Source · Select Committees · International Development Committee
Recommendation 12
12
Not Addressed
Government lacks infrastructure for effective gender mainstreaming, reducing UK programming impact.
Conclusion
The policy of gender mainstreaming refers to a strategic approach to achieving gender equality through integrating women’s experiences and concerns in the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies and programmes. However, while gender mainstreaming is part of the correct goal, the Government does not have the appropriate infrastructure in place to make it work. This gender mainstreaming will therefore reduce the impact of UK programming, as the problems faced by women and girls require gender-specific interventions. It is uncertain whether the Government will be able to mitigate the impacts of aid cuts to women and girls as it intends. (Conclusion, Paragraph 78)
Government Response Summary
The government response details efforts to direct humanitarian funding to local organisations and improve displacement data, completely failing to address the committee's concerns about gender mainstreaming infrastructure or the impacts of aid cuts on women and girls.
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government
Not Addressed
63. We are working hard to direct our humanitarian funding to support localisation, such as in Myanmar where over 65% of UK funding has gone to local organisations. 64. In 2022, the FCDO assisted with establishing the Aid Fund for Syria (AFS), contributing £40m to date. One of the fund’s primary focus areas is funding local Syrian organisations (SNGOs). The AFS involves civil society in decision- making, with six of the nine seats on the steering board being held by Syrian civil society organisations. 65. The FCDO, together with Switzerland and Denmark, convened donors, humanitarian funds and a range of local actors throughout 2024 to identify levers to accelerate support to local and national actors through humanitarian pooled funds. The FCDO continue to advocate and mobilise other donors to increase funding to local actors through pooled funds, as part of the broader humanitarian reset. 66. We are also engaging closely with UNHCR and other UN agencies on their approach to localisation, which has included round table discussions and annual reporting. (Recommendation 8, Paragraph 97) In response to this report, the Department must explain its reasoning for not signing up to the Global Compact on Refugees’ multi-stakeholder pledge on advancing localisation in displacement and statelessness responses. Government response: Agree 67. We have noted the committee’s recommendation and will review our position on the multistakeholder pledge on advancing localisation in displacement and statelessness responses. (Recommendation 9, Paragraph 98) In response to this report, the Department must set out how it will make rapid progress in meeting commitments made, principally via the Grand Bargain and Global Compact on Refugees, to increase its engagement with and utilisation of local and national actors in humanitarian and development settings. Government response: Agree 68. FCDO is leading global donor efforts to transform humanitarian funding and drive locally led delivery in alignment with the humanitarian reset. This includes increasing contributions to humanitarian pooled funds and scaling up funding through them to local organizations including women led and refugee led organisations. We have also increased the ability of locally led actors to access UK ODA through due diligence passporting.1 69. Moving from international intervention to local leadership is currently one of the four shifts of the FCDO’s new modern partnerships. We are looking across our policies, systems, capabilities and culture to see how we can deliver this shift in a way that is meaningful and effective. 70. The UK is committed to channelling humanitarian funding as directly as possible to local and national aid organisations as agreed in the Grand Bargain, and working with local partners to ensure our response to humanitarian crises better reflects the needs of affected populations. 71. For example, the Sahel Regional Fund (SRF) is a pooled funding mechanism created by the UK with over 30% of its funding transferred to local actors. National NGOs play a key role in the fund’s governance through their representation at the SRF board. 72. The UK has also supported the Start Network since its inception in 2014. The Start Network is made up of over 130 members of which over 70% are local and national NGOs. The Start Fund adopts a collaborative, decentralised model and uses a tiered due diligence system, which helps strengthen local capacity. 1 https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fcdo-programme-operating-framework/ applying-for-fcdo-grant-funding-simplified-application-process-with-humanitarian- quality-assurance-initiative-verification-february-2025 73. We are also partnering with the refugee-led Asia Pacific Network of Refugees (APNOR) to advance refugee leadership and representation in global policymaking and are working with UNHCR to support over one hundred refugee delegates to attend the Global Refugee Forum Progress Review Meeting in December. 74. The UK has not set a target for the proportion of bilateral humanitarian aid to be delivered through local partners, as this depends on the need and context. FCDO’s use of data on displacement (Conclusion 12, Paragraph 102) The FCDO may be limited in its ability to accurately target displacement-related humanitarian and development spending owing to its sub-optimal data collection.