Asked by: Lord Jones of Cheltenham (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to liaise with (1) charities, and (2) local organisations, in order to speed up the delivery of COVID-19 vaccines to frontline countries in Africa.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The UK has donated £548 million to COVAX Advance Market Commitment (AMC), that has delivered over 188 million vaccine doses to 44 African AMC countries. In addition to the financial contribution to COVAX, the UK has donated 6 million surplus doses to 14 countries in Africa, mostly through COVAX. COVAX, and its key partners including UNICEF, work with the national governments, charities and local organisations to distribute the vaccines. The UK is an active member of the Vaccine Funder's Forum that meets bi-weekly to monitor progress and ensure better coordination among partners. The UK has also contributed £20m to the African Union's COVID-19 Response Fund.
The UK is actively working to speed up the supply and delivery of COVID-19 vaccines in African countries by engaging directly with governments, regional organisations and other partners. For example, the UK has recently developed toolkits to guide and encourage local health practitioners and social media influencers to address COVID-19 misinformation, and are planning to engage with partners in African countries to implement these tools.
Asked by: Lord Jones of Cheltenham (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assistance they are providing to (1) Tuvalu, (2) Vanuatu, and (3) the Bahamas, to combat the effects of climate change.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The UK is committed to building global consensus to support Small Island Developing States (SIDS), including Tuvalu, Vanuatu and the Bahamas, to address their unique vulnerabilities to climate change and build resilient green economies of the future. The UK led a High-Level Roundtable on SIDS Access to Finance and a call to action for global reform which brought together SIDS, development partners (donors) and international organisations. The Minister for Europe and the Americas set out the UK’s belief that the current development finance system is not working for SIDS.
At COP26 the UK amplified the voice of small islands and highlighted the need for drastic action to keep global temperature rises below 1.5oC. The UK Presidency prioritised pushing developed countries to address SIDS’ concerns about climate finance: scale of finance, finance for adaptation, access to finance and action to avert, minimise and address loss and damage as a result of climate change. The UK also announced a new £40m ‘Small Island Developing State Capacity and Resilience’ (SIDAR) programme, which will support capacity-building for small island states to better access funding and to build state resilience. This is in addition to a further £7m to support resilient infrastructure for SIDS.
Asked by: Lord Jones of Cheltenham (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of the United Arab Emirates about the imprisonment of football coach Billy Hood.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Consular staff are providing assistance to Mr Hood and are in contact with his family and legal team in the UAE. We have, and we continue to raise concerns for Mr Hood's welfare with the United Arab Emirates authorities.
Asked by: Lord Jones of Cheltenham (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many doses of all makes of COVID-19 vaccines they have donated to countries in Africa; and how many doses each country has received.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is one of the largest donors to the COVAX Advance Market Commitment (AMC), that has delivered more than 57 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to 42 African AMC countries to date. In addition to the £548m donation to COVAX, the UK has donated 5,624,440 doses to countries in Africa. Of this, 5,214,400 doses were donated through COVAX and 410,040 doses through bilateral donations. All the UK donated vaccines were produced by AstraZeneca.
African countries have received 5,138,680 doses (91%) of UK donated COVID-19 vaccines while 485,760 (9%) doses are yet to be delivered. Recipient countries are: Angola (128,640), Democratic Republic of Congo (51,840), Egypt (299,680), Ethiopia (1,520,640), Ghana (249,600), Kenya (817,080), Malawi (119,040), Niger (105,600), Nigeria (1,287,680), Senegal (140,160), Uganda (299,520) and Zambia (119,200).
Asked by: Lord Jones of Cheltenham (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the decision by Sierra Leone on 23 July to abolish the death penalty; and whether they have any plans to increase bilateral aid to that country.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We welcome the decision by Sierra Leone's Parliament on 23 July to abolish the death penalty. The Foreign Secretary and Minister for Africa congratulated President Bio and the people of Sierra Leone on this important milestone and we hope President Bio will soon give Presidential assent to make the bill into law. The UK will remain a strong supporter of democracy, development, and the promotion and protection of human rights in Sierra Leone.
We have had to take difficult decisions about Official Development Assistance (ODA) spending in all countries as a result of the pandemic. The UK remains a significant global aid partner, with plans to spend more than £10 billion in ODA this financial year, and we continue to have a strong development partnership with Sierra Leone. The Minister for Africa will continue to work with the Government of Sierra Leone to advance our shared priorities.
Asked by: Lord Jones of Cheltenham (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they most recently discussed (1) human rights, and (2) the death penalty, with the governments of (a) China, (b) Iran, (c) Saudi Arabia, and (d) the United States of America.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We regularly engage with the governments of China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United States of America and other partners on a wide range of issues, including Human Rights and the Death Penalty.
Asked by: Lord Jones of Cheltenham (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the British Council regarding the decision to reduce funding to that organisation; what assessment they have made of the impact of the closures of British Council offices that have resulted from the funding cuts; and what assessment they have made of the compatibility of their decision with their Global Britain policy.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The government remains committed to the British Council. As the Integrated Review made clear, the Council is one of the vital instruments of our influence overseas. We agreed a 2021/22 Spending Review settlement totalling £189m, a 27% increase on funding for 2020/21. The Council will continue to operate in over 100 countries promoting the English language, UK arts and culture, and education. Our commitment to Global Britain is clear through our hosting of the G7 last month, and the UK continues to be a soft power superpower.
Asked by: Lord Jones of Cheltenham (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government why they have withdrawn support for mine clearance in (1) Lebanon, (2) Sri Lanka, and (3) Vietnam; and what impact they expect this will have on future trade deals with those countries.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is a leading donor in mine action. Our mine action funding saves lives, limbs and livelihoods across the world, supporting those most in need and delivering UK treaty obligations. Since 2018, UK funding has cleared and confirmed safe over 397 million square metres, the equivalent of 55,600 football pitches, and delivered life-saving risk education to 3.2 million people living in mine-affected communities.
The UK continues to fund mine action in Sri Lanka and Vietnam. Development and global prosperity are at the heart of UK trade and investment policy and the Department for International Trade remains committed to enhancing its bilateral economic relationship with Lebanon, Sri Lanka and Vietnam.
Asked by: Lord Jones of Cheltenham (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Ethiopia about the alleged use of starvation as a weapon of war in Tigray.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government is deeply concerned about the grave humanitarian situation in Ethiopia and combatants, including Eritrean armed forces, denying access to humanitarian agencies. Over 350,000 people are assessed to be in famine-like conditions - more than anywhere else in the world. The UK's Special Envoy for Famine Prevention and Humanitarian Affairs, Nick Dyer visited Tigray in May and concluded that region-wide famine in Tigray is now likely if conflict intensifies and impediments to the delivery of humanitarian aid continue.
The UK has consistently called for protection of civilians and unfettered humanitarian access, including in our joint statements with the G7 and directly with Prime Minister Abiy. The Minister for Africa raised this with the Minister of Peace in her visit to the UK in July. The UK Ambassador to Ethiopia has also raised our concerns on multiple occasions to the Government. We continue to push for those responsible for atrocities to be held to account including at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) where I set out on 2 July our concerns at the continued lack of progress in delivering humanitarian access to Tigray.
Asked by: Lord Jones of Cheltenham (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to implement the recommendations of the report of the Independent Panel on Pandemic Preparedness and Response COVID-19: Make it the Last Pandemic, published on 5 May; and in particular, what plans they have to support a political declaration on pandemic planning at the United Nations General Assembly in September.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
It is vital to learn lessons from a global health emergency, particularly one as complex and far-reaching as COVID-19, so that we can be better prepared for future pandemics. We need to take this moment to deliver concrete improvements that allow the international system to respond better in the future. The findings and bold recommendations of the Independent Panel on Pandemic Preparedness and Response, as well as the other reviews into this pandemic, will play an important role in this process. We are carefully considering these recommendations as we approach key discussions, including at the G20, the United Nations General Assembly, and the World Health Assembly Special Session later this year.