Asked by: Anthony Mangnall (Conservative - Totnes)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Answer of 22 December 2023 to Question 6924 on UK Integrated Security Fund, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the White Paper on International Development entitled, International development in a contested world: ending extreme poverty and tackling climate change, published November 2023, on the operation of the UK Integrated Security Fund.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Integrated Security Fund (ISF) is designed to complement HMG Departmental activity, including on themes that are covered by the International Development White Paper, such as the impact of transnational threats, cyber-related issues and serious and organised crime. The White Paper sets out how development activity will continue to be an important tool for the UK to address security issues and to improve stability around the world. The ISF will expand upon the existing Conflict, Stability and Security Fund and will continue to deliver on fragile and conflict-affected locations as part of this overall effort to tackle some of the greatest threats to global development and to bolster UK security and resilience.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, with reference to UK International Development's white paper entitled International development in a contested world: ending extreme poverty and tackling climate change, published in November 2023, if his Department will publish a plan to deliver the policy commitments in that white paper.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
International development in a contested world, the International Development White Paper, sets out our strategic goal, to end extreme poverty and tackle climate change and biodiversity loss, and how the UK can accelerate progress on the Sustainable Development Goals, through to 2030. The FCDO will set out how it is delivering the White Paper through existing departmental planning processes, including the Outcome Delivery Plan and the Annual Report and Accounts.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the Blue Planet Fund on levels of global poverty.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The strategic goal of the new UK International Development White Paper [https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/international-development-in-a-contested-world-ending-extreme-poverty-and-tackling-climate-change] is to end extreme poverty and tackle climate change and biodiversity loss. Poverty reduction is at the heart of all ODA spend, as such, all Blue Planet Fund (BPF) programmes factor poverty reduction into their design and implementation. We produce and publish annual reviews for all BPF programmes assessing their performance. Alongside Defra, who are the HMG strategic lead for the BPF, we will use the recent ICAI recommendations to strengthen the BPF programme portfolio's coherence, effectiveness, and relevance, including its poverty impacts at portfolio and individual programme level.
Asked by: Geraint Davies (Independent - Swansea West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of reducing Official Development Assistance spending from 0.7% to 0.5% of Gross National Income on levels of global poverty.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
Due to the impact of the pandemic on public finances, the government took the difficult decision to temporarily reduce the Official Development Assistance (ODA) budget from 0.7 per cent of gross national income (GNI) to 0.5 per cent. We will return to spending 0.7 per cent of GNI on ODA when, on a sustainable basis, the government is not borrowing for day-to-day spending and underlying debt is falling. The UK remains a champion for international development and one of the most generous global aid donors, spending nearly £12.8 billion in aid in 2022.
While the reduction of the UK's ODA budget means some ODA programmes needed to be changed or stopped, it is not possible to attribute the impact of the reduction on changing global poverty levels.
The UK's aid spending is crucial for delivering on our re-energised international development agenda set out in the White Paper on International Development, including eliminating extreme poverty, tackling climate change and biodiversity loss, and accelerating progress on the Sustainable Development Goals, but we recognise that ODA alone will not be enough to deliver our goals. That is why we are being innovative, creative and bold about all of the ways we can support global progress - from increasing private investment in development to getting the most from research and technology.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made a recent assessment of the (a) effectiveness and (b) viability of the Productive Safety Net Programme.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK has been a longstanding supporter of the Productive Safety Net Programme (PSNP) which has reached millions of vulnerable people throughout Ethiopia and has helped to promote resilience to drought. In January this year I [Minister Andrew Mitchell] announced a package of support to the PSNP budgeted at £11.6 million. This will reach 250,000 people living in extreme poverty.
As a member of the Donor Working Group responsible for overseeing PSNP the UK is working with the Government of Ethiopia and other donors to track programme performance against agreed aims.
Asked by: Tony Lloyd (Labour - Rochdale)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department plans to make sexual and reproductive health and rights a priority in the upcoming White Paper on international development.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The Government will publish an International Development White Paper later this year. It will set out how the UK will lead the charge against extreme poverty and climate change in a changing world. The FCDO global health directorate will engage with this process.
Sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) are central to the UK's international development agenda. SRHR features strongly in our approach to end the preventable deaths of mothers, babies and children (EPD), the international development strategy, and our recently published international women and girls' strategy.
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 assessment he has made of the potential merits of anticipatory cash transfers to populations vulnerable to extreme weather events.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is working to scale up anticipatory action to reduce the impact of humanitarian crises on the most vulnerable. We have supported pilots of anticipatory cash through funding to the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF). Initial evaluations of these show that cash is an efficient and effective anticipatory modality. We are also investing in social protection systems which play an important role in building vulnerable populations' resilience to extreme weather events before they occur. For instance, the FCDO-funded Hunger Safety Net Programme in Kenya routinely reaches 100,000 households and can scale up to an additional 275,000 households during drought to help more families better absorb the impact of climate shocks without falling deeper into poverty.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent steps he has taken to help tackle (a) income inequality and (b) youth unemployment in Malawi.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK Government supports Malawi in tackling low economic growth, which involves tackling reducing income inequality and youth unemployment. Our new Malawi Trade and Investment Programme will launch this year and aims to stimulate a step change in Malawi's growth by promoting higher value and export sectors, cutting time and costs of trade and logistics, raising international and domestic investment in new exports, and creating jobs. On income inequality, our Building Resilience and Adapting to Climate Change programme is contributing to a reduction in extreme poverty and ending the recurrent cycle of hunger and humanitarian assistance in Malawi.
Asked by: Drew Hendry (Scottish National Party - Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make it his policy to spend at least 50 per cent of his Department's budget in fragile and conflict-affected states and regions.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
Fragile and Conflict Affected States are central in the International Development Strategy (IDS), which aims to tackle the causes of crises and build the long-term foundations for lasting development. We cannot end extreme poverty in low- and middle-income countries without tackling conflict and fragility.
Official Development Assistance (ODA) allocations are being directed towards the strategic priorities of the IDS. The World Bank publishes an annual list of Fragile and Conflict Affected Situations. Eight of the top 10 country recipients of UK bilateral ODA in 2021 are on the World Bank list.
Asked by: Lord Boateng (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement to contribute to the GDP of that continent.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCTFA) has the potential to boost Africa's economic development by driving industrialisation, generating jobs and delivering prosperity across the continent. The World Bank estimates suggest that, if fully implemented, the AfCFTA will create better-quality jobs, increase real incomes by 9 percent and lift 50 million people from extreme poverty. If successful, AfCFTA will provide new commercial opportunities for businesses across Africa and globally, potentially doubling Foreign Direct Investment and linking Africa into regional and global value chains.