Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to Oxfam's report entitled Sick Development, published on 26 June 2023, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of reports of human rights abuses by British International Investment-funded private healthcare providers.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
British International Investment (BII) and the FCDO have reviewed the report. BII has strong policies in place through its Policy on Responsible Investing, which draws on the standards set out in the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. Legally binding action plans are agreed to improve standards of investees over a defined period; and investees are risk assessed on a quarterly basis. Alongside this, BII has an established confidential complaints mechanism [https://www.bii.co.uk/en/complaints-whistleblowing/]. BII investigates any complaints and take steps to address any failures in meeting desired standards.
Since the reported investments were made, BII has refocused its health investments into private hospitals and will only invest in hospitals that support a significant proportion of users who are on government payment schemes or on low incomes.
Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what (a) due diligence and (b) accountability mechanisms his Department has in place for British International Investment; and what assessment he has made of the adequacy of those mechanisms.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
British International Investment (BII) undertakes impact, commercial, environmental, social (including gender and diversity), governance and business integrity due diligence by specialist teams over a period of several months prior to a decision by the Investment Committee. Enhanced due diligence is undertaken for projects viewed to be high risk. BII has an established confidential complaints mechanism [https://www.bii.co.uk/en/complaints-whistleblowing/], which allows anyone outside BII to report alleged breaches of the Policy on Responsible Investing by an investee, portfolio company of a fund or BII. BII regularly reports to FCDO on both environmental, social and governance (ESG) and Business Integrity issues. FCDO undertakes periodic reviews of BII's assurance processes and recommends actions to improve their robustness, and monitors implementation of these.
Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many sewage leaks have been recorded within their Department's estate in the last twelve months.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has had no sewage leaks on the UK Estate during the last 12 months.
Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department has held discussions with (a) community groups and (b) other representatives of the Chagossian community on the negotiations on the exercise of sovereignty over the British Indian Ocean Territory.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
FCDO senior officials hosted an engagement event (which was opened by Lord Goldsmith) with individuals from Chagossian communities on 9 February 2023.
Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many civil servants have been involved in the delegation conducting negotiations with the Mauritian government on the exercise of sovereignty over the British Indian Ocean Territory.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK delegation is currently made up of 7 civil servants. Staffing numbers can fluctuate depending on the topics covered.
Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much of the £40m Chagossian Support Package has been distributed to the Chagossian community (a) in the UK and (b) abroad in each year since the fund was announced in 2016.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
A full breakdown of Chagossian Support Package spend is available on gov.uk.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/chagossian-support-package-projects-list
Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much funding his Department will provide for the women and girls strategy in the 2023-24 financial year; and whether he plans to publish an equalities impact assessment on the reduction in the level of Official Development Assistance since 2020.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
We will shortly launch the Women and Girls Strategy, setting out our commitments to stand up and speak out for women and girls. The Strategy's focus extends beyond ODA and is not expected to provide a 2023/24 funding target.
Women and girls, as a major theme within the International Development Strategy, remain a UK priority. We aim to maximise the impact of ODA, alongside other mechanisms, to support the lives of vulnerable people. Decisions on funding allocations are ongoing, including consideration of the impact on equalities. We are committed to transparency and will consider sharing further information on completion.
Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent estimate he has made of when negotiations on the exercise of sovereignty over the British Indian Ocean Territory with the Mauritian government will conclude.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The negotiations on the exercise of sovereignty over the British Indian Ocean Territory / the Chagos Archipelago will continue over the coming months.
Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether other countries have been represented (a) officially and (b) as observers in the negotiations with the Mauritian government on the exercise of sovereignty over the British Indian Ocean Territory.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The negotiations are held in private on a bilateral basis between the UK and Mauritius.
Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic steps his Department is taking to help promote gender equality globally.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK remains committed to putting women and girls at the heart of its foreign and development policy. The International Development Strategy includes a UK priority to provide women and girls with the freedom they need to succeed. The FCDO will publish an International Women and Girls Strategy in 2023, setting out how we will use our diplomatic, trade, security and development levers to achieve gender equality.