Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he plans to take steps to encourage companies that extract fossil fuels to contribute to the loss and damage fund at COP 29.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK is committed to establishing an efficient and effective Fund for Loss and Damage which delivers demonstrable outcomes for those particularly vulnerable to climate change. The UK's pledge of up to £40 million for the new Fund will help achieve this. Given the scale of finance required to respond to climate impacts, it is essential that the Fund encourages and deploys a wide variety of sources of funding, including from public, private and innovative sources. As a Board member, the UK will work with others to broaden the scale, scope and sources of financing for loss and damage.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham, Hodge Hill)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what outcomes were agreed at the third Summit for Democracy held in Seoul on 18 to 20 March.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
Participants at the Third Summit for Democracy agreed the importance of harnessing artificial intelligence (AI) and emerging digital technologies to uphold democratic values and institutions, noting their potential to open new channels for participation and enhance transparency, openness and accountability. Participants also agreed the importance of strengthening laws and institutions to mitigate risks associated with emerging technologies that could undermine democratic values, including threats such as infringements on privacy and the spread of misinformation and disinformation. Hosts the Republic of Korea, along with key partner governments, confirmed their intention to continue supporting the Platform for Engagement of Civil Society and their work on the Summit process.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what discussions he has had with his Ugandan counterpart on the (a) arrests and (b) treatment of people campaigning against the East African Crude Oil Pipeline.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
Through our High Commission in Kampala, we have previously raised concerns around detentions of climate protesters in Uganda; both I and the High Commission regularly engage with the Ugandan Government on human rights, both bilaterally and with likeminded countries.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool, Walton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, pursuant to the Answer of 21 March 2024 to Question 19159 on Overseas Investment: Fossil Fuels, if he will publish a full energy portfolio for British International Investment setting out investments in (a) fossil fuels and (b) renewable energy in (i) 2021, (ii) 2022 and (iii) 2023.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
BII already discloses the percentage of assets in its portfolio that can be considered climate finance and 'carbon-related' (i.e. in the fossil fuel value chain) as part of its annual Task Force on Climate related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) reporting in its Annual Accounts (published on BII's website), in line with TCFD recommendations.
The UK's Development White Paper set the ambition for BII to become the most transparent bilateral Development Finance Institution. Subsequently, BII has published a Transparency Roadmap. For its existing portfolio, the Roadmap commits BII to state whether an investment is fossil fuel or renewable energy power generation. This will be available on its public investment database by the end of the year.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what recent steps his Department has taken with the United Nations to help tackle (a) drug-resistant tuberculosis and (b) antimicrobial resistance.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The department actively contributed to the High Level Meeting on Tuberculosis held at the UN General Assembly last September, at which Lord Ahmad represented the UK. The UK's current £1billion commitment to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria will support treatment for 41,800 people with Multi-Drug Resistant TB.
The UK funds major programmes and research to tackle Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR), and strengthen health, water, sanitation, and hygiene systems. The High-Level Meeting on AMR is an excellent opportunity to catalyse global progress, set high ambitions across the One Health spectrum, and promote equitable access to and stewardship of antimicrobials.
Asked by: Margaret Hodge (Labour - Barking)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what the annual budget for the UK Action Against Corruption programme (a) was in 2023-24 and (b) is for 2024-25.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The annual budget for the UK Action Against Corruption Programme in 2023-2024 was £5,921,089.
The projected budget for 2024-2025 is up to £6,685,000.
Asked by: David Mundell (Conservative - Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the Robert Carr Fund in advancing human rights of inadequately served populations.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK is proud to be a long-term funder of the Robert Carr Fund (RCF), we consider it to be a very effective mechanism that supports the leadership, priorities and rights of some of the most marginalised people, in order to expand their access to the HIV, SRHR and health services they need.
Robert Carr is the world's leading international fund focused on funding global and regional networks led by, involving, and serving people who face a higher HIV risk than the general population, systematic human rights violations, and barriers to information and HIV and SRH services.
Working with community-led and grassroots organisations is key to achieving the targets in the Global AIDS Strategy. Our investment into the Robert Carr Fund, along with other organisations such as the Global Fund and UNAIDS, is important in helping countries to implement actions and make progress towards targets under the Strategy.
Asked by: David Mundell (Conservative - Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of funding the Robert Carr Fund to support the achievement of the targets in the UNAIDS Global AIDS Strategy 2024-27.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK is proud to be a long-term funder of the Robert Carr Fund (RCF), we consider it to be a very effective mechanism that supports the leadership, priorities and rights of some of the most marginalised people, in order to expand their access to the HIV, SRHR and health services they need.
Robert Carr is the world's leading international fund focused on funding global and regional networks led by, involving, and serving people who face a higher HIV risk than the general population, systematic human rights violations, and barriers to information and HIV and SRH services.
Working with community-led and grassroots organisations is key to achieving the targets in the Global AIDS Strategy. Our investment into the Robert Carr Fund, along with other organisations such as the Global Fund and UNAIDS, is important in helping countries to implement actions and make progress towards targets under the Strategy.
Asked by: David Mundell (Conservative - Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the Robert Carr Fund in advancing HIV and health outcomes for inadequately served populations.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK is proud to be a long-term funder of the Robert Carr Fund (RCF), we consider it to be a very effective mechanism that supports the leadership, priorities and rights of some of the most marginalised people, in order to expand their access to the HIV, SRHR and health services they need.
Robert Carr is the world's leading international fund focused on funding global and regional networks led by, involving, and serving people who face a higher HIV risk than the general population, systematic human rights violations, and barriers to information and HIV and SRH services.
Working with community-led and grassroots organisations is key to achieving the targets in the Global AIDS Strategy. Our investment into the Robert Carr Fund, along with other organisations such as the Global Fund and UNAIDS, is important in helping countries to implement actions and make progress towards targets under the Strategy.
Asked by: Lyn Brown (Labour - West Ham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what discussions he has had with (a) his Togolese counterpart, (b) the Economic Community of West African States and (c) the African Union on the impact on democratic accountability in Togo of recent constitutional reforms; and what steps he is taking to support monitoring of the forthcoming elections in that country.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK Government engages with the Government of Togo through our High Commission in Accra. We encourage a peaceful and inclusive dialogue in Togo, to work through constitutional reforms; and we urge the Government to set a new date for legislative and regional elections without delay. The UK will continue to engage partners, including ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States), and monitor for further developments.