Venezuela Earthquakes

Lord Falconer of Thoroton Excerpts

Thursday 9th July 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)]

Venezuela lacks many things, not least the 8 million people who have removed themselves from the country in recent years because they did not wish to live under the regime of Nicolás Maduro. There are many gaps in the capability of the Venezuelan state. The right response to this is to not do what has happened in response to previous disasters. I point the noble Lord to Haiti and the response after that earthquake, where we saw a flooding of capability and equipment but a real lack of co-ordination, duplication, inefficiency and a failure to respond. It was of its time, and it is not how we want to do things now. It is good that we are now collaborating much more with international partners and local agencies on the ground, because that is the right thing to do for that population that needs that help so urgently.

[Lord Falconer of Thoroton (Lab)]

I also welcome the support given by the British Government and I congratulate the Minister, who will have played a personal part in making sure that there has been co-ordination in relation to it. Picking up on the point made by the noble Lord, Lord Bellingham, Venezuela will have long-term needs in the light of what has happened as well as the immediate crisis that is going on. What are the British Government doing to identify what those long-term needs are and how we might help to meet them?