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Written Question
Democratic Republic of Congo: Ebola
Monday 5th August 2019

Asked by: Jo Swinson (Liberal Democrat - East Dunbartonshire)

Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps his Department is taking to overcome the (a) local mistrust of health officials and (b) militia violence which have impeded efforts to prevent the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo from spreading further.

Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is the second largest in history and the first in a conflict zone. The UK has been a major supporter of the response since the start, providing funding, technical expertise, and political support.

The response has been hampered by repeated attacks against health workers and health facilities. Improving community trust and ownership are essential to getting the outbreak under control. UK funding supports community engagement and working with local leaders and religious groups to foster trust and ownership. It supports efforts to understand community concerns better and feed this understanding back into the response. Examples include employing people who have recovered from Ebola to talk to communities about the health care they received as a way to build community trust in health workers.

The UK and other donors are also supporting the UN to strengthen security in Ebola affected areas to protect both communities and response workers.


Written Question
Democratic Republic of Congo: Ebola
Monday 5th August 2019

Asked by: Jo Swinson (Liberal Democrat - East Dunbartonshire)

Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent assessment he has made of the spread of Ebola to the city of Goma and the potential risk of the outbreak spreading to Rwanda.

Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The spread of Ebola to Goma is deeply concerning. Goma’s position on the border increases the chance of Ebola spreading to Rwanda.

The UK is a leading donor to the Ebola response in DRC and has played a pivotal role in helping neighbouring countries like Rwanda prepare. On 15 July, DFID announced that the UK would provide up to a further £50 million to the response to December 2019. UK Aid is supporting a range of activities, including the construction of screening facilities at border crossings and the vaccination of health workers in DRC and the region.


Written Question
Development Aid
Wednesday 20th March 2019

Asked by: Jo Swinson (Liberal Democrat - East Dunbartonshire)

Question to the Department for International Development:

What recent discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on the UK commitment to spending 0.7 per cent of national income on development aid.

Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons

I regularly discuss Official Development Assistance with Cabinet colleagues. The Government is committed to spending 0.7 per cent of our Gross National Income on aid, as outlined in the Conservative manifesto and re-affirmed by the Prime Minister on her recent visit to Africa.


Written Question
Department for International Development: Brexit
Thursday 17th January 2019

Asked by: Jo Swinson (Liberal Democrat - East Dunbartonshire)

Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much her Department is spending on a public information campaign to prepare people for the potential effects of the UK leaving the EU without a deal.

Answered by Alistair Burt

DFID has not spent any money and is taking a no-cost approach to ensuring our stakeholders are briefed on the potential effects of the UK leaving the EU without a deal.


Written Question
Yemen: Ports
Monday 10th September 2018

Asked by: Jo Swinson (Liberal Democrat - East Dunbartonshire)

Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent steps her Department has taken to help increase the amount of food, medicine and fuel arriving at Hodeidah port.

Answered by Alistair Burt

The UK government is providing £1.3 million in funding to the UN Verification and Inspection Mechanism (UNVIM) this financial year to facilitate commercial imports into Hodeidah and Saleef ports by giving the coalition confidence that weapons are not coming in on large commercial ships. We have also deployed UK maritime experts to Djibouti to help further boost the inspections process, increasing the proportion of physical inspections by more than ten-fold.

The UK continues to urge all parties to the conflict to facilitate full and unhindered access for humanitarian and commercial supplies, such as food, medicine and fuel, through Hodeidah port.

Hodeidah port currently remains open and we are closely monitoring imports through it. In August, Hodeidah accounted for 64% of total bulk food imports and 54% of total fuel imports into Yemen.


Written Question
Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Overseas Aid
Monday 10th September 2018

Asked by: Jo Swinson (Liberal Democrat - East Dunbartonshire)

Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to help the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to achieving a good or very good rating for the transparency of its aid spending by 2020.

Answered by Alistair Burt

DFID has been providing support to all UK Government Departments that spend aid funds to achieve a good or very good rating in the Aid Transparency Index by 2020. This includes formal training days, policy advice, technical guidance and tailored advice.


Written Question
Saudi Arabia: Official Visits
Thursday 29th March 2018

Asked by: Jo Swinson (Liberal Democrat - East Dunbartonshire)

Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether any element of the recent visit by Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to the UK was funded by Official Development Assistance.

Answered by Alistair Burt

No element of the Crown Prince’s visit to the UK was funded by the UK’s Official Development Assistance, and DFID did not fund any of the visit.

During the visit, the two countries agreed to continued close cooperation on humanitarian issues, and signed three separate agreements to strengthen our shared response to global humanitarian and development challenges.


Written Question
Saudi Arabia: Official Visits
Thursday 29th March 2018

Asked by: Jo Swinson (Liberal Democrat - East Dunbartonshire)

Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether any element of the visit of Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to the UK was funded by her Department.

Answered by Alistair Burt

No element of the Crown Prince’s visit to the UK was funded by the UK’s Official Development Assistance, and DFID did not fund any of the visit.

During the visit, the two countries agreed to continued close cooperation on humanitarian issues, and signed three separate agreements to strengthen our shared response to global humanitarian and development challenges.


Speech in Commons Chamber - Tue 20 Feb 2018
Aid Sector: Safeguarding

Speech Link

View all Jo Swinson (LD - East Dunbartonshire) contributions to the debate on: Aid Sector: Safeguarding

Written Question
Syria: Internally Displaced People
Monday 8th January 2018

Asked by: Jo Swinson (Liberal Democrat - East Dunbartonshire)

Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assistance her Department provides to internally displaced women in Syria.

Answered by Alistair Burt

Women and children are particularly vulnerable in conflicts. For those internally displaced in Syria to return home safely there must be an end to the conflict and a credible political settlement. This is the only viable path towards the peace and security that the Syrian people deserve. In the meantime, the UK is providing food, healthcare, water and other life-saving relief to internally displaced people across the country. Since 2012, we have delivered 20.9 million food rations that feed a person for a month, 3.3 million vaccines against deadly diseases, and 8.1 million medical consultations for those in need in Syria.