Asked by: Martin Docherty-Hughes (Scottish National Party - West Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many times the Sub-Saharan Africa National Security Strategy Implementation Group has met since its formation.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson
National Strategy Implementation Groups implement National Security Council direction for specific priority areas, which can change over time. It would not be appropriate to provide a running public commentary on their work, as some National Strategy Implementation Group work could be sensitive at the time.
Asked by: Martin Docherty-Hughes (Scottish National Party - West Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what the membership is of the Sub-Saharan Africa National Security Strategy Implementation Group and Whitehall Africa Group.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson
The Sub-Saharan Africa National Strategy Implementation Group and Whitehall Africa Group takes a collective, cross government approach; convening authoritative representatives from the Departments and Agencies central to deliver its responsibilities.
Asked by: Martin Docherty-Hughes (Scottish National Party - West Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what aid and support is being provided by her Department to unaccompanied children resident in the internally displaced camps of Iraq.
Answered by Alistair Burt
Children in Iraq have been disproportionately impacted by four years of Daesh control. DFID is working with UNICEF to provide specialist child protection services, tailored to the individual needs of 12,000 of the most vulnerable children, including in IDP camps. This specialised programme provides psychosocial support, counselling, legal representation, as well as wider protection services to the children who need them most.
Furthermore, DFID is one of the largest donors to the UN’s Iraq Humanitarian Fund (IHF), having committed over £74m since 2014. The IHF is the primary mechanism through which the international community has responded to the humanitarian crisis in Iraq since 2014. It provides multi-sector support for girls and boys through the provision of education, protection, education, and healthcare services to hundreds of thousands of children each year.
DFID humanitarian experts maintain a close dialogue with all humanitarian stakeholders in Iraq and we remain committed to advocating for the needs of children displaced by the conflict, including those who are unaccompanied.
Asked by: Martin Docherty-Hughes (Scottish National Party - West Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what humanitarian aid her Department is providing in the camps for the displaced people from Mosul, Iraq.
Answered by Alistair Burt
DFID is one of the largest donors to the UN’s Iraq Humanitarian Fund (IHF), having committed over £74m since 2014. The IHF was one of the largest and most comprehensive funding mechanisms available for humanitarian partners responding to the needs of Moslawis throughout 2017 and 2018. The IHF rapidly scaled up its operations in advance of Mosul’s liberation, including with significant financial support from DFID. In March 2017, for example, over £1.5m was allocated by the IHF to expand and upgrade water and sanitation facilities in Haj Ali IDP camp in Ninewa Governorate, to ensure preparedness for the increasing caseload of displaced people from Mosul. The IHF continues to support dozens of humanitarian camps in the region, and DFID maintains a close dialogue with the UN in this respect.
In addition to helping those displaced from Mosul, DFID is supporting efforts to improve conditions in the city so that people can return home following the conflict. This includes over £30m in funding for the UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS) and UNDP’s Funding Facility for Stabilisation (FFS) since 2015. UNMAS focusses on the removal of explosive hazards and the FFS works to restore basic services; the latter has already rehabilitated dozens of hospitals and schools, and is currently carrying out work to repair the decimated electricity grid in West Mosul.
Asked by: Martin Docherty-Hughes (Scottish National Party - West Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will publish information on the recent programme with the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence Reforms Project Office to develop a housing system for the armed forces of Ukraine; and what the cost to the public purse was of that programme.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin - Shadow Minister (Business and Trade)
This project provided technical assistance to the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence to support modernisation of the accommodation system for Ukrainian military personnel. It supported delivery of the UK’s objective to help Ukraine reform its Defence/armed forces to eliminate corruption and increase civilian oversight and rule of law, strengthening the resilience and stability of the State. The total cost over some 15 months was £414,930. The project successfully delivered its four main outputs: a proposal for a trusted and transparent centralised process for queue management; a policy for new accommodation maintenance, procurement and contracting standards for the Ukraine defence forces; new construction tender requirements and contracting guidelines; and a concept paper for a new defence housing system and detailed reform implementation plan for at least 2 years.