Asked by: Lord German (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they intend to take to develop healthy nutrition for children in their global support programmes.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
Following the conclusion of the Spending Review, the Government is actively considering nutrition programming within the business planning process. No decisions on individual programmes have yet been made.
Tackling malnutrition remains a core focus of our work on global health, humanitarian response and in support of UK goals on girls' education and climate. It is critical for reducing preventable deaths and ensuring children get the best start in life in the poorest countries of the world.
Asked by: Lord German (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they intend to take to influence children's healthy nutrition needs in the developing world at the United Nations for Growth Summit in Japan in December.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
FCDO is working closely with the Government of Japan to make sure the 2021 Tokyo Nutrition for Growth Summit supports meaningful action by governments, donors, businesses, the UN and civil society.
Following the conclusion of the Spending Review, the Government is actively considering its approach to the Tokyo Nutrition for Growth Summit and will set this out as early as possible as part of the business planning process.
Asked by: Lord German (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their estimate of the total financial support which will be given to children's healthy nutrition programmes in the Official Development Assistance budget in (1) 2021, and (2) 2022.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
Information about our nutrition spend in financial year 2021 and 2022 will be publicly available through Statistics for International Development (SIDS) in due course. Following the conclusion of the Spending Review, the Government is actively considering its approach to nutrition programming and will set this out as early as possible as part of the business planning process.
Information about our nutrition spend in financial year 2021 and 2022 will be publicly available through Statistics for International Development (SIDS) in due course.
Asked by: Lord German (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 24 January (HL4591), whether they will provide details of (1) the two education projects supported in Swaziland, and (2) the two education projects supported in Lesotho in 2017.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
I regret that due to an administrative error, my previous response initially contained incorrect information. This has been corrected on the Official Report (PQ HL4591) since the question was tabled.
In fact, the British Council supported one project in Swaziland and one in Lesotho in 2017. In both cases, this was the Commonwealth Scholarship and Fellowship Plan (CSFP). The CSFP is an annual scheme made available to all the Commonwealth countries by the Commonwealth Scholarships Commission.
The CSFP is aimed at students of Commonwealth countries who can make a significant contribution to their home country after the completion of a higher education programme in the UK. The British Council provides pre-departure briefings for all scholars on living and studying in the UK, and looks after alumni relations including periodic networking events. The British Council held pre-departure briefings in 2017 and 2016 for scholars from Swaziland and Lesotho.
Asked by: Lord German (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many education projects have been supported by the British Council in (1) Swaziland, (2) Botswana and (3) Lesotho, in each of the last five years.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The British Council have advised that in each of the last five years the number of education projects the British Council has supported in each country is:
Country | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 |
Swaziland | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
Botswana | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
Lesotho | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
Asked by: Lord German (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the current political situation in the Maldives.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
As the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon Friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire), said in his press statement on 4 November, the British Government is deeply concerned by recent developments in the Maldives. We believe the State of Emergency declared on 4 November impinged on the basic human rights of the Maldivian people and further undermined confidence in the country’s democracy.
On 10 November the Maldivian government lifted the State of Emergency. As Mr Swire said in his tweet on 10 November, we welcome the lifting of the State of Emergency and look forward to further positive progress in the Maldives.
Asked by: Lord German (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the implications for British tourists of the recent state of emergency declared by the President of the Maldives.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
Following the declaration of a State of Emergency, the Maldives government made clear that there would be no restrictions on tourist movements and that tourist resorts were unlikely to be significantly affected. Our travel advice was updated to reflect this and advised British nationals visiting the Maldives to take extra care and follow local advice. On 10 November the Maldivian government lifted the State of Emergency. Our travel advice has been updated accordingly.