Following UK calls for action, our European Partners commissioned the Georg Eckert Institute to conduct an independent review of Palestinian textbooks, which is currently underway.

We understand the report has been delayed due to COVID-19. We have regular discussions with our European Partners on the review and we continue to encourage them to finalise the interim report as soon as possible.

The UK will continue to raise our concerns about incitement in education, as I did most recently with the PA Minister for Education just last month. We welcome the PA's work to revise its textbooks and their intention to publish updated versions for the start of the school year in September.

Following UK calls for action, our European Partners commissioned the Georg Eckert Institute to conduct an independent review of Palestinian textbooks, which is currently underway.

We understand the report has been delayed due to COVID-19. We have regular discussions with our European Partners on the review and we continue to encourage them to finalise the interim report as soon as possible.

The UK will continue to raise our concerns about incitement in education, as I did most recently with the PA Minister for Education just last month. We welcome the PA's work to revise its textbooks and their intention to publish updated versions for the start of the school year in September.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office will be accountable to parliament for how it spends UK aid. We remain committed to full transparency in our aid spending and there will continue to be parliamentary and independent scrutiny of the aid budget – the form this takes following the merger will be set out in due course.

DFID is working closely with the FCO and other ODA-spending departments to consider how best to manage the 0.7% commitment in the coming year. A cross-HMG process is underway, and no decision has been taken but we are considering the full range of our work. As the Prime Minister has stated, the government will remain committed to the 0.7% target through the creation of the new FCDO.

In response to the Rohingya crisis, in 2018 DFID reviewed and reshaped its programme in Myanmar to better focus on meeting the needs of the poorest, the most malnourished and excluded. This includes doing more in conflict-affected areas and with displaced people and refugees. Across Myanmar over 6 million people benefit from UK aid. DFID Myanmar does not provide any direct financial support to the Government of Myanmar and has introduced an enhanced due diligence regime for the private sector, including asking partners to avoid working with military owned companies. Allocations for all programmes are subject to rigorous due diligence and ongoing monitoring to enhance effectiveness and strategic impact.

In 2019, DFID again conducted a full review of its strategy. This review took stock of the changing conflict dynamics across the country, including the increasing conflict in Rakhine state, and the changing political situation in the country in the run up to the anticipated 2020 election. For DFID Myanmar this has reinforced the need to focus on supporting the most vulnerable including finding more durable solutions for Myanmar’s long-term displaced population and helping to strengthen the longer-term foundations for peace, prosperity, inclusion and democracy. In the last two months DFID Myanmar have again reviewed their portfolio given COVID-19. They have prioritised supporting the health and humanitarian response, whilst addressing the possible secondary impacts on the economy, society and conflict. A cross-Whitehall discussion was convened in April to review DFID Myanmar’s plans for responding to COVID-19.

The UK government is deeply concerned about allegations of incitement in the Palestinian Authority’s curriculum.  We are pleased that the Palestinian Authority is undertaking a review of its textbooks and updating them for the new academic year.

The UK has been at the forefront of international action to get to the bottom of allegations. We secured agreement from European partners to commission the Georg Eckert Institute to conduct an independent review, which is currently underway. The scope of the Review was set before the COVID-19 crisis and it does not cover online teaching arrangements put in place by the Palestinian Authority while schools are closed. Any changes to its scope would be a matter for Georg Eckert Institute and our European Partners. We have not had specific discussions with our international counterparts on the Palestinian Authority’s online curriculum. Ministers have regularly raised the issue of incitement in the education sector with the PA’s Minister for Education, which the Secretary of State did most recently in February this year.

The UK government is deeply concerned about allegations of incitement in Palestinian Authority’s school textbooks; and secured an independent EU-funded review of the textbooks which is underway. We expect interim findings to be due by June 2020 and full findings later in the year. We continue to encourage the EU to publish the report.

The International Development Secretary reiterated our concerns in a call to the Palestinian Authority’s Education Minister just last month.

Following the UK’s calls for international action, an EU sponsored independent review of Palestinian textbooks is currently underway. We understand that an interim report will be completed in Spring 2020 with the full report due later this year. The Development Secretary made it clear that incitement in education is unacceptable when she spoke with the PA Education Minister last week and she held him to account on progress to remove hateful content.

Following the UK’s calls for international action, an EU sponsored independent review of Palestinian textbooks is currently underway. We understand that an interim report will be completed in Spring 2020 with the full report due later this year. The Development Secretary made it clear that incitement in education is unacceptable when she spoke with the PA Education Minister last week and she held him to account on progress to remove hateful content.

DFID routinely conducts both internal reviews on the operations of the department, and reviews and evaluations covering the performance and results of our development programmes. While not all of the department’s internal reviews are made public, every programme review is published on DevTracker.

DFID plays an active part in relevant cross-Government reviews, including the Integrated Security, Defence and Foreign Policy Review which the Prime Minister will lead to reassess the nation’s place in the world, covering all aspects of international policy from defence to diplomacy and development.

The Voluntary National Review (VNR) is currently being finalised. We intend to submit it to the UN on 14 June and publish it shortly afterwards. The VNR will then be presented to the UN High Level Political Forum in New York on 16 July.

The UK’s Voluntary National Review (VNR) will take stock of the UK’s domestic and international activity in support of all 17 Goals. The final report will have a chapter for each Goal which will include information on action the UK Government is taking in relation to each Goal, along with separate sections which highlight action being taken by the administrations in Scotland and Wales, and in Northern Ireland. The VNR will also include case studies throughout, which will shine a spotlight on activity by organisations beyond Government, including business and civil society.

Following the IDC report, we conducted a comprehensive joint analysis of conflict and stability in Burma, and DFID initiated a review of its country strategy. On the peace process, the main vehicle for the UK’s support, the Joint Peace Fund, has undergone a thorough independent assessment of progress and challenges.

In addition, DFID’s peacebuilding programme is reviewed annually, as is all support under the cross-departmental Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF), led by the FCO.

The UK remains committed to providing assistance to a wide range of efforts to reach an inclusive peace agreement in Burma. It will also continue to address the protracted crises in Rakhine, Kachin, Shan and other states through humanitarian and development assistance.

Work on the UK’s Voluntary National Review is under way. The Government is committed to producing an inclusive, credible, and robust report which will be presented at the UN High Level Political Forum in July 2019. We expect to publish the report shortly before then.

We are inviting input from a wide range of stakeholders, including representatives of civil society and businesses, to tell us how they are contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals via our Voluntary National Review website, www.gov.uk/sustainabledevelopmentgoals. It would be very helpful if Parliamentarians could help us publicise this opportunity.

We continue to engage with interested groups, including Parliamentarians, before the report is finalised and will be holding a series of roundtable events early next year.

The Department does not hold this information centrally.

The UK enjoys enormous respect and influence on development issues, and was at the forefront of negotiating the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The SDGs provide a framework to tackle the most pressing global challenges of our time – extreme poverty and disease, global instability and conflict, mass migration, climate change and gender inequality – challenges that are at the core of DFID’s work.

As such, DFID holds policy oversight for the SDGs, and we are working closely with the Cabinet Office and other Government Departments to develop our plans for the UK’s Voluntary National Review. We will ensure that the review takes account of the UK’s domestic and international contributions to this global agenda and will consult a wide range of stakeholders.