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Written Question
Palestinians: Overseas Aid
Friday 21st December 2018

Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)

Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether her Department has audited the expenditure of Overseas Development Assistance by the Palestinian Authority.

Answered by Alistair Burt

UK officials safeguard and continuously monitor the expenditure of UK aid in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. This includes our support to the Palestinian Authority, which is channelled through the EU Palestinian-European Socio-Economic Management Assistance Mechanism (PEGASE). Our money goes into a special, dedicated bank account before being paid to individuals who have been vetted in advance. Independent auditors then check that the money paid out of the UK dedicated bank account only goes to these vetted individuals after every disbursement. We remain confident that these measures enable us to adequately monitor and evaluate our support to the Palestinian Authority.


Written Question
Palestinians: Overseas Aid
Friday 21st December 2018

Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)

Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether her Department has investigated allegations that UK aid has been used to purchase school books encouraging Palestinian children to sacrifice their lives in the name of religion.

Answered by Alistair Burt

No UK aid is used to fund the purchasing of school textbooks in the OPTs. UK aid to the Palestinian Authority (PA) is used exclusively to pay the salaries of teachers, doctors and other public servants working in the health and education sectors. Our money goes into a special, dedicated bank account before being paid to individuals who have been vetted in advance. Independent auditors then check that the money paid out of the UK dedicated bank account goes only to these vetted individuals after every disbursement.

The UK government is deeply concerned about the findings of a report into the PA’s new curriculum conducted by IMPACT-se. It is a priority for DFID to commission an independent review of the PA’s textbooks. We are also continuing to raise our concerns about incitement, which I did myself at a meeting with the Palestinian Education Minister earlier this year. Earlier this month, DFID officials met the PA Education Minister and raised UK concerns over specific examples in the textbooks.


Written Question
Palestinians: Overseas Aid
Friday 21st December 2018

Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)

Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether the Palestinian Authority is breaking any conditions attached to the delivery of aid by the UK.

Answered by Alistair Burt

The UK’s financial support to the Palestinian Authority (PA) is governed by a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the UK and the PA. This MoU includes a commitment to the UK's partnership principles, and is reviewed on an annual basis. At the last review in May 2018, DFID assessed that the PA continued to demonstrate commitment to these shared principles. The next full annual assessment will take place in 2019.


Written Question
Palestinians: Overseas Aid
Friday 21st December 2018

Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)

Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what sums her Department has disbursed in aid to the Palestinian Authority in each of the last five years.

Answered by Alistair Burt

Figures for UK overseas aid spending are published annually in the ‘Statistics for International Development’ reports (SIDs), and are reported by calendar year. A summary of financial support to the Palestinian Authority (PA) in each of the last five years is provided below. Figures for 2018 have not yet been published. Further detail can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-on-international-development

Year

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

Amount in £millions (to the nearest £million)

£42m

£34m

£25m

£0m

£45m

Source: Statistics for International Development

Note: The 2017 figure represents the combined total of two payments made in separate financial years, one before April 2017 (£25m) and the other after April 2017 (£20m).


Written Question
Africa: Overseas Aid
Monday 26th February 2018

Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)

Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much the Government has provided to church-based agencies for development and humanitarian support in Africa in each of the last five years.

Answered by Harriett Baldwin

DFID works closely with a number of Christian organisations in Africa including Christian Aid, Cafod and World Vision, but DFID does not disaggregate and retain specific information on funding to church-based agencies. This information could only be provided at disproportionate cost.


Written Question
Africa: Overseas Aid
Monday 26th February 2018

Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)

Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what funding the Government has provided to church-based agencies for work in Africa in each of the last five years.

Answered by Harriett Baldwin

DFID works closely with a number of Christian organisations in Africa including Christian Aid, Cafod and World Vision, but DFID does not disaggregate and retain specific information on funding to church-based agencies. This information could only be provided at disproportionate cost.


Written Question
Developing Countries: Religious Freedom
Monday 26th February 2018

Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)

Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how her Department conducts due diligence assessments and evaluates the commitment of its partners to the partnership principles and to promoting freedom of religion or belief.

Answered by Harriett Baldwin

All due diligence assessments on civil society organisations consider four areas: corporate governance and internal controls; ability to deliver the programme proposed; financial stability; and ability to manage downstream partners. They check for an ethics policy that includes coverage of human rights. A team of DFID staff under the supervision of a Head of Department carry out the assessment, drawing on specialist external expertise when required.

DFID assesses commitment to each of four Partnership Principles when considering providing funding to a government. This is done by specialist DFID Advisers under the supervision of a Head of Department. One of the Principles is ‘commitment to human rights’, which includes freedom of religion or belief. Evidence of lack of commitment to the Principles would influence choices on the amount and type of aid. DFID contractual and grant arrangements for organisations other than governments include specific clauses to prevent any discrimination against protected characteristics, including religion or belief.


Written Question
South Sudan: Violence
Tuesday 16th January 2018

Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)

Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent steps her Department has taken to reduce gender-based violence in South Sudan.

Answered by Harriett Baldwin

South Sudan experiences horrific gender-based violence. Last year, a DFID-funded programme reached nearly 300,000 people with interventions, including responses for survivors of gender-based violence and longer-term prevention. We have also conducted ground breaking research to improve our understanding of and response to gender-based violence in South Sudan.


Written Question
South Sudan: Peace Negotiations
Tuesday 16th January 2018

Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)

Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what support her Department has provided for church-led reconciliation efforts in South Sudan.

Answered by Harriett Baldwin

The UK is supporting local peace-building initiatives in South Sudan, including by providing funding to the South Sudanese Council of Churches (SSCC). The SSCC, which comprises the seven main churches, have developed an Action Plan for Peace. This includes reconciliation and mediation efforts, and support for inclusive dialogue within and across communities. This UK funding – via the Conflict Stability and Security Fund - is also enabling the SSCC to lead mediation and reconciliation efforts between national level leaders who have the power to stop the violence.

A number of UK Ministers have met with SSCC representatives to hear directly about the role the churches are playing to end the conflict.


Written Question
Small Charities Challenge Fund
Tuesday 16th January 2018

Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)

Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, which charities have received funding from the Small Charities Challenge Fund since its creation; and what the purpose was of each project that received such funding.

Answered by Alistair Burt

In July 2017, DFID launched the Small Charities Challenge Fund to support the work of small, UK-based charities in international development. The Fund has received over one hundred applications for assessment, from organisations across the UK. Proposals cover projects in 26 countries and 85% of organisations have not previously received DFID funding, demonstrating the Fund’s success in reaching new organisations. Award decisions for this first set of grants are currently being made and outcomes will be communicated shortly. The next cut-off for application assessment is 30 March 2018.