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  • Kate Osamor – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Kate Osamor – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Osamor on 2016-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what contribution her Department has made to UN Sustainable Development Goal 1 on poverty eradication in the last six months; and if she will make a statement.

    Priti Patel

    Eradicating extreme poverty by 2030 is the primary purpose of UK aid under the International Development Act and one of the UK Aid Strategy’s objectives. DFID’s 2015/16 Annual Report sets out progress against our Single Departmental Plan, and hence to delivery of the 2030 Agenda. Progress in 2016/17 will be set out in our next Annual Report.

  • Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent assessment she has made of the humanitarian situation in the al-Hol refugee camp in Syria; and what steps her Department is taking to support refugees within that camp.

    Rory Stewart

    The UN High Commissioner for Refugees assesses that there are an estimated 9,155 people living in the al-Hol refugee camp, including 5,650 Iraqi refugees; and shortages of food, water and health services. DFID funds World Food Programme and UNICEF’s 2016 Syria appeals through which we are supporting the provision of food, water, sanitation and hygiene services in the camp. DFID is also supporting an international non-governmental organisation to provide protection services in the camp.

  • Kate Osamor – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Kate Osamor – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Osamor on 2016-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what representations she has received on trends in life expectancy in Northern Nigeria; and if she will make a statement.

    Priti Patel

    Survey data on infant and child mortality rates shows that mortality rates are much higher in the north of Nigeria compared to the south.

    In 2015/16, of a total DFID bilateral spend in Nigeria of £214m, approximately 60% of programming focused in six northern states. Additionally, over the last two years, DFID has scaled up its response to the ongoing humanitarian crisis in the northeast, bringing life-saving support to those affected by the Boko Haram insurgency.

  • Kate Osamor – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Kate Osamor – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Osamor on 2016-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what support her Department is giving to aid organisations based in Yemen to deliver humanitarian assistance in that country.

    Priti Patel

    The UK is the fourth largest donor to Yemen with an additional £37 million in UK funding for Yemen announced at the UN General Assembly. This brings the UK’s total to £100 million in humanitarian assistance for 2016/17 which is provided to aid organisations in Yemen. Last year, we helped more than 1.3 million Yemenis with food, medical supplies, water, and emergency shelter.

    We also continue to urge parties to the conflict to take all reasonable steps to facilitate rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian access to ensure our partners are able to deliver aid to its intended beneficiaries.

  • Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the budget is for projects in (a) Israel and (b) the Palestinian territories within the Conflict, Security and Stability Fund (i) in 2016-17 and (ii) as projected for 2017-18.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    ​(i) The total allocation for 2016-17 for both Israel and the OPTs is £7m. It is not separated into individual, distinct budgets as some of our projects and implementing partners deliver simultaneously in both (a) and (b).

    (ii) We do not yet have a projected budget for 2017-18 so cannot provide this information.

  • Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, which projects in Israel and the Palestinian territories were supported from the Conflict, Security and Stability Fund in 2016-17; and what the level of funding and support was for each such project.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The following projects are funded from the Conflict, Security and Stability Fund (CSSF) during the current financial year (2016/17). These are projected spend figures and so are subject to change.

    – Small training team as part of the United States Security Coordinator to provide institutional development and professionalisation of the Palestinian Authority Security Forces. £2.23m.

    – Technical assistance to the Palestinian Ministry of Interior (MOI) to improve its capability to provide oversight and management of the security services. £1.8m.

    – Support to EU Coordinating Office for Palestinian Police Support. £0.067m.

    – Empowerment of young Israeli leaders to strengthen support for peace in their communities. £0.3m.

    – UK-Israel Informal Security Dialogue. £0.025m.

    – Legal Aid and Settlement Monitoring in the West Bank. £1.5m.

  • Mrs Madeleine Moon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Mrs Madeleine Moon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mrs Madeleine Moon on 2016-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what (a) technical support her Department has offered and (b) political engagement with the Afghan government her Department plans in order to ensure that the Afghan government fulfils the commitment it made at the Brussels Conference on Afghanistan, held on 4-5 October 2016, on amendments to the mining law; and if she will make a statement.

    Rory Stewart

    The UK aims to reduce Afghanistan’s dependence on aid and help make it a more prosperous safe and stable country.

    The UK supports the extractives sector to accelerate economic development and revenue generation. Through the £10.3m Extractive Sector Support Programme, the UK has recommended revisions to the Minerals Law and provided support for the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum to incorporate amendments.

    The Mining Advisory Council is currently reviewing the amendments. Following this review, the amendments will go to the Ministry of Justice, the Council of Ministers, Parliament and finally the President for enactment. The UK remains committed to working closely with the Government and other stakeholders in support of this process.

  • Helen Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Helen Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Jones on 2016-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many incidents of violence against prison staff at HMP Risley have been recorded in each year from 2010 to the latest date for which figures are available.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    Statistics for assaults on staff by prison are available at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/safety-in-custody-quarterly-update-to-june-2016

    “

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what funding her Department has allocated to the Troubled Families programme for (a) 2016-17, (b) 2017-18 and (c) 2018-19.

    Dr Phillip Lee

    There is no MoJ funding allocated to the Troubled Families programme for (a) 2016-17, (b) 2017-18 and (c) 2018-19.

    MOJ works with DCLG to encourage Troubled Families teams to co-operate with offender management services to identify families for the programme. MoJ is also supporting the evaluation of the programme through data matching with administrative data sets such as the Police National Computer.

  • Helen Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Helen Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Jones on 2016-10-19.

    To ask the Attorney General, what assessment he has made of the reasons for the recent change in the proportion of rape cases that result in a conviction; and if he will make a statement.

    Robert Buckland

    In 2015-16 the CPS conviction rate in rape cases rose to 57.9% from 56.9% in 2014-15. The volumes of convictions reached 2,689. This is the highest volume ever recorded and represents a rise of 108 defendants (4.2%) since 2014-15.

    The CPS continues to prioritise its response to cases involving allegations of rape and other forms of serious sexual offending and has taken a number of steps to improve the conviction rate. These include increasing the number of specialist staff within its dedicated Rape and Serious Sexual Offences (RASSO) Units; providing revised and up-dated specialist training for prosecutors, and developing closer working arrangements with the police, including enhanced arrangements for the provision of early investigative advice to assist the police to build stronger cases.