The Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, , and the Chair of the
International Development Committee, , have issued a joint letter
to the Secretaries of State for DFID and the FCO.
Writing to and , the Chairs express their
concern about the devastation caused by Hurricane Irma. Many
responses were tested, they write, and some found wanting.
With the imminent arrival of Hurricane Jose, they ask the
Secretaries of State to report to their newly-formed committees
on what the UK Government will be doing to ensure support for
those in need before the storm makes landfall.
The full text of the letter is as follows:
Rt Hon MP, Foreign Secretary
Rt Hon MP, Secretary of State for
International Development
The devastation caused by Hurricane Irma has been greater than
expected. It has left thousands without shelter, power, and the
supplies needed to survive. It has also seen many responses
tested, and some found wanting.
While we welcome the increase in funding for disaster relief in
the British Overseas Territories to £32 million and the fact
that personnel, equipment and the RFA Mounts Bay were dispatched
to the area before the hurricane struck, arriving in
Anguilla the day after its devastation, we are concerned that
many in the UK’s overseas territories in the Caribbean are
still in grave need. In Anguilla, Montserrat and the British
Virgin Islands (BVI) and Turks and Caicos, our response still
requires improvement and the arrival
of HMS Ocean in two weeks’ time will be later than any of us
would wish.
We do recognise that information and analysis is required to
tailor a proportion of the relief sent to meet conditions on
the ground but there are also predictable needs and demands in
such circumstances.
Experts and many in the area have been critical of the overall
level of relief currently on offer as well as the apparent
lack of forward-thinking once the storm’s route to Florida became
more than just a possibility.
In addition to the immediate effort to provide disaster relief,
we would expect the UK Government to take a role in the
long-term reconstruction of the assets of these communities which
have been devastated by this ferocious storm.
Finally, with the imminent arrival of Hurricane Jose, we ask you
to report to our newly-formed committees on what the UK
Government will be doing to ensure we are ready to support those
who need it before this further storm makes landfall? We
very much hope those in the region will be spared further damage
but, should it be needed, we hope you will ensure that the
UK will do what it can to help those affected.
Yours sincerely,
MBE MP, Chair of the
Foreign Affairs Committee
MP, Chair of the
International Development Committee
