Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South East)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much and what proportion of her Departments budget was spend on projects with that were (a) not-gender related and (b) had a gender equality focus as a (a) principal and (b) significant objective in each of the last five years.
Answered by Wendy Morton
All of DFID’s aid activities reported to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) are screened against the gender equality policy marker. This is a measurement of the proportion of aid that supports gender equality and women’s empowerment. An activity can be marked as ‘principal’ if gender equality is the main objective of the programme, or as a ‘significant’ if gender equality is an important and deliberate objective, but not the principal reason for undertaking the programme.
DFID’s spend on bilateral allocable activities targeting gender equality is made publicly available through the OECD statistics portal. The latest figures available are for 2018 which show that £4.2 billion of DFID’s total bilateral spend was marked principal or significant (66%.)
These world-leading investments are delivering results at scale. Between 2015 and 2019, DFID reached 50.6 million women of childbearing age, children under 5 and adolescent girls through our nutrition-relevant programmes and supported 5.8 million girls gain access to a decent education. Last year, UK aid gave 23.5 million of the world’s poorest women and girls access to vital, voluntary family planning.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South East)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that older women are included in the implementation of the Strategic Vision for Gender Equality by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.
Answered by Wendy Morton
The Strategic Vision for Gender Equality is DFID’s guiding document on gender equality and it reflects and responds to the UK Government’s ambitions on this agenda. This includes our commitment to Leave No Girl or Woman Behind, which recognises that older women face multiple exclusions and experience a range of complex barriers to accessing services. COVID-19 has thrown into sharp relief the vulnerability of older people to shocks and brought to the forefront the important roles they play in society.
As part of the DFID-FCO merger discussions, we will refresh and build on existing strategies, as well as develop new approaches. Advancing gender equality and women’s rights are a core part of this Government’s mission. The Government remains steadfast in its commitment to this agenda.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South East)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will ensure that there will be no forced relocations of staff through the merging of her Department and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
When the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office is formally established we will be working to transfer existing DFID employees into it. We may need a different skill or grade mix in different locations overseas to enable the new Department to deliver on its objectives; it is too early to say precisely what changes will be needed.
There will be no forced relocations of staff in the UK when the new Department is created, although we will be developing plans in due course to move UK-based roles out of London in line with the Government’s wider Places for Growth agenda.
Any required changes in the location of roles or staff in the UK or overseas will be handled in accordance with relevant civil service policy and guidance.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South East)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, by what date will staff employed by her Department and staff employed by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office have harmonised contracts as part of the proposed merger of those Departments.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Although some work had already started on aligning terms and conditions before the Machinery of Government changes were announced, it is too early to be able to say precisely when all contracts will be harmonised. As some of the changes will have financial implications, it is expected to be after the next Spending Review.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South East)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what estimate of UK gross national income she is using to calculate the 2020 Official Development Assistance budget.
Answered by Wendy Morton
The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), not DFID, is responsible for producing forecasts of the economy and public finances. The OBR’s latest official forecast of Gross National Income (GNI) was published on 11 March 2020 and so did not reflect the impact of COVID-19. However, we know that COVID-19 will impact the UK economy. Since our commitment to spend 0.7% of our GNI as Official Development Assistance is tied to the size of our economy, the level of ODA spend is likely to decrease this year. As with every year, we continue to work closely with HM Treasury to monitor official economic estimates and forecasts in our management of the 0.7% commitment.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South East)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether she plans to publish her Department's programme plans from the start of the 2020-21 financial year.
Answered by Wendy Morton
DFID’s Annual Report and Accounts will be published in July and will set out baseline programme budgets for 2020/21 spend by DFID spending unit.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South East)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what changes in internal funding allocations she has made since the Main Estimates.
Answered by Wendy Morton
Since the Main Estimates were published in May this year, HMG has had to respond to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the associated impact on the UK economy. All government departments are considering how their plans need to change in light of this risk.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South East)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what the (a) status and (b) provisional outcome is of her Department's gold, silver and bronze grading of projects in response to the covid-19 pandemic.
Answered by Wendy Morton
All government departments are considering how their plans need to change in light of the risk of a recession linked to the impact of COVID-19. DFID is working with the FCO and other ODA spending departments to assess how to manage the 0.7% commitment this year. No decision has been taken, but we are considering the full range of our work.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South East)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will publish the budget reprofiling and repurposing for 2020-21 of each regional programme in each country office in response to the covid-19 pandemic.
Answered by Wendy Morton
DFID’s Annual Report and Accounts will be published in July and will set out baseline programme budgets for 2020/21 spend by DFID spending unit. DFID has a good record on transparency and meeting our reporting and publication requirements. We fully intend to maintain these standards.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South East)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment she has made of the number of programmes with gender equality as an (a) principle and (b) objective that will have their funding reduced or terminated in response to the reduced Official Development Assistance budget in financial year 2020-21; and if she will publish that assessment.
Answered by Wendy Morton
The UK is committed to spending 0.7% of GNI on development, which is enshrined in law. This means the aid budget increases when the UK economy grows and decreases if the economy shrinks. Given the expected fall in Gross National Income this year, aid spending is under review across all departments. No decision has been taken. We are considering the full range of our work.
Whatever the final outcome of the 2020/21 financing discussions, advancing gender equality and women’s rights will remain a priority for this government.