Asked by: Marion Fellows (Scottish National Party - Motherwell and Wishaw)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the Government's commitment to education made at the G7 in June 2021, what steps the Government is taking to remove barriers to education for the world’s most vulnerable children, particularly those who are also living with disabilities.
Answered by Wendy Morton - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Meeting under the UK Presidency, G7 Foreign and Development Ministers endorsed two new, global, SDG 4 milestone targets on girls' education, which we are calling on the world to help deliver. Ministers also endorsed a girls' education declaration, which specifically states the G7 will work in collaboration with developing country partners, multilateral institutions, civil society, girl-led groups, and youth leaders, to remove the obstacles to education that stand in girls' way. This includes addressing the social, environmental, and institutional barriers to education such as reducing violence in and out of schools, promoting sexual and reproductive health and rights and amending restrictive policies or legislation which prevent girls thriving in school.
We know learners with disabilities face severe barriers in accessing education, which have been further exacerbated by the pandemic. The FCDO's "twin track" approach provides both targeted support for learners with disabilities and seeks to improve mainstream education systems to be inclusive. Through the Girls' Education Challenge, we are helping 100,000 girls with disabilities receive an education in countries such as Kenya, Uganda, Sierra Leone and Zimbabwe.
Asked by: Marion Fellows (Scottish National Party - Motherwell and Wishaw)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what his Department's plans are for the International Finance Facility for Education (IFFEd) initiative; and what proportion of the £300 million the UK committed to IFFEd in 2019 has been spent to date.
Answered by Wendy Morton - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are committed to innovative means of aid financing that provide financial leverage for every pound of UK Official Development Assistance (ODA) in education. The International Finance Facility for Education (IFFEd) is such a mechanism - that is why the Prime Minister committed £300 million towards IFFEd at the UN General Assembly in September 2019, consisting of £100 million in grant funding, and £200 million in paid-in cash and guarantees.
We await sufficient interest from other donor countries to share the fiduciary risk of this promising innovation.
Asked by: Marion Fellows (Scottish National Party - Motherwell and Wishaw)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will take steps to allocate £600 million to the Global Partnership for Education to deliver on his commitment of 12 years of quality education for all girls.
Answered by Wendy Morton - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Prime Minister and President Kenyatta of Kenya will co-host the Global Education Summit: Financing the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) in London in July 2021. No decision has yet been taken on the UK's next contribution to GPE, and details will follow in due course.
As co-hosts of the Summit, we are using all the means at our disposal to help the Global Partnership for Education secure its five-year rolling financing target of up to $5 billion (2021-2026). A well-funded GPE will be central to delivering our two ambitious global objectives of getting 40 million more girls in school, and 20 million more girls reading by age 10 in the next 5 years.
Asked by: Marion Fellows (Scottish National Party - Motherwell and Wishaw)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the average length of time was for Ministers of his Department to respond to correspondence from hon. Members in each month in the last two years.
Answered by Nigel Adams
In line with Cabinet Office guidance, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has a target of responding within 20 working days where a response is required.
As you will understand, Foreign and Commonwealth Office is currently dealing with unprecedented volumes of correspondence due to COVID-19. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office ensures that urgent cases raised by hon. Members are prioritised, and is taking steps to provide substantive responses in as short a time as possible.
All correspondence received from hon. Members is being reviewed and will be responded to as soon as possible.