Friday, September 14, 2012

Mike Hancock (Portsmouth South, Liberal Democrat) Military Aid International Development


Military Aid
International Development

Photo of Mike Hancock
Mike Hancock (Portsmouth South, Liberal Democrat)
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps her Department takes to ensure co-ordination with the Ministry of Defence on training on humanitarian airdrop or relief operations.
Photo of Alan Duncan
Alan Duncan (Minister of State, International Development; Rutland and Melton, Conservative)
DFID and Ministry of Defence (MOD) co-operate closely on international humanitarian relief. For example, Royal Air Force Chinook helicopters assisted in delivering humanitarian supplies in Pakistan after the earthquake in 2005 and the Royal Fleet Auxiliary ship Largs Bay assisted in Haiti in 2010. DFID has a memorandum of understanding with the MOD in order to ensure efficient and effective co-operation and employment of assets if the need is identified. We work together in line with internationally agreed humanitarian guidelines.