Asked by: Drew Hendry (Scottish National Party - Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many officials of her Department have been employed to communicate the benefits of the Union to the Scottish public.
Answered by Desmond Swayne
Scotland's contribution to the UK's international development effort is immense and we can be proud of what we have achieved together. As one United Kingdom, we have a much greater impact in saving lives and helping the world's neediest people.
We have a duty to communicate to the UK public how international development, funded by the British people, is making a difference in the world's poorest places. That includes making sure that people in Scotland know what we are achieving together.
In line with the cross-party International Development Committee’s recommendations, DFID has recruited one senior external communications officer for Scotland and devolved administrations.
Asked by: Drew Hendry (Scottish National Party - Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to reduce violence against women and girls.
Answered by Justine Greening
Addressing violence against women and girls (VAWG) is a top priority for the UK Government and DFID’s Ministerial team. The UK led efforts across the globe to ensure that a target to end VAWG formed part of the UN Sustainable Development Goals and we are now focused on seeing this target implemented. Following our Call to Action to Protect Women and Girls in Emergencies in 2013 and Girl Summit in 2014, DFID has also continued to scale up its own programmes to address VAWG.