Speeches by Harding.

“We had testimony from an NGO working in Sudan that the mistake was that we treated the war in Sudan as a governance crisis, not an atrocity crisis. It speaks to what you are saying, which is that there is a huge amount of gender violence and conduct in Sudan, for example, without the voice of gender conflict coming to …”

“Can I push you on that point? I remember from before these most recent cuts, speaking at this Committee and asking, “Do they trust us? Do the countries where we are operating trust us?” They said, now they do, and now they are starting to—pretty much as you have said. Now that this second round of cuts has come in, has…”

“Can I follow up on Myanmar? It is not the only humanitarian disaster, but it is the most sudden since both of those aid cuts have happened. What has been the impact of the USAID cuts on that situation? I know that the US response was slower, comparatively, than usual, but has there been a comparative funding element to…”

“Thank you. My question picks up on your point, Louis, about the diaspora and the role they play in increasing private sector investment in their country of origin.”

“The Sensory Smart Child in my constituency does fantastic work providing vital therapies for 115 adopted children and their parents, but 77 of those children were unable to secure a temporary extension in support while the Government considered the future of the adoption fund, and that caused huge trauma for the famili…”

“I share the grief expressed by the whole House for the people of Myanmar. It is heartbreaking that a country that has already suffered four years of brutal civil war now faces further devastation. I wholeheartedly welcome the Government’s announcement of £10 million to support the emergency response. It is vital that t…”

“It is still a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Jardine. As I was saying, driven by spreading conflict, worsening climate change and the disruption of the pandemic years, the number of those suffering from malnutrition has risen by 150 million in five years. At this moment, we have a broader challenge. The …”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Jardine. I thank the right hon. Member for Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale (David Mundell) for securing the debate. The Nutrition for Growth summit is an opportunity for the UK to reaffirm our country’s commitment to eradicating hunger. Since 2012, when we f…”

“I thank the hon. Gentleman for that intervention. Yes, lobular breast cancer is treated in many ways like a rare disease. I recently met my constituent Kate, who was diagnosed with lobular breast cancer in 2023. She explained to me that because almost all breast cancer research is based on the ductal variant, women lik…”

“I would of course support such a move, and I urge the Government to listen and take action. Getting it right on glioblastoma is vital. Despite minor breakthroughs, exciting innovations and apparently promising research leads, for this disease, there has simply not been the improvement in survival rates that most cancer…”

“I thank the hon. Member for Edinburgh South West (Dr Arthur) for bringing the Bill before the House, and pay tribute to him and to the hon. Members who have already spoken so movingly on this subject, including the hon. Member for Calder Valley (Josh Fenton-Glynn). I also pay tribute to the hon. Member for Mitcham and …”

“You talked very much about direct dialogue and acknowledgement within the donor country, with the national NGO. In the face of the cuts, training is often the first thing to go, as is dialogue. How do you feel about how the cuts will affect what we are talking about?”

“Returning to that last example, and thank you for that, where does accountability lie? In another organisation there will be some accountability for what happened.”

“Can I just push you on this dismay with the British retreating; how widespread is that?”

“Thank you very much for sharing your experiences with us. I want to ask about the public perception of what you went through and about aid workers generally. Did you receive any public sympathy in a wider context?”

“Can I push slightly further on that? I was really taken by your comparison with the military. Do you think that the public loses a sense of the nationality of aid workers because they work in an international context or for an international NGO? Is there, therefore, a slight detachment from aid workers and not a public…”

“Do you think that the impact of cuts to USAID and also British assistance will impact your security or the security of aid workers, in that the efficiency savings will be such that they will want them to go into the programme rather than the security of aid workers?”

“Thank you. Anna, is there anything you wanted to add to that? Anna Tazita Samuel: The cutting of funding from USAID and UK aid has affected us a lot, especially national organisations. One thing, right now: as we are struggling, as I talk to you now, my staff are in the field trying to explain our position that we are …”

“I want to ask a question of everyone and I will start with Ms Ross. In your experience, how responsive are the donors and INGOs that you work with to the security and welfare needs of organisations?”

“Let me come back to you. If you could just come in, Mr Novakovic.”