Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the implications for the Government's policies on Russia of granting visas to (a) Russian and (b) Belarussian athletes to compete at (i) Queen's Club, (ii) Wimbledon and (iii) other sporting events.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The UK Government stands in solidarity with Ukraine. We condemn the Russian Government's unprovoked and barbaric attack against Ukraine and the Belarusian state's support for Russia's actions. Our argument is not with the Russian or Belarusian people, but with their governments. As such, individual, self-funded Russian and Belarusian athletes not representing their states can compete in the UK, subject to following Government neutrality guidance. The Government expects sports governing bodies and organisers to require Russian and Belarusian athletes to sign a neutrality statement before issuing a formal invitation to participate.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what progress has his Department made on securing consular access for Alaa Abdel Fattah.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Since Mr El-Fattah's sentencing in December 2021, there have been numerous representations by the UK Government including seeking consular access and his release, in both London and Cairo. The Prime Minister raised Mr El-Fattah's case during his meeting with President Sisi during COP 27 and the Foreign Secretary raised the case on several occasions with Egyptian Foreign Minister Shoukry, most recently on 2 March. The Minister of State for the Middle East, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, has raised the case several times with the Egyptian Ambassador, most recently on 23 February and also raised it with Foreign Minister Shoukry during his visit to Cairo on 4 April.
Ministers and officials are in regular contact with the Egyptian authorities in London and through our Embassy in Cairo. We continue to seek consular access and call for his release at the highest levels of the Egyptian Government. We are providing consular support to his family. The Foreign Secretary and Lord Ahmad jointly met Mr El-Fattah's family on 6 February, and most recently, Lord Ahmad met Mr El-Fattah's mother on 5 April, during his visit to Cairo.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, when he last discussed the case of Alaa Abdel Fattah with his Egyptian counterpart.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Since Mr El-Fattah's sentencing in December 2021, there have been numerous representations by the UK Government including seeking consular access and his release, in both London and Cairo. The Prime Minister raised Mr El-Fattah's case during his meeting with President Sisi during COP 27 and the Foreign Secretary raised the case on several occasions with Egyptian Foreign Minister Shoukry, most recently on 2 March. The Minister of State for the Middle East, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, has raised the case several times with the Egyptian Ambassador, most recently on 23 February and also raised it with Foreign Minister Shoukry during his visit to Cairo on 4 April.
Ministers and officials are in regular contact with the Egyptian authorities in London and through our Embassy in Cairo. We continue to seek consular access and call for his release at the highest levels of the Egyptian Government. We are providing consular support to his family. The Foreign Secretary and Lord Ahmad jointly met Mr El-Fattah's family on 6 February, and most recently, Lord Ahmad met Mr El-Fattah's mother on 5 April, during his visit to Cairo.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to secure the release of Alaa Abdel Fattah.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Since Mr El-Fattah's sentencing in December 2021, there have been numerous representations by the UK Government including seeking consular access and his release, in both London and Cairo. The Prime Minister raised Mr El-Fattah's case during his meeting with President Sisi during COP 27 and the Foreign Secretary raised the case on several occasions with Egyptian Foreign Minister Shoukry, most recently on 2 March. The Minister of State for the Middle East, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, has raised the case several times with the Egyptian Ambassador, most recently on 23 February and also raised it with Foreign Minister Shoukry during his visit to Cairo on 4 April.
Ministers and officials are in regular contact with the Egyptian authorities in London and through our Embassy in Cairo. We continue to seek consular access and call for his release at the highest levels of the Egyptian Government. We are providing consular support to his family. The Foreign Secretary and Lord Ahmad jointly met Mr El-Fattah's family on 6 February, and most recently, Lord Ahmad met Mr El-Fattah's mother on 5 April, during his visit to Cairo.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to tackle learning poverty in middle-income countries.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The FCDO has used its influence to garner global support for tackling learning poverty. In 2022, we co-published the State of Learning Poverty Update with coalition on learning partners and launched the Commitment to Action on foundational learning to reduce learning poverty by 50 percent by 2030. We run basic education programmes in middle-income countries including Bangladesh, Jordan and Nigeria to address learning poverty. We have invested in leading education research including the What Works Hub for education, which supports learning between middle-income countries such as Brazil, Pakistan and Kenya to understand what works to reduce learning poverty.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to tackle learning poverty in low-income countries.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The FCDO prioritises addressing learning poverty. This is reflected in the two Global Objectives we secured through our 2021 G7 Presidency: getting 40 million more girls into school and 20 million more girls reading by age ten by 2026. In 2022 we launched the Commitment to Action on foundational learning to reduce learning poverty by 50 percent by 2030. We have invested in research to understand how to tackle learning poverty in low-income countries through the RISE programme and the Global Education Evidence Advisory Panel reports. We implement basic education programmes in many low-income countries including in Ethiopia and Malawi.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of its education programmes on children’s foundational learning.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The 2022 Independent Commission for Aid Impact report rated the FCDO's education results between 2015-2020 as 'green/amber', demonstrating the effectiveness of our programmes in supporting a decent education for children. The report recommended FCDO accelerate work with partner governments to improve its ability to collect and use good data on children's learning. As a result, we have developed a new Data for Foundational Learning programme, of up to £27 million (2023 - 2027), to strengthen the data on children's learning in low- and middle-income countries. Additionally, we are working to improve our results framework to better measure impact on improving learning.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to improve literacy for girls and women.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The FCDO prioritises foundational learning for all - basic reading, maths and socio-emotional skills. We support this through the UK Girls' Education Challenge programme, which has helped over a million girls and women make progress in education. Through our 2021 G7 Presidency we secured endorsement of two global objectives, including 20 million more girls reading by age ten by 2026. We have invested in leading research to understand how to improve learning globally. In 2022, we launched the Commitment to Action on foundational learning. The UK's commitment to the Global Partnership for Education and bilateral programmes champions quality basic education.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department plans to increase the level of Official Development Assistance allocated for education, including for literacy and numeracy projects, in countries with low literacy rates.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK is one of the most generous global aid donors, spending £11 billion in 2021, much of it through FCDO interventions. We will focus future spend in line with the International Development Strategy, particularly focusing on support for women and girls, while maximising value for money and flexibility to respond to new priority issues. Development is not only about Official Development Assistance. UK support to global education also includes valuable partnerships and the power to convene others, such as through our co-hosting of the Global Education Summit in 2021, which raised $4 billion for the Global Partnership for Education.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the reduction of the foreign aid target on the UK's ability to help address (a) the risk of famine in Tigray and (b) the millions of people severely food insecure due to drought in Ethiopia.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
In Ethiopia, the population in need of humanitarian food and nutrition assistance has reached record levels in 2022, driven by ongoing insecurity and climate shocks that are likely to result in continued high needs into 2023. The UN estimates that over 20 million people are food insecure in Ethiopia, of which 13 million people require food assistance as a result of the conflict in the north.
In the last eighteen months the UK has provided almost £90 million of humanitarian support to people affected by crises throughout Ethiopia. Our support has reached civilians in Tigray, Afar, Amhara, Somali and Oromia and also eastern Sudan. This includes critical food aid, safe drinking water, medical care, sanitation and nutritional supplies.