Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment he has made of the progress of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative in eradicating polio globally.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
In 1988, when the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) was founded, there were 350,000 cases of paralysis from polio every year. In 30 years, with UK support, GPEI has led efforts that have reduced cases of polio by 99%.
DFID closely monitors progress towards eradication through a number of mechanisms including our membership of GPEI’s key governance bodies and our country-level engagement. There has been a slight increase in polio cases this year compared to the last. The last step – reaching all children in inaccessible and often conflict-affected areas – is proving the most difficult. We must remain focussed on completing the task to ensure the benefits to global health are not lost, and that we do not slide back.
Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 13 December 2018 to Question 200567, if she will place in the Library copies of (a) the separate annual MoUs signed by her Department and the Palestinian Authority since March 2016 and (b) copies of all ministerial correspondence with the Palestinian Authority on those agreements.
Answered by Alistair Burt
Copies of correspondence relating to the extension of that MoU prior to March 2016 have already been laid in the Commons library. Since then there has been no further written ministerial correspondence with the PA on this matter. I will place copies of the annual MoUs from March 2016 to May 2018 in the Commons library, with redactions relating to personal and commercial information.
Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 28 November 2018 to Question 194657, whether the Memorandum of Understanding between her Department and the Palestinian National Authority was extended beyond 31 March 2016; and if she will place copies of all ministerial correspondence with the Palestinian Authority extending and amending that agreement in the Library.
Answered by Alistair Burt
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) setting out the commitments in the overall development partnership between DFID and the Palestinian Authority (PA) was in effect from July 2011 to March 2016, and was not extended beyond that point. Copies of correspondence relating to the extension of that MoU prior to March 2016 have been laid in the Commons library. Since then, DFID and the PA have signed separate MoUs on an annual basis, specifically linked to the governance arrangements for our programme of financial assistance to the PA.
Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, when her Department last made an assessment of the Palestinian National Authority's adherence to the principle of non-violence set out in the Memorandum of Understanding between her Department and that authority; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The Palestinian Authority’s (PA) commitment to the principle of non-violence is assessed as part of the annual Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) dialogue between DFID and the PA, and is kept under review throughout the year. The last MoU dialogue took place in May 2018. We continue to assess that the PA is committed to the principle of non-violence.
Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, on what date her Department last made an assessment of the Palestinian National Authority's adherence to its human rights commitments set out in the Memorandum of Understanding between her Department and that Authority; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Alistair Burt
As part of our assessment of the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) commitment to the Partnership Principles, DFID officials assess the PA’s commitment to respecting human rights and other international obligations. This was most recently done in May 2018 as part of a formal annual meeting with the PA. The full Partnership Principles assessment is not public but I am happy to share a summary of the most recent assessment which concluded that the Palestinian Authority continues to demonstrate a credible commitment to the partnership principles under increasingly fragile and volatile conditions.
We are aware of the serious and concerning allegations made in the recent Human Rights Watch (HRW) report about human rights violations by the PA. We have immediately raised our concerns with the PA Ministry of Interior and continue to urge the PA to respect human rights, to ensure complaints of mistreatment or arbitrary detention are properly investigated and to continue to improve the performance of the security sector.
Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether the Memorandum of Understanding between her Department and the Palestinian National Authority signed in 2015 has been extended; and if she will place copies of all ministerial correspondence with the Palestinian Authority amending that agreement in the Library.
Answered by Alistair Burt
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between DFID and the Palestinian Authority (PA) originally in effect from July 2011 to March 2014 was extended to cover the period up to March 2016. This MoU set out the individual and shared commitments in the development partnership made between DFID and the PA during this time. DFID and the PA now sign MoUs annually, which oversee our programme of financial assistance to the PA.
I will place copies of relevant ministerial correspondence with the PA in the Library.
Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how her Department has responded to the misconduct by Oxfam staff in Haiti.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
I refer the hon Member to my answers to PQ 129092 and PQ 129086 for actions taken in response to Oxfam.
My Department has created a new unit to urgently review safeguarding across all parts of the aid sector to ensure everything is being done to protect people from harm, including sexual exploitation and abuse.
DFID and the Charity Commission will hold a Safeguarding Summit on 5 March, where we will meet with UK international development charities, regulators and experts to confront safeguarding failures and agree practical measures we can take forward. We are planning a larger and more wide ranging safeguarding event to occur later in the year which will look across sectors and include international counterparts.
Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what discussions her Department has had with aid agencies other than Oxfam on allegations of misconduct by members of those organisation's staff.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
I have written 192 letters to UK charities which receive UK aid, insisting that they spell out the steps they are taking to ensure their safeguarding policies are fully in place and work properly. I have called on all organisations to safeguard everyone that they come into contact with, including beneficiaries, staff and volunteers, and that organisations must report every serious incident or allegation, no matter how damaging it is to their reputation. DFID has also written to more than 393 international charities which receive UK aid to set out the high standards we expect, and we will undertake a similar exercise with all multilaterals, suppliers and stakeholders.
Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what discussions Officials of her Department have had with Oxfam on the allegations of sexual abuse by members of that organisation in Haiti.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
DFID was not aware of the allegations made against Oxfam in 2011. We first became aware that sexual allegations might be involved when Oxfam contacted the department in January 2018 and only knew the full extent of those allegations on 5 February. I met with Oxfam on 12 February to discuss the allegations and their response. On 16 February, Oxfam replied to DFID’s initial request for assurances and met my initial demands. Following our discussions, Oxfam agreed to withdraw from bidding for any new UK Government funding, until DFID is satisfied that they can meet the high standards that we expect of our partners.
Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Memorandum of Understanding between the Palestinian Authority (PA) and her Department, what discussions her Department has had with the PA on the description by the newspaper Al-Hayat Al-Jadida and official PA television on 8 January 2017 of the perpetrator of a terrorist attack as a martyr who died for Allah.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The UK Government deplores any act of incitement to violence; the Secretary of State and I raised the issue of incitement during our respective bilateral meetings with senior Palestinian counterparts in January 2018. Our partnership with the Palestinian Authority (PA) includes a commitment from the Palestinian leadership to adhere to the principle of non-violence and to tackle language and avoid actions that could incite violence or hatred. The UK continues to urge the Palestinian leadership to uphold this principle.