Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how much money they have committed to date to assist with the Rohingya refugee crisis.
Answered by Lord Bates
The UK is the largest bilateral donor to the Rohingya refugee crisis. In addition to the £35m the UK had committed since the start of this crisis, on October 23rd the UK announced a further £12m of support, bringing the UK total to £47m. This funding is already delivering important relief on the ground, including providing food to 174,000 people, safe water and sanitation for more than 138,000 people and emergency shelter for over 130,000 people. In addition, emergency nutrition support will reach more than 60,000 children under five and 21,000 pregnant and lactating women, counselling and psychological support will reach over 10,000 women suffering from the trauma of war and over 2,000 survivors of sexual violence, and provide medical assistance for over 50,000 pregnant women.
Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bates on 25 September (HL 1590), whether the OECD's Development Assistance Committee has legally binding rules or only recommendations which no country is obliged to follow.
Answered by Lord Bates
The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s Development Assistance Committee, of which the UK is a member, sets the rules that determine what aid counts as Official Development Assistance (ODA). Only spending that complies with these rules is recognised as counting towards the United Nations’ 0.7% of gross national income target for ODA to which the UK is committed. That commitment is enshrined in the International Development (Official Development Assistance Target) Act 2015.
Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether there are any restrictions in (1) UK law, or (2) international law, which would prevent or limit the use of funds from the budget of the Department for International Development for the reconstruction of the Turks and Caicos Islands, Anguilla, and the British Virgin Islands.
Answered by Lord Bates
There are no restrictions in UK or international law on the support for reconstruction that we can provide to the overseas territories.
There are, however, rules on what is counted as Official Development Assistance (ODA), which are set by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s Development Assistance Committee (DAC). These rules include a list of the developing countries and territories to which support given by donors can be classed as ODA. In the case of Anguilla, the British Virgin Islands and the Turks and Caicos Islands, their Gross National Income per capita exceeds the limit for them to be considered developing countries. The Secretary of State wrote to the Chair of the DAC to raise the issue of whether these rules should be adjusted to reflect the scale of the impact in this case.
This does not impact our response in the region – the government has committed £57m to date for immediate relief and we will match every pound donated to the Red Cross [up to £3m].
Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government in which management companies or consultancies organising or delivering aid former civil servants who were employed by the Department for International Development have a directorial or senior management role.
Answered by Lord Bates
Information on all ministerial and senior officials who applied to take up appointments after leaving DFID service and approved by the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (ACOBA) is published annually. The latest report is attached.
Information about outside appointments or employment taken up by former members of DFID, and approved at Departmental level within the scope of the Business Appointment Rules, is published as part of DFID’s transparency commitment. This information is available on GOV.UK website. DFID’s Business Appointment Rules – January to June 2016 attached.
Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their response to the findings by the Independent Commission for Aid Impact in their report <i>The effects of DfID's cash transfer programmes on poverty and vulnerability</i>, published on 12 January, that Department for International Development officials tolerate weaknesses in aid programmes and choose not to challenge partner countries on strongly held positions.
Answered by Lord Bates
The UK has a zero-tolerance approach to fraud and corruption and has robust systems in place to protect UK aid investments. DFID works alongside partner governments to support those most in need, while raising important issues at every level of government where necessary. As ICAI stated, this approach works: “During our visit to Rwanda, we found evidence that DFID’s policy advocacy had significantly influenced counterpart attitudes and beliefs. For example, it is now settled that people living with disabilities are an important target group; the assistance now focuses on how best to identify and target them.”
Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they are providing money through child-focused programmes in Zimbabwe to families who do not have any children; and if so, why.
Answered by Lord Bates
DFID is one of a number of donors who funds the Harmonised Social Cash Transfer programme, referred to in the recent ICAI report.
Of the targeted households under the scheme 83% have children to care for, but those headed by the elderly, the chronically ill or people living with disabilities are also eligible even if they are not caring for children.
Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they plan to take in relation to the provision of aid to Rwanda, in the light of the findings by the Independent Commission for Aid Impact in their report <i>The effects of DfID's cash transfer programmes on poverty and vulnerability</i>, published on 12 January, that the selection process for cash handouts "correlates only weakly with poverty levels".
Answered by Lord Bates
60% of Rwandans live below the international poverty line (World Bank, $1.90 per day). DFID supports the Rwandan Government’s Vision Umurenge Programme which targets the extreme poor. Whilst the ICAI report notes that the VUP selection process “correlates only weakly with poverty levels”, according to recent data, 92% of those targeted live below the international poverty line. With DFID's support the Rwandan government has developed new targeting guidelines and a new management information system to improve this.
Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the written answer by Baroness Verma on 18 February (HL5913), which 17 countries their Flagship female genital mutilation (FGM) programme supports, how much aid each of those countries receives annually from the UK, and how much aid from the UK is spent annually on programmes to end female genital mutilation in those countries.
Answered by Baroness Verma
DFID’s regional FGM programme is providing up to £35 million in funding to end FGM in 17 high prevalence countries: Burkina Faso, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Mauritania, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, Somalia, Sudan, Uganda and Yemen.
This funding is apportioned over a five year period from 2013-2018 and the breakdown by country is not readily available. Six of these countries (Kenya, Nigeria, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen and Uganda) have DFID country programmes. Information on the budget allocated to each of these countries is published on our Development Tracker online.
In Sudan, DFID’s regional programme to end FGM is complemented by a country programme providing £12m over five years to support the scale up of initiatives to end FGM across the country.
Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government which countries where female genital mutilation is known or suspected to be practised widely receive UK overseas aid.
Answered by Baroness Verma
Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is one of the most extreme manifestations of gender inequality. It is a form of violence against women and girls and can result in a lifetime of physical, psychological and emotional suffering. It is a global problem – over 200 million women and girls across at least 30 countries, including the UK, have been cut.
The UK Government remains firmly committed to bringing about an end of FGM. Our Flagship FGM programme supports efforts to end the practise in 17 of the highest burden of these countries. With the support from UK aid over 13,500 communities across these countries have publically declared the abandonment of FGM since 2008.