:00:00. > :00:00.both houses of parliament at 11pm tonight, but first we have puestions
:00:00. > :00:00.of the Secretary of State for International Development, Justine
:00:00. > :00:26.Greening. Order, order. Questions to the
:00:27. > :00:35.Secretary of State for International Development. Question number one.
:00:36. > :00:40.With permission, I'll answer question one and two togethdr. Our
:00:41. > :00:45.country has ambitions for the world humanitarian summit, which comes at
:00:46. > :00:49.a critical time, given their more displaced people globally now that
:00:50. > :00:54.at any time during the Second World War. We're working with partners,
:00:55. > :00:58.including UN agencies, governments and the private sector to ensure the
:00:59. > :01:06.summit delivers transformathve change crisis response. Child
:01:07. > :01:10.protection has been desperately underfunded in global human carrying
:01:11. > :01:16.adverts. One in ten children living convicted areas, and Unicef wants 3
:01:17. > :01:19.million children are caught up in emergencies and need help. Can the
:01:20. > :01:23.Minister tellers, will the Prime Minister be part of the UK
:01:24. > :01:29.delegation, and will he comlit to making child protection one of the
:01:30. > :01:33.key priorities at the summit? We haven't finalised the UK delegation,
:01:34. > :01:39.but I can assure this issue has been at the core of all of our rdsponses,
:01:40. > :01:44.not least of course most recently in Syria, and it was the UK whhch work
:01:45. > :01:47.with Unicef to put in place so-called safe zones in manx of the
:01:48. > :01:56.refugee camps to enable children to be rebated with their familhes if
:01:57. > :02:00.they became lost. Can I ask the Minister what discussions she
:02:01. > :02:04.expects to take place at thd summit on support for those fleeing
:02:05. > :02:10.violence and persecution? Whll she support efforts at the summht to
:02:11. > :02:15.ensure lower and middle-income countries hosting refugees `nd
:02:16. > :02:19.displaced people have long-term predictable financing, that refugees
:02:20. > :02:24.themselves will have the right to work and contribute to this society
:02:25. > :02:30.and economy they moved to? Of course he raises a good question, we have a
:02:31. > :02:35.conference in London tomorrow which is looking at this issue of
:02:36. > :02:38.respecting the fact refugees are on average a refuge either 17 xears so
:02:39. > :02:42.we need to go beyond the tr`ditional life-saving support to meet these
:02:43. > :02:48.broader need, not just jobs, but getting schools into... Children
:02:49. > :02:52.into schools, said the Syri` conference is a key moment, not just
:02:53. > :02:58.to respond to that crisis, but a more broadly sure a new moddl of
:02:59. > :03:06.responding to humanitarian crises around the world, which I hope we
:03:07. > :03:10.can take forward at the sumlit. Given that many humanitarian crisis
:03:11. > :03:14.caused by conflict, will my right honourable friend make sure the UK
:03:15. > :03:19.delegation is pressing the Tnited Nations at this summit to m`ke sure
:03:20. > :03:23.it is more effective in terls of conflict resolution and prevention,
:03:24. > :03:30.does solving a lot of the Proms many women and children are facing in our
:03:31. > :03:34.world? -- problems. I had the privilege of sharing the UN council
:03:35. > :03:38.last October and the issue we talked about was the need for the
:03:39. > :03:42.international community and the council to look before conflict hits
:03:43. > :03:47.and to look at fragile countries, and to have better if you w`nt
:03:48. > :03:52.systems, web on human rights or any other areas, back in high l`dy areas
:03:53. > :03:59.we need to do work in to kedp peace and stability, rather than the costs
:04:00. > :04:09.of lead after effects. What work is she doing to ensure aid is joined up
:04:10. > :04:13.with longer-term development aid? The world humanitarian summht is a
:04:14. > :04:18.key opportunity for us to knit these agendas together clearly. At the
:04:19. > :04:25.moment the system, I describe it as being a hospital that only has an
:04:26. > :04:29.A Department, we need to be thinking ahead about how we can not
:04:30. > :04:34.only deal with the day-to-d`y challenges that refugees and people
:04:35. > :04:37.face, but start already building in the long-term solution so they can
:04:38. > :04:42.get their lives back on track, not by this issues of jobs in
:04:43. > :04:45.particular, children in schools helping those communities who host
:04:46. > :04:53.those refugees to cope is so important. Where is Mr Hendry? The
:04:54. > :04:56.fellow has just asked a question and has gone out of the chamber. We
:04:57. > :05:02.still have exchanges on that question. I know he is new, but he
:05:03. > :05:06.must learn. He must not ask a question and then leave. Thdre are
:05:07. > :05:11.continuing exchanges upon that matter, and am sure he is at least
:05:12. > :05:18.interested in the opinions of others as he is in his own opinions. Quite
:05:19. > :05:23.extraordinary behaviour. Cotld I press the Secretary of Statd to
:05:24. > :05:27.advocates a presumption of the Nile of arms exporter countries of
:05:28. > :05:33.concern as a UK innovation that could help save lives around the
:05:34. > :05:43.world's? We have some of thd strictest arms ripped jeans in the
:05:44. > :05:47.world, -- regimes. The leaddrship on my own department is to instre that
:05:48. > :05:53.when crisis does head, the TK plays a leading role and making stre
:05:54. > :06:00.people who are factored... @ffected have long-term support they need.
:06:01. > :06:05.This is important... A high,level panel looking at these issuds, and
:06:06. > :06:09.they made the point that 124 million people in the world who livd to
:06:10. > :06:14.support. Garcia: other country, but they don't have a head of state at
:06:15. > :06:18.the UN speaking up for them. That is why the rest of us need to work as
:06:19. > :06:26.hard as you can to make surd the needs are met. The Secretarx of
:06:27. > :06:31.State will be aware that thd biggest crisis facing us is the reftgee
:06:32. > :06:35.crisis. The house respects the government has done with thd Syria
:06:36. > :06:40.conference and investing in the camps. What about those reftgees,
:06:41. > :06:42.particular child refugees, who are not in the comes question what we
:06:43. > :06:47.appeared this week that for the first time since the crisis began,
:06:48. > :06:51.women and children make up the majority of refugees travelling to
:06:52. > :06:59.Greece. How many child refugees who were not in the camps is thd
:07:00. > :07:03.government proposing to takd? On the broader issue, she will know the UK
:07:04. > :07:07.set up with Unicef the no lost generation initiative which has
:07:08. > :07:11.enabled now half of the children affected by the Syrian crishs to be
:07:12. > :07:17.able to be in school, and more broadly on the relocation scheme we
:07:18. > :07:19.put in place, which is the right way to help vulnerable refugees
:07:20. > :07:23.relocates out of the region if they need to, it is working with the
:07:24. > :07:28.agencies to identify them as runnable people. We are talking with
:07:29. > :07:31.them about how that can be dxtended to unaccompanied children, but the
:07:32. > :07:37.good news is that because of the hard work of agencies like Tnicef,
:07:38. > :07:40.funded by the UK, over 85% of children who do arrive in countries
:07:41. > :07:44.like Jordan and Lebanon unaccompanied are able to fhnally
:07:45. > :07:53.meet up for their families `nd get reunited again.
:07:54. > :08:01.Mr Speaker, two thirds of Africa does not have access to electricity.
:08:02. > :08:08.And we want to play a leading role in changing that, accelerathng the
:08:09. > :08:13.market for transformative household solar systems and so contribute to
:08:14. > :08:18.the global goal of universal access by 2020. Would the Minister outlined
:08:19. > :08:21.what opportunity he sees for British entrepreneurs and companies to help
:08:22. > :08:28.his apartment achieved his `mbition of ending fuel poverty in Africa?
:08:29. > :08:32.One of the things we are excited about is some of the most
:08:33. > :08:35.effectively the ship we are seeing on the continent by companids who
:08:36. > :08:44.are British or said about British people or backed by bridges,
:08:45. > :08:49.including ours. And the resdarch into initiatives will creatd
:08:50. > :08:57.opportunities for British companies to be involved in that rese`rch Can
:08:58. > :09:02.the Minister confirm if discussions are taking place with Afric`n
:09:03. > :09:06.nations states to ensure solar energy becomes a high priorhty in
:09:07. > :09:12.those states and we can help and give assistance to very much needed
:09:13. > :09:15.energy supplies to the residents of those nation states? I can confirm
:09:16. > :09:20.that, by the number of bilateral meetings with African ministers and
:09:21. > :09:25.indeed have signed of seven countries to the campaign, which is
:09:26. > :09:31.all about accelerating access their citizens have these subsystdms that,
:09:32. > :09:36.I have seen this, can transform prospects of families. It is a high
:09:37. > :09:41.priority for them and us. C`n I ask the Minister to broaden his
:09:42. > :09:48.horizons? We have so much expertise in this country, in univershties, in
:09:49. > :09:53.big energy companies, and a lot of social enterprises that know about
:09:54. > :09:58.this stuff bring them together, give us the opportunity to help people in
:09:59. > :10:03.Africa to set up themselves. I'm with him, as are many things. There
:10:04. > :10:07.is a huge amount of expertise in this country we can and shotld and
:10:08. > :10:13.want to connect to leaders hn African countries, who know that
:10:14. > :10:23.making it easier for their citizens to access energy is fundamental It
:10:24. > :10:29.is a top priority. The incrdased growth identifies access as a major
:10:30. > :10:32.blockage to Grove, and the research for small businesses in devdloping
:10:33. > :10:36.countries identified lack of access as one of the top ten barridrs. I
:10:37. > :10:47.welcome the support the sol`r panel, but how do they look to explore
:10:48. > :10:50.this? How they prioritise clean energy, across-the-board, to ensure
:10:51. > :10:59.we don't undermine climate change targets? I have mentioned one piece,
:11:00. > :11:03.the solar panel system, which totals over ?1.5 billion worth of
:11:04. > :11:08.investment, and to be in renewable energy, conjuration to the @frica
:11:09. > :11:13.partnership of two gigawatts, connecting 20 mil and peopld fear
:11:14. > :11:17.that initiative alone. The offer goes broader than household solar
:11:18. > :11:27.and incomes is a wide range of renewable technologies. Mr Speaker,
:11:28. > :11:33.80% of the population are in need of humanitarian aid. 7.6 million face
:11:34. > :11:38.severe food shortages. 320,000 children under the age of fhve are
:11:39. > :11:42.severely malnourished. Therd are 2.5 million displaced people and there
:11:43. > :11:50.were 8000 civilian casualtids last year. It must be one of thel most
:11:51. > :11:57.least eligible places to be. I thank the Minister is setting out the very
:11:58. > :12:01.worrying situation in Yemen on. Given the other problem are`s, such
:12:02. > :12:05.as Syria, isn't it the fact it is one of the hidden Proms of the
:12:06. > :12:08.world? What can the gunmen to do to enable us to get at least food age
:12:09. > :12:22.into Yemen -- the government? We started by doubling aid last year
:12:23. > :12:26.and the Secretary of State said it would increase by a further 10
:12:27. > :12:31.million to ?85 million. She led a side event at the UN General
:12:32. > :12:35.Assembly in September which she secured from other donors a further
:12:36. > :12:41.85 million. We are working on the verification Annex action to make
:12:42. > :12:48.sure more food and shipping can get into the Yemen. At the same time we
:12:49. > :12:59.are supplying arms to one shde in the conflict. Maybe it is thme to
:13:00. > :13:02.support the independent enqtiry into the abuses of international
:13:03. > :13:08.humanitarian law, and in thd meantime suspend arms sales to Saudi
:13:09. > :13:11.Arabia. We have supported the UN human rights Council which requires
:13:12. > :13:18.the government of the Yemen to investigate with the support of the
:13:19. > :13:27.UN. The very good work in the Yemen is being undermined by UK arms sales
:13:28. > :13:30.to Saudi Arabia. Mr Speaker, what undermines UK aid and what lakes it
:13:31. > :13:35.more necessary and yet harddr to deliver? That is the violent and
:13:36. > :13:40.unlawful removal of the govdrnment of Yemen. And only a peace process
:13:41. > :13:50.to restore it will end the suffering. If we are concerned about
:13:51. > :13:55.arms exports to Saudi Arabi` to fuel the conflict in Yemen, why does the
:13:56. > :13:59.government not press ahead with pressing ahead the cross-party
:14:00. > :14:03.committee on arms exports so Parliament can control it bdtter? As
:14:04. > :14:08.the Prime Minister pointed out, we have the most stringent and robust
:14:09. > :14:13.arms exports regulations in the world. We have supported thd UN
:14:14. > :14:19.human rights Council resolution and we are absolutely committed to the
:14:20. > :14:28.investigation of every abusd or abrogation of international law The
:14:29. > :14:37.Minister will be aware that Oxfam, Unicef and save the children take
:14:38. > :14:43.the position that DIFD work in Yemen is being undermined by UK arms
:14:44. > :14:46.sales. How does the Minister suggest that are replenished Saudi @rabian
:14:47. > :14:51.arsenal being dropped on Yelen is not an impediment to development? As
:14:52. > :14:54.I said to the honourable Lady, the undermining of the ability to
:14:55. > :15:02.deliver aid is a consequencd of warfare. That warfare arises because
:15:03. > :15:03.of the violent removal of the lawful government of Yemen, not because we
:15:04. > :15:18.sold arms to the Saudis. No country can develop whilst half
:15:19. > :15:21.of its population is locked out of that. That is why I place ilproving
:15:22. > :15:26.the prospects for girls and women around the world at the heart of the
:15:27. > :15:35.work and I am honoured to h`ve been appointed to the UN high-level panel
:15:36. > :15:40.on economic secretaries joining the cause to fight this agenda forward.
:15:41. > :15:45.Does my right honourable frhend agree there needs to be in the
:15:46. > :15:53.poorest countries a particular focus on rural focus and agriculttre. They
:15:54. > :15:56.have the security of it is their responsibility. Therefore if we can
:15:57. > :16:03.agree the productivity of women and empower them then we can reduce
:16:04. > :16:12.poverty and see growth in countries that need it. Agriculture is a key
:16:13. > :16:17.economic supporter of agrictlture in the country -- economy in the
:16:18. > :16:21.country. If you achieve gender parity so each country is m`tching
:16:22. > :16:27.the best progress in the region that would add 11% of global GDP by 025,
:16:28. > :16:36.a huge economic lever for all others to pull. The Zika virus crossed the
:16:37. > :16:40.specific -- Pacific and went from friends Polynesia to Brazil last
:16:41. > :16:46.year and since then 4000 chhldren have been born with microcephaly.
:16:47. > :16:50.What analysis as she made to the poorest women and girls in the world
:16:51. > :16:56.of the virus crosses from Brazil to sub Saharan Africa, and will she
:16:57. > :17:01.promised to keep an eye on that and use all British scientific knowledge
:17:02. > :17:04.to make sure that doesn't h`ppen. We had an urgent question on this early
:17:05. > :17:17.in the week when my honourable friend set out the research we are
:17:18. > :17:20.doing. Currently in Brazil we are talking to authorities about making
:17:21. > :17:31.sure we manage the various risks she has set out. With the secretary of
:17:32. > :17:33.state commend the work amongst women in rural areas in Bangladesh helping
:17:34. > :17:39.them with business start-ups and working with them to providd mobile
:17:40. > :17:46.phone banking to cut out thd middleman. She has mentioned a
:17:47. > :17:52.number of innovative pieces of work going on and I do commend the Tear
:17:53. > :18:00.fund for their work. Women's economic powers -- empowermdnt
:18:01. > :18:05.matter so much. What efforts is she taking to make sure that other donor
:18:06. > :18:10.countries, the EU, the UN, the world back will put money into thdir
:18:11. > :18:17.humanitarian efforts -- the World Bank. We have a global go -, goal
:18:18. > :18:22.five on global equality and it means that this is on the world's to-do
:18:23. > :18:29.list and the world humanitarian summit means the vulnerabilhty of
:18:30. > :18:34.girl and women are called into the humanitarian system in terms of its
:18:35. > :18:44.response. He will be aware two years ago the UK held a conferencd to
:18:45. > :18:47.drive this Paul Wood. -- forward. DIFD funds a number of organisation
:18:48. > :18:53.in Yemen to deliver aid. Sole of them have reported alleged breaches
:18:54. > :19:03.of international law and hulan rights. This government has so far
:19:04. > :19:06.approved 5000 ?600 million worth of arms sales to Saudi Arabia which
:19:07. > :19:11.several independent reports have connected to the bombing of civilian
:19:12. > :19:15.targets in the Yemen. Given this figure and independent reports, does
:19:16. > :19:19.the Minister believe that ?75 million of aid delivered by the UK
:19:20. > :19:27.to the Yemen represents a b`lanced approach to the conflict by the
:19:28. > :19:33.government? Actually, Mr Spdaker, it is ?85 million, of life-savhng aid.
:19:34. > :19:37.And that aid is made more dhfficult to deliver by warfare. And that
:19:38. > :19:42.warfare is a consequence of the violent removal of the lawftl
:19:43. > :19:49.government of Yemen, not anxthing the United Kingdom has done. May I
:19:50. > :19:55.invite the Minister to reitdrate that point, that the greatest breach
:19:56. > :19:59.of international law in Yemdn has been the removal of a legithmate
:20:00. > :20:04.government by force? And th`t although it is very, very e`sy to
:20:05. > :20:08.focus only on the people of Saudi Arabia and blame them, it is that
:20:09. > :20:14.initial use of force which has caused this problem and must be seen
:20:15. > :20:19.in the context of solutions that we want to see around the negotiating
:20:20. > :20:24.table. He is absolutely right, and can I pay tribute to his work as the
:20:25. > :20:27.Prime Minister's special representative for the enorlous
:20:28. > :20:38.amount he has done to bring peace and prosperity to Yemen. Topical
:20:39. > :20:42.questions. Thank you, Mr Spdaker. To weeks ago at the World Economic
:20:43. > :20:45.Forum alongside the UN Secrdtary General we launched the high-level
:20:46. > :20:49.panel on the women's economhc empowerment. Last week I johned my
:20:50. > :20:52.honourable friend the Chancdllor and Bill Gates to set out a new
:20:53. > :20:59.commitment on malaria which will save lives and build a safer world.
:21:00. > :21:04.And tomorrow, we will co-host the Syria conference, bringing together
:21:05. > :21:06.world leaders to resource the life-saving sing humanitari`n
:21:07. > :21:14.support and bring jobs and dducation for millions of people and children
:21:15. > :21:19.who have had their lives torn apart. Women's economic empowerment,
:21:20. > :21:21.malaria being eradicated, hdlping refugees stay in the home rdgion is
:21:22. > :21:34.firmly in the UK national interest. Is -- if the refugee crisis in Syria
:21:35. > :21:40.is not become a permanent exodus, people must be given homes ,- hope
:21:41. > :21:43.of a better future. Can my right honourable friend say what hope she
:21:44. > :21:50.is giving for greater job opportunities? We hope we whll be
:21:51. > :21:55.able to take a big step forward on announcing agreements with both
:21:56. > :22:00.Jordan and Lebanon, that in return for them taking political steps
:22:01. > :22:04.forward on enabling Syrian refugees to work illegally, we can then
:22:05. > :22:08.mobilise international finance to create those jobs in those
:22:09. > :22:11.countries, not just for Syrhan refugees but also for host
:22:12. > :22:17.communities, which will be hn everybody's interest.
:22:18. > :22:24.Mr Speaker, Malawi is the court -- poorest country on the plandt yet a
:22:25. > :22:28.la 1955 tax treaty between ts severely limits their ability to
:22:29. > :22:32.raise taxes on UK companies based there. Will the Secretary of State
:22:33. > :22:40.to commit to looking at this issue of the treaty and making it fit for
:22:41. > :22:48.the 21st century? This issud of tax and domestic mobilisation is
:22:49. > :22:53.something DFID. I set up a joint unit with H MRC to work with
:22:54. > :22:56.countries to help them drivd that tax revenues up. We will continue
:22:57. > :23:04.that support, particularly hn Africa over the coming months. DFID Douai
:23:05. > :23:07.brilliant job in Pakistan on education and health -- do `
:23:08. > :23:11.brilliant job. Will the Minhster meet with the UK charity whhch helps
:23:12. > :23:19.1000 people in Pakistani evdry year with kidney dialysis? I am sure we
:23:20. > :23:24.would be delighted to have the group he talks about come into DFHD. As he
:23:25. > :23:28.sets out, we have a big programme with Pakistan but it is ste`dily
:23:29. > :23:32.enabling the country to makd sure people are educated and healthy two
:23:33. > :23:38.of the strongest foundations for aid independence in the long term. In
:23:39. > :23:42.response to an earlier question the Secretary of State said she is
:23:43. > :23:51.working to protect Syrian children in refugee camps in the reghon. But
:23:52. > :23:54.she is aware that Euro poll reports that 10,000 people Syrian extraction
:23:55. > :23:57.registered in Europe have disappeared and are at risk of
:23:58. > :24:03.sexual and other criminal exploitation. What is she doing to
:24:04. > :24:08.protect them? She will be pleased to hear we've worked directly with the
:24:09. > :24:11.UN on improving registration so we do not lose people, including
:24:12. > :24:15.children who have arrived. @nd we have done a huge amount of work to
:24:16. > :24:19.make sure that people also have access to some of the basics they
:24:20. > :24:24.need when they make it over to Europe by working with the Red
:24:25. > :24:28.Cross. Of course, the bulk of the work is in the region itself, which
:24:29. > :24:37.is overwhelmingly where people and refugees want to stay, closd to
:24:38. > :24:43.home. Mr Speaker, following the new parliament in my, what plans the UK
:24:44. > :24:49.Government -- my am Mark, what plans does the UK Government have to help
:24:50. > :24:55.them develop? They are a stdp towards greater democracy and also
:24:56. > :24:59.lets as support inclusive growth in Burma, including the business
:25:00. > :25:02.climate and financial sector, and also increasing agricultural
:25:03. > :25:03.productivity to diversify livelihoods and encourage more
:25:04. > :25:10.private sector investment in infrastructure. What is the
:25:11. > :25:30.government doing to help end the blockade of Gaza? He raises a very
:25:31. > :25:39.important point. . That is the many challenges and the UK provides key
:25:40. > :25:44.supports and they liaise with the Palestinian support, so the
:25:45. > :25:46.blockades are removed and that enables the Gaza Strip to gdt back
:25:47. > :25:56.on its feet. As the civil War in Syria continues,
:25:57. > :26:00.does the secretary of state agreed we should use the aid budget to
:26:01. > :26:06.support refugees, but we should also urge countries in the region to
:26:07. > :26:11.issue work permits so refugdes can rebuild their lives there r`ther
:26:12. > :26:16.than making a perilous journey to Europe? He is absolutely right,
:26:17. > :26:24.people wherever they deservd the dignity of work. I have met people
:26:25. > :26:27.in the camp in Lebanon and camps in Jordan, and those people want to
:26:28. > :26:32.support themselves. If we c`n take a big step forward tomorrow on
:26:33. > :26:36.enabling work to happen leg`lly not only are we helping those countries
:26:37. > :26:39.like Jordan and Lebanon, we are supporting the refugees currently
:26:40. > :27:00.there. Questions to the Prile Minister.
:27:01. > :27:01.In addition to my duties in this house holed I shall