Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, how much his Department spent on aid projects relating to women and girls in (a) 2019-20 and (b) the last financial year.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
Official data, sourced from the Statistics for International Development and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) DAC Creditor Reporting System, is available for 2022. This data indicated that in 2022 58 per cent of the FCDO's total bilateral Official Development Assistance (ODA) programme spend was in programmes that had a focus on gender equality (using OECD DAC markers Significant and Principal). In 2021 the figure was 60 per cent, in 2020 the figure was 70 per cent, and in 2019 it was 67 per cent. As part of FCDO's International Women and Girls Strategy published in 2023, we will ensure at least 80 per cent of the FCDO's bilateral aid programmes have a focus on gender equality by 2030. This is a reflection of how we are prioritising gender equality in our work and investment moving forward.
Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, how much bilateral aid spending his Department used to address violence against women and girls between December 2022 and December 2023.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
Ending violence against women and girls overseas remains a top priority for the Government. In 2022, £75.1 million of UK bilateral Official Development Assistance (ODA) was spent on tackling violence against women and girls. This is likely to be an underestimation as some humanitarian and other sectoral programmes also work to prevent and respond to violence, but are not captured in these figures. Data for multilateral ODA spend in 2022, and for bilateral spend in 2023, will be published in due course.
Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps he is taking to meet each of the four priorities on preventing sexual violence in conflict.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
One year on from the launch of the Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative (PSVI) strategy, we have delivered impact across each of its four objectives. We have driven global momentum, launching the International Alliance on PSVI. We have launched 'ACT for Survivors', a national-level capacity building programme promoting investigation and prosecution of conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) crimes. PSVI contributions led to vital legislative changes in Bosnia and Herzegovina and a judicial macro case prosecuting CRSV crimes in Colombia. Setting a gold standard internationally, we pioneer survivor-centred approaches to decision making through our PSVI Survivor Champions and Survivor Advisory Group.
Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what proportion of his Department's bilateral aid programmes include a focus on gender equality.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
Official data, sourced from the Statistics for International Development and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) DAC Creditor Reporting System, is available for 2022. This data indicates that in 2022 58 per cent of FCDO bilateral Official Development Assistance (ODA) programmes had a focus on gender equality (using OECD DAC markers Significant and Principal). As part of FCDO's International Women and Girls Strategy launched in 2023, we will ensure at least 80 per cent of FCDO's bilateral aid programmes have a focus on gender equality by 2030. This is a reflection of how we are prioritising gender equality in our work and investment moving forward.
Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what recent steps he has taken to support women and girls in South America.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The FCDO's first International Women and Girls Strategy commits us to using the full weight of our diplomatic and development offer to stand up for women's and girls' rights. As I [Minister Rutley] outlined in my speech at Canning House in November, these rights are central to the "values" strategic pillar, one of four tenets that support the UK's approach to Latin America in the near future. The FCDO is providing funding through several initiatives including to end gender-based violence, to support grassroots women's organisations and to promote Women, Peace & Security. The FCDO is currently funding a Latin America gender equality, disability and social inclusion analysis which will be finalised in early 2024.
Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what recent steps he has taken to support women and girls in sub-Saharan Africa.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK's new White Paper on International Development sets out our commitments on educating girls, empowering women and girls, and championing their health and rights and ending gender-based violence. The UK is working with African partners to tackle gender inequality and stand up for the rights of women and girls. The UK will also spend up to £200 million on a new women's sexual and reproductive health and rights programme, focused on sub-Saharan Africa, which will reach up to 10.4 million women.
Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, with reference to the Government's news story entitled Plan to move government roles out of Westminster brought forward and new headquarters unveiled published on 12 December 2023, how many and what proportion of civil servants proposed to move out of London by 2027 will be officials within the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office working on matters relating to international development.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The FCDO is committing to its future in Scotland and moving into a building and location that will increase and enhance the size and career offer for our workforce. We are planning on increasing the size of our workforce to 1,500 roles in line with our Places for Growth commitments. Work is underway to identify which specific teams and functions will relocate, but it will include roles across the full range of FCDO's responsibilities and deliverables.
Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps his Department is taking to support LGBT+ rights in Africa.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK is committed to championing the human rights of LGBT+ people internationally, including in Africa. Our network of diplomatic missions work closely with partners, including governments and civil society, to defend LGBT+ people and ensure they can live their lives without violence and discrimination. In November, the UK launched a new LGBT+ rights programme, committing £40 million over 5 years to help reduce violence and discrimination, reform discriminatory legislation, and enable political, social and economic inclusion.
Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what recent steps he has taken to support women and girls in South East Asia.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The FCDO will continue to defend the rights of women and girls, as set out in the International Women and Girls Strategy. As part of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) - UK Plan of Action, the UK announced two programmes this year to support women and girls in South East Asia. The first - the Supporting the Advancement of Girls' Education programme - will boost access to foundational learning and digital skills for the most marginalised. The second - the Women, Peace and Security in ASEAN programme - will strengthen expertise to implement regional and national policies which consider the impact on, and role of, women in conflict.
Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what recent steps he has taken to support women and girls in Central Asia.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The FCDO's International Women and Girls Strategy commits to at least 80 percent of the FCDO's bilateral aid programmes to have a focus on gender equality by 2030. In Central Asia, the FCDO is taking a twin-track approach via targeted programming and mainstreaming gender equality. FCDO programmes are transforming attitudes, tackling gender-based violence and promoting women's economic empowerment. We work closely with governments, communities and civil society and use research to ensure our interventions achieve impact. To date, we have created 1,302 new jobs for women and capacitated 1,549 service providers to prevent and respond to gender-based violence across Central Asia.