Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether he has had recent discussions with his (a) international partners and (b) non-governmental organisations on potential food shortages in East Africa; and if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of these potential food shortages.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
I regularly discuss food security in East Africa with the UK's international partners. Tens of millions of people face 'crisis' levels of food insecurity with needs in Ethiopia and Sudan particularly grave. The UK is leading efforts to address this issue. On 16 April I co-hosted a humanitarian pledging event for Ethiopia and announced a UK package lifesaving assistance budgeted at £100 million. The UK will also deliver £89 million of aid to Sudan in 2024/25, up from nearly £50 million in 2023/24. Throughout East Africa UK aid is saving lives and making a difference.
Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether he has had recent discussions with the UNHCR on children in Gaza who have been orphaned as a result of the Israel-Hamas war in the last six months.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
UN experts assess that 17,000 Palestinian children are believed to have been orphaned since October 2023. UNHCR has no mandate to act in the Occupied Palestinian Territories but the UK is supporting a number of agencies who are targeting funding to respond to the needs of these children. The UK's funding to the Red Cross Movement, and the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Pooled Fund has supported their work to identify unaccompanied minors, provide care options, and in some cases reunited children with family members.
Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what steps he is taking to maintain international support for (a) humanitarian aid and (b) reconstruction in Ukraine.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
We are working with international partners, including the G7, to ensure continued support for aid and reconstruction in Ukraine. The UK is a leading bilateral donor - £4.7 billion in humanitarian and economic support. During his recent visit, the Foreign Secretary reiterated that Ukraine remains a top priority and launched negotiations with Ukraine on a 100 Year Partnership - a new agreement that will build enduring links between the UK and Ukraine across the spectrum of trade, security and defence cooperation, science and tech, education and culture. The Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC) in June will be a key political moment to signal international solidarity and drive progress on Ukraine's recovery and reconstruction, where we will build on the success of the London URC in June 2023, which saw over $60 billion raised for Ukraine's recovery.
Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what steps he is taking to support the local delivery of humanitarian aid in Ukraine.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
Since February 2022, the UK Government has committed £357 million in humanitarian assistance to Ukraine and the region. This includes work with Ukrainian partners, sustaining vital humanitarian assistance across Ukraine. The UK has provided £31 million to the UN OCHA (Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs) Ukraine Humanitarian Fund, with over 31% of UHF funding going directly to Ukrainian organisations, and have supported projects with Ukrainian Red Cross Society, Mercy Corps and Non-Violent Peace Force to support Ukrainian humanitarian civil society to deliver assistance to communities affected by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether he is taking steps to support anti-corruption bodies in Ukraine prior to post-war reconstruction.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
Tackling corruption is a critical part of Ukraine's recovery and reconstruction efforts. The UK's Good Governance Fund Ukraine, a £38 million three-year technical assistance programme, has been supporting anti-corruption, judicial and institutional reforms in Ukraine. This includes the development of the new, comprehensive Digital Reconstruction Management System, which will allow oversight over reconstruction projects and the relaunch of the High Council of Justice and High Qualification Commission of Judges, institutions critical to a judiciary free from unlawful interference. Alongside our US colleagues, we are jointly strengthening the capacity of Ukraine's national and local anti-corruption bodies, working with sub-national administrations that will be at the forefront of reconstruction.
Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if she will take steps to encourage broadband provider competition in Wigan.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Having a competitive fixed telecoms market has been integral to the government’s strategy to deliver nationwide coverage of gigabit-capable broadband. Competition keeps prices low and standards high for consumers, whilst encouraging companies to build quickly. In the 2018 Future Telecoms Infrastructure review and our 2019 Statement of Strategic Priorities to Ofcom, we brought forward proposals to make it easier for new firms to enter the market, such as granting competitors access to Openreach’s national duct and poles network.
Ofcom is responsible for regulating competition in the broadband market. In 2021, Ofcom published its Wholesale Fixed Telecoms Market Review (WFTMR), which set out its decisions for regulation of the fixed telecoms market until 2026. The WFTMR makes explicit mention of the Government’s desire to support market entry and expansion by alternative network operators and is fulfilling this by, for example, providing competitors with effective access to Openreach’s ducts and poles.
Thanks to these measures to incentivise competition, there are now over 80 companies investing over £40bn to connect premises all over the UK. Gigabit coverage in Wigan constituency is currently at 92% (Think Broadband), which is up from just 1% in December 2019.
Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, if he will take steps to increase third-party (a) monitoring and (b) auditing of UK (i) aid and (ii) financial guarantees to Ukraine.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
Since Russia's full-scale invasion, the FCDO has extensively used third party monitoring in Ukraine to deliver seven rounds of monitoring, using in-person field-visits and remote phone-surveys for its ODA programming. For loan guarantees, the FCDO uses its Contingent Liability Risk Management Framework to actively monitor and assess risks across its guarantee portfolio, which is regularly reviewed, including drawing from external audits. Going forward, FCDO has plans to expand third party monitoring and other assurance processes in Ukraine, which will be covered in the department's response to the Independent Commission for Aid Impact's rapid review of UK aid to Ukraine.
Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what recent discussions he has had with regional partners on the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
FCDO ministers are in regular contact with their international counterparts on Afghanistan both in the region and beyond. The Foreign Secretary discussed the situation in Afghanistan during his recent visit to Central Asia. The UK Special Representative to Afghanistan regularly engages with international counterparts, including at the last Special Envoys' meeting in Doha in February, which focused on political and humanitarian issues.
Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether he has had discussions with his Thai counterpart on support for refugees from the conflict in Myanmar.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign Secretary discussed the current situation in Myanmar with the Thai Prime Minister and Thai Foreign Minister during his visit to Thailand in March 2024. Discussions covered the delivery of humanitarian assistance to all in need inside Myanmar, and support those fleeing across the border. The UK continues to provide humanitarian assistance to people displaced by the conflict in Myanmar. Since September 2022, we have provided essential support to more than 85,000 Myanmar refugees in Thailand.
Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what steps he is taking to support NGOs operating in Afghanistan.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government is committed to supporting the people of Afghanistan and NGOs operating in the country. Since April 2021, the UK has disbursed over £600 million in aid for Afghanistan. This funding includes direct and indirect support to a range of NGOs operating in Afghanistan. UK officials also meet regularly with NGO partners to discuss the operating context in Afghanistan, and to ensure support is as effective as possible.