Asked by: Gavin Shuker (Independent - Luton South)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what progress she has made in scaling up her Department's commercial legal programme LASER; and what funding has been allocated to LASER.
Answered by Justine Greening
The Legal Assistance for Economic Reform (LASER) programme began its implementation phase on 1 June 2014 and is working to improve the investment climates in eight countries across sub Saharan African and Asia, superseding its target to be engaged in six countries by 30 November 2014. DFID has allocated £4.7m to the LASER programme over three and half years.
Asked by: Gavin Shuker (Independent - Luton South)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much her Department has spent on its DfID Direct roadshows.
Answered by Desmond Swayne
The DFID Direct Roadshows have incurred no costs to the department.
Asked by: Gavin Shuker (Independent - Luton South)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many people were assisted by Operation Patwin; what costs were incurred by her Department in supporting Operation Patwin, by category of expenditure; and if she will publish her Department's learning review of that operation.
Answered by Desmond Swayne
Operation Patwin was the armed forces contribution to the UK Government’s humanitarian response to Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines. Supporting the Department for International Development (DFID), the armed forces delivered essential supplies to an estimated 47,000 people and provided logistical support. The marginal cost to the MOD amounted to £8,950,281. This sum was reimbursed by DFID under the terms of a memorandum of understanding covering military support to humanitarian assistance missions. DFID has commissioned an independent evaluation of its Typhoon Haiyan response, and plans to share the findings with partners early in 2015.
Asked by: Gavin Shuker (Independent - Luton South)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what role private health insurance plays in her Department's plans to promote healthcare in Burma.
Answered by Alan Duncan
DFID does not have any programmes which work on private health insurance in Burma. DFID's key support is through the Three Millennium Development Goal fund, which works to strengthen public healthcare systems as well as to contract some private services where they can fill gaps in public provision.
Asked by: Gavin Shuker (Independent - Luton South)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether it is her policy to continue funding the official census in Burma.
Answered by Alan Duncan
Of the £10 million committed to the census, £9 million has already been disbursed. The remaining £1m is for data analysis, thematic reports and the dissemination of information.
Asked by: Gavin Shuker (Independent - Luton South)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what the (a) gender, (b) ethnicity and (c) religion are of the 160,000 children proposed to be helped by the Myanmar Education Consortium.
Answered by Alan Duncan
Both boys and girls are being helped by the Myanmar Education Consortium (MEC). The MEC is working across Burma and expects to reach all the major ethnic groups of Burma and the three major religions: Buddhist, Christian, and Muslim.
Asked by: Gavin Shuker (Independent - Luton South)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what checks and monitoring her Department has put in place to ensure that its funding for education in Burma is not being channelled through Buddhist monasteries where hate speech and anti-Muslim or anti-Christian sentiment are promoted.
Answered by Alan Duncan
Monastic schools are supported by the Monastic Education Development Group (MEDG), an implementing partner of the DFID-funded Myanmar Education Consortium. The MEDG has checks in place to safeguard against involvement in political issues. Where infringements are identified and remedial action is not taken, no further support is awarded from MEDG.
Asked by: Gavin Shuker (Independent - Luton South)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, with reference to Stepping up a gear for girls and women: updates to the Department for International Development's Strategic Vision for Girls and Women, what steps she is taking to promote girls and women as leaders in politics, peace processes, business and public life, and as active citizens with a voice in society; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Baroness Featherstone
Increasing women and girls participation in politics, peace processes, business and public life, and as active citizens with a voice is central to achieving DFID's Strategic Vision for Girls and Women and is crucial if we are to achieve gender equality. DFID works through a range of programmes to address the long term structural barriers to women's political empowerment. For example, DFID is working with the BBC's World Service Trust in 14 countries to enhance political accountability through the media. Women's active and meaningful participation in all peace processes, as well as their representation in formal and informal decision making at all levels, is vital to international peace and security.
Asked by: Gavin Shuker (Independent - Luton South)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much her Department has spent on aid to the desert region of Thar in Sindh Province, Pakistan in each year since 2010.
Answered by Justine Greening
It is not possible to disaggregate costs specifically for the Thar region without incurring disproportionate cost, but DFID supports a number of national programmes and international agencies which work across Sindh Province.
Asked by: Gavin Shuker (Independent - Luton South)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, with which non-governmental organisations and agencies her Department is working to help residents in the desert region of Thar in Sindh Province, Pakistan.
Answered by Justine Greening
The UK Government provides funding to the World Food Programme and UNICEF who are responding to the situation in Thar.