Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether he has had preliminary discussions with (a) NGOs, (b) partner nations and (iii) the UN on future reconstruction of Gaza's education system.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
Post-conflict recovery and reconstruction must be led by Palestinians, but the international community will also need to play a major collective role in this effort. We are progressing our thinking on all aspects of recovery and reconstruction. We have begun discussions with multilateral and bilateral partners on the financing and coordination of reconstruction.
Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what recent steps his Department has taken to help support (a) governance reform and (b) humanitarian delivery in Lebanon.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK is supporting Lebanon's caretaker government's efforts to implement much-needed reforms. This is the only way to rebuild the confidence of the international community, stop more Lebanese falling into poverty and set the country on a path to sustainable economic progress. During the Foreign Secretary's visit to Lebanon in February, he reaffirmed the UK's commitment to Lebanon's stability. Since 2013 we have provided over £680 million in humanitarian and development assistance. Our funding addresses basic humanitarian needs, including access to healthcare, water, sanitation and shelter. We also support coordination of partners to optimise delivery, including in the conflict-affected south.
Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, pursuant to the Answer of 2 May 2024 to Question 23469 on Afghanistan: Non-governmental Organisations, when a Minister from his Department last met representatives of non-governmental organisations working in Afghanistan.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
FCDO Ministers regularly meet NGOs. The Deputy Foreign Secretary met the Director-General of Geneva Call in March which included discussions on Afghanistan. Last month, he co-hosted a biannual meeting with the CEOs of BOND member NGOs, many of whom work in Afghanistan. UK officials regularly meet NGO partners to discuss the operating context in Afghanistan and to ensure our support is as effective as possible. This includes a regular meeting with NGOs chaired by our Special Representative for Afghanistan as well as meetings organised by the FCDO in the region.
Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what support his Department is providing to the Rohingya in (a) Myanmar and (b) refugees camps in Bangladesh.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is a leading donor to the Rohingya response. We have provided over £45 million in humanitarian assistance in Myanmar and £391 million in Bangladesh to the Rohingya since 2017. We are the largest donor of water, hygiene, and sanitation facilities in the Internally Displaced Persons camps in central Rakhine State. Despite escalating conflict and ongoing access challenges, we are supporting those most in need through agile local partners. Minister Trevelyan announced a further £12 million and discussed education, training, and employment for the Rohingya with Prime Minister Hasina during her recent visit to Bangladesh on 7-8 May.
Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what steps he is taking to help ensure female Afghan students can (a) apply for and (b) study through Chevening scholarships.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The FCDO continues to support higher education for Afghans, currently offering Afghan candidates resident outside of Afghanistan in ODA-eligible third countries the opportunity to apply for a Chevening scholarship.
Under the Chevening Scholarship programme, 15 Afghan women were offered scholarships for academic year 2023/24. 12 women accepted the offer and are currently studying in the UK, out of a total cohort of 21.
Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether he has had recent discussions with his (a) international partners and (b) non-governmental organisations on potential food shortages in East Africa; and if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of these potential food shortages.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
I regularly discuss food security in East Africa with the UK's international partners. Tens of millions of people face 'crisis' levels of food insecurity with needs in Ethiopia and Sudan particularly grave. The UK is leading efforts to address this issue. On 16 April I co-hosted a humanitarian pledging event for Ethiopia and announced a UK package lifesaving assistance budgeted at £100 million. The UK will also deliver £89 million of aid to Sudan in 2024/25, up from nearly £50 million in 2023/24. Throughout East Africa UK aid is saving lives and making a difference.
Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether he has had recent discussions with the UNHCR on children in Gaza who have been orphaned as a result of the Israel-Hamas war in the last six months.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
UN experts assess that 17,000 Palestinian children are believed to have been orphaned since October 2023. UNHCR has no mandate to act in the Occupied Palestinian Territories but the UK is supporting a number of agencies who are targeting funding to respond to the needs of these children. The UK's funding to the Red Cross Movement, and the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Pooled Fund has supported their work to identify unaccompanied minors, provide care options, and in some cases reunited children with family members.
Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what steps he is taking to support the local delivery of humanitarian aid in Ukraine.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
Since February 2022, the UK Government has committed £357 million in humanitarian assistance to Ukraine and the region. This includes work with Ukrainian partners, sustaining vital humanitarian assistance across Ukraine. The UK has provided £31 million to the UN OCHA (Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs) Ukraine Humanitarian Fund, with over 31% of UHF funding going directly to Ukrainian organisations, and have supported projects with Ukrainian Red Cross Society, Mercy Corps and Non-Violent Peace Force to support Ukrainian humanitarian civil society to deliver assistance to communities affected by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what steps he is taking to maintain international support for (a) humanitarian aid and (b) reconstruction in Ukraine.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
We are working with international partners, including the G7, to ensure continued support for aid and reconstruction in Ukraine. The UK is a leading bilateral donor - £4.7 billion in humanitarian and economic support. During his recent visit, the Foreign Secretary reiterated that Ukraine remains a top priority and launched negotiations with Ukraine on a 100 Year Partnership - a new agreement that will build enduring links between the UK and Ukraine across the spectrum of trade, security and defence cooperation, science and tech, education and culture. The Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC) in June will be a key political moment to signal international solidarity and drive progress on Ukraine's recovery and reconstruction, where we will build on the success of the London URC in June 2023, which saw over $60 billion raised for Ukraine's recovery.
Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether he is taking steps to support anti-corruption bodies in Ukraine prior to post-war reconstruction.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
Tackling corruption is a critical part of Ukraine's recovery and reconstruction efforts. The UK's Good Governance Fund Ukraine, a £38 million three-year technical assistance programme, has been supporting anti-corruption, judicial and institutional reforms in Ukraine. This includes the development of the new, comprehensive Digital Reconstruction Management System, which will allow oversight over reconstruction projects and the relaunch of the High Council of Justice and High Qualification Commission of Judges, institutions critical to a judiciary free from unlawful interference. Alongside our US colleagues, we are jointly strengthening the capacity of Ukraine's national and local anti-corruption bodies, working with sub-national administrations that will be at the forefront of reconstruction.