Asked by: Nicholas Brown (Independent - Newcastle upon Tyne East)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what aid her Department is providing to Indonesia to assist with tackling forest fires.
Answered by Desmond Swayne
The UK is providing technical support through a number of channels. For example, the UK Climate Change Unit in Indonesia has funded the World Resource Institute’s Global Forest and Fire Watch which provides free real-time information on fire spots, linking these data to land licensing and land type. In addition, the UK’s Forest Land-Use and Governance (FLAG) programme in Indonesia is funding longer-term fire prevention work through civil society, private sector and government, focusing on transparency, accountability and spatial planning to resolve the land governance issues that lead to fires.
Asked by: Nicholas Brown (Independent - Newcastle upon Tyne East)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what plans she has to review the level of disclosed aid through the New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition Group.
Answered by Grant Shapps
The UK has committed a total of £600 million to the New Alliance over 3 years. This investment is split between commitments to food security, agriculture and nutrition programmes in six partner countries (Ethiopia, Tanzania, Mozambique, Ghana, Malawi and Nigeria), accounting for £480 million, and a range of wider enabling actions including policy tools and agricultural technology.
The New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition group publish a comprehensive report on annual basis that can be found on the New Alliance website. Furthermore, every DFID programme contributing is subject to DFID’s annual review processes that are posted on the DFID Development Tracker website (http://devtracker.dfid.gov.uk/).
Asked by: Nicholas Brown (Independent - Newcastle upon Tyne East)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent steps she has taken on improving sanitation and access to clean water in developing countries.
Answered by Grant Shapps
The UK Government committed to reach 60 million people in developing countries with our water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) programmes by December 2015. We are on track to reach this target. Contributions come from projects managed by DFID offices in 15 countries, from a partnership with UNICEF to deliver improved WASH in nine countries, and from a challenge programme which funds three consortia working in 12 countries. To date, our bilateral WASH programmes have reached 54.1 million people.
We also have a renewed commitment to help at least 60 million people get access to clean water and sanitation by 2020.
Asked by: Nicholas Brown (Independent - Newcastle upon Tyne East)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, who will lead and which ministers will be part of the British delegation to the Financing for Development Summit in Addis Ababa in July 2015.
Answered by Justine Greening
The exact composition of the UK delegation for the Financing for Development Conference in Addis will be confirmed nearer the time.
Asked by: Nicholas Brown (Independent - Newcastle upon Tyne East)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what her policy is on the proposed Sustainable Development Goals and the Special Summit on Sustainable Development in September 2015.
Answered by Justine Greening
The summit in September will be the occasion at which UN Member States formally adopt the Sustainable Development Goals as part of the post-2015 agenda. The UK believes that we need an ambitious, transformational, and measurable set of post-2015 goals and targets that will eradicate poverty and put the world on a path to sustainable development.
Asked by: Nicholas Brown (Independent - Newcastle upon Tyne East)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, which organisations collect subscriptions through the employers' payroll service in her Department and its non-departmental public body.
Answered by Alan Duncan
There are currently four organisations which collect subscriptions through DFID's payroll service:
• Civil Service Club
• Civil Service Sports Council
• Public and Commercial Services Union
• EKODA Club (social club)