Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to encourage the development of decentralised renewable energies in developing countries.
Answered by Lord Wharton of Yarm
The UK Government has stepped up its efforts to play a leading role in improving energy access in developing countries through decentralised renewable energy programmes to help meet the basic energy needs of some of the poorest people in the world.
For example, our Results Based Financing programme is improving people’s access to modern energy in countries of Africa by speeding up and growing markets for businesses to deliver affordable energy to households.
Through the UK Government’s International Climate Finance we have so far improved energy access for 6.6 million people in developing countries.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will increase funding for the eradication of fuel poverty in developing countries.
Answered by Lord Wharton of Yarm
The UK Government plays a leading role in improving energy access in developing countries through decentralised renewable energy programmes to help meet the basic energy needs of some of the poorest people in the world.
For example, our Results Based Financing programme is improving people’s access to modern energy in countries of Africa by speeding up and growing markets for businesses to deliver affordable energy to households.
Through the UK Government’s International Climate Finance we have so far improved energy access for 6.6 million people in developing countries.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent assessment she has made of the humanitarian situation in Fallujah.
Answered by Desmond Swayne
The UK is concerned by reports of a deteriorating humanitarian situation in Fallujah. The UN estimates that up to 90,000 civilians may be trapped inside the city and surrounding areas. We call on all sides to the conflict to respect International Humanitarian Law and to ensure free, unimpeded access for humanitarian agencies.
Since June 2014, the UK has committed £79.5 million in humanitarian assistance to the crisis in Iraq. The UK is the largest contributor to the Iraq Humanitarian Pooled Fund, through which we are funding projects to support those leaving Fallujah. Our humanitarian partners continue to engage with the Government of Iraq, civil and military authorities to find ways of reaching civilians.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what preparations the Government is making to provide food and shelter to refugees overseas during the winter.
Answered by Desmond Swayne
For many internally displaced Syrians and refugees in the region this will be the fifth winter away from their homes in inadequate shelter. DFID is supporting implementing partners to prepare and respond to the onset of winter across Syria, Lebanon and Jordan. In the FY 2015/16 we have provided £221 million for their emergency programmes. Of this total £12.9 million has been committed for specific winter response activities such as the provision of warm clothing, thermal blankets, fuel and cash to support thousands of vulnerable families across the region. Inside Syria, UN agencies supported by the UK are providing assistance in the form of warm clothes, blankets, supplies to help weatherproof houses, and providing influenza vaccinations for those who are most susceptible. Elsewhere in the region, the UN are complementing the provision of goods with distributions of cash to vulnerable refugees and other vulnerable people, to allow them the choice on how to prioritise their winter needs.
In addition to our bilateral programming, the UK is providing £35m of unearmarked flexible funding in 2015/16 to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) which can be used to support winterisation across its global caseload.
The UK has also responded rapidly to the humanitarian needs of refugees in Europe. For example, the UK has provided in-kind assistance of blankets, sleeping bags and tents through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism to ensure refugees and migrants are provided with warmth and comfort during the winter. The UK’s total support for refugees and migrants to address the Mediterranean migration crisis is nearly £25m, of which nearly £16 million is being spent in Europe.