Live International Development Questions House of Commons

National. This will be rounded up at

11pm tonight.

Number one, Mr Speaker.

The

secretary of state for the

development.

I will answer question

one and three together. Yemen is the

world's alert urbanity of in crisis,

21 million people in need of eight.

The crisis will lead to famine

unless all sides allow immediate

commercial anti-men appearing access

throughout the country. UK plays a

leading role.

Thank the answer and

also I welcome you to your position.

The Defence Select Committee last

week General Cemetery Burns stated

that intelligent thoughtful

officials like the National Security

adviser looking at the mad that we

spent on aid, diplomacy defence and

wondering if we can get a mix on it.

When it comes to Yemen, as the

Secretary of State satisfied that

the receipts of sales to Saudi

Arabia and the money being spent on

developing Yemen is being balanced?

We understand the security concerns

that the coalition has that this is

not incompatible with allowing food

and other supplies into the country.

There is a huge diplomatic effort be

made that is led by the Prime

Minister. She is using her visit

this week to press further still.

There has been some movement on

getting some eight and further

commercial supplies through. This

will not enough. We need to keep

pressing and that is what we will

do.

The Foreign Secretary met with a

range of international borders

yesterday. The communique from that

meeting it seemed to talk more about

weapons than getting aid and

promotional goods into Yemen. Can

she tell me more about what the

Government is doing to get

commercial goods enter the country?

Eight agencies know that it's not

just the aid, the commercial goods

as well. 130 children die per day in

Yemen. We cannot wait any longer.

In

addition to diplomatic efforts being

made, a large bottle by time -- a

large part of my time is looking at

the other options, how can we

logistically get what is needed to

the people that need it? The immense

problems with that. We are looking

at plan B, what else we can do. The

key thing, the only way to get the

full supplies in is to open up these

two ports and this is what we are

pressing for.

Thank you, Mr Speaker.

I will cut my right honourable

friend to replace and underwrite it

is the river. -- I welcome my right

honourable friend. Can she confirm

what worked the UK Government is

doing via the United Nations?

I have

been in close contact with both the

UN undersecretary general for human

Kevin affairs and also the second

general -- the secretary-general

himself. We are working together to

press on the coalition the

importance of getting aid and

promotional supplies in. Long-term,

we need a political settlement. We

are pushing for all partners to

engage.

Thank you, Mr Speaker. The

situation for Yemen's remaining

Jewish people is particularly

harrowing, particularly those

outside the capital. What work as

she and her Government doing to help

provide safe passage for these

individuals to other countries.

We

are extremely conscious of this and

my right honourable friend the

Minister for the Middle East has

been doing an enormous amount of

work looking at particular

communities. There are enormous as a

people, 21 million people, in an

absolutely dire situation. This is

why we must keep pressing, as well

as the immediate issues, for a

political process and all parties to

engage with the UN.

That doesn't

look as though the Prime Minister is

being any more successful on this is

you than she is on some of the

others. It is a disgrace. That your

department and the humanitarian

aspect, and yet we continue to sell

arms to Saudi Arabia, which

continues to fuel the conflict.

Where is the sense in this?

I

understand you're honourable Lady's

concerns but, as I have said, once

we do accept you are a legitimate

security concerns, that is entirely

separate and shouldn't be conflated

with preventing aid and commercial

supplies getting trade publishing.

-- whilst I do except. We are

extremely concerned about the

situation, the idea that the

coalition may be in breach of

humanitarian law. I would refer to

the statement that my right

honourable friend gave on September.

Thank you, Mr Speaker. Can I welcome

the Secretary of State to her new

role. I have just heard what the

Secretary of State has said,

however, on it emerged that the UK

was providing military assistance to

Saudi Arabia to carry out military

training as part of operation

crossways. With the Foreign

Secretary hosting foreign ministers

from the region yesterday for talks,

does the Secretary of State think

that the UK's military support and

arms sales to Saudi Arabia is

helping or hindering a political

solution to the simply appalling and

worsening humanitarian situation in

Yemen?

I thank the honourable lady

and other members that have welcomed

me to my post. Although the UK

military has provided trading on

targeting to reduce civilian

casualties, that has been entirely

separate from the Saudi coalition's

actual campaign. We, I think, are

trying to utilise the military to

military contacts that we do have,

which are deep, as part of article

take process to get the coalition to

realise that it must let aid into

those sports. We are finding 120

million to help the UN inspection

mechanisms. If we can supply

practical support to give the

coalition confident that weapons are

not coming in with it, we will do

that.

Minister of State Alistair

Burt.

Since 1988, the global polio

eradication initiative has been

heavily effective in reducing polio

cases by 99%. Only 15 cases have

been reported in 2017 in Afghanistan

and Pakistan. We hope the last case

will come through at the end of this

year or early next year.

Can I thank

the Minister for that answer. I

would like to welcome the leadership

the Government has shown in the

battle to eradicate all the all from

the face of this earth. Will you be

really that this is exactly the sort

of thing the great British public

can get behind and welcome our aid

being used for?

Eradicating polio

will be one of the great public

health success stories. UK tax payer

support since 1988 has helped

prevent more than one and a half

million childhood deaths and 60

million people are walking today

that would otherwise be paralysed.

People in the UK should be proud.

Not least those that have supported

the rotary movement. Thank you for

your support.

Does the Minister

agree that what has marked up the

fight against polio is it

international nature and that we

should be pressing this same

approach to tackling other duties --

other diseases next year at the

Commonwealth summit?

He is

absolutely right. The use of UK

funds to support things like the

global fund, that take part in

international activity, the support

we give to strengthen global health

systems is important. We have to

work in partnership with others. The

Commonwealth summit will give us an

opportunity to emphasise more of

what we can do together.

Thank you,

I congratulate my right honourable

friend Anita part -- and the

Department on what has been done

here but there is a risk that we can

-- that this returns if inoculations

to not take place. Will he use the

Commonwealth heads of Government

meeting next year to press for

further inoculation across the

Commonwealth?

We are working with

those putting together the

Commonwealth summit to make sure

that there is an ambush -- and

ambitious agenda. They honourable

friend is right on immunisation. 45

million children will be immunised

and saved from polio. They will be

no letup on immunisation and the

fight to make sure that polio is

eradicated.

Thank you. Can I ask the

Minister to show the same level of

commitment on an international level

to the prevention of livestock

diseases, something which poses a

greater threat -- a great threat to

my kind of constituency.

That is

scarcely related and what the

Minister is saying that he doesn't

really like this question and would

like to talk about something else.

It is ingenious to the point of

being cheeky. One sentence reply.

I

will draw the attention to the

question.

Minister of State Rory

Stewart. I will take questions for

and five together.

We work

continuously to try to improve the

way that we design, implement and

monitor programmes, spending money

well, wisely and efficiently make

sense because it is taxpayers money

but also to deliver better

education, health care and nutrition

for some of the world's poorest

people.

I think the herbal gentleman for his

reply. The greater transparency and

Hal and why money is spent is vital

to ensure confidence. Will he insert

has biases on the agenda and also

ensure that aid to the Palestinian

Authority 's does not fund

radicalisation?

Thank you for the

question. The question on

Palestinian Authority is from my

honourable friend but the basic

principle is clear. This and not

just about transparency. That is an

-- not an end in itself, it is a

means to accountability. It is about

making sure people in the developing

world can access and understand and

use the data. We can only improve if

we are challenged.

I welcome the

Minister's comments on

accountability just now. Value for

money in aid is something that has

raised with the black constituents

on a regular basis. -- raised with

me by constituents. Does he not

agree that accountability in poor

countries is an an essential part in

getting that value for money?

Absolutely, and the challenge for

accountability in the developing

world is great. You are in Britain,

there is a free media, a free media,

civil society, it is easy as we all

offer people to challenge projects.

But in the developing world, we need

to make sure we have the right kind

of beneficiary feedback because it

is the people on the ground who know

more and we will only improve if we

listen.

The International

development committee published our

first report of this Parliament on

global education, can I have urged

the Government to response indirect

rendition that we should fully fund

replenishment for education and make

that announcement as early as

possible?

We will be announcing the

education refresh policy in the

early part of next year. The key

thing which we agree absolutely on

the committee with is driving up the

quality of education. Attendance is

right up but far too many children

are coming out and highly literate.

Is the Minister convinced that

expenditure on private schools in

Africa is the best use of public

money and given the best outcomes

given the report of my honourable

friend for Liverpool by survey

recently?

95% of all our spending

goes to public education. However

there is a place, particularly in

some of the poorest and most from

parts of the world, for recognising

the private sector is fulfilling

with low-cost education a hole which

the public sector sometimes cannot

fill.

What assessment has the

department made of the value for

money spending in Bangladesh to help

the range of people, particularly

given the Secretary of State's

recent visit to that area? --

Rohingya people. Our assistant in

Bangladesh, currently over £40

million

is carefully assessed and is

focused above all on providing

shelter, protection and particularly

against violence, sexual violence

and conflict.

Can I begin by

welcoming the Secretary of State to

her post. There is no greater value

for money in aid spending their

protecting the future of the natural

world for generations to come. After

attending the UN 2020 talks earlier

this month, it is undeniable we are

now reaching the tipping point of no

return in change. All nations are

agreed we must go further and faster

together. The World Bank still

spends more on fossil fuels than

clean energy, does the Secretary of

State Gifford word to use all her

persuasive powers with the Royal

Bank to invest more in clean energy

than fossil fuels?

The right

honourable member and myself have

discussed this in my past and I

would like to pay tribute to the

work he does on the environment. We

are pressing the World Bank to do

that and that is one of the front of

the new financing facilities we have

established. But there is still a

place for nonrenewable energy

generation, particularly to meet the

desperate need in Africa.

One of the

best ways to save money is on

malaria, as I have seen as the

organiser of the group on malaria.

There is a worrying stalling

progress in malaria. Could my

honourable friend commit the UK

Government to ensure that as much as

possible is done to make further

progress?

This is a very important

issue, it is an issue which the

Government is proud to have invested

heavily in along with the Bill Gates

foundation and the US Government.

There is an event after this to

commemorate the progress being made

on malaria but the member is

absolutely correct that this is an

issue we need to do more on and the

factors progress is stalling. -- the

fact is progress is stalling.

I

welcome the Secretary of State to

her new role and that forged our

exchanges across the dispatch box.

-- I look forward to our exchanges.

Her predecessor resigned because she

was called fine to give aid money to

the Israeli defence Force.

Securitisation and militarisation of

the aid budget, which is supposed to

go to the world'spoorest, seems to

be the new normal under this

Government. My question is, what is

the Secretary of State's plan on

spending aid money on psychotic on

-- on police, and will he spending

go down?

It is absolutely central

that we must address the root causes

of poverty and a lot of those lie in

fragile and conflict affected

states. If we try to separate off

the work we do on education, health

and Unitarian assistance from the

political and military drivers of

conflict, we will never resolve

these problems. But we absolutely

take on board that our prime

response military is towards the

poorest in the world, our programmes

and conflict to an end, not an end

in itself, and I would like to ask

the right honourable member, who was

at that made the 2.7% target?

Because it is absolutely central

that we do these things together. --

0.7% target.

I thank the Minister

phrase response but new figures have

shown that in aid spending on the

conflict fund increased by £27

million. Spent mainly through the

Foreign & Commonwealth Office,

propping up military and police in

places like Bahrain, Ethiopia and

Syria. With no scrutiny from

parliament's joint committee on

National Security strategy, how can

you measure the impact? My question

is, do you believe that this is

value for money?

Absolutely believe

it is value for money. There are

currently 23 million people at risk

of starvation in north-east Nigeria,

Somalia, South Sudan and in Yemen.

And the reason why they are at risk

of starvation is conflict. These are

not natural disasters. These are

driven by conflict. Unless we find

ways of finding political solutions

to these conflicts, we will have 23

million people continuing to die

throughout the world. So we will not

apologise for that. It is a central

part of our development policy.

My

department is playing a leading role

in the cross Government effort to

tackle the scourge of modern

slavery. Expanding our work in

developing countries to tackle this

barbaric crime. Our programme is

order reached over 380,000 women and

girls in south Asia and the Middle

East will stop -- has already

reached.

Saturday was International

Day for the elimination of violence

against women. Given that around 75%

of victims of modern slavery are

women, will the Secretary of State

John Maine paying tribute to

comparison organisations across the

country, including the woman's

refuge in my constituency, for doing

more to tackle this crime?

I would

be happy to congratulate the

honourable member's constituents for

the work they are doing. It is

something many people across the

country are concerned about and we

should be proud that our country and

Prime Minister are leading the way.

Most recently inconvenient leaders

to the UN to launch the call for

action to end modern slavery. --

most recently in convening.

I have just returned from Bangladesh

to see for myself the tap-in camp

and see for myself the atrocities

they haven't Europe. -- the Rohingya

camp. Mr Speaker, whilst every

refugee has expressed the desire to

return home, I have made it clear to

Prime Minister that any returns must

be voluntary and safe unsustainable.

Those conditions are far from being

met.

Like in Bangladesh and Burma,

the humanitarian crisis unfolding in

Yemen is a man-made one-stop the

Secretary of State talked about

influence on human perpetrators of

that conflict. With arms sales and

the taxes from an sales at now

outstripping aid, but should not

think the time is now to stop arms

sales?

At I will say it again, there

are genuine, security concerns from

the Saudi led coalition, but that is

entirely separate from allowing aid

and commercial supplies into ports.

We think that they can address the

security concerns they have. We are

prepared to assist them in some

measure to do that. But there is no

excuse, legitimate as the concerns

are that they have, in stopping food

and supplies getting to the

individuals that need them.

British

NGOs are now the largest recipients

of grant funding through the EU's

eco-humanitarian programme,

precisely because they are very good

at what they do. So would the

Secretary of State look at ways of

continuing our relationship with

them once we leave the EU so that

our NGOs can continue with state

funding to support fragile states?

My right honourable friend is

absolutely right. Our NGOs are

second to none. If we are going to

continue to make funds deliver and

be value for money and have the

impact the need, British NGOs need

to still deliver that aid. Although

this will be part of the

negotiations but I concur exactly

with my honourable friend's

sentiments.

I ask the Secretary of

State what recent discussions the

Parliament has had with United

Nations women regarding the UK

Government's contributions to their

core funding.

Support to protect

women and girls, whether in

education, sanitation, in relation

to refugees, has been at significant

part of what David's work has been

doing. We are in constant contact

with the UN, both in terms of the UN

and in developing countries, distant

scratcher and it is a major part of

what we are doing.

Will the UK

Government focus on projects improve

sanitation and infection control to

reduce the needs to use antibiotics

as part of our global commitment to

tackling antimicrobial resistance?

My friend is absolutely right,

reducing the transmission of

infection is an effective way of

reducing the need for antibiotics. I

National Health Service strategy for

prevention of infection include

hygiene in health facility.

The

house will be aware that this Friday

marks world AIDS Day. Can the

Secretary of State tells what the

Department will do to build on the

expertise and investment to dates to

ensure that critical vaccines are

delivered to Africa?

I am pleased to

join the honourable gentleman and I

am sure the whole house in

commemorating world AIDS day. We

have been a long-term supporter of

the International AIDS vaccine

initiative with the largest

international fund of HIV

prevention, care and treatment. And

off £1.1 billion that is going into

the global fund against AIDS, TB and

malaria, 1.1 million

anti-retrovirals will be provided by

the UK through the world this year.

Following the recent resignation of

Robert Mugabe, come my right

honourable friend outlined what

reviews her department will be

taking in times of the provision of

UK to help Zimbabwe secure a

positive and prosperous future?

Mr

Speaker, I have recently returned

from a visit to Zimbabwe. These are

early days and we need to watch very

carefully what kinds of political

and economic reform are introduced

by Mr Mnangagwa eight's Government.

However, if these reforms are

forthcoming there is a great deal

that the British Government can do.

On Government reform, on the

business climate and in getting the

IMF's support for the Government in

Zimbabwe.

On Monday evening, the

Royal College of physicians and

surgeons of Glasgow presented an

excellent report on the citizenship

in the UK health service, in the

Scottish health service. Can I ask

what discussions have taken with

health service staff in the UK in

terms of supporting staff from

overseas?

I hope the minister heard

that over the hubbub. It is

important the question be heard

otherwise the honourable lady will

have to blurt it out again.

If this

is not satisfactory because I do not

hear the question, please let me

know. But we are looking to add a

number of schemes, looking at what

have to professionals aren't out of

other professions could offer to

eight. -- health care professionals

and other professions.

I recently

hosted a meeting with business

councils to explore duties in

developing markets. What's

discussions are taking place between

the IT and stated to insure that

trade joined aid as a way of helping

the developing world?

The trade and

aid programme has enabled more than

40 countries to put development at

the heart of their aid plans.

I

recently visited school campaigners

in my constituency, who spoke with

great passion about the need for

global education and why greater

financing for education matters to

them. What action will the Secretary

of State take to ensure that the

Government listens to these people

and increases leadership on

education through the global

partnership for education?

Mr

Speaker, we were and is now the

largest -- were and are the largest

contributor to the global

partnership and education with 387

million children expected to leave

primary school unable to read, there

is no doubt that the continuing

efforts of the United Kingdom along

with others in the partnership as

important as my right honourable

friend said earlier, we will be

publishing a refreshed strategy on

education in the New Year.