Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda: Ebola Outbreak

The Government are closely monitoring the Ebola outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. We are working with international partners, including the WHO and Africa CDC, to support a co-ordinated response and to strengthen surveillance, containment and preparedness. We have committed up to £21 million to this effort. I will travel to the region next week to engage Ministers and demonstrate the UK’s support. Although it is a serious outbreak, the risk to the UK public remains low.

I thank my noble friend the Minister for her response. Ebola cases and deaths are increasing on a daily basis, hence the designation by the World Health Organization. Given the severity of the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda, compounded by ongoing warfare, will she ensure, in discussions with ministerial colleagues in the Foreign Office, that the financial allocation to the overseas aid budget is increased to enable humanitarian organisations to help scale up a treatment and prevention resource? This should include addressing the shortage in medics, PPE and infection control measures, including the speedy development, testing and approval of a vaccine to assist in the eradication of this disease.

We have already allocated £1 million, plus we have up to another £20 million through the team in Kinshasa. We are working closely with colleagues in Kampala. There have been two cases. Reassuringly, the other suspected cases have tested negative. We are working closely with the Government in Uganda to support them. They are also offering to support the Government in Kinshasa in addressing this outbreak. We are working closely with CDC and the WHO. We are the lead partner co-ordinating donors. As my noble friend said, it is an extremely difficult part of the world in which to operate and respond to these kinds of deadly outbreaks, but we are working with partners and those on the ground to do that.

My Lords, what progress has been made towards the negotiation of a pandemic convention by the World Health Organization? Does the Minister not agree that some of the characteristics of the draft pandemic convention, on early warning and working together to develop vaccines, are extremely relevant to the Ebola outbreak in the DRC and Uganda?

I agree with that, and we are working closely with the WHO. On vaccine development, no vaccine is currently able to be deployed against this particular strain, but work is going on at speed to examine the utilisation of vaccines that have already been developed and tested, and whether they may be effective against this strain. The noble Lord will also understand the complexity and difficulty of distributing and administering vaccine in this context.

My Lords, will the Government play a central role as they did in 2014-15 in Sierra Leone, which helped to ensure that a disease already spreading internationally was checked in its tracks, saving many lives in west Africa and worldwide?

Yes, that is what we are doing. I will be in the region next week and we speak regularly with our ministerial counterparts in the DRC and Uganda. I think some of the system-strengthening work that has taken place since the 2014 outbreak will help, but I am sure the noble Baroness understands the rather unique situation in the DRC and that this outbreak has happened in the east. We see a lack of territorial control over parts of that region by the Government in Kinshasa and the proliferation of armed groups in that part of the world.

My Lords, I welcome the noble Baroness’s statement and particularly her proactive engagement on the ground. One of the experiences from the Covid pandemic was the link-up between the private sector and our international partners to scale up with India. Based on the response she gave earlier, that there is still development needed, what representations and engagement are being made, particularly with the private sector and those countries, such as India, that can scale up vaccine production?

It is in an early phase and we are looking at trying to get a vaccine developed. I do not know whether that is specifically with India or with private sector partners, but it may be that a vaccine that has already been tested is effective against this strain. We hope that is the case, though there is an immediate need to get equipment into the region and distributed. We need to make sure that it is used correctly and to plan for how we will be able to distribute vaccine, as and when it is available, because the major barrier here is the complexity and the conflict going on. As the noble Lord will know, many different non-state armed groups are present in the area.

My Lords, given what the Minister has rightly said about the systemic challenges facing aid workers and others in the east of the DRC, will she look carefully during her visit to the region at the effect of the large numbers of displaced people now in refugee camps? Those are the perfect breeding ground for diseases of any kind, but especially of Ebola. What is being done to assess the role that ISIS affiliates are now playing? I suspect that she has seen some of the material I sent her recently about attacks on minorities, including the burning down of churches, and on people living in remote villages. What more can we do about that?

What we can do about that is a very big question, but I visited Beni in the east of the DRC earlier this year and I know exactly the context that the noble Lord describes. We have the ADF, FDLR and M23 there; we may be able to engage with some of these groups, or maybe others can, but with others it will be far more difficult. Where those actors have control, in the end they will be responsible for responding to this outbreak. That injects a whole other level of complexity and difficulty into this, but we cannot let that put us off doing what needs to be done to save lives from this outbreak.

My Lords, the outbreak of Ebola in this region is extremely concerning, and we welcome the funding that the Minister has referenced. Can she perhaps say what support is available to any UK citizens who are in the region, notwithstanding the difficulties of access to the eastern region of the DRC, which we all know about? What other consular support is available in these areas to any of our people?

Our team in Kinshasa is in crisis mode, as noble Lords would expect, and ready to provide any support. There are very few UK nationals in that part of the world because of the danger from the conflict, but there are some UK medics—I have met them—and well-tested protocols are in place should they wish to return to the UK. We know how to do this; we are experienced in doing it and, obviously, our priority is to keep the UK and our citizens safe.

My Lords, the vaccine that exists is effective only against Ebola Zaire. The strain now operating has had two previous minor breakouts; Bundibugyo is the name of the strain. I hope the Minister will agree that our hope lies in developing a vaccine as quickly as we can, which might take up to six or nine months. But we have the knowledge of the vaccine against the Zaire strain, which is an advantage. The outbreak has now reached Kampala, which is worrying, but the Ugandans are apt, as they demonstrated previously, at isolating the cases and stopping the outbreak going any further. I hope it will not spread any further.

There is nothing that the noble Lord just said for me to disagree with. I can assure him, though, that two cases were identified in Kampala and the others tested have been negative. He is absolutely right about the development of a vaccine.

My Lords, further to my noble friend’s question, we know what positive impact UK official development assistance has in crises such as these. Will the Minister rule out any further cuts to UK ODA in this Parliament?

If it were for me to rule it out, I would do so right now, but the noble Lord is right about the impact of UK official development assistance. That is what it is for, which is why we have responded quite so quickly. We were the first donors to get in there and make these very fast decisions, as soon as the outbreak was identified. We are good at working with these agencies. Health is a priority for us and this is exactly what our development assistance ought to be used for. Processed Russian Oil Products: SanctionsCommons Urgent Question11.49 am The following Answer to an Urgent Question was given in the House of Commons on Wednesday 20 May. “Putin must never be allowed victory in Ukraine and we will do everything we can as a Government and a country to debilitate and degrade the Russian war machine. That is precisely what our sanctions regime is designed to do. We have sanctioned more than 3,300 individuals and organisations and hundreds of shadow fleet tankers. It is as tough a sanctions regime as any in the world, and we are proud of it. I want to make it absolutely clear that our sanctions regime today is tougher than it was yesterday or last week. In fact, thanks to the Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) (Amendment) Regulations 2026 statutory instrument, we will, from today, for the first time—for the first time—ban the import not only of uranium but of Russian oil products processed in a third country. We are not lifting any existing sanctions at all. We are, like other countries, phasing in these sanctions, which is why, in the light of the situation in the Middle East, we have issued a targeted temporary licence to allow the continued import of diesel and jet fuel. These licences are temporary and targeted. We will review them regularly and repeatedly, and will suspend them as soon as we possibly can. As a result of all the measures that we have taken, there will be less Russian oil on the market, not more, Russia will be poorer, not richer, and Putin will be weaker, not stronger”.

My Lords, the Minister may not have been in the Chamber earlier, but I hope she has been made aware of the concerns expressed by the noble Lord, Lord Rooker, and my noble friend Lord Gove about the fact that the Government are now permitting the importation of Russian-derived oil products into the United Kingdom. I quoted the Ukraine sanctions commissioner directly. He said that, in his view, the Government’s action “may still generate additional revenues for Russia’s war machine”. It would be helpful to know what the Minister’s response is to that commissioner. Simultaneously, the Government are also blocking new North Sea oil and gas licences on our own doorstep. With thousands of skilled jobs, billions in tax revenues and our national security all hanging in the balance, will the Minister explain to this House why the Government’s energy policy is rendering this country more exposed, not less, to hostile foreign actors and volatile global markets?

My Lords, I want to make it clear that our sanctions regime against Russia is tougher today than it was last week. It is categorically not the case that we are waiving or easing sanctions. On 19 May the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office laid the Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) (Amendment) Regulations to legislate for several key measures to continue to tighten our pressure on Putin’s regime. These regulations include a new maritime services ban on Russian liquefied natural gas, which will restrict Russia’s access to the UK’s world-leading shipping and insurance services, disrupting its ability to transport Russian LNG. It further includes export prohibitions against Russia, as well as new import prohibitions to restrict the transfer of any refined oil products derived from Russian crude oil and of the import of Russian uranium. As has regularly been the case for sanctions on Russia for several years, targeted short-term licences have been introduced for our LNG maritime services ban and the refined oil import ban in order to support flexibility in UK supply in global markets. We have made it clear here, and the Minister for Trade made it clear in the House yesterday, that these licences are temporary, will be reviewed regularly and are not intended to protect Russian interests. The sanctions regime today is tougher than it was last week. In respect of the lessons of this crisis for energy security and for the UK’s reliance on foreign fossil fuels, the lesson that we are taking is that we need more homegrown renewable and nuclear energy. We need to continue the decarbonisation so that, for example, with the transition to electric vehicles, we are less reliant on overseas imports of energy.

My Lords, there is no plan because it is not in force as a result of the extremely broad and open-ended exemption that has been announced. I have debated, and this House has scrutinised, every single Russian sanction since the start of this war. I have called repeatedly for stronger efforts to prevent circumvention and loopholes, but there is now no point in calling for those if the Government put in such an exemption as they have this week. Will the Minister now bring forward urgent legislation to ensure that we scrutinise what the Government’s intent is, rather than a behind-the-scenes and sleekit licence that is open ended, avoids any parliamentary scrutiny and is up to an official rather than Parliament to decide?

The Minister for Trade and the department are responsible for these licences. The Russian sanctions came into force yesterday. We have made it clear that these licences are temporary and time limited.

They are not.

Sorry, the noble Lord is absolutely right, the licences are not time limited, but they are temporary and they will be reviewed regularly. It is our intention that these are temporary licences. This phased implementation of sanctions is common and standard practice. It is the approach that other allies—for example, Canada and Australia—have taken. The SI will go through the usual parliamentary process as it is implemented.

My Lords, signals matter, to friends as well as to enemies. No matter how the Government now seek to parse this decision, they have created the perception that their appetite for sanctions will be limited by the degree of pain the measures cause us. Does the Minister think that sending such a very bad signal is worth the strictly limited benefits that will accrue from it?

This is a package of strengthened sanctions. The Minister for Trade has acknowledged, as I do today, that the communication of this could absolutely have been better, because these are strengthening sanctions. That is the message that we are very keen to communicate today to this House, to the other place and to the public. The Prime Minister spoke to President Zelensky last night. The President confirmed that he appreciates the support that the UK provides to Ukraine. We are very clear that we stand with Ukraine. We are supporting it with finance, military support and training for military personnel. We are clear that we will continue to put pressure on Russia. In respect of the licences specifically and the considerations that we are taking into account, including market instability, the beneficiaries of such instability and potential price hikes could include Russia. That is one of our considerations with regard to these temporary licences.

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My Lords, we will hear from the Labour Benches next, then the Conservative Benches.

My Lords, the support from this country for Ukraine has been steadfast and bipartisan, and I regret very much what we are seeing. I think Mr Putin will be delighted to see the attacks on what is going on now. We have been steadfast in our support for Ukraine, and I think we have had a bipartisan approach to minimising the impact of events in the Middle East on people and businesses in this country. Can my noble friend the Minister confirm what she has said: that the sanctions package overall is stronger, while providing businesses facing complex supply chain issues with temporary flexibility? Can she commit to keeping this under review, with the aim of fully implementing the new, stronger sanctions regime as quickly as can possibly happen?

I thank my noble friend for reminding us all of the cross-party commitment to supporting Ukraine, which I know is felt strongly across this place. I absolutely confirm that the package of sanctions against Russia is stronger than it was two days ago. It has introduced new restrictions on oil products refined from Russian crude in third countries. It includes a maritime service ban on Russian LNG to restrict Russia’s access to the UK’s world-leading shipping and insurance services. I can also confirm, in answer to her question, that these are going to be targeted short-term licences and exemptions that will be reviewed regularly. We absolutely intend that they are only temporary.

My Lords, I speak as the Minister responsible for taking through the SAMLA regulations. First, can the Minister respond as to why Section 55 has not been applied in this case? Secondly, it is customary, as I used to do with the noble Lords, Lord Collins and Lord Purvis, to give headlines to all people across this House about impending sanctions. I disagree with the premise: it is not about politicising the issue but about standing united behind Ukraine. Today, when we grant a general licence as an exemption—which is indefinite, and the Minister should confirm that from the Dispatch Box—we are, in the eyes not just of Mr Putin but of Ukraine—weaker in our support.

Hear, hear!

I really emphasise that this package of sanctions is stronger than it was. We have put in place stronger sanctions. The general licence in respect of oil products applies to two products only: jet fuel and diesel. We have made it clear, and I repeat, that these are intended to be temporary licences. They will be reviewed regularly. It is very common practice, as it was under the previous Administration, to introduce licences in these cases, so there is no unusual practice or anything out of line in the approach that we have taken. I will have to write to the noble Lord on his question on Section 55.