Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what estimate his Department has made of the number of children absent from school due to emergencies in each of the last twelve months.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
Recent estimates show 222 million crisis-affected children are currently not getting the education they need, including almost 80 million children who are not learning at all. Education in times of crisis can be life-saving for children by giving a sense of normality and the protection they need. That is why the UK is proud to be a founding member and a leading donor to both Education Cannot Wait - the global fund for education in emergencies - and the Global Partnership for Education, which helps to build and strengthen education systems in many fragile and conflict-affected states. The UK also supports the Girls' Education Challenge, the largest global fund for girls' education which is supporting 1.5 million of the hardest to reach girls to access education across 17 countries.
Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of developing a global teacher strategy that provides for a commitment to inclusive and gender transformative teaching around the world.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
We need global collaboration to ensure all children and young people globally, can learn and reach their potential. The recent global Commitment to Action on Foundational Learning, endorsed by the FCDO, includes support to teachers, and the most marginalised children, including girls. Teaching quality is the most important factor affecting learning in schools. The UK's 2018 Education Policy, and 2021 Girls' Education Action Plan, and the G7 Global Education Objectives, demonstrate the commitment to invest in good teaching and reach marginalised girls. Our programmes work with partners and governments, using the best available evidence, to support quality teaching globally.
Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the Education Cannot Wait's case for investment in the UN’s global fund for education in emergencies and its 2023-26 Strategic Plan; and if he will make statement.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK is proud to be a co-founding member and leading donor to Education Cannot Wait (ECW). Given the UK Government's response to the ongoing crisis in Ukraine, wider Official Development Assistance (ODA) pressures, including the ODA-eligible expenditure incurred through the Afghan resettlement programme and the UK's support to people fleeing Ukraine, the FCDO and other ODA spending departments will need to revisit aid budgets to ensure all eligible spending is managed within 0.5% of Gross National Income this calendar year.
The Government remains committed to transparency and will provide an update to Parliament on spending plans in due course.
Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what Official Development Assistance funding mechanisms his Department uses to disburse sexual and reproductive health and rights aid.
Answered by Vicky Ford
Details of all UK Government Official Development Assistance funding mechanisms including channel of delivery, bilateral multilateral breakdown, type of aid, and type of finance is listed by Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Development Assistance Committe (DAC) sector code in the "Statistics on International Development (SID): final UK aid spend 2020 - Data underlying the SID publication" annex table here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/statistics-on-international-development-final-uk-aid-spend-2020
Please refer to the "Donor Delivering for Sexual Reproductive Health Rights (SRHR)" report SRHR spend methodology for the most relevant OECD DAC sector code here: https://donorsdelivering.report/
Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of expelling Iranian diplomats in the UK in response to the Iranian Government's reaction to ongoing protests in Iran.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
The UK maintains close to 300 sanctions designations against Iran in relation to human rights, UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles), nuclear proliferation and terrorism. A full list is available online on the UK Sanctions List. Recently, on 10 October, the UK announced sanctions on seven senior security and political figures responsible for human rights violations in Iran, as well as the so-called Morality Police. For decades, they used the threat of detention and violence to control what Iranian women wear and how they behave in public. It is longstanding practice not to speculate on future sanctions designations, as to do so could reduce their impact, nor would we comment on potential expulsions. The UK's position is clear: through our words and actions, we will hold Iran to account.
Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will list any (a) people and (b) organisations in Iran that the Government will sanction in response to the Iranian Government's reaction to ongoing protests in that country.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
The UK maintains close to 300 sanctions designations against Iran in relation to human rights, UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles), nuclear proliferation and terrorism. A full list is available online on the UK Sanctions List. Recently, on 10 October, the UK announced sanctions on seven senior security and political figures responsible for human rights violations in Iran, as well as the so-called Morality Police. For decades, they used the threat of detention and violence to control what Iranian women wear and how they behave in public. It is longstanding practice not to speculate on future sanctions designations, as to do so could reduce their impact, nor would we comment on potential expulsions. The UK's position is clear: through our words and actions, we will hold Iran to account.
Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will publish a list of all (a) people and (b) organisations in Iran subject to UK sanctions.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
The UK maintains close to 300 sanctions designations against Iran in relation to human rights, UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles), nuclear proliferation and terrorism. A full list is available online on the UK Sanctions List. Recently, on 10 October, the UK announced sanctions on seven senior security and political figures responsible for human rights violations in Iran, as well as the so-called Morality Police. For decades, they used the threat of detention and violence to control what Iranian women wear and how they behave in public. It is longstanding practice not to speculate on future sanctions designations, as to do so could reduce their impact, nor would we comment on potential expulsions. The UK's position is clear: through our words and actions, we will hold Iran to account.
Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much his Department has spent on targeting HIV and AIDS under the OECD’s DAC codes (1) 13041, and (2) 13042 in the financial years (a) 2018-19, (b) 2019-20, and (c) 2020-21.
Answered by Vicky Ford
Details of FCDO Official Development Assistance (ODA) is published by calendar year, UK extending agency and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Development Assistance Committee (DAC) sector code in the "Statistics on International Development: final UK aid spend" annex tables here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-on-international-development.
Sector Purpose Code (CRS code) | Extending Agency Text | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 |
13040 | Department for International Development | 12,788,057 | 10,059,057 | 8,275,459 | 8,419,809 |
13040 | Foreign & Commonwealth Office | 6,500 | |||
FCDO total: | 12,788,057 | 10,065,557 | 8,275,459 | 8,419,809 |
Please note "13040" is the official OECD DAC code for both "13041" and "13042". These codes were defined and solely used by former DFID. They did not exist in former FCO spend data and would not provide a complete picture for the FCDO.
Please also note that this code encompasses all activities related to sexually transmitted diseases and HIV/AIDS control. Information exclusively on spend related to HIV/AIDS control within these codes is not readily available or held centrally, and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Data for 2021 is not available yet.
Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, which funding mechanisms his Department uses to disburse Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights aid to fragile and conflict-affected states.
Answered by Vicky Ford
In 2020, FCDO used bilateral and bilateral through multilateral aid grants (excluding debt reorganisation) to disburse Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights aid to fragile and conflict-affected states. This included:
· Contributions to single-donor funding mechanisms and contributions earmarked for a specific funding window or geographical location
· Contributions to specific-purpose programmes and funds managed by implementing partners
· Core support to NGOs, other private bodies, PPPs and research institutes
· Donor country personnel
· Other technical assistance
· Project-type interventions
For previous years, please refer to the "Statistics on International Development: final UK aid spend 2020 - Data underlying the SID publication" annex table: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/statistics-on-international-development-final-uk-aid-spend-2020. Data for 2021 is not available yet.
Please, note the share of the UK multilateral core contribution attributable to SRHR is estimated by Deutsche Stiftung Weltbevölkerung (DSW) and published in the "Donor Delivering for SRHR" report here: https://donorsdelivering.report/. Multilateral core funding attributable to SRHR by specific country is not available.
Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much and what proportion of total Official Development Assistance was allocated to Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights in (a) 2019, (b) 2020 and (c) 2021.
Answered by Vicky Ford
Based on the "Statistics on International Development: final UK aid spend 2020", and the Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) spend methodology laid out in the "Donor Delivering for SRHR" report:
a/ 4.16% of total UK Official Development Assistance (ODA) was allocated to SRHR in 2019.
b/ 2.57% of UK bilateral ODA was allocated to SRHR in 2020. Note, this percentage excludes multilateral core funding. The share of the UK multilateral core contribution attributable to SRHR is estimated by Deutsche Stiftung Weltbevölkerung (DSW) and published in the "Donor Delivering for SRHR" report. Data for 2020 and 2021 is not available yet.
c/ Data for 2021 is not available yet.