Asked by: Jack Lopresti (Conservative - Filton and Bradley Stoke)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much funding her Department has provided in support of animal conservation projects on each continent in each of the last five years.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin - Shadow Minister (Business and Trade)
DFID supports many activities that tackle the Illegal Wildlife Trade which contribute to animal conservation. Since 2014, DFID and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) have jointly provided £11million to the Illegal Wildlife Trade Challenge Fund, administered by Defra. Through the Challenge Fund we have supported a range of proposals, including one for implementing park action plans for community engagement to tackle illegal wildlife trade in Uganda and one for building judicial capacity to counter wildlife crime in Kenya.
For the years 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017 respectively, this was split as follows: Africa: £0.4million, £1.2 million, £2.9million and £2.1million; Asia: £0.3million, £0.9million, £1.0million and £1.3million; and South America: £0.06million, £0.1million, £0.1million and £0.09million.
Between 2014 - 2018, DFID and Defra also contributed £210million to the Global Environment Facility. Through this funding, the department supports the £100million Global Wildlife Programme, the world’s largest single counter-Illegal Wildlife Trade Programme. This promotes wildlife conservation and sustainable development by combatting illicit trafficking in wildlife in Africa and Asia.
Asked by: Jack Lopresti (Conservative - Filton and Bradley Stoke)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what levels of apprenticeships are offered by her Department; and how many apprenticeship starts there were at each level in each of the last three years.
Answered by Alistair Burt
DFID currently offers two apprenticeship schemes: Operational Delivery Apprenticeship (Level 3) and Fast Track Apprenticeship (Level 4 in Business Administration, Commercial and Finance). Details are shown in the below table:
Year | Level 3 Operational Delivery | Level 4 Fast Track |
2015/2016 | 6 | Fewer than six |
2016/2017 | 13 | 11 |
2017/2018 | 12 | 29 |
Asked by: Jack Lopresti (Conservative - Filton and Bradley Stoke)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what contingency planning her Department has undertaken to support Iraqi Kurds in the event of a vote for independence in the forthcoming referendum.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The UK Government’s position on the referendum is clear. Unilateral moves towards independence would not be in the interests of the people of Kurdistan Region, of the rest of Iraq or of wider regional stability. Any referendum or political process towards independence must be agreed with the Government of Iraq in Baghdad. We support a stable, democratic and unified Iraq, one that is able to provide the security, jobs, healthcare and education all Iraqis want and deserve. Ministers and officials are in continuing discussions with both the Government of Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government, urging both parties to engage in dialogue to deliver a better future for their people on the basis of the Iraqi Constitution. The Department for International Development has provided £209.5 million in life-saving humanitarian aid to Iraq since June 2014, which has helped to support internally displaced people across Iraq, including those hosted in the Kurdistan region. DFID is working alongside other Government departments to assess the impact of the referendum on our priorities in Iraq.