Asked by: Baroness Goudie (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that (1) funding, and (2) support, for Ukraine reaches its intended recipients, including (a) local, and (b) women-led, organisations.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) launched its Ukraine Appeal on 2 March which has now reached over £200 million, with the government matching £25 million of the public's donations. This is our largest ever aid-match contribution, which is helping DEC charities provide food, water, shelter and healthcare to refugees and displaced families.
We are working to ensure aid agencies are able to respond to the deteriorating humanitarian situation. The UK has deployed a field team of humanitarian experts to Poland to provide logistics advice and analyse the evolving refugee situation ensuring support provided to refugees, including women and girls, is tailored to the local context, including the threats they face. Our humanitarian support will be implemented by trusted humanitarian partners with expertise in protection and safeguarding.
Asked by: Baroness Goudie (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that (1) funding, and (2) diplomatic support, in respect of the war in Ukraine does not distract from efforts to help vulnerable people affected by crises in the rest of the world.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is one of the leading humanitarian donors to Ukraine, pledging £394 million in Aid, including £220 million of humanitarian assistance. These funds will be used to save lives, protect vulnerable people inside the country and in the wider region. In addition to funding, the UK has deployed field teams of humanitarian experts to Poland, Moldova and Romania to provide logistics advice and analyse the evolving refugee situation.
The UK remains committed to the pledges it has made in response to other humanitarian crises, including Yemen and Afghanistan. In Yemen, the total amount of UK funding since the conflict began is approximately £970 million. In Afghanistan, the UK will have disbursed approximately £286 million in aid, in the last financial year.
Asked by: Baroness Goudie (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when the UK aid budget will return 0.7 per cent of Gross National Income; and whether they consider the funding for Ukraine (1) to be part of the temporary 0.5 per cent target, or (2) to be additional expenditure.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government is committed to returning to spending 0.7% of GNI on official development assistance (ODA) when the fiscal situation allows.
The response to Ukraine is a priority for the FCDO and the international community. The UK has committed £394 million in aid to the current crisis in Ukraine the breakdown of which is in the Foreign Secretary's letter to the IDC [https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/9404/documents/161135/default]. This will come from the Official Development Assistance (ODA) budget. The Department is currently finalising allocations based on the Spending Review outcome and these will be published in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Goudie (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to introduce sanctions on Burmese companies involved in the supply of aviation fuel to the military in Myanmar.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The UK has been at the forefront of the international sanctions response. Since 1 February 2021, the UK has worked quickly, in coordination with partners, to impose targeted sanctions on the junta. We have sanctioned the junta's ruling body and its military leadership, as well as key revenue streams for the military, including three State Owned Enterprises, a high profile business associate, the two largest military business conglomerates and defence entities which arm and equip the military.
We cannot speculate on future designations but we are looking at a range of further targets and measures. The UK is committed to targeted sanctions which directly impact the military without harming the wider population.
Asked by: Baroness Goudie (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with representatives of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) about the case for not inviting Myanmar to participate to meetings of ASEAN and other such fora to avoid recognising or legitimising the military regime in that country.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The UK supports ASEAN's efforts to find a resolution to the crisis in Myanmar. We discussed the deteriorating situation with ASEAN partners at the G7 Foreign and Development Ministers' Meeting from 10-12 December. We reiterated our support for the ASEAN Five Point Consensus and raised the need to de-escalate conflict, tackle the flow of arms and ensure humanitarian access.
We acknowledge their landmark decision not to invite the Commander-in-Chief to their Leaders' Summit in October 2021, due to a lack of progress on the Five Point Consensus. We will continue to engage with ASEAN and the Special Envoy to express our concerns about the current crisis, and work together to push for a peaceful resolution.
Asked by: Baroness Goudie (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what cross-border aid they are providing to vulnerable populations in Myanmar.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
Meeting humanitarian needs and supporting the resilience of the most vulnerable remains our priority. Since the coup the FCDO has provided £49.4 million in aid to Myanmar. We continue to provide humanitarian assistance through International NGOs, the UN, Red Cross and civil society organisations to those affected by conflict and natural disasters including with food, water, hygiene and sanitation services, shelter, medical equipment, and protection for the most vulnerable especially in displacement camps.
We are closely monitoring the outbreaks of fighting, including on supply routes in border regions, to ensure support reaches those in most need. At present, the UK is funding partners providing assistance on the borders with Thailand and India. As the situation unfolds, we will continue to consider all options to ensure that humanitarian aid can be delivered to those that need it.
Asked by: Baroness Goudie (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of reductions to mine clearance funding.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
Since 2018, under the second iteration of the Global Mine Action Programme (GMAP2), the UK has been one of the most generous countries in the world in funding demining. By the end of financial year 2020/21, GMAP2 had invested £124 million in mine action activities, with at least £17 million more to be spent in this financial year. Under GMAP2 the UK has cleared and confirmed safe 435.2 million square metres of land, the equivalent of over 60,952 football pitches, and has delivered risk education messages to over 3.7 million people in communities affected by mines.
The FCDO remains committed to continuing its support to mine action across the globe. The Global Mine Action Programme 3 (GMAP3) is due to begin in financial year 2022/23. We are working towards finalising funding and country allocations and will share plans as soon as this work is complete.
Asked by: Baroness Goudie (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how much the UK will spend on mine clearance in Angola this year.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
Our Global Mine Action Programme (GMAP2) is forecasting spend of almost £1 million in Angola during this financial year (21/22) on mine clearance and other mine action activities such as risk education to help keep affected communities safe. This is additional to the £9.3 million we have already spent on mine action in Angola under GMAP2 since 2018.
As of September 2021, GMAP2 funded activity had cleared and confirmed safe over 27 million square metres of land in Angola (the equivalent of 3,784 football pitches) and provided 95,004 people with risk education. We are in the process of finalizing individual country allocations for the next financial year (22/23) under the next iteration of our global mine action programme (GMAP3).
Asked by: Baroness Goudie (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to increase assistance for women and girls in Afghanistan.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We continue to raise rights of women and girls in our political engagement with the Taliban, including pressing them to ensure full and equal access to education for all. The Government has doubled our aid to £286 million FY 2021/22. We have now disbursed over £145 million which will support over 3.4 million people in Afghanistan and the region, providing emergency food, health, shelter, water and protection. Our humanitarian programmes will provide assistance to the most vulnerable, including women and girls. We are also funding child protection support and supporting access to gender-based violence services. In addition, we are meeting directly with Afghan women to inform our policies and programmes.
Asked by: Baroness Goudie (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to strengthen UK legislation on supply chain impacts on human rights, given their commitment to implementing the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government is clear that it expects all UK businesses to respect human rights throughout their operations, in line with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. In response to the Guidelines, the UK was the first State to produce a National Action Plan https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/522805/Good_Business_Implementing_the_UN_Guiding_Principles_on_Business_and_Human_Rights_updated_May_2016.pdf.
We have enhanced supply chain transparency through the Companies Act (2013, 2016) and continue to strengthen the Modern Slavery Act 2015, including through the on-going review of the Modern Slavery Strategy which is due to be published in Spring 2022. Section 54 of the Act, places a requirement on businesses with a turnover of £36 million or more to publish an annual modern slavery statement stating the steps they have taken to prevent modern slavery in their operations and supply chains.
Following a public consultation in 2019 the Government committed to; extending reporting requirements to public bodies with a budget of £36 million or more; requiring organisations to submit reports by an annual deadline; and requiring organisations to publish their statement on the Government modern slavery statement registry. In January 2021, the Government announced that financial penalties will be introduced for organisations who fail to meet their statutory obligations to publish annual modern slavery statements.