Asked by: Greg Mulholland (Liberal Democrat - Leeds North West)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent steps she has taken to support the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals.
Answered by Lord Wharton of Yarm
UK was at the forefront of negotiating the Sustainable Development Goals and we will be at the forefront of delivering them. The Goals are at the centre of all DFID’s work. The Government will be publishing a report soon that sets out the UK’s approach to delivering the Goals both domestically and internationally.
Asked by: Greg Mulholland (Liberal Democrat - Leeds North West)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether her Department has a methodology for ranking countries and regions on the adequacy of care and treatment that is available to fight HIV and AIDS in those countries and regions.
Answered by Lord Wharton of Yarm
DFID’s assessment of progress on the HIV response is drawn from reports and data produced by UNAIDS and other partners such as the World Health Organisation and the Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, along with reviews by DFID in-country health advisers.
Asked by: Greg Mulholland (Liberal Democrat - Leeds North West)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, which international summits and conferences on tackling HIV and AIDS Ministers of her Department plan to attend in the next 12 months.
Answered by Lord Wharton of Yarm
DFID Ministers regularly attend international summits and conferences where their presence can underline the UK’s high level commitments.
For example, the Minister of State, the Rt Hon The Lord Bates, will be opening the STOPAIDS World AIDS Day conference on 30 November 2016.
Asked by: Greg Mulholland (Liberal Democrat - Leeds North West)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what discussions she has had with her international counterparts on changes in the level of international donor funding for tackling HIV and AIDS between 2014 and 2015.
Answered by Lord Wharton of Yarm
The UK was the second largest international funder of HIV prevention, treatment and care between 2014 and 2015 and remains committed to helping end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030.
HIV funding was discussed with international counterparts as part of the dialogue on the recent Global Fund Replenishment. The UK Government supports calls for shared responsibility and global solidarity in the response to HIV to achieve the Global Goal target. We strongly believe countries should commit according to their ability to contribute.
Asked by: Greg Mulholland (Liberal Democrat - Leeds North West)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps she is taking to ensure that humanitarian aid is delivered to displaced people along the Thai-Burmese border.
Answered by Rory Stewart
DFID has a £33.6m four year programme providing humanitarian, health and peacebuilding assistance to Eastern border areas of Burma. This includes humanitarian assistance to the nine Burmese refugee camps in Thailand, as well as assistance to displaced and conflict-affected people in Eastern Burma. DFID is the second largest donor to The Border Consortium, who provide food and shelter to the Burmese refugee camps in Thailand. DFID also funds health and legal assistance to refugees in the camps.
DFID officials visit the refugee camps regularly and work with implementing partners to monitor that our assistance is reaching the most vulnerable displaced people.
Asked by: Greg Mulholland (Liberal Democrat - Leeds North West)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what the average hourly earnings were of her Department's (a) BME and (b) non-BME employees in (i) 2015 and (ii) 2016.
Answered by Desmond Swayne
The tables below are the average hourly rates for all employees (Senior Civil Service and below within DFID). The not declared BAME figure includes: those declared as white; those who selected “prefer not to say”; and those who have not declared. However, I would note to the Hon. Member that such simple averages do not paint an accurate figure of our workforce and recruitment practices.
DFID HCS Staff | March 2015 Average Hourly Earnings | March 2016 Average Hourly Earnings |
Declared BAME | £25.05 | £25.23 |
Not Declared BAME | £25.99 | £26.01 |
The Civil Service is changing, and our recruitment seeks to reflect the make-up and composition of our nation as a whole. Historically, BME staff were under-represented: both in terms of previous recruitment patterns and the number and proportion in higher grades, both of these factors have contributed to the differences in average salaries.
We are making progress the proportion of BME staff in the Civil Service has risen from 9.2% in 2010 to 10.6% in 2015, but we recognise that there is still more to do.
In March, the Government published its 2016 Talent Action Plan for the Civil Service. It provides a progress update on initiatives to increase diversity in the Civil Service, including cross-Government talent programmes aimed at under-represented groups.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/talent-action-plan-2016-removing-the-barriers-to-success
Asked by: Greg Mulholland (Liberal Democrat - Leeds North West)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 21 April 2016 to Question 34222, on the humanitarian situation in Madaya, what estimate she has made of the number of civilian deaths due to blocked medical evacuations.
Answered by Desmond Swayne
The UK condemns the blockage of medical evacuations from hard to reach and besieged areas inside Syria, which has led to unnecessary death and suffering. In March 2016, for example, three children and a young man in Madaya and al-Wa’er died after having their evacuations rejected by the parties restricting access to these towns. Access to healthcare and medical treatment is a fundamental human right protected under international law.
Some progress is being made. For example, we are pleased by UN reports that nearly 500 people were evacuated for medical reasons from besieged areas on 20 April.
However, more needs to be done to provide for all those in need in Syria. The UK is pressing for an end to the removal of medical equipment from convoys by the regime, the evacuation of critical medical cases and regular access to healthcare for besieged populations. We will continue to use our position in the UN Security Council and the International Syria Support Group to draw attention to the atrocities being carried out in Syria and press for urgent action, while maintaining the pressure for a political settlement to bring the suffering of the Syrian people to an end.
Asked by: Greg Mulholland (Liberal Democrat - Leeds North West)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 21 April 2016 to Question 34222, on the humanitarian situation in Madaya, what discussions she has had with her Russian counterpart about humanitarian access across Syria.
Answered by Desmond Swayne
The UK plays a key role in opening up humanitarian access in Syria. At least 280 shipments of cross-border aid have been delivered because of the UK co-sponsored UN Security Council Resolutions 2165, 2191 and 2258.
The Department for International Development works closely with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) as part of a whole of government response to the Syria crisis. The FCO are raising issues of humanitarian access across Syria with their Russian counterparts at every opportunity.
We continue to use our position in the UN Security Council and the International Syria Support Group to call on all sides to the conflict and their backers – including Russia - to respect International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and to ensure free, unimpeded access for humanitarian agencies.
Asked by: Greg Mulholland (Liberal Democrat - Leeds North West)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 21 April 2016 to Question 34222, on the humanitarian situation in Madaya, what medical equipment has been removed from convoys by the Syrian regime.
Answered by Desmond Swayne
It is unacceptable that medical items are being systematically removed from humanitarian convoys inside Syria, the vast majority by the Assad Regime. According to the UN, 80,000 medical treatments were excluded or removed from their convoys in February 2016 alone. Items removed include essential life-saving medical items such as surgical and anaesthetic supplies and blood bags. These are exactly the items that are vital to treat victims of bombings or shelling, as well as essential to treat accidental trauma and for Caesarean sections or some complicated deliveries. Other items such as diarrhoea kits, emergency health kits, antibiotics, and other medicines have been removed.
The UK continues to use our position in the UN Security Council and the International Syria Support Group to press for an end to the removal of medical equipment from convoys by the Regime, the evacuation of critical medical cases and regular access to healthcare for besieged populations.