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1228229

	type	WrittenParliamentaryQuestion
	answer	answer answer text <p>We welcome this joint report and the recommendations made as they promote a comprehensive approach to tackling food insecurity. The FAO-WFP early warning analysis highlights countries that are at risk of significant food security deterioration, including the secondary impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, and aims to inform urgent action to safeguard the food security of the most vulnerable communities in these locations.</p><p><br>The UK is working with international partners, including FAO and WFP, to closely monitor the situation and take action. As a leading donor to the COVID-19 response we are supporting our partners to ensure essential commodities and services, and pre-position food supplies for those most in need. We have also adapted our existing social protection, agriculture, and food security programmes, including support to the FAO on locust control, to support the most vulnerable.</p>
	tabling member	50 label Biography information for Lord Chidgey

1228230

	type	WrittenParliamentaryQuestion
	answer	answer answer text <p>The UK is concerned about the increasing risk of acute food insecurity, and we engage regularly with the FAO and WFP to discuss the global food security outlook. Recent discussions have focused on the indirect impacts of COVID-19 on food access and availability, agricultural production and food supply chains, and deteriorating trends.</p><p>The FAO and WFP regularly update the UK on their responses, in particular under the Global COVID-19 Humanitarian Response Plan (GHRP). Efforts have prioritised anticipatory action to safeguard livelihoods and increase access to food, alongside global humanitarian logistics services. These aim to ensure continuity of critical food supply chains, strengthened national social protection systems, and safety of key food supply chain workers. The UK remains among the largest donors to the global COVID-19 response and the GHRP. The UK remains among the largest donors to the global COVID-19 response and the GHRP. We will continue to work closely with key partners to ensure assistance reaches those who need it most.</p>
	tabling member	50 label Biography information for Lord Chidgey

1228253

	type	WrittenParliamentaryQuestion
	answer	answer answer text <p>Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, DFID has worked with partners like the United Nations World Food Programme to ensure continuity of life-saving services, such as the delivery of food assistance, to the population of Bidibidi, Uganda’s largest refugee settlement. Additionally, we have supported specific programmes in Bidibidi through Mercy Corps, an International Non-Governmental Organisation, including:</p><p>• a campaign - through public address systems, bulk text messages, posters, song and radio – to raise awareness about prevention of the virus, focused on community “hot spots” including shops, bill boards, markets, water points, and food distribution points;</p><p>• payments in vouchers or via mobile money to more than 1,850 farmers (57% of whom were women) to purchase high quality seeds from local dealers to ensure they did not miss the planting season; and</p><p>• support to small businesses to continue, providing access to basic hygiene supplies, agricultural inputs, and mobile money services. The local dealers that were selected to support the seed distribution referred to above received business development training on topics including business plan development, marketing and record keeping, as well as cash grants to strengthen their business.</p><p>As the pandemic continues to evolve, we are closely monitoring the situation across Uganda, including in the refugee settlements, and prioritising our support accordingly.</p>
	tabling member	2109 label Biography information for The Earl of Sandwich

1228255

	type	WrittenParliamentaryQuestion
	answer	answer answer text <p>The UK is the leading provider of health services in South Sudan, through the Health Pooled Fund (HPF) (£175m 2018-2023). Through the HPF, UK Aid is improving capacity to identify and manage mental health illnesses in health facilities and hospitals; last year HPF trained 412 health workers on mental health across South Sudan.</p><p><br>UK Aid is also supporting specialised mental health services in areas heavily impacted by violence, through our partnerships with Humanity and Inclusion (£3.7m 2018-2021) and Medair (£16m 2016-2021). We also provide psycho-social support to survivors of gender-based violence as part of a five-year £22 million programme with the International Medical Corps. Finally, UK Aid is working in partnership with the UN’s International Organisation for Migration (IOM) to provide mental health and psychosocial services in protection of civilian sites, with services targeted particularly at vulnerable groups including women and girls.</p>
	tabling member	2109 label Biography information for The Earl of Sandwich

1228102

	type	WrittenParliamentaryQuestion
	answer	answer answer text <p>DFID’s evaluation approach is underpinned by the principles of transparency, rigour and independence, achieved with skilled analytical staff that have a deep and extensive evaluation experience.</p><p><br>Every DFID programme is subject to an annual review which looks at the performance of partners and DFID, including consideration of Value for Money. These reviews are published. Controls are in place to ensure that costs will be identified and recorded in line with Managing Public Money, including where necessary any write-offs or losses. The anticipated decline in GNI and hence ODA, the impact of covid-19, alongside all other key issues will be disclosed as necessary within the department’s 2020/21 Governance Statement.</p><p><br>We will continue to look at how money can be spent most effectively against our priorities, including through the Integrated Review, and the Spending Review – both of which will inform the priorities of the new Department.</p>
	tabling member	50 label Biography information for Lord Chidgey

1228103

	type	WrittenParliamentaryQuestion
	answer	answer answer text <p>The 2015 Aid Strategy set out the Government’s new approach to aid where we embraced an integrated approach to delivering Official Development Assistance (ODA). This recognised the role of aid in tackling poverty and global challenges such as insecurity and that this serves our national interest. The delivery of ODA programmes by departments other than DFID has enabled us to leverage knowledge, skills and expertise from across government, delivering programmes that contribute to achieving the sustainable development goals and addressing the diversity of today’s development challenges. This collective effort has allowed our ODA programmes to deliver both strong development impact. The Government remains committed to ensuring that every pound spent on ODA is spent transparently and achieves maximum value for money for taxpayers.</p>
	tabling member	50 label Biography information for Lord Chidgey

1228104

	type	WrittenParliamentaryQuestion
	answer	answer answer text <p>We will learn from the examples of Australia and Canada, who run generous and respected development programmes from their foreign ministries. There are lessons we can draw from the experiences of other countries, but we will do this in a way that works best for the UK.</p>
	tabling member	50 label Biography information for Lord Chidgey

1228105

	type	WrittenParliamentaryQuestion
	answer	answer answer text <p>While the UK does not have a bilateral development programme in Haiti, we support Haiti through our contributions to agencies such as the United Nations, European Union and the World Bank Group who have a strong presence on the ground. Our contributions are helping to make sure reconstruction reduces future disaster risks, health facilities are more climate resilient and the economy is better managed and supported. DFID holds itself to the highest standards and UK Aid must be delivered at all times in ways which do no harm. We will not fund any organisation that does not meet our high standards on safeguarding. Evidence suggests that sexual exploitation and abuse increase during crises and we must never be complacent. This is a long-term agenda and DFID continues to drive work to tackle sexual exploitation and abuse and sexual harassment. We are making good progress with initiatives that root out perpetrators and improve support to survivors and victims.</p>
	tabling member	50 label Biography information for Lord Chidgey

1228139

	type	WrittenParliamentaryQuestion
	answer	answer answer text <p>CDC invests in the poorest countries in Africa and South Asia to support the growth of companies that create employment, help transform economies, and improve people’s lives, through the goods and services they produce and the local taxes they generate. In 2019, the businesses into which CDC is invested employed 875,790 people; sourced from 1.84 million farmers; and paid $3.3 billion in local taxes.</p><p>As part of its ODA prioritisation process, the Government looked across its ODA programming including CDC. We are investing significantly less capital into CDC than originally planned at the start of the year. Funding will be focused on ensuring that CDC continues to take a targeted response that preserves, strengthens and helps rebuild economies across Africa and South Asia to mitigate the economic and health impacts of Covid-19. Funding originally earmarked for CDC will be re-purposed to ensure we can continue to focus on delivering for the bottom billion including by prioritising girls’ education, climate change, essential health, sexual and reproductive health rights, while also responding to Covid-19.</p>
	tabling member	200 label Biography information for Baroness Tonge

1227980

	type	WrittenParliamentaryQuestion
	answer	answer answer text <p>Given the likely decrease in the size of the economy this year, and therefore a decrease in the value of the 0.7% commitment, a package of £2.9bn of reductions in the Government’s planned ODA spend has been agreed. This package includes underspends, delaying activity and stopping some spend. The package will see some reductions made now, with arrangements in place to tailor spending further during the remaining months as we start to gain a clearer economic picture. As normal, there will continue to be adjustments in-year to individual departmental ODA spend to meet the 0.7% commitment.</p>
	tabling member	50 label Biography information for Lord Chidgey