Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what his Department's spending was on Overseas Development Aid in (a) 2013-14, (b) 2014-15 and (c) the first 10 months of 2015-16; and what the recipient countries of that aid were.
Answered by Alistair Burt
In 2013-14 the Department spent £11.66 million on Official Development Assistance. In 2014-15 the Department spent £11.5 million on Official Development Assistance.
The Department’s Official Development Assistance in 2013-14 and 2014-15 is a proportion of the Department’s assessed contribution or subscription, to the World Health Organization (WHO). The subscription funds our contribution to all the functions of the WHO. The WHO provides the leadership and co-ordination role in global health for all its 194 member countries. As part of this role it provides technical support and assistance on the ground.
WHO is able to use the assessed contribution flexibly to fund its priorities as agreed by the United Kingdom and other member countries. We do not therefore have specific data of individual countries supported through our assessed contribution. However, more specific information on WHO funding flows to regions, individual countries and programmes can be found on WHO’s web portal at:
http://extranet.who.int/programmebudget/Biennium2014/Financing
The 2015 Official Development Assistance figures have not yet been finalised. The Department for International Development will release the 2015 figures in the National Statistics publication on 1 April 2016.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what her Department's spending was on Overseas Development Aid in (a) 2013-14, (b) 2014-15 and (c) the first 10 months of 2015-16; and what the recipient countries of that aid were.
Answered by Rory Stewart
Data on Defra’s Official Development Assistance funding is publicly available on the GOV.UK website where the Department for International Development’s document entitled “Dataset underlying SID 2015” is available for download at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/statistics-on-international-development-2015
The dataset provides a breakdown of spending by calendar year, recipient country and channel of delivery (in line with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Development Assistance Committee guidance). Defra-related information within the dataset can be found as follows:
(i) Darwin Initiative projects –for 2013 funding see rows 27384 – 27496 and 32391 – 32450; for 2014 funding see rows 32458 – 32864, 34206 to 34416, 35856 to 36904, 37230 to 37234 and 40575 to 40628.
(ii) International Climate Fund projects – for 2013 funding see rows 27448 and 27449; for 2014 funding see row 33528.
(iii) Illegal Wildlife Trade - for 2014 funding see rows 33200, 33201, 33879, 33880 and 34845.
Information on 2015 spending will be available when the next updated dataset is published later in the year.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what his Department's spending was on Overseas Development Aid in (a) 2013-14, (b) 2014-15 and (c) the first 10 months of 2015-16; and what the recipient countries of that aid were.
Answered by David Lidington
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s Official Development Assistance spending was:
in financial year (FT) 2013-14 - £321 million;
in FT 2014-15 - £344 million;
and in the first 10 months of FY 2015-16 - £260 million
We have provided ODA funds to all countries on the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) list except for Central African Republic, Djibouti, Sao Tome and Principe, Micronesia, Tokelau, Gabon, Niue, Palau, Wallis and Futuna. The DAC list can be found here: http://www.oecd.org/dac/stats/documentupload/DAC%20List%20of%20ODA%20Recipients%202014%20final.pdf.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what his Department's spending was in Overseas Development Aid on (a) 2013-14, (b) 2014-15 and (c) the first 10 months of 2015-16; and what the recipient countries of that aid were.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
The Department for Transport carries out activities in Oversea Territories that feeds into the Overseas Development Aid. The Government published details of Overseas Development Aid at the Spending Review 2015 and further updates will be published in due course.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his Department's spending was on Overseas Development Aid in (a) 2013-14, (b) 2014-15 and (c) the first 10 months of 2015-16; and what the recipient countries of that aid were.
Answered by Michael Fallon
Ministry of Defence spending on overseas development assistance was £3.0 million in calendar year 2013 and £2.2 million in calendar year 2014. The 2015 figure is currently undergoing assurance and is scheduled to be published on 1 April 2016. Recipients include Vanuatu, Nepal, refugees from Syria and Lebanon, nations in the Caribbean, Southern Africa and St Helena.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, with which other Government departments her officials have held discussions on their role in the delivery and monitoring of spending under the Government's aid strategy; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Nick Hurd
The UK Aid Strategy, Tackling Global Challenges in the National Interest, notes that the government will sharpen oversight and monitoring of all Official Development Assistance (ODA) spend. This will apply to all government ODA spend including through cross-government funds. HM Treasury and DFID will co-chair a working group, reporting to ministers, in order to ensure value for money. DFID officials are working with HM Treasury to agree the remit of this working group. All government departments and funds spending ODA will be invited to attend the group. The group will meet for the first time in spring 2016. In addition, DFID reports UK ODA to the OECD and is responsible for reporting to Parliament on whether the 0.7 per cent GNI/ODA target is met. As part of this, DFID engages with all ODA-spending departments to: collate and quality assure UK ODA spend data for the previous calendar year for reporting to the OECD; monitor ODA spend within each current calendar year to meet the 0.7 per cent GNI/ODA target; and make arrangements for the independent evaluation of the extent to which all ODA provided by the UK represents value for money.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how she plans to implement the cross-governmental aid strategy.
Answered by Justine Greening
The UK aid strategy sets out our strategy to defeat poverty, tackle instability and create prosperity in developing countries. Not only is this the right thing to do; it is also strongly in our national interest. For the first time ever, development is becoming a truly cross-Government agenda and I am working with my colleagues to deliver that.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his counterparts in the EU, Africa and the Middle East on diplomatic steps to tackle the refugee crisis in the Mediterranean.
Answered by David Lidington
Ministers discuss the current migration crisis with EU counterparts and those from other affected regions on a regular basis. Last night, The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) met with African and EU representatives as part of a British Chairmanship of the Khartoum Process.The UK is playing a leading role in taking forward joint efforts.
For example, countering people smuggling will be a priority for the UK in its engagement with a new Libyan Government resulting from the UN-led process.The Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron)announced in Valletta £200 million of new UK money for projects in Africa to address the root causes of migration. 31 European nations and 36 African nations attended the Valletta Summit on Migration earlier this month.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment she has made of the prospects of a long-term global carbon reduction goal being agreed at the Paris Climate Conference in December 2015.
Answered by Amber Rudd
My Hon. Friend, the UK Government firmly supports the need for a long term global carbon reduction goal in the Paris Agreement.
It would send an important signal to business and investors on the global direction of travel.
We have been pleased with the progress made at a political level, including through the G7 and our recent joint statement with South African in October and that by the US and China in September.
We will continue to press for its inclusion in the Paris deal.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when her Department plans to publish the full terms and conditions of the (a) Countryside Stewardship: higher tier, (b) Countryside Stewardship: mid-tier, (c) Woodland Capital Grants 2015, (d) Facilitation Fund and (e) Water Capital Grants 2015, grant schemes.
Answered by George Eustice
The Countryside Stewardship Terms and Conditions covering Higher Tier and Mid-Tier were published on 23 July, and an updated version of the guidance covering scheme requirements and procedures was published on 3 September. Guidance on scheme requirements for Woodland Capital Grants 2015: Facilitation Fund and Water Capital Grants 2015 was published on GOV.UK when the schemes opened last March, and terms and conditions accompanied the agreement offers to successful applicants.