Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether the Government is taking steps to allocate funding under the Global Fund's covid-19 Response Mechanism to ensure the effectiveness of ongoing programmes to tackle (a) TB, (b) HIV and (c) malaria.
Answered by Wendy Morton
The UK is a proud supporter of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria. We are the second largest donor to the Sixth Replenishment, pledging up to £1.4 billion for 2020 - 2022 to fight HIV, TB, and malaria and support health systems, contributing to achievement of universal health coverage and Sustainable Development Goal 3 of “Good Health for All”. We support the Global Fund’s swift action to allow countries to re-programme or use savings from their current grants, and their rapid creation of the COVID-19 Response Mechanism (C19RM), which together have created up to £1 billion of flexibility for countries to respond to COVID-19 and its impacts on HIV, TB, malaria, and health systems.
This Government has already pledged up to £764 million of UK aid on responding to COVID-19 and we are taking our leadership role in global health very seriously. We are using UK aid to its full effect to counter the health, humanitarian, and economic risks and impact of this pandemic in the developing world. We will continue to consider all options for our future support.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Department for International Development:
What support his Department provides to victims of forced displacement.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The UK remains at the forefront of refugee responses globally, providing both immediate lifesaving aid and access to jobs and education.
We helped develop and agree the new Global Compact on Refugees and have backed the call for a new UN High Level Panel to tackle internal displacement.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what funding her Department has allocated to programmes in Pakistan to promote control of the tobacco industry.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
The DFID Pakistan programme has not allocated specific funding to promote the control of the tobacco industry in Pakistan.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much funding her Department has allocated to Uganda in each of the last three years; what projects that funding supports; and whether her Department has experienced issues with corruption in Uganda over that period.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
Financial Year | DFID Funding to Uganda (£) |
2016 – 2017 | 110,056,327 |
2017 – 2018 | 124,803,146 |
2018 - 2019 | *102,100,000 |
Total | *336,959,474 |
Figure 1: table providing details of DFID’s funding in Uganda in each of the last 3 financial years
*Indicative figures as 18/19 financial year has not concluded.
A list of the programmes the Department for International Development (DFID) has supported over the last three years is published on https://devtracker.dfid.gov.uk/.
DFID has a zero-tolerance approach to fraud and corruption of any kind. Where taxpayers’ money is misused, we expect our partners to take firm and immediate action and that partners with which we work protect the UK aid funds for which they are responsible, whilst acting with honesty and with integrity at all times. Any allegations of fraud and or corruption are subject to robust investigation.
In January 2018, allegations of fraud and corruption arose in the Uganda Refugee Operation. The Government of Uganda, UN High Commissioner for Refugees, World Food Programme and Development Partners (represented by the UK, EU and US) agreed on the Joint Plan of Action, which resulted in systems improvements.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether her Department is undertaking research on access to education for disabled children and the supply of teachers to inform its Education Strategy discussed in Westminster Hall on 6 July 2017 in the debate on global education: G20 summit.
Answered by Alistair Burt
DFID has a dedicated Education Research Team with a £12m per annum portfolio of innovative research on education systems, raising learning outcomes, and learning and skills beyond primary education. This research portfolio has a particular focus on disadvantaged groups and the pursuit of an equitable start to learning for all. Research commissioned through this team, along with the UK Research Community, has ensured that teachers, equity and systems reform are at the centre of DFID’s new education policy.
DFID has commissioned rigorous reviews of existing evidence and, as a result of the findings, concluded a focus on children with disabilities. For example, one research project, which is funded by DFID through the UK Economic and Social Research Council, investigates different modalities for teaching literacy in deaf communities in India, Ghana and Uganda. Wider inclusion and equity issues are fundamental to all DFID’s education research programmes, and we seek to mainstream them.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will maintain the current level of funding for the Global Partnership for Education at the 2018 Replenishment Conference.
Answered by Alistair Burt
DFID is proud to be a strong financer of global education. We have made the largest overall contribution to GPE since 2003, and our future investment in GPE will be a crucial part of achieving our new policy objectives. DFID maintains a close working relationship with GPE and currently funds 15% of GPE operations. The UK has been working with GPE through its Executive Board so that it has a compelling case for investment. The UK fully supports a successful replenishment. I am unable to comment on what the UK will contribute at this time, officials are in the process of advising ministers.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what progress her Department is making in developing the education strategy discussed in Westminster Hall on 6 July 2017 on global education: G20 summit.
Answered by Alistair Burt
Significant progress has been made on developing DFID’s new education policy. Since July, we have reviewed the latest evidence on how to deliver quality education, much of which is funded by DFID. We have also consulted extensively, including engaging with education experts in academia, the public and private sectors, and international organisations. This has enabled evaluation of where DFID can add the most value. We are developing a policy in line with our strengths and expertise. We anticipate the policy will be launched in early 2018.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment she has made of the implications for her Department's policies of the report by STOPAIDS entitled A Stocktake Review of DFID's Work on HIV and AIDS, published in September 2017.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The UK is proud to remain the second largest international funder of the HIV response. The UK Government’s recent investment in the Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria will provide anti-retroviral therapy for 1.3 million people living with HIV. The UK is also at the forefront of work to prevent further spread of AIDS, which remains a top killer of adolescents in Africa.
The STOPAIDS report highlights how DFID has responded to the changing epidemic by adapting its spend on HIV, noting also our assessment of how to maximise results by focussing on women and girls, key populations, together with the integration of HIV responses into the wider health system and broader development priorities.
We will continue to lead the way by working with civil society partners, international governments and organisations, to ensure the ambitious international commitments on HIV are met, saving even more lives and ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2030.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how her Department monitors and assesses the effectiveness of HIV and AIDS awareness campaigns and training as part of their integration into wider health programmes funded by her Department; and how her Department measures reducing the incidence of HIV and AIDS.
Answered by Alistair Burt
DFID’s assessment of progress on integrating the HIV response and reducing incidence is drawn from reports and data produced by UNAIDS and other partners including the World Health Organisation and the Global Fund to fight AIDS TB and Malaria. Progress towards integration into wider health programmes is also informed through reviews, which are publicly available on the DFID Development Tracker, carried out by DFID in-country health advisers.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to reduce the amount of manual processing on paper that it carries out and to make such processing digital.
Answered by Rory Stewart
Management of aid programmes, including procurement and payments, is managed through electronic systems. In addition, corporate support functions for managing staff and facilities management are also undertaken on electronic systems. There are a limited number of processes where use of paper is required.
DFID will continue to review processes and use evolving digital technology to reduce manual processing on paper.