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Written Question
Development Aid
Tuesday 23rd January 2024

Asked by: Oliver Heald (Conservative - North East Hertfordshire)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps his Department is taking to ensure maximum value for money in overseas development assistance spending decisions.

Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)

The FCDO employs robust systems and frameworks to ensure we achieve value for money for UK taxpayers. The suitability of organisations receiving ODA, including the projects undertaken, is assessed through FCDO business cases and annual reviews, as set out in the Department's Programme Operating Framework. The Department uses evidence to inform spending decisions and maximise the impact of the UK's ODA. FCDO officials are empowered to adjust programming using our approach to prioritisation set out in the White Paper on International Development.

The Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI) independently scrutinises UK ODA to assess value for money and impact [https://icai.independent.gov.uk/].


Written Question
Development Aid: Climate Change and Poverty
Tuesday 23rd January 2024

Asked by: Oliver Heald (Conservative - North East Hertfordshire)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, with reference to UK International Development's white paper entitled International development in a contested world: ending extreme poverty and tackling climate change, published in November 2023, if his Department will publish a plan to deliver the policy commitments in that white paper.

Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)

International development in a contested world, the International Development White Paper, sets out our strategic goal, to end extreme poverty and tackle climate change and biodiversity loss, and how the UK can accelerate progress on the Sustainable Development Goals, through to 2030. The FCDO will set out how it is delivering the White Paper through existing departmental planning processes, including the Outcome Delivery Plan and the Annual Report and Accounts.


Written Question
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands: Marine Protected Areas
Monday 11th September 2023

Asked by: Oliver Heald (Conservative - North East Hertfordshire)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has plans to strengthen the marine protected area around (a) the South Sandwich Islands and (b) South Georgia.

Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The Government of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (GSGSSI) is currently undertaking the second 5-year review of its Marine Protected Area (MPA). GSGSSI launched the review with a 2-day science symposium in June 2023 and is currently assessing the extent to which existing provisions are delivering the objectives of the MPA. GSGSSI is committed to reporting on its review by early next year.


Written Question
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands: Fisheries
Monday 11th September 2023

Asked by: Oliver Heald (Conservative - North East Hertfordshire)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of industrial fisheries on the (a) penguin and (b) whale populations around South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands.

Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The Government of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (GSGSSI) manages a highly regulated fishery, in accordance with its Marine Protected Area legislation. Only vessels which fully meet requirements of both the Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) and strict GSGSSI licensing requirements are able to conduct fishing activities. Scientific observers are deployed on every fishing vessel, and there are seasonal and spatial controls to ensure the fishery does not impact on the conservation of all animals living around these islands.


Written Question
Blue Belt Programme and Marine Protected Areas
Monday 11th September 2023

Asked by: Oliver Heald (Conservative - North East Hertfordshire)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much has been spent from the public purse on the (a) Blue Belt Programme and (b) domestic Marine Protected Area roll out around the UK in each of the last five years.

Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

From 2018-19 to 2022-23, Blue Belt spend has been £7 million, £5.4 million, £6.9 million, £7.7 million and £7.7 million respectively. The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) does not keep the detail of funding specifically devoted to Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). Defra's MPA team is funded through general administrative budgets to deliver management, monitoring and enforcement working alongside Defra's Arms Length Bodies.


Written Question
Overseas Aid: Children
Monday 7th December 2020

Asked by: Oliver Heald (Conservative - North East Hertfordshire)

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 effect on children’s (a) health and (b) education globally of the planned cut in UK aid from 0.7 to 0.5 per cent.

Answered by Wendy Morton

The seismic impact of the pandemic has forced us to take tough decisions, including temporarily reducing our aid budget. We will remain a world leading aid donor. We plan to spend more than £10 billion next year to fight poverty, tackle climate change and improve global health. As set out by the Foreign Secretary, our priorities will include girls' education and global health, including tackling COVID-19 and strengthening international health security.

We will build on our existing achievements in supporting girls' education and working to end the preventable deaths of mothers, newborns and children. We have set ambitious global targets of getting 40 million girls into education, and one third more reading by the age of 10, and we will co-host the replenishment for the Global Partnership for Education next year. We have pledged up to £1.65 billion to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, to support immunisation of 300 million children over the next five years.


Written Question
Overseas Aid: Females
Monday 7th December 2020

Asked by: Oliver Heald (Conservative - North East Hertfordshire)

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 effect on safeguarding of women and girls globally of the proposed cut in UK aid from 0.7 to 0.5 per cent.

Answered by Wendy Morton

The proposed reduction to 0.5 per cent is temporary and we will return to 0.7 per cent as soon as the fiscal situation allows. The new strategic framework for our aid announced last month will ensure we can deliver UK aid better, even if our budget is smaller, by combining aid with diplomacy and focusing our efforts where the UK can make a world-leading difference. Safeguarding against sexual exploitation and abuse and sexual harassment will remain a priority. We want to ensure that no harm is done to any person receiving or delivering aid and will continue to pay particular attention to the risks facing women and girls, including examining how these risks change over time.

As set out in our September 2020 Safeguarding Strategy, the UK is committed to driving up safeguarding standards across the aid sector and is leading global efforts to do so regardless of how much aid we spend each year. Our goal remains to ensure that all those engaged in poverty reduction take all reasonable steps to prevent harm, particularly sexual exploitation and abuse and sexual harassment, from occurring and to respond appropriately when harm or allegations of harm occur.


Written Question
Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance: Coronavirus
Tuesday 8th September 2020

Asked by: Oliver Heald (Conservative - North East Hertfordshire)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effect of the covid-19 pandemic on routine immunisation funded by the UK Government through GAVI.

Answered by Wendy Morton

Routine immunisation is the strongest shield against outbreaks of vaccine preventable diseases such as measles and yellow fever. Mitigating indirect impacts of COVID-19 on essential health services in the poorest countries is a core UK priority. As Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance's largest donor, the UK's first and foremost priority is to deliver routine immunisation, maintain coverage levels, and reach underserved zero-dose children. In June, the Prime Minister hosted the Global Vaccine Summit, which raised $8.8 billion for Gavi's core mission of immunising a further 300 million children, and saving up to 8 million lives by 2025.

Since the start of the pandemic in March, 70 Gavi-eligible countries have reported cases of COVID-19. Lockdown measures for COVID-19 have affected routine immunisation in the poorest countries - 44 Gavi vaccine introductions have been impacted so far, 18 Gavi-eligible countries have reported shipment delays, and approximately seven countries have reported stock-outs of vaccines at the central or subnational level. A number of Gavi-eligible countries have resumed campaigns and vaccine introductions, such as a measles campaign in Ethiopia, and diphtheria and oral polio vaccine campaigns in Yemen.


Written Question
Marine Protected Areas
Thursday 4th December 2014

Asked by: Oliver Heald (Conservative - North East Hertfordshire)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to promote marine protected areas internationally.

Answered by Tobias Ellwood

As announced in the Natural Environment White Paper, the Government is committed to the negotiation of a new implementing agreement under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea for the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction. These should, in particular, address the designation of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) and the fact that there is currently no universally accepted legal framework for the international recognition of MPAs in the high seas. My Department, working in close cooperation with the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs, has played an active role in discussions on this issue at the United Nations Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group on Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction, and we are pressing for a decision by September 2015 to commence formal negotiations on a new agreement in accordance with outcome of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development.

Leading by example in the areas within our own jurisdiction, the UK has a number of MPAs around the UK, and additionally there are three MPAs around the UK’s overseas territories.