Tag: Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead on 2016-02-04.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to change the definition of overseas development aid in order to channel a higher proportion of the aid budget through departments other than the Department for International Development.

Baroness Verma

As one of just a few donors to have met the 0.7% commitment, the credibility of the Official Development Assistance system is of great importance to the UK. The government is working closely with other countries to modernise the definition of Official Development Assistance at the OECD Development Assistance Committee, to ensure it reflects the breadth of the new international development agenda set by the new Global Goals for Sustainable Development and fully incentivises other countries to meet these goals.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead on 2016-03-10.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much funding or support they have provided to the Kenya Defence Forces, Kenyan police forces, including the anti-terror police and the National Intelligence Service, and the Kenyan Wildlife Service in each of the last three years.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The UK and Kenya have a shared interest in tackling terrorist threats, and in line with the UK’s approach to address terrorism overseas we are committed to supporting the Government of Kenya and building capacity to counter this shared threat.

The Kenyan Defence Force (KDF) received approximately £640,000 in 2013/14, £870,000 in 2014/15, and £1,110,000 in 2015/16. The bulk of this money over the three years was for pre-deployment training with the African Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM), including human rights training on sexual and gender based violence. In addition, the KDF received £22,000 as part of a Rigid Hull Inflatable Boat maintenance package from 2013-15.

The Kenyan Police Force (KPF) received approximately £140,000 in 2013/14, £156,000 in 2014/15, and £356,000 in 2015/16. Our 2015-16 programmes support police reform and strengthen the accountability of the Kenyan National Police Service.

The Kenyan Wildlife Service (KWS) does not receive direct funding from the Government. However, the KWS is a project partner on three projects through the Illegal Wildlife Trade Challenge Fund, managed by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. The three projects receive around £790,000 over the period 2014-2018. In 2015/16, 6 KWS employees were part of an i2 Notebook and Intelligence Analysis training course. The overall cost was £105,000.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead on 2016-04-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the findings of Human Rights Watch in its recent report Nepotism and Neglect, which identifies the failure of the authorities in Bangladesh to respond to the effects of arsenic in the drinking water of Bangladesh’s rural poor; and whether they will raise that issue with the government of Bangladesh.

Baroness Verma

The UK Government along with other donors, discusses issues such as safe drinking water with members of the Government of Bangladesh. Water quality testing, which focussed upon arsenic, has been a major part of DFID’s support for ensuring access to clean arsenic free water in rural Bangladesh. DFID has also supported arsenic testing by assisting the Government of Bangladesh to establish a national water-point database. The UK works with the Government of Bangladesh to use the database to identify water points which exceed the arsenic national standard can be identified and corrective necessary action taken.

DFID has also delivered large scale results on water, sanitation and hygiene education through our strategic partnership with BRAC. This has given 699,000 people access to clean drinking water, including in arsenic prone areas, through deep tube wells, piped water supply systems and pond sand filters to over the last 5 years.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead on 2016-05-25.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, for each local authority in England and Wales, what is the total number of Eritrean residents who have been listed on successful asylum applications by individuals seeking reunification with close family members in the UK.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

There are several different routes for families to be reunited safely in the UK. Applications for family reunion can be received both in country and out of country and are processed by a number of casework units within the Home Office depending on the particular route applied through including International Operations, Settlement, Complex Casework and Asylum Operations.

The way these applications are processed and the method used to store the data on the main immigration database means that not all of the data regarding sponsors is recorded on centrally collated statistical databases and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost by examination of thousands of case records.

Within the visa tables of the Home Office’s quarterly Immigration Statistics, family reunion applications from dependants of those with refugee status or humanitarian protection in the UK (made under Part 11 of the Immigration Rules) are included in the ‘Family: other’ category. Whilst this ‘Family: other’ category includes a small number of other applications, the vast majority relate to family reunion and hence the published figures provide a good indication of trends for family reunion cases. There were 616 entry clearance visas granted to Eritreans in the ‘Family: other’ category in the year ending March 2016.

Source: Home Office, Immigration Statistics January to March 2016 Family topic https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-statistics-january-to-march-2016/family#visas

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead on 2016-09-13.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the humanitarian situation in Rakhine State in Burma.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

According to UN OCHA Rakhine is one of the least developed areas in Burma and has the highest poverty rate in the country. Inter-communal violence in 2012 led to the displacement of approximately 145,000 people and as of June 2016 some 120,000 internally displaced people remain in 39 camps or camp-like settings across Rakhine State. Prolonged displacement and ongoing movement restrictions constrain access to essential services like formal education, healthcare and livelihoods, and continue to cause increased vulnerability and a high level of dependency on humanitarian aid. Despite positive progress on establishing the Kofi Annan-led Rakhine Commission, there has not yet been an improvement in the humanitarian situation in Rakhine. DFID and UK Government officials continue to keep close track of the humanitarian situation in Rakhine and visit the region frequently. DFID Ministers raised the plight of the Rakhine and the rights of the Muslim community in meeting with the Burmese government on the most recent visit.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead on 2015-10-29.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the proportion of aid funding which is channelled to large international agencies compared to that channelled to local non-governmental organisations.

Baroness Verma

UK Official Development Assistance (ODA) channelled through non-governmental organisations is set out in the table below. DFID is currently conducting the Civil Society Partnership Review, which is considering future funding arrangements.

2014 data will be published on the DFID website as National Statistics on Thursday 3^rd December 2015.

Channel Code Description	2013 ODA (£ millions)	% of Total UK ODA
NGO (where country base is undefined)	£150,895	1%
Internationally-based (non-UK) NGO*	£362,696	3%
UK-based NGO*	£662,307	6%
Developing country-based NGO	£178,313	2%

*Many international and UK-based NGOs have significant local developing country footprints.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead on 2015-12-16.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the situation in Yemen, and of claims that deliberate attacks on the Doctors Without Borders hospital have taken place in that country.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

We are aware of reports of alleged airstrikes against a Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) hospital in Sa’ada and on an MSF unit in Taiz, which we take very seriously. We have emphasised the importance of full compliance with International Humanitarian Law (IHL) to the Saudi Arabian Government and other members of the coalition and they have assured us of their commitment to comply with IHL. We continue to engage with them on those assurances and have offered advice and training to demonstrate best practice and to help ensure continued compliance with IHL. We welcome the recent public announcement by Saudi Arabia to establish a fact finding committee into the alleged airstrike on the MSF mobile clinic in Taiz. We have also raised our concerns with the Houthis on the importance of compliance with IHL and international human rights law. We continue to urge all sides to the conflict to comply with International Humanitarian Law and to investigate incidents of alleged violations fully.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead on 2016-02-04.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what diplomatic, programme and financial support they plan to offer to the EU Horn of Africa Migration Route Initiative.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

At the Valletta Summit on Migration (11-12 November 2015), the UK helped secure an ambitious action plan to address the root causes of migration from Africa. The plan covers five key areas: addressing the root causes of migration; cooperation on legal migration; reinforced protection of displaced persons; migrant smuggling and people trafficking; and returns and readmission.

In late November 2015, the UK assumed the chair of the EU-AU Horn of Africa Migration Route Initiative (the “Khartoum Process”) and hosted its second Steering Committee in London. The meeting focused on delivering the Valletta Summit Action Plan and building on previous work under the Process. The European Commission agreed to set up a 40million Euro facility under the Valletta Trust Fund – the Better Managed Migration project – which will be spent on priority projects in the region. The UK is a member of the Better Managed Migration steering committee which will guide the implementation, monitor progress and ensure that the required technical expertise is mobilised in a timely manner. Bilaterally the UK is planning to offer support in a wide range of areas including vocational training, addressing human smuggling and trafficking and skills training for unaccompanied youths.

Across the region, the UK is the second largest bilateral donor providing humanitarian support for displaced populations. Our work includes programmes on livelihoods and sustainable incomes for those in camps and better integration with host communities. Nearly 60 per cent of humanitarian support in Africa (£302 million) and nearly 20 per cent of economic development support in Africa (£102 million) is being spent in the region.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead on 2016-03-16.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of claims that Eritrean children are fleeing from their country because of human rights violations or crimes against humanity.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The Government is deeply concerned by reports that over 3000 unaccompanied minors from Eritrea make the dangerous journey to Europe every year. A number of factors lead to both adults and children leaving Eritrea. These include a mix of economic pressures, a lack of opportunity, and the country’s poor human rights record. The UK remains deeply concerned about the human rights situation inside Eritrea. We have stepped up our engagement with the Government of Eritrea and made clear we want to see concrete action to improve respect for human rights. In addition, through the UK chaired EU/African Union “Khartoum Process”, we are working with African Partners to tackle the smuggling and trafficking networks that exploit these vulnerable children.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead on 2016-04-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions have taken place with the government of Bangladesh about toxic, insanitary and unsafe working conditions in Hazaribagh, Dhaka.

Baroness Verma

The UK Government’s work around conditions in the leather industry in Bangladesh focuses on the issue of child labour. We support efforts in this particular area through the Manusher Johnno Foundation (MJF). MJF have campaigned successfully to include “Leather Works” on the Government of Bangladesh’s list of hazardous works for children. As a consequence, employers in the leather industry are now bound by a Code of Conduct which is aligned with the domestic Labour Law and National Child Labour Elimination Policy.