Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham, Edgbaston)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent guidance she has issued to her Department's in-country offices on contract negotiations with local partners in the global south.
Answered by Nigel Adams
DFID provides a myriad of commercial support services and guidance, which is available to programme teams across the business. This includes, but is not limited to, Smart Guide rules and a newly launched Aid Learning Platform (ALP).
The ALP e-manual facility encompasses a range of modules to develop Officials’ commercial acumen relevant to contract management, including negotiation skills, risk management and programme design. This guidance is constantly updated to reflect ongoing training needs across the organisation. This training applies to all officials across our network and not just the global south.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham, Edgbaston)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether all existing UK Aid Match commitments will be maintained by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.
Answered by Wendy Morton
All government departments are working through how their plans will need to change in light of the risk of a significant recession this year. DFID is no exception. The Government’s 0.7% GNI target is directly linked to the performance of the UK economy. No decision has been taken, but we are considering the full range of our work. In the short term, we have paused new financial arrangements while we agree our future work in close cooperation with other aid spending Departments.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham, Edgbaston)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many applications her Department has received for the covid-19 Rapid Response Facility, how many of those applications (a) have been approved, (b) have been rejected and (c) remain under review.
Answered by Nigel Adams
The Department for International Development’s Rapid Response Facility (RRF) launched a call for proposals on 7 April 2020 to help support the preparedness, mitigation and response to COVID-19. DFID received 73 eligible applications of which 7 projects were selected for funding. Other applicants were informed that their proposals were not selected for funding in this round but, as with our broader COVID-19 humanitarian funding, further RRF support would remain under review.
The Rapid Response Facility is only one of the mechanisms through which the UK government is directly funding NGOs to respond to the challenges posed by COVID-19. For example, a round of UK Aid Direct funding was opened for applications relating to COVID-19 and we have announced that the UK will aid match the first £5 million of donations from the British public to the Disasters Emergency Committee’s (DEC) new COVID-19 Appeal. Furthermore, NGOs are delivery partners for a very large proportion of DFID's activity.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham, Edgbaston)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent discussions she has had with representatives of (a) PCS and b) FDA unions on the roles of their members in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.
Answered by Wendy Morton
DFID and FCO senior officials informed their respective Trade Union representatives as soon the creation of the new Department was announced. Consultations will continue throughout the process. Within DFID we have regular weekly engagement with our trade unions (FDA and PCS). These discussions have not yet involved the Secretary of State directly. We will formally consult as required on any specific areas of HR policy as work progresses.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham, Edgbaston)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent steps she has taken to support diaspora communities in the UK seeking to send remittances abroad to have access to transparent transaction costs in relation to those remittances.
Answered by James Duddridge
The Government has taken steps to improve transparency in the remittance sector, not just in the UK but globally. We co-lead with the Swiss Government with the support of multilateral organisations on the Global Call to Action to keep remittances flowing and to improve transparency in the sector.
The department is working closely HM Treasury to improve transparency in the sector. In the UK, we have worked cross Government to develop communication lines to encourage the diaspora community to use digital channels and to review the different options available before sending funding.
We are working with industry associations and leading remittance service providers on how best to improve transparency in the sector and are reviewing the key lessons from other development agencies who have sought to improve transparency in remittances in their countries.
We understand the need for remitters to be well informed (especially about the cost of sending money abroad) and are working towards solutions that are sustainable, effective and represent good value for money.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham, Edgbaston)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment she has made of the effect of Standard Chartered Plc endorsement of the Government of China’s proposed security law for Hong Kong on the future of CDC's partnership with that company.
Answered by James Duddridge
The UK Government speaks regularly with international financial services firms about a range of issues. It is for individual companies to make their own judgements. We have made our own position very clear on China's proposal to impose national security legislation on Hong Kong.
CDC has a successful partnership with Standard Chartered focused on delivering development impact at scale in Africa and South Asia. For example, during the Ebola crisis CDC’s partnership with Standard Chartered helped provide vital working capital to businesses struggling to pay wages and meet operating expenses when the economy was seizing up.
Now, during the COVID-19 crisis CDC’s trade and supply chain finance partnerships with Standard Chartered are providing much needed liquidity to businesses in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Being a counter-cyclical investor supporting local businesses during the crisis forms a central element of CDC’s COVID-19 response.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham, Edgbaston)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many and what proportion of CDC's investments in which it owns more that 20 percent are based in tax havens.
Answered by James Duddridge
Wherever possible, CDC invests directly into the country in which an investee company is located. If CDC invests through an intermediate country, it does so only if the country is compliant with international tax transparency standards as monitored by the OECD’s Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Tax information. CDC publishes the overall tax contribution of its portfolio; the principal countries in which each investee company pays taxes; the place of incorporation; and the legal domicile of each business or collective investment vehicles in which they invest.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham, Edgbaston)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency; and if she will publish that assessment.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
Until a just solution for Palestinian refugees is found, the UK continues to be a firm supporter of UNRWA and is committed to helping ensure the Agency’s sustainability and effectiveness. DFID undertakes an annual review of UNRWA’s programme performance. The most recent publication is available online (https://devtracker.dfid.gov.uk/projects/GB-1-204546/documents).
In 2019, the Multilateral Organisation Performance Assessment Network (MOPAN) concluded an independent assessment of UNRWA, describing the Agency as competent and resilient, delivering services despite a challenging, resource-constrained environment. The assessment is public and accessed online.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham, Edgbaston)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 9 June 2020 to Question 54991 on CDC Group: Hospitals, what the total initial investment value into those hospitals was.
Answered by James Duddridge
The total initial investment value of these investments was approximately $190 million.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham, Edgbaston)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that the disaggregation of data by age is (a) improved and (b) prioritised in the work of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office; and what progress the Government has made on the implementation of the Inclusive Data Charter Action Plan.
Answered by Wendy Morton
Responding to the needs of older people is essential in our efforts to tackle extreme poverty. This is being highlighted right now as we see the vulnerability of older people to the COVID-19 pandemic. We are paying attention to their needs in our response our COVID-19 and are engaging internationally to push for others to do the same.
DFID published our Inclusive Data Charter Action Plan in 2019, setting out our ambitions to increase the collection and use of disaggregated data, and to improve disaggregation at a global level. This includes our £45 million investment in the World Bank Trust Fund for Statistical Capacity Building fund, which strengthens the capacity of statistical systems in developing countries, including on age disaggregated data.
We are a key stakeholder in the Titchfield City Group on Ageing, an international group set up to improve data on ageing and age disaggregation.