Tag: Patrick Grady

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Patrick Grady on 2016-06-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment her Department has made of the potential effect of investor state dispute settlement mechanisms on the ability of legal systems in developing countries to support the achievement of the sustainable development goals.

Mr Nick Hurd

Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) is an independent legal process through which investors can seek compensation if they believe a host government is in breach of provisions within a bilateral investment treaty. ISDS should not prevent any Government, which acts in accordance with due process, from changing laws, revoking or terminating contracts or regulating in the public interest. Since 2012, through the Investment and Sustainable Development Programme, DFID has provided technical and legal assistance to 24 developing countries to develop and negotiate Bilateral Investment Treaties that best reflect their own interests and understand the legal implications, including those that may lead to an escalation of an ISDS dispute.

The Sustainable Development Goals sets out several investment-related measures, including the adoption and implementation investment promotion regimes and creation of sound policy frameworks, based on pro-poor and gender-sensitive development strategies that accelerate investment. The UK is fully committed to supporting the delivery of the Sustainable Development Goals.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Patrick Grady on 2016-09-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if her Department will continue to support at present levels the Energy Africa Campaign.

James Wharton

The UK Government is playing a leading role in improving energy access in development countries. For example, through our Energy Africa Campaign we are working with solar firms to accelerate the expansion of the household solar market in Sub-Saharan Africa, helping to bring universal energy access in the continent forward from 2080 to 2030. The Government remains fully committed to this objective.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Patrick Grady on 2016-10-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will issue a response to Early Day Motion 44, on Down’s syndrome, don’t screen us out campaign, tabled on 19 May 2016.

Mr Philip Dunne

The United Kingdom National Screening Committee (UKNSC) has recommended that Non Invasive Prenatal Testing for Down’s, Patau’s and Edwards’ syndromes should be introduced as an additional test into the NHS Fetal Anomaly Screening Programme as part of an evaluation. Ministers are currently considering this recommendation from the UK NSC.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Patrick Grady on 2015-12-07.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether any Government spending on the BBC World Service is recorded as Overseas Development Assistance.

Greg Hands

We have committed to increase funding for the BBC World Service to £34 million in 2016/17 and £85 million a year up to 2019-20. As a provider of accurate, impartial and independent news the BBC World Service helps to strengthen democratic accountability and governance, meaning that a significant portion of the funding provided can be classified as Official Development Assistance (ODA). ODA is subject to approval via the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) Development Assistance Committee (DAC), which oversees international ODA classification. We will work with the BBC and DAC to make the case for classifying up to £28m of the £34m in 2016/17 as ODA, and up to £70m per year in three remaining years of programme as ODA spend.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Patrick Grady on 2016-01-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what progress has been made on HM Government Strategy for Abolition of the Death Penalty, published October 2011.

Mr David Lidington

Progress has been strong. In December 2014, a biennial UN resolution calling for a moratorium on the use of the death penalty was passed with a record majority. Fewer than 30 countries now carry out executions and the number of people executed is at an all-time low. There have been set-backs and disappointments, but the long-term trend in the use of the death penalty is undoubtedly downwards. Nonetheless, the British Government’s view remains that the death penalty is an unjustified tool in all circumstances and we continue to campaign for total abolition.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Patrick Grady on 2016-02-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will issue a response to EDM 337, G7 New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition.

Mr Nick Hurd

The purpose of the New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition is to promote inclusive and responsible investment. This is required to sustainably link smallholder farmers into markets, reducing poverty and to ensure that all people have access to high quality and affordable food. The £600 million pledged to the New Alliance by DFID will fund bilateral projects in six original New Alliance partner countries aimed at improving agricultural incomes, food security and nutrition of the extreme poor, including through agroecological practices.

DFID is effectively supporting a wide range of programmes with agroecological components, from soil and water conservation and land use management to climate resilience and conservation agriculture. For example, we fund the International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD) for the Adaptation for Smallholder Agriculture Programme (ASAP) to support 6 million farmers to be more resilient to climate change through a broad set of agroecological and sustainable practices.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Patrick Grady on 2016-04-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will issue a response to Early Day Motion 1339, Drought in Ethiopia.

Mr Nick Hurd

The UK Government is extremely concerned about the impact of the current drought in Ethiopia, and is following the situation closely. We are working with the UN system, the EC and other donors to help the Ethiopian Government manage the current crisis. The UK Government has provided one of the earliest and largest commitments of support, providing £113 million in assistance to food security and other needs since July 2015.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Patrick Grady on 2016-06-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, which power stations are equipped with black start capability; and how many such stations are in each constituent part of the UK.

Andrea Leadsom

National Grid is responsible for maintaining a Black Start capability for the Great Britain national electricity transmission system and contracts with certain large power stations to provide this service within defined geographic zones.

For both security reasons and due to commercial sensitivities, information on which power stations have black start contracts is not publicly available.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Patrick Grady on 2016-09-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent meetings she has had with the National Security Adviser on transparency and effectiveness of the cross-government aid funds.

Rory Stewart

The Secretary of State for International Development has regular meetings with the National Security Adviser and discusses a range of issues.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Patrick Grady on 2016-10-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to support the needs and rights of older people in developing countries; and whether ageing will be reinstated as a responsibility under her Department’s Inclusive Societies policy.

Rory Stewart

Many DFID programmes reach and include older people, supporting their needs and rights. These include programmes to strengthen health systems and eye care, and specific programmes for the poorest including supporting slum dwellers in Tanzania and supporting widows resulting from the Genocide in Rwanda. Ageing features in DFID country level poverty analyses as a key factor in understanding poverty. In addition DFID is taking a global leadership role to achieve better quality and use of age disaggregated data to ensure that the Sustainable Development Goals leave no one behind. DFID’s Inclusive Societies Department in Policy Division holds policy responsibility for ageing.