Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
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 the Memorandum of Understanding on nurses between the Government and the Government of Nepal on the Nepalese public health system.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Memorandum of Understanding to recruit up to 100 Nepali nurses to work in the UK was agreed jointly by the Government of Nepal with the Department of Health and Social Care. It is designed to give the Government of Nepal control over the number of nurses recruited and maximise the benefits to Nepal that a formal, ethical and high-skilled migration opportunity can bring. The prospect of an international career has the potential to attract more nurses into the sector in Nepal. A pilot phase will ensure both governments understand how the partnership is progressing.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer on 28 October 2022 to Question 62153 on India: Accidents, whether any specific support has been provided to the (a) state government and (b) civil society partners to help improve (i) health, (ii) nutrition, (iii) basic urban services and (iv) rural livelihoods for victims of the Bhopal disaster.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Union Carbide provided a settlement of $470 million to the Indian Government following the Bhopal disaster to fund a clean up operation, compensation to the injured and the families of the deceased, and provide ongoing welfare support to those affected. The UK's Department for International Development (DfID) did not provide any additional funding or direct support. DfID has supported development in Madhya Pradesh since 1999. We worked with the State Government to assist 11,000 slum dwellers with access to clean water and 66,400 households in rural areas to increase their income across the state covering eight affected slums in Bhopal by the tragedy. The health support doubled the number of births in hospitals and clinics, increasing the chances of newborn survival across the state. Union Carbide and DfID programmes ended in 2013 and 2015, respectively. The FCDO has had no direct engagement with the State Government on the gas tragedy since 2015.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment he made of the effectiveness of UK aid for refugee camps in the Kingdom of Jordan.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is committed to working with Jordan to increase the self-reliance of refugees and vulnerable communities, moving towards aligning UK and international support with Jordanian systems, and towards greater inclusion of refugees in the economy which can also provide wider benefits for Jordan. Since 2016, the UK has allocated over £150 million in humanitarian support. This has supported 450,000 refugees receiving cash assistance to meet basic living costs and provided over 150,000 refugee children with access to formal education. With our support, the Jordanian government has enrolled 69% of all Syrian children in education - among the highest proportions in the region. The Minister for the Middle East [Lord Ahmad] discussed support to Syrian refugees with the Jordanian Ambassador on 20 October.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of the means of redress for survivors of the Bhopal gas explosion.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The loss of life resulting from the chemical leak in Bhopal in 1984 was a terrible tragedy, one which continues to affect the citizens of Bhopal to this day. The FCDO does not run specific programmes for those affected by the Bhopal disaster given that responsibility for remediation rests with the Indian authorities. However, we work closely with the State Government and other civil society partners to improve health, nutrition, basic urban services, and rural livelihoods for the poorest and most socially excluded communities.