Asked by: Anum Qaisar (Scottish National Party - Airdrie and Shotts)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of adherence by the Russian Federation to its legal responsibilities towards the populations of the occupied Ukrainian territories.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
In the course of its illegal invasion, Russia has shown a total disregard for its obligations under international law, including international humanitarian law, and is responsible for numerous violations and abuses of human rights. Russia continues to deny full, safe and unhindered access for humanitarian actors to territory under its temporary control, where millions of people are in acute need of humanitarian assistance. Reporting from the UN and OSCE concludes that Russia's treatment of civilians, including killings, torture and forced transfers, may amount to war crimes. The UK is committed to holding Russia to account for its actions in Ukraine, including by supporting the International Criminal Court and Ukrainian domestic investigations.
Asked by: Anum Qaisar (Scottish National Party - Airdrie and Shotts)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of trends in the level of humanitarian aid spending by his Department in East Africa on women and girls in that region.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
Women and girls are disproportionately affected by crises. In East Africa there is significant evidence to show the gendered impacts of drought, conflict and other humanitarian pressures.
Across East Africa UK humanitarian programmes support women and girls with access to nutrition services, maternal healthcare, access to education and gender-based violence prevention and support services. This is aligned with our commitments in the International Development Strategy on both women and girls and humanitarian action.
Asked by: Anum Qaisar (Scottish National Party - Airdrie and Shotts)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the level of aid provided by his Department to (a) Afghanistan and (b) Pakistan in financial years (i) 2022-23 and (ii) 2023-24.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
Afghanistan is one of FCDO's largest bilateral aid programmes. Since April 2021, the UK has spent £532 million on aid for Afghanistan. We continually monitor the situation in Afghanistan and support the UN led humanitarian response which prioritises according to need. The UK's development partnership with Pakistan focuses on underlying structural issues including population dynamics, climate vulnerability, protecting the rights of women and minorities and macroeconomic stabilisation. Within this partnership the UK has pledged a total of £36 million for flood relief efforts in Pakistan since 2022, of which over £25 million has been disbursed to date.
Asked by: Anum Qaisar (Scottish National Party - Airdrie and Shotts)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent steps his Department has taken to support locally-led peace builders in Pakistan.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The FCDO supports a variety of initiatives to build political, cultural and religious understanding between Pakistan and its neighbours. These initiatives support wider regional stability and prosperity, whilst also reducing the risks of uncontrolled escalation towards violence.
Asked by: Anum Qaisar (Scottish National Party - Airdrie and Shotts)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support Sudanese (a) civil society and (b) communities working to help prevent further conflict in Sudan.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The UK's top humanitarian priority is to secure operational security guarantees and workable humanitarian access. There can be no international aid without safe and reliable access. As part of our engagement as the Quad (KSA, US, UK, UAE) we have pushed both for the extension of the ceasefire and ensuring unimpeded humanitarian access.
The UK will support a well-coordinated and prioritised regional response. We will coordinate with the international humanitarian system (including INGOs, UN agencies, Civil Society Organisations) to support the UN to be able to scale-up delivery within Sudan so they can move quickly to respond if and when the access situation improves.
Asked by: Anum Qaisar (Scottish National Party - Airdrie and Shotts)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what support his Department is providing to Sudanese (a) civil society and (b) communities providing first response relief in Sudan.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The UK's top humanitarian priority is to secure operational security guarantees and workable humanitarian access. There can be no international aid without safe and reliable access. As part of our engagement as the Quad (KSA, US, UK, UAE) we have pushed both for the extension of the ceasefire and ensuring unimpeded humanitarian access.
The UK will support a well-coordinated and prioritised regional response. We will coordinate with the international humanitarian system (including INGOs, UN agencies, Civil Society Organisations) to support the UN to be able to scale-up delivery within Sudan so they can move quickly to respond if and when the access situation improves.
Asked by: Anum Qaisar (Scottish National Party - Airdrie and Shotts)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the Seventh Report of the International Development Committee entitled Debt relief in low-income countries, published on 10 March 2023, HC 146, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of the recommendation on including a strategy for debt relief in the next iteration of the International Development Strategy.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK plays a leadership role in international discussions on developing country debt. The Government will continue to work with its international partners to urgently address debt vulnerabilities in low-income countries.
FCDO considers debt as part of its approach to international development. The Government will be responding to the International Development Committee's recent inquiry into debt relief in low-income countries in the usual manner, including their recommendation for a strategy.
Asked by: Anum Qaisar (Scottish National Party - Airdrie and Shotts)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if his Department will provide financial support to the WHO mRNA Vaccine Technology Transfer Hub; and if his Department will take steps to encourage pharmaceutical companies to engage with the Hub.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The World Health Organisation (WHO) mRNA Vaccine Technology Transfer Hub is in the early stages of its work. We continue to engage and support constructive dialogue with all involved stakeholders and assess over time its effectiveness.
The UK Government is not providing direct, earmarked funding to the Hub. However, the UK is the largest provider of flexible funding to the WHO and is the second largest funder of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.
The UK supports the expansion of vaccine manufacturing and is working with international and regional partners to catalyse strategic investments for vaccine manufacturing in low- and middle- income countries.
Asked by: Anum Qaisar (Scottish National Party - Airdrie and Shotts)
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 on the effectiveness of the work of the WHO mRNA Vaccine Technology Transfer Hub.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The World Health Organisation (WHO) mRNA Vaccine Technology Transfer Hub is in the early stages of its work. We continue to engage and support constructive dialogue with all involved stakeholders and assess over time its effectiveness.
The UK Government is not providing direct, earmarked funding to the Hub. However, the UK is the largest provider of flexible funding to the WHO and is the second largest funder of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.
The UK supports the expansion of vaccine manufacturing and is working with international and regional partners to catalyse strategic investments for vaccine manufacturing in low- and middle- income countries.
Asked by: Anum Qaisar (Scottish National Party - Airdrie and Shotts)
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 Official Development Assistance his Department plans to spend on British International Investment in the financial year 2023-24.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
As the Minister for Development, I set out FCDO Official Development Assistance (ODA) allocations for financial years 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 in a Written Ministerial Statement to Parliament on 30th March 2023. The FCDO Annual Report and Accounts 2022 to 2023, due to be published later this year, will include full breakdowns of financial years 2022/2023 spend and 2023-2024 plans.