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1226245

registered interest
date	20/07/2020
answering body	Department for International Development
answering dept id	20
answering dept short name	International Development
answering dept sort name	International Development
hansard heading	Development Aid: Poverty
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, is she will take steps to help ensure that the UK continues to focus on combating poverty by ensuring that aid reaches the (a) most vulnerable and (b) those who are more vulnerable because of their faith.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	76706
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/07/2020 answer text <p>The UK Government works to ensure that aid reaches the most vulnerable including those who are more vulnerable because of their faith.</p><p>DFID’s use of country context analysis has increased the extent to which religious dynamics and religious groups are factored into all of our country programmes. DFID undertakes interdisciplinary analysis of a country’s politics, society, state and economy to identify the most significant problems that hinder development and the main entry points and opportunities to create change. There is a strong emphasis on how politics, security, and demographics interact with economic growth and human development. This includes the role of religion and the persecution of religious minorities.</p><p>The situation of vulnerable communities is taken into account when assessing those most in need of protection and assistance. This includes when a community is being targeted or is otherwise vulnerable because of their faith. We actively consult civil society, including faith-based organisations, to understand how best to support vulnerable groups.</p><p>Vulnerable religious groups will experience crises such as COVID-19 outbreaks differently. Crises are likely to reinforce their marginalised position in society, their experience of discrimination, violence and stigma, and further limit their access to essential support and services. For this reason, guidance was circulated across DFID highlighting that inclusion must be central to our response and the specific contexts and needs of vulnerable religious communities and other vulnerable groups should be taken into account when developing practical programmes of assistance.</p><p>On 8 June, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minister of State responsible for Human Rights, hosted a roundtable to hear from faith leaders and faith-based development organisations about the specific challenges minority faith communities are facing during this COVID-19 pandemic.</p> answering member constituency Aldridge-Brownhills answering member printed Wendy Morton question first answered 27/07/2020 14:24:04 answering member 4358 label Biography information for Wendy Morton
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1226246

registered interest
date	20/07/2020
answering body	Department for International Development
answering dept id	20
answering dept short name	International Development
answering dept sort name	International Development
hansard heading	Development Aid: Religion
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps she is taken to ensure that religious identity is a criterion for the allocation of Official Development Assistance.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	76707
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/07/2020 answer text <p>DFID’s use of country context analysis has increased the extent to which religious dynamics and religious groups are factored into all of our country programmes. DFID undertakes interdisciplinary analysis of a country’s politics, society, state and economy to identify the most significant problems that hinder development and the main entry points and opportunities to create change. There is a strong emphasis on how politics, security, and demographics interact with economic growth and human development. This includes the role of religion and the persecution of religious minorities.</p><p> </p><p>DFID is committed to working with all its partners, including faith-based organisations, to ensure that the most vulnerable people and groups are prioritised for humanitarian assistance, in line with international humanitarian principles. This includes religious and ethnic groups who are at risk of discrimination and persecution. We work closely with our partners to ensure they are rigorously assessing vulnerability and needs (including those linked with religious identity), ahead of allocating assistance, as well as conducting robust monitoring to ensure that aid is reaching those most in need.</p> answering member constituency Aldridge-Brownhills answering member printed Wendy Morton question first answered 27/07/2020 14:26:53 answering member 4358 label Biography information for Wendy Morton
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1226386

registered interest
date	20/07/2020
answering body	Department for International Development
answering dept id	20
answering dept short name	International Development
answering dept sort name	International Development
hansard heading	Department for International Development: Renewable Energy
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 24 June 2020 to Question 60656 on Renewable energy, what plans her Department has to install solar panels and wind turbines on its buildings in the next five years.
tabling member constituency	Oxford West and Abingdon
tabling member printed	Layla Moran
uin	76883
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/07/2020 answer text <p>DFID has two offices in the UK, one at 22 Whitehall and the other at Abercrombie House, East Kilbride.</p><p>While there are no current plans to install solar panels and wind turbines at either of our UK offices, we are keeping this under constant review and considering options and opportunities as they arise.</p> answering member constituency Selby and Ainsty answering member printed Nigel Adams question first answered 27/07/2020 14:13:23 answering member 4057 label Biography information for Nigel Adams
tabling member	4656 label Biography information for Layla Moran

1226397

registered interest
date	20/07/2020
answering body	Department for International Development
answering dept id	20
answering dept short name	International Development
answering dept sort name	International Development
hansard heading	Palestinians: Textbooks
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what progress is being made on the George Eckert Institute's interim report on its independent review of Palestinian textbooks.
tabling member constituency	Bury South
tabling member printed	Christian Wakeford
uin	76938
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/07/2020 answer text <p>Following UK calls for action, our European Partners commissioned the Georg Eckert Institute to conduct an independent review of Palestinian textbooks, which is currently underway.</p><p>We understand the report has been delayed due to COVID-19. We have regular discussions with our European Partners on the review and we continue to encourage them to finalise the interim report as soon as possible.</p><p>The UK will continue to raise our concerns about incitement in education, as I did most recently with the PA Minister for Education just last month. We welcome the PA's work to revise its textbooks and their intention to publish updated versions for the start of the school year in September.</p> answering member constituency Braintree answering member printed James Cleverly grouped question UIN 76939 question first answered 27/07/2020 08:23:54 answering member 4366 label Biography information for James Cleverly
tabling member	4871 label Biography information for Christian Wakeford

1226398

registered interest
date	20/07/2020
answering body	Department for International Development
answering dept id	20
answering dept short name	International Development
answering dept sort name	International Development
hansard heading	Palestinians: Textbooks
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps she plans to take to ensure that the recommendations of the George Eckert Institute's interim report on its independent review of Palestinian textbooks are implemented before the start of the new academic year in September 2020.
tabling member constituency	Bury South
tabling member printed	Christian Wakeford
uin	76939
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/07/2020 answer text <p>Following UK calls for action, our European Partners commissioned the Georg Eckert Institute to conduct an independent review of Palestinian textbooks, which is currently underway.</p><p>We understand the report has been delayed due to COVID-19. We have regular discussions with our European Partners on the review and we continue to encourage them to finalise the interim report as soon as possible.</p><p>The UK will continue to raise our concerns about incitement in education, as I did most recently with the PA Minister for Education just last month. We welcome the PA's work to revise its textbooks and their intention to publish updated versions for the start of the school year in September.</p> answering member constituency Braintree answering member printed James Cleverly grouped question UIN 76938 question first answered 27/07/2020 08:23:54 answering member 4366 label Biography information for James Cleverly
tabling member	4871 label Biography information for Christian Wakeford

1226457

registered interest
date	20/07/2020
answering body	Department for International Development
answering dept id	20
answering dept short name	International Development
answering dept sort name	International Development
hansard heading	Developing Countries: Contracts
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent guidance she has issued to her Department's in-country offices on contract negotiations with local partners in the global south.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Edgbaston
tabling member printed	Preet Kaur Gill
uin	76835
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/07/2020 answer text <p>DFID provides a myriad of commercial support services and guidance, which is available to programme teams across the business. This includes, but is not limited to, Smart Guide rules and a newly launched Aid Learning Platform (ALP).</p><p>The ALP e-manual facility encompasses a range of modules to develop Officials’ commercial acumen relevant to contract management, including negotiation skills, risk management and programme design. This guidance is constantly updated to reflect ongoing training needs across the organisation. This training applies to all officials across our network and not just the global south.</p> answering member constituency Selby and Ainsty answering member printed Nigel Adams question first answered 27/07/2020 14:11:50 answering member 4057 label Biography information for Nigel Adams
tabling member	4603 label Biography information for Preet Kaur Gill

1226485

registered interest
date	20/07/2020
answering body	Department for International Development
answering dept id	20
answering dept short name	International Development
answering dept sort name	International Development
hansard heading	Development Aid
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether all existing UK Aid Match commitments will be maintained by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Edgbaston
tabling member printed	Preet Kaur Gill
uin	76836
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/07/2020 answer text <p>All government departments are working through how their plans will need to change in light of the risk of a significant recession this year. DFID is no exception. The Government’s 0.7% GNI target is directly linked to the performance of the UK economy. No decision has been taken, but we are considering the full range of our work. In the short term, we have paused new financial arrangements while we agree our future work in close cooperation with other aid spending Departments.</p> answering member constituency Aldridge-Brownhills answering member printed Wendy Morton question first answered 27/07/2020 14:28:27 answering member 4358 label Biography information for Wendy Morton
tabling member	4603 label Biography information for Preet Kaur Gill

1226490

registered interest
date	20/07/2020
answering body	Department for International Development
answering dept id	20
answering dept short name	International Development
answering dept sort name	International Development
hansard heading	Development Aid: Coronavirus
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many applications her Department has received for the covid-19 Rapid Response Facility, how many of those applications (a) have been approved, (b) have been rejected and (c) remain under review.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Edgbaston
tabling member printed	Preet Kaur Gill
uin	76837
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/07/2020 answer text <p>The Department for International Development’s Rapid Response Facility (RRF) launched a call for proposals on 7 April 2020 to help support the preparedness, mitigation and response to COVID-19. DFID received 73 eligible applications of which 7 projects were selected for funding. Other applicants were informed that their proposals were not selected for funding in this round but, as with our broader COVID-19 humanitarian funding, further RRF support would remain under review.</p><p> </p><p>The Rapid Response Facility is only one of the mechanisms through which the UK government is directly funding NGOs to respond to the challenges posed by COVID-19. For example, a round of UK Aid Direct funding was opened for applications relating to COVID-19 and we have announced that the UK will aid match the first £5 million of donations from the British public to the Disasters Emergency Committee’s (DEC) new COVID-19 Appeal. Furthermore, NGOs are delivery partners for a very large proportion of DFID's activity.</p> answering member constituency Selby and Ainsty answering member printed Nigel Adams question first answered 27/07/2020 14:17:51 answering member 4057 label Biography information for Nigel Adams
tabling member	4603 label Biography information for Preet Kaur Gill

1226494

registered interest
date	20/07/2020
answering body	Department for International Development
answering dept id	20
answering dept short name	International Development
answering dept sort name	International Development
hansard heading	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: Conditions of Employment
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent discussions she has had with representatives of (a) PCS and b) FDA unions on the roles of their members in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Edgbaston
tabling member printed	Preet Kaur Gill
uin	76838
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/07/2020 answer text <p>DFID and FCO senior officials informed their respective Trade Union representatives as soon the creation of the new Department was announced. Consultations will continue throughout the process. Within DFID we have regular weekly engagement with our trade unions (FDA and PCS). These discussions have not yet involved the Secretary of State directly. We will formally consult as required on any specific areas of HR policy as work progresses.</p> answering member constituency Aldridge-Brownhills answering member printed Wendy Morton question first answered 27/07/2020 14:30:01 answering member 4358 label Biography information for Wendy Morton
tabling member	4603 label Biography information for Preet Kaur Gill

1226509

registered interest
date	20/07/2020
answering body	Department for International Development
answering dept id	20
answering dept short name	International Development
answering dept sort name	International Development
hansard heading	Remittances
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent steps she has taken to support diaspora communities in the UK seeking to send remittances abroad to have access to transparent transaction costs in relation to those remittances.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Edgbaston
tabling member printed	Preet Kaur Gill
uin	76840
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/07/2020 answer text <p>The Government has taken steps to improve transparency in the remittance sector, not just in the UK but globally. We co-lead with the Swiss Government with the support of multilateral organisations on the Global Call to Action to keep remittances flowing and to improve transparency in the sector.</p><p>The department is working closely HM Treasury to improve transparency in the sector. In the UK, we have worked cross Government to develop communication lines to encourage the diaspora community to use digital channels and to review the different options available before sending funding.</p><p>We are working with industry associations and leading remittance service providers on how best to improve transparency in the sector and are reviewing the key lessons from other development agencies who have sought to improve transparency in remittances in their countries.</p><p>We understand the need for remitters to be well informed (especially about the cost of sending money abroad) and are working towards solutions that are sustainable, effective and represent good value for money.</p> answering member constituency Rochford and Southend East answering member printed James Duddridge question first answered 27/07/2020 17:04:03 answering member 1559 label Biography information for Sir James Duddridge
tabling member	4603 label Biography information for Preet Kaur Gill