Department for International Development<p>106 DFID employees were absent due to stress, anxiety and/or depression during the period 1 May 2018 to 30 April 2019. This represented 3.6% of DFID’s workforce and 21% of the overall sickness absence for the department during this period. The estimated cost to DFID due to sickness absence during the period 1 May 2018 to 30 April 2019 was £217,350.</p><p> </p><p>DFID is committed to the health and wellbeing of all our staff, including helping them to manage stress in the workplace. DFID offers a range of guidance and services in place to support staff, including our Employee Assistance Programme (EAP), which offers telephone and face to face counselling for all staff. This service also provides a wide range of online information and advice on work/life issues. DFID’s HR teams and Occupational Health Services provide support and advice for staff and managers to ensure a successful return to work after a period of mental ill health. DFID also has a Listening Network, an informal peer staff network, to complement the help already available.</p>West WorcestershireHarriett Baldwin2019-05-21false2019-05-21T14:55:41.903Z20International DevelopmentInternational Development2019-05-14Department for International Development: Sick Leave1House of CommonsTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many and what proportion of officials in his Department took sick leave for reasons relating to stress in the last 12 months; what proportion that leave was of total sick leave taken in his Department; and what the cost was to his Department of officials taking sick leave over that period.falseCarshalton and WallingtonTom Brake254069Department for International Development<p>No famine has currently been declared in South Sudan, although the risk remains high. The latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report for South Sudan was published in January 2019. This projected that 6.87 million people, 60% of the population, would experience severe levels of food insecurity (IPC phases 3 to 5) between May and July 2019 – including 50,000 people experiencing ‘Catastrophe’, or famine-like, levels of food insecurity (IPC Phase 5). The food security crisis in South Sudan is man-made, and driven by conflict. Without peace, the humanitarian crisis will continue to worsen.</p><p> </p><p>We are at the forefront of the international response to the crisis, and UK aid is saving lives. Between 2016 and 2020, the UK is providing £122.3 million of emergency food assistance and £56 million of food security and livelihoods assistance to South Sudan. Our food aid is provided to the most vulnerable populations and reached more than 330,000 people in 2018. Where the context is more stable, we build resilience and tackle the underlying causes of food insecurity by working with traders and small producers to kick-start and scale-up markets, and with households to diversify their income sources. The UK is also putting pressure on all conflict parties to commit to the implementation of the revitalised peace agreement.</p>West WorcestershireHarriett Baldwin2019-05-21false2019-05-21T14:54:17.91Z20International DevelopmentInternational Development2019-05-14South Sudan: Food Aid1House of CommonsTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what the level of famine is in South Sudan; and what food aid the Government is making available to that country.falseStroudDr David Drew254110Department for International Development<p>Sexual violence is widespread in South Sudan. In most cases perpetrators of sexual violence are men who are known to the victims. Rape is also regularly used as a weapon of war by all parties. The UK strongly condemns all forms of sexual and gender based violence (SGBV). We continue to lobby the Government of South Sudan to address SGBV and end impunity for perpetrators, and support organisations working to tackle the prevalence of SGBV in the country.</p><p> </p><p>This includes a four-year, £14.8 million programme with the International Medical Corps, which has reached more than 850,000 women, men, girls and boys with SGBV interventions in South Sudan. Through this we are supporting survivors of SGBV, including in seeking justice, as well as trying to change damaging attitudes within communities. As attitudes and behaviours are shaped at an early age, our Girls Education in South Sudan programme also educates both boys and girls about healthy relationships.</p>West WorcestershireHarriett Baldwin2019-05-21false2019-05-21T14:54:57.987Z20International DevelopmentInternational Development2019-05-14South Sudan: Rape1House of CommonsTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps the Government is taking to tackle the prevalence of rape in South Sudan; and what programmes he has established to educate (a) women and (b) men that rape is unacceptable.falseStroudDr David Drew254111Department for International Development<p>The Department for International Development has not used the Prosperity Fund to spend any ODA or non-ODA to provide fracking expertise to foreign Governments.</p>West WorcestershireHarriett Baldwin2019-05-21false2019-05-21T15:50:33.103Z20International DevelopmentInternational Development2019-05-16Development Aid: Fracking1House of CommonsTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much (a) official development aid and b) non-official development aid has been spent via the Prosperity Fund by his Department to provide fracking expertise to foreign Governments since 2016.falseNottingham NorthAlex Norris255375Department for International Development<p>Any such payments are published in DFID’s audited annual accounts, which can be found on gov.uk.</p>West WorcestershireHarriett Baldwin2019-05-20false2019-05-20T16:09:11.763Z20International DevelopmentInternational Development2019-05-13Department for International Development: Former Ministers1House of CommonsTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much his Department has paid to hon. Members under section 4 of the Ministerial and other Pensions and Salaries Act 1991 since 13 July 2016.falseEllesmere Port and NestonJustin Madders253608Department for International Development<p>DFID is working closely with other government departments to facilitate the return of staff deployed to other government departments, following the extension of Article 50. As of 14 May 2019, 90 staff have returned.</p>West WorcestershireHarriett Baldwin2019-05-20false2019-05-20T17:01:24.193Z20International DevelopmentInternational Development2019-05-13Department for International Development: Brexit1House of CommonsTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many staff in his Department who were transferred or seconded to work (a) in other departments or (b) on other departmental briefs on preparations for the UK to leave the EU, have since returned to his Department.falseCarshalton and WallingtonTom Brake253466Department for International Development<p>The Withdrawal Agreement ensures that UK based organisations will be able to bid for funding, participate in and lead consortia and otherwise implement as normal EU development programmes that are approved before December 2020 until they complete. Furthermore, we are clear that any future UK financial contribution to the EU would require eligibility for UK entities to bid for and implement programmes where the UK funds. We regularly consult NGOs regarding their concerns to ensure we can support our world-class development sector. I therefore urge the Hon. Gentleman to support the Withdrawal Agreement.</p>West WorcestershireHarriett Baldwin2019-05-20false2019-05-20T16:07:24.713Z20International DevelopmentInternational Development2019-05-14Non-governmental Organisations1House of CommonsTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps he is taking to ensure that NGOs are able to continue their work unaffected by the UK leaving the EU.falseSloughMr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi254266Department for International Development<p>DFID does not currently fund Marie Stopes International to fund political advocacy to change laws on abortion in either South Sudan or Malawi.</p>West WorcestershireHarriett Baldwin2019-05-20false2019-05-20T16:01:54.037Z20International DevelopmentInternational Development2019-05-14East Africa: Marie Stopes International1House of CommonsTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether his Department has allocated funding to Marie Stopes International to fund political advocacy to change laws on abortion in (a) Malawi and (b) South Sudan.falseCongletonFiona Bruce254177Department for International Development<p>The current Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is an immediate priority for the Department for International Development (DFID), we have dedicated teams leading a coordinated UK HMG response effort. The UK is one of the leading donors to the response in DRC, and preparedness efforts in the region.</p><p>DFID have so far contributed £33.5 million to Ebola in DRC in 2018/19. Moreover, we are the leading donor by far for regional preparedness, contributing £14 million across the most-at-risk countries (mainly for Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and South Sudan). We have also provided specialist staff into the response and are continuing to push other donors to step up their engagement. Beyond funding and technical support, we are actively lobbying to improve management of the response, including coordination. While the efforts of the Government of DRC and the WHO have been laudable, significant improvements must be made in terms of coordination and management to bring the outbreak to an end.</p><p>I plan to visit North Kivu in Eastern DRC later this month to understand the situation on the ground and how the UK can continue to support the response. One immediate priority is the need to galvanise other donors to support the response and preparedness efforts. We are also working closely with responders on the ground to ensure management and coordination of the response reflects the severity of the current situation and the high risk of further spread, and to build trust with affected communities.</p>West WorcestershireHarriett Baldwin2019-05-20false2019-05-20T15:59:18.443Z20International DevelopmentInternational Development2019-05-15Democratic Republic of Congo: Ebola1House of CommonsTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether the current Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo is an immediate priority for his Department; and whether he has immediate plans to travel to the region.falseBirmingham, EdgbastonPreet Kaur Gill254860Department for International Development<p>The Government of Sierra Leone has not requested debt relief. Sierra Leone is not currently in debt distress, although it is at high risk. Any country wishing to pursue debt relief should do so through the existing multilateral fora.</p><p> </p><p>UK bilateral aid to Sierra Leone includes ongoing support to increase revenue generation and improve public financial management to address their debt position.</p><p> </p><p>In the last 6 months, the UK has supported decisions taken by the IMF and the World Bank to provide additional financial support packages for Sierra Leone. Through our contributions to the EU and African Development Bank, we are also providing further support to the Government of Sierra Leone to finance their development needs.</p>West WorcestershireHarriett Baldwin2019-05-16false2019-05-16T15:38:23.673Z20International DevelopmentInternational Development2019-05-13Sierra Leone: Debts1House of CommonsTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what the Government’s policy is on the cancellation of debts owed by Sierra Leone; and what steps the Government is taking (a) nationally and (b) internationally to reduce that country’s debt overhang.falseStroudDr David Drew2534841001640