Tag: Mike Kane

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Kane on 2015-12-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will discuss with her ministerial colleagues in other departments (a) reducing UK support for fossil fuels overseas and (b) ensuring that support for energy in developing countries is directed towards low-carbon technologies.

Mr Nick Hurd

My Department works closely with other government departments on UK energy policy overseas, including the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC), the Treasury, and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. The UK Government has committed to end public funding for coal fired power plants, , except in rare circumstances, in the world’s poorest countries. This policy has been agreed with DECC and was announced at the Warsaw Climate Change conference in 2013.

DFID will continue to support international initiatives to promote cleaner energy sources and other low carbon technologies. For example, the Energy Africa campaign will accelerate the expansion of the household solar market in Africa, helping to bring universal energy access to the continent. The International Climate Fund (ICF) managed by DECC and DFID also actively supports low-carbon technologies, and monitors this through Key Performance Indicators. The UK reports publicly on achievements through the ICF (see https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/463954/ICF_Results_Note_Final.pdf).

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Kane on 2016-02-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether her Department has made representations to the EU on its funding of aid and development projects in Eritrea.

Mr Nick Hurd

Between 2013 and 2015 DFID provided UNICEF in Eritrea with £10 million for child and maternal health and the provision of clean water and sanitation.

In December 2015 DFID provided a further £3 million for nutrition support activities and water and sanitation in areas affected by El Nino in the Horn of Africa through UNICEF’s regional programme, which covers Eritrea.

Over the past 2 years funding to support primarily Eritrean refugees in Ethiopia totalled £1.6 million and focussed on child protection and related work on anti-smuggling and trafficking.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Kane on 2016-04-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether NHS England has provided additional funds to cover redundancy costs associated with Manchester Mental Health and Social Care Trust service closures.

Alistair Burt

We are advised that NHS England has placed no such requirements. These are matters for the Manchester Mental Health and Social Care NHS Trust and its commissioners.

We expect all National Health Service trusts to use their resources wisely and within their statutory responsibilities, while delivering high quality, sustainable services to patients. It is for the local NHS to determine the provision of local health services.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Kane on 2016-07-11.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether once Article 50 of the Treaty of the European Union has been triggered it can be untriggered before the UK’s negotiations on withdrawal from the EU have been completed.

Mr David Davis

The Prime Minister will take the decision about when to trigger article 50 and start the formal process of leaving the EU. She has been clear that the will of the British people must be respected and delivered.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Kane on 2015-11-23.

To ask the Attorney General, what recent discussions he has had with the Prime Minister on the information provided to Parliament on the legal basis for supporting coalition air strikes in Syria.

Jeremy Wright

I refer the Hon Member to the oral answer I gave to the Hon Member for Kilmarnock and Loudoun (Alan Brown) earlier today.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Kane on 2015-12-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if her Department will take steps to improve access to water in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

Mr Desmond Swayne

UK officials regularly discuss the issue of water with Israeli counterparts. We continue to call for the full implementation of the relaxation of access restrictions for Gaza and, with robust monitoring, for the entry of essential items on the dual-use list to allow for rehabilitation of the water network. We also continue to press both parties to reconvene the Joint Water Committee to facilitate further approval of key projects that will improve Palestinian access to water.

Through the UN FAO, DFID has invested up to £1.24m to help vulnerable rural farmers in Area C support their families through increased incomes from agricultural production. Improved irrigation efficiency has been achieved by rehabilitation of existing water cisterns and approximately 30km of water conveyance systems.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Kane on 2016-02-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much funding her Department has allocated to projects which are primarily aimed at Eritrean nationals in the last three years; and in which countries such projects are based.

Mr Nick Hurd

As a member of the European Development Fund Committee (EDF) my Department scrutinises all EDF programming. The National Indicative Programme (NIP) for Eritrea under EDF 11 was considered at the Committee on the 17^th of November 2015 and received a positive opinion. Prior to that DFID officials worked with other member states to secure a joint EU and member state approach to linking implementation of the NIP with successful dialogue on human rights.

We continue to monitor this, both in country and in Brussels, alongside other member states.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Kane on 2016-04-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent steps his Department has taken through the Commonwealth to promote abolition of the death penalty in all Commonwealth States.

Mr David Lidington

The Government supports a moratorium on use of the death penalty across the Commonwealth and works diplomatically and by means of projects to promote abolition in individual Commonwealth countries. Some Commonwealth member states are steadily moving towards abolition. Relatively few persist with carrying out executions and several are contemplating legislative reform. Fiji abolished the death penalty altogether in 2015.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Kane on 2016-10-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will increase investment in decentralised renewable energy to benefit the world’s poorest people.

James Wharton

The UK Government is already playing a leading role in improving energy access in developing countries through decentralised renewable energy. DFID has a range of programmes which are working with developing countries to ensure renewable energy markets work effectively as well as supporting energy businesses to grow, and providing consumers with access to funding to buy solar goods.

DFID’s Energy Africa campaign is one way that we are helping increase access to energy. Energy Africa aims to accelerate the expansion of the household solar market in Africa, and is about making the market work for the poor. It helps remove the barriers to household solar market expansion, including policy and regulatory obstacles, and supports businesses to innovate in energy services and technologies. DFID also supports numerous other initiatives to increase people’s access to energy through decentralised renewable energy. For example, the Renewable Energy and Adaptation to Climate Technologies (REACT) Challenge Fund has supported businesses in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Rwanda to provide clean energy for households, communities and businesses.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Kane on 2015-11-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will prioritise funding to multilateral agencies that focus their aid programmes and investments in Least Developed Countries.

Mr Desmond Swayne

We prioritise funding to multilateral agencies depending on how well they meet UK and international development objectives. The agencies that we fund are currently being assessed by our Multilateral Aid Review which will report in the spring.