Live International Development Questions House of Commons


Live International Development Questions

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Good morning and welcome to BBC Parliament's live coverage of the

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House of Commons on a special Parliamentary day, macro three. At

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12 noon, David Cameron will answer questions from the Labour leader

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Jeremy Corbyn plus backbencher MPs in Prime Minister questions. The

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Chancellor will then make his Budget statement, George Osborne's eight

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budget, and he is expected to announce new allocations and cuts in

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spending. Jeremy Corbyn will reply to be Budget, the SNP will give

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their response and then the debate is opened up to the rest of the

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house. Join me for a round-up of the day in both the Houses of Parliament

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at 11pm. Firstly, questions to the International Development Secretary

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Justine Greening and her ministerial team.

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Order! Order! Questions to the Secretary of State for International

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Development. The UK continues to provide essential support to Malawi

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in health, education and economic assistance. We support increasing

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access to justice for women and vulnerable groups, accountability

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and governance reforms. Does she agree that domestic resource

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mobilisation is one of the best ways to ensure poor countries are able to

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fix their own problems and what conversations as she had with the

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Chancellor of Exchequer to ensure the tax treaty between Malawi and

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the UK helps the people of Malawi? An important point and the UK helped

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to establish a tax initiative which will see our country along with many

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others stepping up our support to develop tax systems and we do it in

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conjunction with HMRC. I established a joint working group with the HMRC

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to send officials out to countries including Malawi to help with tax

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systems so I can assure him we work closely with them. On the tax

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treaty, can I ask the Secretary of State more broadly what role it will

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play as the tax treaty with Malawi is renegotiated? In particular,

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whether it is supporting Malawi in efforts to reduce poverty? HMRC lead

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on these negotiations but they are progressing well and the House might

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be interested to know that the Malawi government put out a press

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statement on how it feels the negotiations are going and they

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talked about fruitful discussions to modern eyes -- modern eyes systems.

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They will work alongside the Treasury to ensure the tax systems

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are developed so that in time they can sell fund their own development,

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releasing the UK from doing that. -- self fund. The UK's currents treaty

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with Malawi restricts the government of Malawi to tax British firms

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operating there. Is this not a case of giving with one hand while you UK

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tax policies take away with the other. -- UK. I don't agree at all

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but most importantly, neither does the government of Malawi. They said

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that whilst the current agreement is admittedly aged, there is no

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evidence that the agreement has motivated some British investors to

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deprive the Malawi government of its revenue. On the contrary, the Malawi

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government and UK Government as well as nationals of the two countries

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have acted evidently in good faith to ensure neither party is exploited

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on the basis of the current agreement. Does the Secretary of

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State agree with me that the era of outdated and unscrutinised tax

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treaties that creates opportunities for multinational tax avoidance must

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come to an end? I think it is time that the international tax system

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works more effectively so that countries like Malawi can mobilise

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their own domestic resources. She will know that this particular

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treaty with up dated last in 1978. This government has taken the

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initiative to work with the government in Malawi to now update

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this relatively old treaty, and as I have set out to be House, the

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negotiations are going well and it sits alongside the rest of the work

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the government has done on beneficial ownership and increasing

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transparency in tax. The increase is to the sum of human misery,

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undermines any prospect of a peace process and is contrary to

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international law. I left the Israeli government in no doubt about

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the strength of our disapproval, and our embassy continues to do so. I

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thank the Minister for his response. The latest figures from the UN since

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earlier this month show there have been 400 demolitions since the start

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of the year, four times that of the rate of last year. The wave of

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demonstrations is depriving Palestinians of their homes,

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livelihoods and European taxpayer funded organisations from providing

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essential Manitou in support. If the British government has already made

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representations went demolitions have trouble, what more effective

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sanction will the Minister oppose now that demolitions have

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quadrupled? The honourable lady is right, the rate of increase is

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faster than any time since calculations began to be made. It is

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essential that the occupied Territories are governed in

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accordance with the fourth Geneva protocol. We will continue to make

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these representations to the government. I know she wants to push

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me further and I entirely understand the strength of her frustration and

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anger, but it is better than war. Will the Minister join me in

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condemning the incitement to violence or glorification of

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violence on either side? Absolutely. We are wholly opposed to incitement

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and when instances of incitement are brought to my attention, I goes

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straight to the telephone to raise with the chief executives of those

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organisations and make absolutely clear our fundamental disapproval

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and our requirement that things are put right. Prospect of a two state

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solution are disappearing and it is right we recognise Israel's right to

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self defence but isn't it time we also recognise Palestine as a

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sovereign state? We can only recognise Palestine once. It is

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essential therefore that we do so at a moment when we will have maximum

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impact on any peace process. That is a fine judgment. What recent checks

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have the government is made in relation to support offered in the

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West Bank to monies which end up in the pockets of terrorist supporting

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groups on the West Bank? Absolutely none of UK British aid, multilateral

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or bilateral, ends up in the hands of terrorists. The reason is

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high-level meeting on modernisation was able to agree the first changes

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in the definition of 40 years and reflect the changing nation in

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delivery, we do not expect a significant shift in the dispersal

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of UK aid because the changes are aligned carefully. Given the changes

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in definition and the increasing proportion of UK aid spent by

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Department, how will she ensure UK aid continues to help the poorest in

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the world? The modernisation of the definition had to be put under

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consensus by a number of countries involved and in addition the primary

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purpose that underpins economic development and improving the

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welfare of the recipient country remains in place. This was about

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making sure the definition could modernise to reflect how aid is

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carried out today. Given that so much poverty and misery is caused by

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conflict, isn't it about time that the OECD definition included

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peacekeeping and anti-terrorist activity at the very least? I agree.

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The goals agreed last September had a goal about the need to improve

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these but also improve security, and it is nonsensical to work so hard on

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tackling sexual violence in conflict and not being able to use RA

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programmes to work with the military to prevent that. -- are aid

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programmes. Given the changes to the definition of overseas subelements

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systems and given that there are 37 million people living worldwide with

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HIV and AIDS, 2 million new infections each year, can she tell

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the House, whether her department's spending on this will be rising or

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falling? We are planning to set out the results of our bilateral aid

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review over the coming weeks, but I can assure him that our support for

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multilateral systems like the global fund who do so much work on tackling

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AIDS will continue. He will be aware that it also affects adolescent

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girls in a growing proportion so it is important that we stay the course

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on this. It is great to see the bench is so packed. The more money

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that the UK spends, the more pressure there will be to deliver on

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existing permit. What impact will it have on staffing numbers at

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Abercrombie house? We will set out our bilateral aid review result is

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shortly, but I should say to the House that the point of the new aid

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strategy is to see across government approach and drive the relevant in

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the countries who work in, but I did not give is right that this work was

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carried out on its own, and it is important to get other departments

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to work alongside us in tackling extreme poverty.

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The global fund is a fantastic success story. Every pound it says

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is a pound I can put to better use in saving lives. It negotiated a 38%

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reduction in the price of insecticide treated bed nets since

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2013 and is predicted to save $93 million over two years, equivalent

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to 40 million additional nets. Will the minister join me in

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congratulating a school in my constituency for becoming the first

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in Wales to be awarded the Welsh primary geography quality Mark Gold,

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thanks in part to the DFID macro funded global learning programme?

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Will he agree with me that every child growing up in the UK should

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have the chance to learn about the world around them, the facts of

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poverty and under development and about the potential to build a freer

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and more prosperous world? I strongly agree with my honourable

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friend and I would like to, through him, congratulate the school in his

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constituency and the 4500 schools in the country that participate in the

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global learning programme, which we are proud to support with ?21

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million of funding, because we believe in the importance of

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development education to support school improvement. Last week, I had

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the pleasure of meeting with student aid activists who raised the access

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of access to medicine. Can the minister set out the priorities for

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the world health assembly -- world health assembly and what the

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government will do to tackle that issue? He is right to point to the

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success of the global fund in making it easier to access medicines. It is

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important to note that since 2002, the global fund has helped reduce

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deaths from the big three diseases by 40%, a staggering achievement.

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But there are still too many people dying unnecessarily from these

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diseases, which is why we look forward to a successful

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replenishment of that fund. The all-party group on malaria is

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concerned about resistance to antimalarial drugs in Southeast

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Asia. The Global Fund is doing a lot of work on this. Could the minister

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update the House on the progress? I congratulate my honourable friend

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for his tireless work in this area. I was with the senior team at the

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global fund the other day in Geneva to discuss it. I have no doubt about

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their commitment in the face of this challenge. I hope he takes pride in

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the fact that the British government continues to lead in this area, with

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the recent refresh of the commitment to spend ?500 million a year in the

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battle against malaria in all its forms. TB is the world's leading

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infectious killer. The Global Fund provides over three quarters of

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international finance to fight the epidemic. As we approach world TB

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Day on the 24th of March, will be minister: all governments around the

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world -- Will the minister call on all governments around the world to

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ensure that the target of 113 billion US dollars is met as a

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minimum? I thank the honourable gentleman for showing a spotlight on

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a huge killer where we are not making enough progress. We are proud

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that the UK is the third-largest donor to the fund that provides 70%

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of the funding around the world to combat this disease. It is critical

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that the replenishment of that fund is a success, and that other

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countries step up to the mark so that we can bear down on this

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unacceptable level of death. Mr Speaker, our response to the Syria

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crisis is a commitment of over ?2.3 billion with an additional 79.5

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million to Iraq. All our aid is distributed according to need,

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irrespective of creed or ethnicity. Daesh is systematically targeting

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Yazidi children, forcing little girls into sexual slavery and

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constricting young boys as child soldiers, and yet there are reports

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that that support is not reaching some of the Yazidi refugee camps

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near the Syrian border. What steps is the department taking to help

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ensure that children rescued from Daesh receive the support they need

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and to enjoy the support is reaching survivors in those camps? The first

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thing is that we have gone to war with Daesh, and that is a

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significant bunch of Bute. Equally, we are supporting the UNHCR and a

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number of organisations, principally funded through the Iraqi national

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action plan and the Iraqi pool fund, to which we are the largest

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contributor. Some of us met a delegation of Yazudis yesterday, who

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explained that there are almost 2000 women still held captive. With the

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minister be willing to meet this delegation and here are the

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difficulty they have in reaching help? I have met a number of Yazudi

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delegations and a number of representatives of other religions.

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I would be delighted to meet my right honourable gentleman and her

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delegation. I don't think we had a Mansell from the minister. There are

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reports of thousands of Yazidi women being captured by Daesh and sold as

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slaves, many suffering serious sexual abuse. What measures are the

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UK Government taking to end this slave trade? We are fighting Daesh.

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We are providing large sums of money to organisations that are delivering

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aid directly to Yazidi women and children. I know it is frustrating.

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Terrible things happen, but she can't always blame ministers. The

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women that have just been referred to by the previous question are

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asking what psychological services that can be held to these women who

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have been held as sex slaves. We have sent a number of experts to the

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region, specifically to deal with violence against women. The pooled

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fund to which we are the largest contributor provides maternal and

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child health care services. It provides protection for women and

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girls and it provides livelihoods for female heads of households. The

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Iraqi national action plan also delivers similar services, and we

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are dealing specifically with the needs of women in Kirkuk and the

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Northern areas through the human rights and democracy fund. Would the

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minister described what is happening to the Yazidis as genocide? I

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believe the decision as to what constitutes genocide is properly a

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judicial one, and International Criminal Court's correspondent has

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decided that as Daesh is not a state party, it does not yet constitute

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genocide. Order. Topical questions, Mr Jim Cunningham. Number one, Mr

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Speaker. This morning, I arrived back from heading the UK delegation

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at the United Nations for the commission on the status of women. I

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also took part as a member in the first meeting of the

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Secretary-General's high-level panel on women's economic empowerment.

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Empowerment is the best poverty tackling and global economy boosting

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strategy out there. Yesterday, it marked the fifth anniversary of the

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devastating Syria conflict. Since day one, the UK has been at the

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forefront of the response, including hosting last month's conference. I

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understand the sense of anticipation, but I remind the House

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that we are discussing policy affecting some of the most

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vulnerable people on the planet. I think we owe them some respect. Mr

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Jim Cunningham. As the honourable gentleman will be

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aware, the UK has been at the forefront of ensuring that there is

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humanitarian support in Sri Lanka where necessary. He will also be

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aware of the role the Prime Minister played in tackling the issues faced

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by Tamil communities in a part of the country where there has been

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long-standing conflict. Under the new government, we hope to see is

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reliant on Ford to a more peaceful democratic future. How much UK aid

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is currently given to Turkey, and our ministers having discussions to

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increase that figure? So far, DFID's allocated a sum since 2012. The

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country is hosting 2 million Syrian refugees and we are helping them

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support them and other displaced people with education and skills

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training. In terms of looking ahead, we will also contribute our share of

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the 3 billion euro EU Turkey refugee facility. Imran Hussain. Efforts

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that will address education are welcomed on this side of the House.

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However, to make substantial progress on achieving a good

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standard of education for all children in developing countries, we

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must address the barrier of child labour. In June 2015, Unicef found

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that 13% of children aged five to 14 in developing countries are involved

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in child labour. So can the minister tell me what progress DFID is making

:22:46.:22:51.

to help developing countries tackle the use of child labour? He is right

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to raise the issue of barriers that keep children out of school. If it

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is working on many of them, not least FGM it and tackling child

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marriage. Many of the children he talks about our girls who do unpaid

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labour work at home and on family farms. Bangladesh is a significant

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recipient of UK aid, yet the human rights commission had grave concerns

:23:22.:23:24.

about the shrinking civil society is based there. What can ministers do

:23:25.:23:31.

to help address this? I can assure my honourable friend that both DFID

:23:32.:23:34.

and Foreign Office officials raised concerns about the space for civil

:23:35.:23:38.

society with almonds including the government of Bangladesh, together

:23:39.:23:45.

with other donors. It is important and NGOs funded by UK aid are also

:23:46.:23:48.

active in negotiating with governments to protect the space for

:23:49.:23:56.

civil society to operate. Over 150 charities have raised concerns about

:23:57.:24:02.

the supposed anti-lobbying clause attached to new government grants.

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Does the minister not recognise that advocacy is an intrinsic duty of

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charities to raise issues associated with poverty and ill health across

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the world? I don't think these changes prevent them from doing

:24:17.:24:22.

that. These charities are often advocating for the same things that

:24:23.:24:26.

the UK Government is. Only yesterday, I was at an event with

:24:27.:24:32.

the UN with charities combating child marriage. Senior Palestinian

:24:33.:24:41.

officials have condemned peace building initiatives between

:24:42.:24:46.

Israelis and Palestinians, with one condemning football matches between

:24:47.:24:49.

Israeli and Palestinian youths as normalisation of the Zionist enemy.

:24:50.:24:54.

What representations has my honourable friend made to the

:24:55.:24:57.

Palestinian Authority to condemn these moves, and what moves is she

:24:58.:25:00.

making to build peace between Israel and Palestine? As my right

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honourable friend set out earlier, we deplore incitement on both sides

:25:09.:25:13.

of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. We monitor allegations of incitement

:25:14.:25:17.

closely and raise instances with both leaderships. Has the minister

:25:18.:25:28.

even any aid to any country in the European Union? He will be aware

:25:29.:25:34.

that we have played our role in supporting refugees who have fled

:25:35.:25:40.

the Syria conflict and now arrive in the European Union. It is right that

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we do that, but he is also right to allude that we should also look to

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those countries to provide the support that they can as well. Aid

:25:48.:26:02.

remains -- what can DFID ministers do to ensure that this remains a

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priority, to help women? He is right. We had stats that showed that

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an adolescent girl gets infected with HIV every two minutes. We put

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the empowerment of girls and women at the heart of our development

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agenda. We are the second largest provider of HIV care and we have

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pledged to the Global Fund. At the weekend, we saw pictures of a

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newborn Syrian baby being washed with just a bottle of water outside

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a crowded tent in the hidden mini refugee camp in Greece, where more

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than 14,000 people are trapped as a result of the ledges border closure.

:26:39.:26:42.

Will the government work with other European states to ensure there are

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safe and legal routes for refugees to come asylum?

:26:47.:26:54.

From an international development perspective, we are supporting

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people in those situations and playing our role in resettlement

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through our scheme. Questions to be Prime Minister.

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This morning I had meetings with colleagues and others and in

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addition to my duties in this House, I will have more meetings today.

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With unemployment falling by over 60% at over 5000 new

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apprenticeships, read it is doing well and I am holding my third to

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spare in a few weeks with 25 companies taking part. Will my right

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honourable friend agree that we have made a good start but we must not be

:27:44.:27:47.

complacent and we should continue to get good quality jobs. I very much

:27:48.:27:56.

agree with my honourable friend. If we look at the West

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