Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps she plans to take under the terms of Annex VII, Part 1, Article 3 of the UK-SACUM Economic Partnership Agreement in response to recent reports of human rights abuses in the Kingdom of Eswatini.
Answered by Ranil Jayawardena
The United Kingdom is concerned by the recent events in Eswatini. When considering the essential and fundamental provisions in an Economic Partnership Agreement, we consider the economic and developmental impact to that partner and its people.
We raise the need to uphold rights and responsibilities with governments around the world, and we want to continue encouraging trade too – helping those most in need by providing valuable employment and lifting them out of poverty – as more trade, more jobs and more prosperity need not come at the expense of British values.
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what assessment she has made of the compatibility of recent reports of human rights abuses in the Kingdom of Eswatini with that country's commitments under Annex VII, Part 1, Article 3 of the UK-SACUM Economic Partnership Agreement.
Answered by Ranil Jayawardena
The United Kingdom is concerned by the recent events in Eswatini. When considering the essential and fundamental provisions in an Economic Partnership Agreement, we consider the economic and developmental impact to that partner and its people.
We raise the need to uphold rights and responsibilities with governments around the world, and we want to continue encouraging trade too – helping those most in need by providing valuable employment and lifting them out of poverty – as more trade, more jobs and more prosperity need not come at the expense of British values.
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what assessment she has made of the implications for her international trade policies of recent reports of human rights abuses including the use of (a) live ammunition, (b) tear gas and (c) water cannon against pro-democracy protestors in the Kingdom of Eswatini.
Answered by Ranil Jayawardena
The United Kingdom is concerned by the recent events in Eswatini. When considering the essential and fundamental provisions in an Economic Partnership Agreement, we consider the economic and developmental impact to that partner and its people.
We raise the need to uphold rights and responsibilities with governments around the world, and we want to continue encouraging trade too – helping those most in need by providing valuable employment and lifting them out of poverty – as more trade, more jobs and more prosperity need not come at the expense of British values.
Asked by: Lord Roberts of Llandudno (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government which countries are having the amount of aid provided by the Government reduced.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The Foreign Secretary has set out seven core priorities for the UK's aid budget in the overarching pursuit of poverty reduction: climate and biodiversity; Covid and global health security; girls' education; science and research; defending open societies and resolving conflict; humanitarian assistance; and promoting trade and economic growth. We are working through our internal business planning process which will allocate the ODA budget across these priorities and geographies.
No final decisions have yet been made on budget allocations for 2021/22.
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what discussions UK and US trade negotiators have had on the effect of a UK-US trade deal on the economies of Caribbean countries.
Answered by Greg Hands
The Scoping Assessment of the UK-US Free Trade Agreement, published on 2 March 2020, set out that the agreement could affect countries other than the UK and the US, including countries in the Caribbean region, although our modelling suggests that there would be a negligible impact on the long run GDP of these countries.
UK negotiators have presented the information on potential impacts to their US counterparts as part of discussions on trade and development and seek to ensure the UK-US trade agreement supports our broader objectives on trade and development, which include supporting developing countries to reduce poverty through trade.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham Edgbaston)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what proportion of the aid budget is already committed to multilateral institutions in the 2021-22 financial year.
Answered by Nigel Adams
The Foreign Secretary has set out seven core priorities for the UK's aid budget in the overarching pursuit of poverty reduction: climate and biodiversity; COVID-19 and global health security; girls' education; science and research; defending open societies and resolving conflict; humanitarian assistance; and promoting trade and economic growth. We are working through our internal business planning process which will allocate the ODA budget across these priorities and geographies.
No final decisions have yet been made on budget allocations for 2021/22.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham Edgbaston)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant the Answer of 1 March 2021 to Question 158010, how much Official Development Assistance has been allocated to fulfil existing commitments to (a) the World Bank , (b) the EU, (c) the Global Fund for Aids, Malaria & TB, (d) GAVI, (e) CDC Group, (f) UN institutions and (g) climate change in the 2021-22 financial year.
Answered by Nigel Adams
The Foreign Secretary has set out seven core priorities for the UK's aid budget in the overarching pursuit of poverty reduction: climate and biodiversity; COVID-19 and global health security; girls' education; science and research; defending open societies and resolving conflict; humanitarian assistance; and promoting trade and economic growth. We are working through our internal business planning process which will allocate the ODA budget across these priorities and geographies.
No final decisions have yet been made on budget allocations for 2021/22.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, in developing the Strategic Framework for ODA, whether the Government plans to develop a needs-based approach to aid allocation that considers a range of (a) financial indicators and (b) social and political measures.
Answered by Nigel Adams
The Foreign Secretary has set out seven core priorities for the UK's aid budget in the overarching pursuit of poverty reduction: climate and biodiversity; Covid and global health security; girls' education; science and research; defending open societies and resolving conflict; humanitarian assistance; and promoting trade and economic growth. This will also take into account considerations of need, including levels of poverty, ability of countries to self-finance poverty reduction and the UK's comparative advantage, to ensure that every penny we spend on ODA goes as far as possible and has the greatest impact the UK could help achieve.
Asked by: Pauline Latham (Conservative - Mid Derbyshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what criteria his Department will use when deciding which elements of the aid budget to change.
Answered by Nigel Adams
The Foreign Secretary has set out seven core priorities for the UK's aid budget in the overarching pursuit of poverty reduction: climate and biodiversity; Covid and global health security; girls' education; science and research; defending open societies and resolving conflict; humanitarian assistance; and promoting trade and economic growth. Aid will be allocated against these priorities while taking into account considerations of need, including levels of poverty, ability of countries to self-finance poverty reduction and the UK's comparative advantage, to ensure that every penny we spend on ODA goes as far as possible and has the greatest impact and delivers value for money.
Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the reduction in Official Development Assistance spending will affect funding for (1) climate change, (2) poverty eradication, (3) tackling disease, and (4) conflict; and whether these issues will be raised when the UK hosts (a) COP26, and (b) the G7 summit.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The Foreign Secretary has set out seven core priorities for the UK's aid budget in the overarching pursuit of poverty reduction: climate and biodiversity; Covid and global health security; girls' education; science and research; defending open societies and resolving conflict; humanitarian assistance; and promoting trade and economic growth. We are working through our internal business planning process which will allocate the ODA budget across these priorities and geographies. While final decisions on ODA allocations for 2021/22 have not yet been made, we will honour our commitment to spend £11.6 billion on climate change over the next 5 years.