Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the quality of the Rohingya people’s lives in Bangladesh.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
A June 2019 study by the Overseas Development Institute found that refugees felt that their lives would first and foremost be improved through education, then better living conditions, then the ability to support themselves. The study also describes the Rohingya people’s immediate concerns affecting their quality of life, including shelter conditions, lack of firewood or stoves, issues with healthcare, water, sanitation and hygiene and protection support, inadequate food and insufficient supplies.
The UK has committed £256 million in funding since August 2017 to improve many aspects of daily life including food security, nutrition, shelter, health, and education. The UK engages regularly with the Government of Bangladesh to discuss the need to improve refugees’ access to education, skills and livelihoods. While progress has been made, life within the camps remains challenging for the Rohingya and the uncertainty about their future is a difficult burden to bear. The UK has supported regular surveys conducted by Ground Truth Solutions to help the international community better understand the changing perspectives of the Rohingya in Bangladesh.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of access to humanitarian aid (1) entering, and (2) being distributed in Yemen.
Answered by Lord Bates
The vital Red Sea ports of Hodeidah and Saleef remain operational. Over the past three months, the average total commercial and humanitarian imports into Yemen met 90% of the country’s food needs and almost 80% of fuel needs.
We are acutely aware of the restrictions humanitarian actors face delivering aid across Yemen, particularly in Houthi-controlled areas. This includes bureaucratic obstacles such as long waits for visas and permits to start aid projects, as well as multiple permissions required to travel through checkpoints.
In response to these challenges, former Minister of State, Alistair Burt recently hosted a telephone conference call with the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen, Lise Grande, and the key UN agencies operating in Yemen where he discussed the steps needed from donors to lobby for better access as well as the work needed from the UN to ensure the humanitarian response prioritises those most in need.
The UK continues to raise humanitarian concerns calling on both parties to comply with UN Security Council Resolution 2451 by facilitating safe, rapid, and unhindered access for both the humanitarian response and commercial supplies.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether further military action by coalition forces in Syria and Iraq will further displace civilians; and what plans are in place if that happens.
Answered by Baroness Northover
The UK and our coalition partners are doing all we can to minimise the risks of civilian impact of coalition military action. The UN has reported that airstrikes have caused some local-level internal displacement, but the ongoing conflict is the main cause of displacement of civilians. In both Syria and Iraq, the UN carries out regular humanitarian contingency planning exercises, including preparing for the potential impact of military operations. UK humanitarian advisors on the ground are also monitoring the situation closely and will continue to work closely with the UN, international partners and the Government of Iraq to ensure that effective plans and coordination structures are in place to respond to a variety of scenarios.
The UK is also providing substantial humanitarian assistance for those affected by the conflict. To date the UK has pledged £800 million to respond to Syria crisis and a further £39.5 million for those affected by conflict in Iraq.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what financial and other support has been given, or will be given, to the governments of Lebanon and Jordan to ensure they can keep their borders open for Syrian refugees fleeing the conflict in that country.
Answered by Baroness Northover
The Department for International Development has committed £191 million to Lebanon and £164 million to Jordan as part of our response to the crisis in Syria. UK support is providing clean water and hygiene facilities, food and household items, cash assistance, medical care, better quality accommodation, winterisation and cold weather protection, transportation services, early grade learning, primary education and support for small scale agriculture for refugee populations and the communities which host them.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what support they have given to traumatised Syrian refugees in Lebanon and Jordan.
Answered by Baroness Northover
The Department for International Development has to date committed £800 million to help those affected by the conflict in Syria. This support includes funding to provide training for health workers in emergency first aid, trauma care, clinical management of rape, mental healthcare and psychosocial support to assist displaced Syrians in Lebanon, Jordan, other states neighbouring Syria and within Syria itself who have experienced conflict-related trauma, including sexual violence. By the end of September 2014, the UK had supported over 630,000 children and over 55,400 adults with psychosocial interventions in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and the wider region.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with the government of Angola regarding food insecurity in that country; and whether they have encouraged that government to undertake an assessment of the situation.
Answered by Baroness Northover
Poor seasonal rainfall early in 2014 in parts of Western Angola has affected the harvest and food availability there. However, throughout most of the country production is considered to be good and expected to be higher than normal. This has helped to maintain reasonable food prices for urban populations.
The Government has not had recent bilateral discussions with the Government of Angola regarding the food situation. The Government of Angola is leading the food assistance programme and is best placed to prepare for and lead such a response with the support of UN partners. The Government of Angola has set up an Inter-ministerial Commission to tackle the drought. The Government of Angola is also embarking on infrastructure projects, such as water supply projects, to mitigate drought impact in the future.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they are supporting the role of churches and other civil society groups in the peace and reconciliation process in South Sudan, and in the delivery of humanitarian assistance.
Answered by Baroness Northover
The UK is one of six donors funding the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Community Security and Arms Control (CSAC) Project, which includes provision of technical support for national and community-level community reconciliation process, including working with faith-based partners. Furthermore, under the Africa Conflict Pool Programmes, the UK is funding civil society organisations to build the capacity of local populations to identify and resolve conflicts that affect them.
Through the Common Humanitarian Fund (CHF), the UK has supported work by national civil society to provide health, education, food security and livelihood, water and sanitation and mine awareness services for the most vulnerable. In addition, some United Nations agencies supported by the UK (such as the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP)) work in close collaboration with local partners. To improve basic services the UK funded Girls Education South Sudan (GESS) project is working through Episcopal Church of Sudan (ECS) in two of South Sudan’s 10 States, and the UK-led Health Pooled Fund (HPF) will support faith-based county hospitals as well as government ones.