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1193064

registered interest
date	05/05/2020
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, pursuant to the Answer of 4 May 2020 to Question 40723 on Overseas Aid: Coronavirus, which of her Department's planned spend and objectives have been deprioritised in order to divert resources to the covid-19 response.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Edgbaston
tabling member printed	Preet Kaur Gill
uin	43720
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/05/2020 answer text <p>To maximise DFID’s resources for our COVID-19 response we are: using HMG’s crisis reserve, adapting and scaling up existing programmes that respond to COVID-19, and reviewing programmes that can be slowed or paused to free up resources e.g. preparation for delayed international events or support for delayed elections. We will continue to closely monitor the scenarios and impacts of COVID-19 in vulnerable countries, to ensure the best possible use of 0.7 in our response to COVID-19 and HMG’s wider development priorities.</p> answering member constituency Aldridge-Brownhills answering member printed Wendy Morton question first answered 12/05/2020 16:15:27 answering member 4358 label Biography information for Wendy Morton
tabling member	4603 label Biography information for Preet Kaur Gill

1193072

registered interest
date	05/05/2020
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, pursuant to the Answer of 4 May 2020 to Question 40723 on Overseas Aid: Coronavirus, how many FTE staff have been moved to work on (a) her Department's and (b) other Departments' covid-19 response.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Edgbaston
tabling member printed	Preet Kaur Gill
uin	43721
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/05/2020 answer text <p>DFID along with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office is leading on the UK Government’s international response to COVID-19. DFID is surging staff internally to support this effort as its priority.</p><p>57 Full Time Equivalent (FTE) staff have been moved into a new central team coordinating the overall COVID-19 response and a further 4 FTE staff have been surged into this team from across government. Delivery of the response itself is spread across the Department, with many staff across our International, Economic Development, Policy, Science and Research and geographical/corporate Divisions focusing on the immediate COVID-19 response and longer-term recovery.</p><p>DFID has loaned staff with specific skillsets to other government departments in support of their COVID-19 work. 9 FTE staff have been deployed to support other government departments at this time.</p> answering member constituency Aldridge-Brownhills answering member printed Wendy Morton question first answered 12/05/2020 16:31:56 answering member 4358 label Biography information for Wendy Morton
tabling member	4603 label Biography information for Preet Kaur Gill

1192716

registered interest
date	04/05/2020
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: Debts
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 her international counterparts on developing a debt-relief plan for developing countries.
tabling member constituency	Putney
tabling member printed	Fleur Anderson
uin	43183
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/05/2020 answer text <p>The UK Government is deeply concerned about the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the public finances of low-income developing countries. In this time of crisis, it is vital that creditors work together to ensure that servicing debts does not prevent countries protecting their citizens and economies.</p><p>The UK, alongside the G20 and the Paris Club of official creditors, has committed to a temporary suspension of debt service repayments from the poorest countries. This official sector effort could provide up to $12 billion of additional fiscal space until the end of the year, allowing countries to redirect finances towards mitigating the health and economic impacts of COVID-19.</p><p>In the future, some countries, especially those entering the crisis with significant debt vulnerabilities may require debt relief. If debts do require restructuring or reduction, this will need to be done evenly amongst creditors, including non-Paris Club G20 creditors and the private sector. The G20 initiative provides more time to assess countries’ debt positions and explore possible solutions with other stakeholders whilst, importantly, freeing up resources to allow countries to respond to the crisis.</p> answering member constituency Rochford and Southend East answering member printed James Duddridge question first answered 12/05/2020 16:07:23 answering member 1559 label Biography information for Sir James Duddridge
tabling member	4788 label Biography information for Fleur Anderson

1192718

registered interest
date	04/05/2020
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: Coronavirus
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 taking to help tackle the economic effects of covid-19 on local economies in developing countries.
tabling member constituency	Putney
tabling member printed	Fleur Anderson
uin	43184
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/05/2020 answer text <p>The UK is actively supporting the poorest countries and most vulnerable people at a time when the secondary economic impacts of COVID-19 are running ahead of the health impacts in many countries.</p><p>First, we are supporting countries to free up the fiscal space that they need to reorient spending to responding to the crisis. The UK has made a leading contribution of up to £150 million to the International Monetary Fund (IMF)’s Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust, to fund the poorest countries’ debt repayments to the IMF. The UK and other G20 countries have also committed to suspend debt service payments for International Development Association-eligible and the UN Least Developed Countries until the end of 2020, providing up to $12 billion of additional fiscal space. We are also providing advisory support to countries covering economic policy and their broader response, including trade-offs associated with containment measures.</p><p>Second, we are working with the International Financial Institutions to make additional resources available. We have committed to doubling our existing £2.2bn loan to the IMF’s Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust, to support concessional financing for the poorest countries. The UK also pushed early for a capital increase of the World Bank in 2018 and, thanks to these efforts, the World Bank Group has been in a position to respond rapidly to this crisis, making $160bn of financing available over 15 months.</p><p>Third, at a time when many investors are retreating from these markets, CDC, the UK’s Development Finance Institution, is committed to investing patiently and working alongside other Development Finance Institutions to help companies access the finance they need and to protect supply chains and jobs overseas.</p><p>Fourth, the UK is also committed to directly supporting the most vulnerable people affected by the economic fallout of COVID-19. We are currently supporting social protection and/or humanitarian cash transfer programmes in 35 countries, in addition to wider support through multilateral institutions.</p> answering member constituency Rochford and Southend East answering member printed James Duddridge question first answered 12/05/2020 16:09:06 answering member 1559 label Biography information for Sir James Duddridge
tabling member	4788 label Biography information for Fleur Anderson

1192719

registered interest
date	04/05/2020
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, what financial support she is allocating to international NGOs to adapt pre-existing humanitarian assistance and food supply programmes to ensure continuity during the covid-19 pandemic.
tabling member constituency	Putney
tabling member printed	Fleur Anderson
uin	43185
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/05/2020 answer text <p>To date, the UK has committed £744 million to support global efforts to combat COVID-19. The UK is at the forefront of supporting those in need of humanitarian assistance and we are actively working with international partners to better track, monitor and respond to the impact of COVID-19 on food security for the most vulnerable. NGOs are a critical partner in meeting this huge challenge of tackling the virus. In addition to new and reallocated direct funding to NGOs, much of the UN’s work will be delivered on the ground by NGOs and the UK’s funding to the UN agencies will support these efforts.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Aldridge-Brownhills answering member printed Wendy Morton question first answered 12/05/2020 16:30:08 answering member 4358 label Biography information for Wendy Morton
tabling member	4788 label Biography information for Fleur Anderson

1192720

registered interest
date	04/05/2020
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: Coronavirus
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to help support the informal economy in developing countries during the covid-19 pandemic.
tabling member constituency	Putney
tabling member printed	Fleur Anderson
uin	43186
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/05/2020 answer text <p>DFID currently supports social protection and/or humanitarian cash transfer programmes in 35 countries, enabling the most vulnerable people - including those who work in the informal sector - to mitigate the economic impact of COVID-19.</p><p>Beyond social protection, other DFID programmes are being adapted to support informal sector workers in response to COVID-19. For example, we are supporting the Kampala Capital City Authority with emergency provisions to assist the most vulnerable in the city, including providing shelter to vendors in the informal markets.</p><p>We have supported the Multilateral Development Banks to provide much-needed working capital for small businesses and supply chains, which informal workers depend on in developing countries.  This includes $8 billion of fast-tracked support from the International Finance Cooperation.</p> answering member constituency Rochford and Southend East answering member printed James Duddridge question first answered 12/05/2020 16:10:22 answering member 1559 label Biography information for Sir James Duddridge
tabling member	4788 label Biography information for Fleur Anderson

1192750

registered interest
date	04/05/2020
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, what covid-19 related financial support her Department has made available for charities based overseas.
tabling member constituency	South Leicestershire
tabling member printed	Alberto Costa
uin	43058
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/05/2020 answer text <p>Civil society organisations (CSOs), including charities based overseas, are key partners for DFID. Many of DFID’s programmes support local and international CSOs in order to deliver humanitarian and development outcomes, including providing humanitarian support to tackle the spread and consequences of COVID-19. As DFID’s programming adapts to respond to COVID-19, we are also considering what work needs to be adapted or paused as our partners are affected by the pandemic, either directly or in response to the risk.</p><p>DFID’s recent announcement of £200 million of funding to the global response, brings the total announced funding to £744 million to support the global efforts to combat the outbreak of the pandemic. This includes £20 million directly to CSOs to support them on humanitarian response, the majority of which will go through the Rapid Response Facility. It also includes £130 million for the UN agencies. CSOs based overseas will be able to access some of this funding as downstream partners. Extra funding opportunities will also be available through DFID’s new partnership with Unilever to support hygiene practices in developing countries.</p><p>We are reviewing our programme portfolio in light of the COVID-19 response which will enable us to identify existing activities which can already support the response and others which can be adapted or scaled up, such as our support to health systems and humanitarian crises.</p><p>DFID is offering support to suppliers and partners where this is appropriate, and will apply the provisions of the Cabinet Office Procurement Policy Note and associated guidance for grants, which allows for relief on services and goods provided in the UK to DFID aid programmes as a last resort, and on a case-by-case basis for DFID contracts and grants.</p> answering member constituency Aldridge-Brownhills answering member printed Wendy Morton question first answered 12/05/2020 16:51:25 answering member 4358 label Biography information for Wendy Morton
tabling member	4439 label Biography information for Alberto Costa

1192171

registered interest
date	01/05/2020
answering body	Department for International Development
answering dept id	20
answering dept short name	International Development
answering dept sort name	International Development
hansard heading	Environment Protection: Education
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of global education in reducing carbon emissions and tacking climate change.
tabling member constituency	West Worcestershire
tabling member printed	Harriett Baldwin
uin	42017
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/05/2020 answer text <p>The world must take increased, urgent action to tackle climate change and environmental degradation to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. Across the world governments, businesses, financial institutions, communities and individuals all need to play a part, and the Government is working hard so that, at the international climate summit next year in Glasgow, we accelerate progress to address these twin global challenges. Education, training and public awareness have a vital role in increasing the understanding of the impacts of climate change and our ability to respond and adapt.</p> answering member constituency Rochford and Southend East answering member printed James Duddridge question first answered 15/05/2020 15:18:22 answering member 1559 label Biography information for Sir James Duddridge
tabling member	4107 label Biography information for Dame Harriett Baldwin

1192269

registered interest
date	01/05/2020
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: Schools
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether (a) UK direct or (b) multilateral aid to the Palestinian Authority provides any financial or in-kind support to schools named after terrorists.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
uin	42247
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/05/2020 answer text <p>UK bilateral support to the Palestinian Authority contributes to the salaries of teachers in the West Bank who have been carefully vetted through the Palestinian-European Socio-Economic Management Assistance (PEGASE) mechanism. We do not monitor where individual teachers are deployed, which is a matter for the Palestinian Authority.</p><p>Our multilateral support is channelled through Education Cannot Wait and the British Council, who have strong risk management systems in place to ensure that UK aid best supports the provision of quality education in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. We have raised our concerns about school naming at senior levels within the Palestinian Authority and will continue to do so.</p> answering member constituency Braintree answering member printed James Cleverly question first answered 14/05/2020 15:58:09 answering member 4366 label Biography information for James Cleverly
tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

1192271

registered interest
date	01/05/2020
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: Development Aid
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether she plans to renew support for the People for Peaceful Change Project.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
uin	42248
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/05/2020 answer text <p>Our three-year People to People programme aimed to bring together Israelis and Palestinians to cooperate on issues which can have a positive impact on both communities, helping to build understanding between people on both sides of the conflict in support of a peaceful, negotiated resolution.</p><p>The programme includes a research component that is looking more broadly at the impact of People to People work on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to build the evidence base in this area, which is presently limited. An internal panel of researchers is in the process of analysing the findings. Once this work is complete, we will use the research to inform decisions on future programming in this area. We will seek to publish the research results in due course.</p> answering member constituency Braintree answering member printed James Cleverly grouped question UIN 42249 question first answered 12/05/2020 16:00:30 answering member 4366 label Biography information for James Cleverly
tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe