Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has had discussions with the Secretary of State for the Home Department on the potential use of the Official Development Assistance budget to fund the Migration and Economic Development Partnership with Rwanda.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The funding for the Migration and Economic Development Partnership with Rwanda is not from the Official Development Assistance budget. The Migration and Economic Development Partnership is not ODA eligible as per the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) rules.
Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he is taking steps with Ministers in the (a) Department for Education and (b) Home Office to help facilitate female Afghan medical students to study in the UK.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The UK is committed to supporting the continuation of vital health services in Afghanistan. Our focus is on the delivery of essential primary health care and maternal and child health, specifically targeted at women and children.
In our engagement with the Taliban, we continue to advocate for the importance of women and girls receiving the education they need so that Afghanistan has the trained female medical staff that are required to deliver vital health services.
Any Afghan medical students wishing to study in the UK would need to apply to individual medical schools and meet their entry requirements, as well as meeting any UK immigration requirements.
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 takes to ensure that UK aid is administered in a way which does not discriminate based on religion or belief.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
As stated in the International Development White Paper published last month, upholding Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) is vital for open and inclusive societies. We will ensure that UK development policies are inclusive of people who are marginalised for their religion or belief. Equality issues are routinely considered during the approval process for all our aid programmes. We provide guidance and capability building to ensure that all programmes consider the Public Sector Equality Duty and assess how their interventions will impact on those with protected characteristics, including religion or belief.
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 many UK Overseas Development Aid projects are involved in supporting the Belt and Road Initiative.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
HMG is not spending Official Development Assistance in support of China. China is an important source of investment for many developing countries. Chinese investment, including under its Belt and Road Initiative, can help fill the global infrastructure gap. However, we recognise the potential risks that Chinese overseas investment can present.
HMG's policy on China is set out in the Integrated Review Refresh. In HMG's engagement, we will always work to protect ourselves, our democracy and our economy.
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 many (a) FCO, (b) DFID and (c) FCDO staff have been deployed to Somalia in each financial year since 2010.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Data is not held prior to 2014. The number of DFID, FCO and FCDO UK Based staff deployed to Somalia since 2014 is as follows:
2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | ||||||||
xDFID | xFCO | xDFID | xFCO | xDFID | xFCO | xDFID | xFCO | xDFID | xFCO | xDFID | xFCO | xDFID | xFCO | FCDO | FCDO | FCDO | |
Somalia | Fewer than 10 | Fewer than 10 | Fewer than 10 | Fewer than 10 | Fewer than 10 | Fewer than 10 | Fewer than 10 | 10-19 | Fewer than 10 | 20-29 | Fewer than 10 | 10-19 | Fewer than 10 | 10-19 | 10-19 | 10-19 | 10-19 |
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 the Government has taken to facilitate supplies of fuel to Gaza.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are deeply concerned about the fuel shortages in Gaza. Fuel is necessary to allow humanitarian organisations to deliver assistance, power hospitals and operate desalinisation plants. The Government of Israel must allow sufficient aid and fuel into Gaza to meet the needs of civilians. We understand that some 282,000 litres of fuel have entered Gaza from the Rafah crossing in Egypt since the 15th of November, but significantly more is needed. The UK continues to press our Israeli counterparts to adhere to International Humanitarian Law and allow sustained humanitarian access.
Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has made an assessment of the adequacy of (a) long-term humanitarian support and (b) reconstruction efforts following the flooding in Derna in Libya.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We remain committed to ensuring that the reconstruction of the flood impacted area is funded through a unified Libyan national mechanism that can deliver transparent, rights-based, and accountable financial support for reconstruction.
We stand ready to support the reconstruction with technical assistance from the World Bank, the United Nations Development Programme and EU, who stand ready to support transparency and will help to identify in an inclusive manner how best to reconstruct, and how to manage the funding.
In the longer term, the UK believes an inclusive, representative political dialogue is the only way to overcome the current political impasse. It is within the power of Libya's leaders to provide this solution - they must put aside their differences and prioritise the interests of the Libyan people.
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 his Oral Statement of 14 November 2023 on Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Official Report, column 508, what (a) aerial and (b) maritime contingencies are under consideration to help increase the supply of aid to Gaza.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We continue to work with our partners to coordinate the humanitarian response and ensure lifesaving assistance can reach the people who need it. The focus remains on land routes, but we are also actively exploring maritime options at this juncture. The Government of Israel must allow sufficient aid and fuel into Gaza to meet the needs of civilians. The UK has committed an additional £30 million of aid for the Occupied Palestinian Territories to support humanitarian organisations to deliver assistance.
Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether his Department is taking steps to help ensure the long-term stability of (a) NGOs and (b) aid agencies that (i) provide humanitarian support and (ii) have other operations in Afghanistan.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The UK Government is committed to supporting the people of Afghanistan. Afghanistan is one of FCDO's largest bilateral aid programmes this financial year, at £100 million. Since April 2021, the UK has disbursed over £600 million in aid for Afghanistan, providing lifesaving support to the most vulnerable. The UK has recently launched two multi-year humanitarian programmes from 2023 - 2026, through which we will spend up to £400 million through UN agencies, the Red Cross and NGOs. The UK is also funding NGOs through our Supporting Afghanistan's Basic Services programme. We continue to support the World Bank's Afghanistan Resilience Trust Fund.
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 his Department has taken to support humanitarian projects in Somalia.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK is a significant donor to the humanitarian crisis in Somalia. This financial year we have allocated £48 million in response to the humanitarian crisis, providing cash support, water and sanitation services, and specialised health and nutrition treatment. This includes £11 million pivoted towards El Niño prevention and response projects as Somalia faces record levels of flooding. At the Global Food Security Summit on 20 November, the UK announced up to £100 million support over the next five years to help communities to re-establish and recover livelihoods and build resilience to future climatic shocks, breaking the cycle of humanitarian crises by investing in resilient, long-lasting change.