Speeches by Harding.

“It is indeed an honour to serve under your chairship, Mrs Hobhouse, and I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Melksham and Devizes (Brian Mathew) for securing this important debate. Since the new US Administration took office in January, President Trump and Elon Musk have gutted USAID—the world’s foremost dispenser of …”

“Does the Minister agree, though, that after receiving a note from the Labour Government saying there was no more money left, the coalition Government increased the aid budget to 0.7%? In fact, 0.7% of gross national income has been in the Lib Dem manifesto since 1970. When we were in government, we delivered it; when w…”

“The president of the International Committee of the Red Cross has said that in Gaza, “humanity is failing”. What is happening in Gaza surpasses any acceptable legal, moral or humane standard. Palestinians are being stripped of their dignity. When will the Minister pronounce that they have a state, and given that Israel…”

“In my constituency, over 15,500 pensioners lost the winter fuel allowance, of whom 5,000 were over 80. Would the Minister like to apologise to the gentleman who wrote to me who had cancer and could not keep his heating on for the winter of worry he was put through?”

“The Minister has heard the Palestinian people’s desperation. He has heard the desperation in this Chamber. What new pressure will he bring to bear on Israel to open the aid routes? What is the alternative plan? The Minister has asked for an independent inquiry into what went on in Rafah. Will he insist that the Israeli…”

“As the Minister has acknowledged, Israel’s alternative aid scheme is dangerous, unworkable and profoundly insufficient. There is aid waiting on the border—UK aid that my constituents have paid for. You know the Palestinian people’s desperation. You have heard the desperation—”

“What forms of data does the FCDO collect on the displaced people who interact with your programmes?”

“Our evidence from Action for Global Health and Oxford Policy Management seems to suggest that sustainability should be included within your framework, and that it should go beyond the five Es to include sustainability.”

“So we should not view this as a harbinger of what is to come, or where the priority is.”

“How would you personally define the term value for money?”

“That is useful, but what about the people that interact with your programmes at the other end? How do you collect that data? As far as I understand it, you are looking down and seeing, “They need some help. We’ll design a programme around them,” but what about collecting data about the people you have helped? What data…”

“Did you say that it does cover gender?”

“And down to adolescent girls?”

“Will the Department implement the resilience and adaptation funding that was announced in the previous Government’s White Paper?”

“The previous Government announced that the FCDO would scope a separate fund of up to 15% of FCDO bilateral humanitarian provision. Is that the kind of figure you are looking at?”

“I will come back to that definition in a minute, but sustainability is not included within the FCDO’s value for money principles. Why is it not? You just referred to it.”

“Yes.”

“At first glance, the estimates seem to show a rebalancing away from multilateral aid to bilateral aid. Is that replicated in the priorities?”

“You have talked about the fact that we can see what is going on. It would be very helpful to have independent journalists inside Gaza at the moment. Are the Government calling for the BBC to be allowed into Gaza?”

“Minister, do you feel that you are pulling every lever?”