strategy rules out any investing in coal. In 2004, PIDG did provide one-off funding of $500,000 (£273,000) for technical assistance to the Government of Mozambique on the feasibility of establishing a coal mine in the town of Moatize in Mozambique. However, no follow-on funding was provided to support this project. PIDG is also not able to invest in the exploration, extraction or refining of oil, natural gas or liquid petroleum gas.
PIDG conducts an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment on all projects before approving any investment. Each investment must comply with PIDG’s Environment, Social, Health and Safety standards, which are based on the internationally recognised International Finance Corporation Environment and Social Performance Standards. DFID monitors compliance with these policies as part of its ongoing role as a PIDG Owner.
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Kilburn)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent assessment his Department has made of the effect of trends in the level of fossil fuel usage in developing countries on levels of poverty in those countries.
Answered by James Duddridge
Energy is essential for development and poverty reduction, and there are many assessments that show that poor countries will need to increase investments in energy in the coming years to increase economic growth and improve the lives of poor people. Two recent examples of such assessments include the 2019 Sustainable Development Goal 7 Energy Progress Report, and Sustainable Energy for All’s ‘Energising Finance: Understanding the Landscape 2018’.
The science is clear that the world must reduce its emissions if we are to avoid dangerous climate change, which risks undermining development gains and pushing more people into poverty. This will need to be a collective global effort, from all countries, and the UK is leading by example, setting a target to reach net zero by 2050.
The UK is providing support to developing countries to think about their choices and how to best to secure the energy they need.
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Kilburn)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much money his Department paid into offshore bank accounts in financial year 2018-19.
Answered by James Duddridge
The information requested is not easily accessible and the cost to extract would be disproportionate.
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Kilburn)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many fossil fuel extraction projects the Department has allocated funding to through the private infrastructure development group; when funding was allocated to each of those projects; and how much funding was allocated.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
DFID invests in the Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG) to improve access to critical infrastructure services for people in the poorest regions of Africa and Asia – in sectors such as power, communications, transport and water.
PIDG has no active investments in any fossil fuel extraction projects. PIDG does not invest in the exploration, extraction or refining of oil, natural gas or liquid petroleum gas.
In 2004, PIDG did provide one-off funding of $500,000 (£273,000) for technical assistance to the Government of Mozambique on the feasibility of establishing a coal mine in the town of Moatize in Mozambique. PIDG’s strategy now rules out any investing in coal.
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Kilburn)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, on what occasions his Department's audit committee has formally reviewed the adequacy of its audit arrangements for grantees and recipients of official development assistance since 2010.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
DFID implements robust controls to ensure that partners’ UK aid programmes deliver value for money, reflect our values and comply with relevant laws. DFID’s Audit and Risk Assurance Committee meets at least five times each year and reviews the strength of these controls on an ongoing basis. The Committee draws on audits conducted by DFID’s Internal Audit Department and the National Audit Office.
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Kilburn)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, when his Department last undertook an assessment of the adequacy of the audit arrangements for recipients of (a) Official Development Assistance and (b) grants issued by his Department.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
DFID commissions all of its programming activities to be compliant with the best practice programme delivery framework – the Smart Rules. All programmes must be compliant with the Smart Rules which are designed to accord with the public financial management legislation for grants and, where applicable, with EU procurement regulations for private sector contracts.
Before DFID authorises any payments to awarded grants and/or contracts, due diligence assessments or competitive tendering procedures are undertaken to assess the relative strengths and weaknesses of the potential recipient organisation. This will include assessing governance procedures and the recipient’s own capabilities of oversight and audit of sub-partners. We also test a range of additional qualitative standards such as their capabilities in financial management, programme management, environmental/social responsibility, safeguarding and ethical trading.
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Kilburn)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much her Department has spent on promoted content on (a) Twitter, (b) Facebook and (c) Instagram in each month since June 2017.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
The Department for International Development has spent £0 on promoted activity with these platforms since June 2017 through its media buying agency Carat. The Department spent £1,000 on Facebook to drive up awareness of Soccer Aid for UNICEF in June 2018.
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Kilburn)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if her Department will publish a response to the report of Save The Children entitled War on Children, published in February 2018; and what steps her Department is taking better to protect children in those conflict zones referred to in the report.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
The UK is firmly committed to ensuring that the needs of children affected by conflict are addressed. 50% of DFID’s spending is directed towards fragile states and regions, including the many countries which Save the Children highlights are the most dangerous for children.
Our investment in protecting children in conflict zones is emphasised through our many multi-lateral and bilateral programmes around the world. Some of the examples of how we achieve this are as follows. We are the largest contributor to Education Cannot Wait, the first global movement aid fund dedicated to education in emergencies and protracted crises. Through this, we target some of the world’s most vulnerable children, aiming to reach 3.4 million children through its first set of investments. We contribute funds to the No Lost Generation Initiative, a commitment by the international community to support children and youth affected by the Syria and Iraq crises, mainly in education and protection. In Somalia, we work with the UN and international NGOs to ensure the rights of children affected by conflict are addressed through family reunification, support to their nutrition needs and reducing the risks faced by displaced children. In Yemen and Iraq we fund UN agencies to undertake critical child protection work. In Afghanistan we seek to change the way the conflict is fought to reduce child casualties and ensure that vulnerable children have access to supportive services.
We do not have plans to publish a response to Save the Children’s report, The War on Children - DFID officials are in regular contact with Save the Children on this agenda. We recently partnered to co-host a high level Wilton Park dialogue to address the mental health and psychosocial support needs of children affected by conflict in the Middle East.
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Kilburn)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what the cost to the public purse is for initiatives aimed at preventing female genital mutilation overseas since 2016; and which countries have received that funding.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The UK is proud to be a world-leader in our support for the Africa-led movement to end FGM. Our spending data is available on DFID’s Development Tracker. Our direct FGM programmes have a budget of more than £50m between 2013-2020. This includes our £35 million flagship programme working across 16 countries (Burkina Faso, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Mali, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Somalia, Sudan, The Gambia and Uganda), significant complementary bilateral investments in Sudan and Somalia and support to grassroots organisations working across Africa and the Middle East