Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps he is taking to tackle the transport needs of the global south to enable marginalised groups to engage in (a) education, (b) work, (c) healthcare, (d) leisure and (e) other life-supporting activities.

DFID’s transport projects are developing rural road networks and better transport services, such as affordable and accessible buses, to provide remote poor communities with access to services and better opportunities for trading.

For example, in Pakistan we are investing in highways that link more deprived areas to wealthier provinces; and in rural Nepal we have improved road access for isolated rural communities to schools, markets, and hospitals, reaching over two million people. We are also funding a £28m research programme to identify more cost-effective ways of improving transport connections for remote rural communities in Africa and Asia. This programme has developed new road standards and technical manuals which have been used on over 280,000km of rural roads.