Asked by: Andrew Percy (Conservative - Brigg and Goole)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what steps he is taking to support Israeli military operations against Hamas.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
Israel suffered an appalling terrorist attack on 7 October - the deadliest in its history. As we have said from the outset, Israel has the right to defend itself in accordance with international humanitarian law, and Hamas must release the hostages immediately.
We will continue to call for the immediate release of all hostages. Nothing can justify their continued detention. Their families are showing great courage in horrific circumstances. We want to see a deal agreed that would ensure the release of hostages and a pause in the fighting.
We are clear that building momentum towards a lasting peace will require the release of all hostages, the removal of Hamas' capacity to launch attacks against Israel, Hamas no-longer being in charge of Gaza, the formation of a new Palestinian Government for the West Bank and Gaza accompanied by an international support package, and a political horizon to a two-state solution.
Asked by: Andrew Percy (Conservative - Brigg and Goole)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether he plans to take steps in response to reports of alleged anti-Semitic language used by the Palestinian Authority Minister of Religious Affairs and Endowments Mohammad Mustafa Najem in 2002.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
We are aware of historic allegations of use of anti-semitic language. Antisemitism is abhorrent and has absolutely no place in our or any society, and we are committed to tackling it in all its forms.
Asked by: Andrew Percy (Conservative - Brigg and Goole)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if she will make it her policy to regulate small forums that share (a) antisemitic hatred and (b) instructional content on methods of suicide to the fullest extent possible under the powers available to her in the Online Safety Act 2023; and what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies on that matter of Ofcom's advice of 29 February 2024 on the use of powers under that Act.
Answered by Saqib Bhatti - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Secretary of State is considering in detail the advice that Ofcom has provided. The Secretary of State will make regulations as soon as reasonably practicable, in line with Schedule 11 of the Act.
More broadly, all user-to-user services in scope of the Online Safety Act – including online forums of any size – will be required to comply with the illegal safety duties and take steps to remove illegal content. The strongest protections in the Act are for children and where these services are likely to be accessed by children, they must also protect children from a wider range of harmful content. Targeted duties on search services, to minimise illegal search results, will also reduce traffic to websites, including online forums, that host illegal material.
Asked by: Andrew Percy (Conservative - Brigg and Goole)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if she will take steps under the powers available to her as set out in Schedule 11(1)(b) of the Online Safety Act to bring forward legislative proposals setting category 1 threshold conditions in relation to small forums that share (a) antisemitic hatred and (b) suicide methods.
Answered by Saqib Bhatti - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Secretary of State is considering in detail the advice that Ofcom has provided. The Secretary of State will make regulations as soon as reasonably practicable, in line with Schedule 11 of the Act.
More broadly, all user-to-user services in scope of the Online Safety Act – including online forums of any size – will be required to comply with the illegal safety duties and take steps to remove illegal content. The strongest protections in the Act are for children and where these services are likely to be accessed by children, they must also protect children from a wider range of harmful content. Targeted duties on search services, to minimise illegal search results, will also reduce traffic to websites, including online forums, that host illegal material.
Asked by: Andrew Percy (Conservative - Brigg and Goole)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum claims have been successfully made by citizens of (a) Israel, (b) the United States, (c) Canada, (d) New Zealand, (e) Australia, (f) Germany, (g) Spain, (h) France and (i) Italy in each of the last five years.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The Home Office publishes data on asylum in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on asylum applications received, and the initial decisions on claims, is published in tables Asy_D01 and Asy_D02 of the ‘Asylum applications, decisions and resettlement detailed datasets’. This data includes nationality breakdowns.
Information on how to use the datasets can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of each workbook. The latest data relates to 31 December 2023. Data up to the end of March 2024 will be published on 23 May 2024.
Information on future Home Office statistical release dates can be found in the ‘Research and statistics calendar’.
Asked by: Andrew Percy (Conservative - Brigg and Goole)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of updating his Department's travel advice for British Jewish travellers to South Africa, in the context of recent trends in levels of antisemitism in that country.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
Antisemitism has no place in our or any society and we strongly condemn it.
FCDO's travel advice is constantly under review and regularly updated to ensure the safety of British Nationals travelling to and living in South Africa.
The 'safety and security' page of our South Africa travel advice currently includes a section on the conflict in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Asked by: Andrew Percy (Conservative - Brigg and Goole)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of his Department's travel advice on the safety of South Africa for British Jews.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
Antisemitism has no place in our or any society and we strongly condemn it.
FCDO's travel advice is constantly under review and regularly updated to ensure the safety of British Nationals travelling to and living in South Africa.
The 'safety and security' page of our South Africa travel advice currently includes a section on the conflict in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Asked by: Andrew Percy (Conservative - Brigg and Goole)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of the International Court of Justice case concerning Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip (South Africa v. Israel) on global trends in antisemitism.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
We respect the role and independence of the International Court of Justice (ICJ). However, we have stated that we have considerable concerns about this case, which is not helpful in the goal of achieving a sustainable ceasefire. Israel has the right to defend itself against Hamas in line with IHL, as we have said from the outset.
Our view is that Israel's actions in Gaza cannot be described as a genocide, which is why we considered South Africa's decision to bring this case was wrong and provocative.
Antisemitism is evil and has absolutely no place in our - or any - society, and we are committed to tackling it in all its forms.
The UK will take on the presidency of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance in March 2024 for one year, which comes ahead of the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz and the 25th anniversary of the Stockholm Declaration on Holocaust remembrance in January 2025.
Asked by: Andrew Percy (Conservative - Brigg and Goole)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of third-party countries involvement on the duration of the conflict in Sudan.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK condemns any actions that further fuel the brutal conflict in Sudan. The UK strongly supports an immediate end to the hostilities, both for the sake of Sudan's own people and to avoid the risk of further instability in the wider region. We continue to support the international community's efforts to reach a ceasefire and work towards a civilian political transition.
Asked by: Andrew Percy (Conservative - Brigg and Goole)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department is taking to help home buyers purchase properties in areas of above average house price growth.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
This Government is committed to making homeownership a reality for as many households as possible.
We operate a range of schemes to support first-time buyers in purchasing properties, including First Homes, Shared Ownership, Right to Buy and the Mortgage Guarantee Scheme. Over 860,000 households have been helped to purchase a home since spring 2010 through Government-backed schemes. The Government also helps first-time buyers to save for a deposit through the Lifetime ISA.
We have also increased the level at which first-time buyers start paying Stamp Duty from £300,000 to £425,000. First-time buyers will be able to access the relief on property purchases up to £625,000, compared to £500,000 previously. This will apply until end March 2025.