Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Henry Smith and Penny Mordaunt

Wednesday 23rd May 2018 Commons Chamber

[Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)]

4. What steps she is taking to help small UK charities access funding from her Department.

[The Secretary of State for International Development (Penny Mordaunt)]

DFID’s small charities challenge fund was launched last summer to support small UK-based charities working in international development. The first round of grants will be announced shortly and the second review of applications is under way. We are also looking to improve the scheme.

[Henry Smith]

Crawley-based Vision Aid Overseas does really effective work in Africa, helping to provide sight health to some of the world’s poorest. Will the Secretary of State endorse such work and congratulate those local UK-based charities, which can make a real difference?

[Penny Mordaunt]

I thank my hon. Friend for the opportunity to praise the work of Vision Aid Overseas. It is absolutely right that we want to connect more of these small, fantastic UK charities with the developing world. The “GREAT for Partnership” initiative will help us to do that.

--- Later in debate ---

[Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)]

T4. What is my right hon. Friend doing to bring about greater transparency in the international aid system to ensure that there is probity and that other countries pay their fair share to international development?

[Penny Mordaunt]

DFID scores very highly on the international aid transparency initiative, and we are working with other nations and multilaterals to help them to reach the same standards. We are also leading the charge on combating illicit money flows and capital flight, which is necessary if we are to help developing nations.

Syria

Debate between Henry Smith and Penny Mordaunt

Monday 30th April 2018 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

Yes, and my hon. Friend enables me to make a further point, which is that many of the refugees who are resident in these host countries are not there passively receiving aid, but are actively contributing to those societies. They are running businesses and engaging in economic activity. We need to ensure that people who have been there for many years and may remain for some time have the best possible future. It is right that we in the UK take in those who need additional protections and additional care and support.

[Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)]

The Syrian civil war is obviously controversial, as is the UK’s international aid budget. What more can the Department do to promote the good aid work that the UK is doing in respect of the Syrian conflict? As the Secretary of State mentioned, we are the second largest bilateral donor, after the United States.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Henry Smith and Penny Mordaunt

Wednesday 29th November 2017 Commons Chamber

[Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)]

I recently visited some schools in Africa where, in classrooms of more than 100 pupils, those with special educational needs, right at the back, had very little chance of accessing education. How will my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State—I congratulate her on her new position—prioritise disability support in education in developing countries?

[Penny Mordaunt]

I thank my hon. Friend for raising this subject, which is very close to my heart. He will not have long to wait—perhaps it will be a matter of hours—for my first announcement on how the DFID budget will support disability.