Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what proportion of her Department's science budget is allocated to (a) the UK, (b) Africa and (c) Asia.
Answered by Rory Stewart
DFID does not allocate its research budget geographically by region. Allocation is based on priority themes set out in the 2016 Research Review. In 2016-17 DFID spent £321 million on research (which classifies as science expenditure). DFID funded research partnerships span different regions and multiple countries, with the highest footprint of research taking place in East and West Africa.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment she has made of the current humanitarian situation in the Lake Chad region?
Answered by Rory Stewart
According to the United Nations, 10.8 million people in the Lake Chad Basin require humanitarian assistance, including 2.3 million that are displaced from their homes, and 7.2 million that suffer from severe food shortages. We are monitoring the situation closely, including through regular field visits by DFID staff based in the region.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps she is taking to support (a) humanitarian and (b) stabilisation programmes in the Lake Chad region.
Answered by Rory Stewart
The crisis in the Lake Chad Basin that affects Nigeria, Northern Cameroon, Niger and Chad is a priority for my Department. In 2017, we are providing £100 million in humanitarian assistance to northern Nigeria and over £14 million to other regions bordering Lake Chad, which will for example provide food assistance to more than 1.5 million people and reach 120,000 children with life-saving treatment for severe acute malnutrition. The UK is also providing over £8 million for stabilisation in the Lake Chad Basin region, including helping communities better respond to and manage the effects of violent conflict.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much she plans to contribute to the UN humanitarian appeal for the Lake Chad region.
Answered by Rory Stewart
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I provided on 27 November to Question number 115054.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what humanitarian aid her Department (a) has recently provided and (b) plans to provide to the Lake Chad region.
Answered by Rory Stewart
The crisis in the Lake Chad Basin that affects Nigeria, Northern Cameroon, Niger and Chad, is a priority for my Department. In 2017 the UK committed £100m in humanitarian assistance to Northern Nigeria and over £14m to other regions bordering Lake Chad. We have committed £300m to the humanitarian crisis in Northern Nigeria over the next 5 years and £39m to the wider Sahel crisis for 2018.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 19 October 2017 to Question 108856, on Developing countries: sexual harassment, whether her Department has terminated any funding projects due to (a) suppliers not fulfilling their obligations and (b) reasons concerning sexual harassment policies or cases.
Answered by Rory Stewart
In the last eighteen months, 11 contracts above the OJEU threshold have been terminated for reasons including the programme’s underperformance, poor value for money, concerns regarding supplier capability, and changes in the delivery context. We have not established sexual harassment as a cause of any contract terminations. DFID’s new Supply Partner Code of Conduct requires suppliers to put whistleblowing arrangements in place, train their staff in ethical behaviour and human rights and ensure there is no exploitative treatment of workers in their supply chains.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 19 October 2017 to Question 108856, on Developing countries: sexual harassment, if the Government will publish the details of the due diligence assessment that organisations funded by her Department are subject to.
Answered by Rory Stewart
DFID does not publish due diligence assessments.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps the Government is taking to support science and innovation in Africa.
Answered by Rory Stewart
DFID’s 2016 Research Review confirmed our commitment to invest around 3% of its budget on research and innovation. Of over 180 projects, 80% are active in Africa.
This large footprint of research partnerships between UK and Africa have resulted in new evidence and technologies which are changing lives. DFID also supports investments to strengthen nationally-led investment in science, technology and innovation and research leadership in Africa.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 19 October 2017 to Question 108856, on Developing countries: sexual harassment, how her Department defines adequate controls; and whether such controls were framed under the provisions of UK employment or in-country law.
Answered by Rory Stewart
A Due Diligence assessment judges whether an organisation’s controls are adequate by assessing the extent to which they provide assurance that funds, assets, and people are managed effectively, and in line with DFID policies. This includes assessing whether they have internal policies in place to protect individuals from harm, and evidence that those policies are being robustly implemented.
We expect organisations which we fund directly to operate to the highest ethical standards and in line with their legal obligations. We hold them to account throughout the life of their agreement with DFID. Where partners employ local staff they must comply both with local legislation as well as the terms of the DFID agreement.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps she has taken to protect local staff on programmes funded by her Department from sexual harassment and to provide routes to report sexual harassment.
Answered by Alistair Burt
All organisations which DFID plans to fund are first subject to a rigorous Due Diligence assessment to ensure that they, and any organisations they fund, have adequate controls in place. This includes controls to protect staff from harm, such as sexual harassment.
In addition, DFID’s new Supply Partner Code of Conduct mandates that suppliers and their sub-contractors must have a workforce whistleblowing policy. All of our funding mechanisms allow DFID to terminate funding projects early if suppliers do not fulfil their obligations.