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  • Roger Mullin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Roger Mullin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Mullin on 2016-02-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what outcomes her Department aims to achieve at the London Conference on Syria on 4 February 2016 to help provide support to Syria.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    The "Supporting Syria and the Region London 2016" Conference was held on 4 February last week, and more than US$11 billion was pledged to support people in Syria and the region affected by the conflict, the largest amount raised in one day for a humanitarian crisis. Commitments made at the Conference will help to create 1.1 million jobs and provide education to an additional 1 million children. The UK remains at the forefront of the response to the crisis in Syria and the region. We have doubled our commitment and have now pledged a total of over £2.3 billion, our largest ever response to a single humanitarian crisis. The outcomes of the conference are reflected in the Co-hosts’ statement available on the Conference website www.supportingsyria2016.com.

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  • Colleen Fletcher – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Colleen Fletcher – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Colleen Fletcher on 2016-02-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what programmes and projects her Department funds which aim to eradicate polio globally; and how much funding in each category of expenditure her Department provides to each of those programmes and projects.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    The UK is fully committed to polio eradication and has pledged £300 million to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative for 2013 to 2019. This funding is categorised as aid to international organisations. Of the £300 million, £270 million is directed to the World Health Organisation which hosts the Global Polio Eradication Initiative. £30 million is allocated to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, to support its role in the global introduction of the Inactivated Polio Vaccine, a key step in the path to eradication.

    Polio eradication is poised to be one of the greatest public health success stories of all time and UK support has been critical in bringing us one step closer to the finish line, something people across the country can be immensely proud of.

  • Martyn Day – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Martyn Day – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Martyn Day on 2016-02-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what proportion of the Government’s humanitarian budget was allocated to education in emergency situations in each of the last three years.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    The amount of bilateral ODA spent on education programmes in fragile or conflict-affected states where humanitarian programming is also active for the last three years is: £143.9 million in 2012, £226.3 million in 2013 and £199.9 million in 2014. Between 2010 and 2015 DFID supported 11m children in school, of which 7.5m were in fragile or conflict-affected states. DFID has again pledged to support 11m girls and boys with a decent education between 2015 and 2020.

    DFID is supporting improvements to how the international community provides education in emergencies, including leadership to establish the ‘No Lost Generation’ Initiative to provide over 251,000 Syrian children with education inside Syria and in the region. At the Conference on Supporting Syria and the Region on 4th February we were instrumental in getting the international community to agree that all Syrian refugee children and affected host country children should be in education – formal school or non-formal – by the end of 2016/17.

  • David Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    David Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Jones on 2016-02-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what support her Department is providing to Christian communities in Iraq and Syria.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    There have been horrific cases of attacks on Christians and other religious communities by violent extremists including Daesh. We prioritise reaching the most vulnerable people across Iraq and Syria, including Christians and others who have suffered from such violence. All UK funded humanitarian assistance is distributed on the basis of need, and need alone, to ensure civilians are not discriminated against on the grounds of race, religion, or ethnicity. The UK continues to work with the UN and the international community to ensure all minorities’ rights are protected and our aid reaches those in greatest need.

    To date, the UK has committed £79.5 million to the humanitarian crisis in Iraq. In response to the Syria crisis, we have pledged over £2.3 billion, our largest ever response to a single humanitarian crisis.

    As a result of UK support to Syria and the region, between February 2012 and June 2015, almost 20 million food rations were distributed, 1.6 million people were provided with clean water, 2.5 million medical consultations were provided, over 4 million relief packages were distributed and over 250,000 children were supported in formal and informal education.

  • Roger Mullin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Roger Mullin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Mullin on 2016-02-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment she has made of the effect of attacks on schools in Syria on children’s education in that country.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    We are deeply concerned about the impact of the conflict on Syrian children and young people. Children continue to be killed, injured and recruited by parties to the conflict. According to the UN, 35 schools were attacked in 2015 alone, with one quarter of all Syrian schools now closed, damaged or destroyed. Consequently 2.1 million children inside Syria are out of school. This will have profound implications for years to come if it is not urgently addressed.

    That is why the UK helped to launch and mobilise international support for the No Lost Generation Initiative (NLGI). As part of this support, we have allocated £115 million to provide protection, psychosocial support and education for children affected by the crisis in Syria and the region. As a result, more than 308,000 children have been reached with child protection initiatives inside Syria, mainly in the form of psychosocial consultations and child-friendly spaces. In addition, almost 228,000 children have received formal and informal education inside Syria, allowing them to catch up on lost learning time.

    The "Supporting Syria and the Region London 2016" Conference was held on 4 February last week, and more than US$11 billion was pledged to support people in Syria and the region affected by the conflict, the largest amount raised in one day for a humanitarian crisis. Commitments made at the Conference include education for an additional 1 million children.

  • Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-02-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of aid disposed in Syria in protecting people from disease and starvation.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    UK support has reached hundreds of thousands of people in Syria, enabling vulnerable Syrians to survive. By the end of June 2015, UK support inside Syria had provided over 15.1 million food rations, access to clean water for over 1.6 million people, 2 million medical consultations and resulted in over 6.9 million instances when people benefited from sanitation and hygiene activities.

    We are concerned that the 2015 UN appeals for the Syria crisis were severely underfunded, meaning Syrian people did not receive the food, shelter and medical treatment they needed so desperately. The UK is playing its part. The "Supporting Syria and the Region London 2016)" Conference was held on 4 February last week, and more than US$11 billion was pledged to support people in Syria and the region affected by the conflict, the largest amount raised in one day for a humanitarian crisis. Commitments made at the Conference will help to create 1.1 million jobs and provide education to an additional 1 million children. The UK remains at the forefront of the response to the crisis in Syria and the region. We have doubled our commitment and have now pledged a total of over £2.3 billion, our largest ever response to a single humanitarian crisis.

    Across Syria, Assad and other parties to the conflict are wilfully impeding humanitarian access on a daily basis. It is outrageous, unacceptable and illegal to use starvation as a weapon of war.

    The UN, the Red Cross Movement and NGO partners are best placed to deliver aid to people who are starving. They have the mandate, expertise and capacity to assess needs and deliver an appropriate, timely response. We continue to press for them to be granted full access to all areas in need. We also lobbied hard for UN Security Council resolutions 2165, 2191 and 2258, enabling the UN to deliver aid across borders without the consent of the regime. As a result, 240 shipments of cross-border aid have been delivered by road to Syrians in need.

    The most effective way to get food and medical assistance to vulnerable Syrians is for Assad and all parties to the conflict to adhere to international humanitarian law. That is why the UK Government is calling on the Assad regime and all parties to the conflict to allow immediate and unfettered access to all areas of Syria.

  • 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 2016-02-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many (a) arrests and (b) convictions have been made under section 127 of the Communications Act 2003 in each month since May 2013.

    Andrew Selous

    The number of offenders found guilty at all courts for offences under Section 127 of the Communication Act 2003, in England and Wales, in each month since May 2013 to December 2014 (the latest available) can be viewed in the attached table.

  • Bob Blackman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Bob Blackman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bob Blackman on 2016-02-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department took steps to respond to the violent protests at an Israel Society event at King’s College London in January 2016.

    Mike Penning

    I refer my Hon. Friend to the answer I gave to 24779 on 04 February 2016.

  • Stephen Kinnock – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Stephen Kinnock – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Kinnock on 2016-02-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to (a) provide information to and (b) consult the (i) local community and (ii) local authority on plans to establish a reception centre for asylum seekers in Goytre.

    James Brokenshire

    My officials intend to provide further information to the local authority shortly. This will build on the information which has already been provided and will include any plans for consultation.

    Should the COMPASS provider elect to progress this option, we will work with the Local Authority to ensure that the appropriate consultation with the statutory agencies and local community is undertaken.

  • Stephen Doughty – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Stephen Doughty – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Doughty on 2016-02-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what representations her Department has made to its contractors for the provision of asylum support services on potential breaches of contract by those contractors.

    James Brokenshire

    All Home Office contracts include performance standards, which are defined in the contract. These are the primary way in which the Home Office manages service delivery of the contracts.

    The Home Office has a rigorous contract compliance regime in place to ensure that the required performance standards expected of all providers, as defined in the contracts, are met. This includes monthly contract management and quarterly strategic review meetings, as well as regular daily discussions with COMPASS providers’ operational delivery managers about day to day issues.The Home Office investigates complaints it receives from service users and third parties and works with contractors to ensure that any issues raised are addressed promptly.