Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool, Walton)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what support his Department is providing to people affected by the jigger flea, tunga penetrans, in Kenya.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
DFID is not providing any direct funding to help people affected by the jigger flea in Kenya. However, DFID provides central core funding to the World Health Organisation, who help tackle Neglected Tropical Diseases globally.
Development of Kenya’s health sector is a priority for DFID. We are working closely with the Kenyan Ministry of Health to support their plans on Universal Health Coverage.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool, Walton)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment he has made of the humanitarian situation in Kashmir following the earthquake on 24 September 2019.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
DFID has been liaising closely with the Government of Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) since the earthquake struck on 24 September 2019.
Key humanitarian partners, including UN agencies, met with the NDMA to discuss the response to the earthquake on Friday 27 September. The NDMA confirmed that the Government of Pakistan will not launch any formal appeal or request for National or International Assistance, but donors and agencies can provide assistance on a voluntary basis.
DFID stands ready to respond and the Natural Disaster Consortium partners have pre-positioned supplies which can be deployed at short notice.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool, Walton)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, with reference to reports of the army expelling international NGOs from Nigeria, what assessment he has made of the ability of humanitarian organisations to carry out their activities in Nigeria.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
We are extremely concerned that the Nigerian Army has closed the offices of Action against Hunger and Mercy Corps in North East Nigeria.
NGOs in the North East of Nigeria, including Action Against Hunger and Mercy Corps, provide millions of people with crucial, life-saving assistance. When these organisations are forced to withdraw it has a huge impact on the lives of the most vulnerable. We have urged the Government of Nigeria to complete their investigations swiftly to resolve the dispute and to enable the uninterrupted delivery of humanitarian assistance. We must ensure unimpeded access for people in need in line with International Humanitarian Law.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool, Walton)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what plans his Department has to monitor, track and publish the proportion of its education spending allocated for delivery by (a) public and (b) private providers.
Answered by Rory Stewart
We monitor and track all programmes and programme partners, and remain committed to the transparent publication of aid spending and delivery, through such information platforms as DevTracker. This includes education spending.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool, Walton)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether the Government plans to make a commitment to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative at its pledging conference in Abu Dhabi in November 2019.
Answered by Rory Stewart
The Global Polio Eradication Initiative has recently launched their new strategy for 2019 – 2023. We are currently considering the strategy and a future UK offer of continued support, as are all global donors.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool, Walton)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if he will make an assessment of the implications for the Government's policies of the finding of the UN Special Rapporteur on Education presented to the UN Human Rights Council in July 2019 that public-private partnerships in education that focus on involving private actors for service delivery have empirically largely failed, in particular in fragile countries.
Answered by Rory Stewart
We welcome the focus in the UN Special Rapporteur’s Report on the importance of the regulation in education systems, which is consistent with DFID’s position set out in the 2018 education policy Get Children Learning. We await with interest the publication of the study referred to in the UN Special Rapporteur’s Report.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool, Walton)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what plans the UK's International Ambassador for Human Rights has to (a) promote to partner countries and (b) publicly reinforce the findings of the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to education on the provision of public education and regulation of private involvement in education presented to the UN Human Rights Council in July 2019.
Answered by Rory Stewart
Every child has a right to a good quality education. DFID’s education policy Get Children Learning makes clear that the state is the guarantor of quality basic education for all, but need not be the sole financer or provider of education services. This is the position we will continue to a) promote to partner countries and b) reinforce publicly. We welcome the focus in the UN Special Rapporteur’s Report on the importance of regulation in education systems.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool, Walton)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much funding his Department paid to Adam Smith International in (a) 2017, (b) 2018 and (c) 2019.
Answered by Rory Stewart
The table below shows the value of spend with Adam Smith International in (a) 2017, (b) 2018 and (c) 2019.
Calendar Year | Procurement spend |
2017 | £94,581,779 |
2018 | £65,569,932 |
2019 | £10,546,598 |
Grand Total | £170,698,308 |
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool, Walton)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many new contracts his Department awarded to Adam Smith International in (a) 2017, (b) 2018 and (c) 2019; and what the value was of each of those contracts.
Answered by Rory Stewart
DFID did not award Adam Smith International (ASI) any contracts between 2017 and 2018.
During 2019, they were awarded one separate contract, Acorn (Nigeria) at the contractual value of £4.5m.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool, Walton)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what criteria for future funding eligibility were set by his Department and Adam Smith International at the time that organisation withdrew from his Department's funding opportunities in February 2017; and whether those criteria were met by February 2018.
Answered by Rory Stewart
At the time of Adam Smith international's (ASI’s) voluntary withdrawal from DFID procurements in January 2017, our position made it clear that ASI, along with all other suppliers, will only be eligible to bid on future funding if they were able to demonstrate their ability to adhere to the high standards of integrity expected from government contractors, whilst delivering the best results for the world’s poorest and value for money for UK taxpayers.
As of February 2018, following more than a year of voluntary withdrawal from procurement, ASI resumed bidding for work with HMG. DFID is legally obliged to consider all bids from ASI in full compliance with the Procurement Regulations, and we do so in accordance with the fair and transparent tender requirements that were advertised, as is the case with any bidder.