Asked by: Helen Grant (Conservative - Maidstone and The Weald)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what steps he is taking to help increase the amount of aid getting into Gaza.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
We trebled our aid commitment in the last financial year and are doing everything we can to get more aid in as quickly as possible by land, sea and air.
Israel has committed to significant steps to increase the amount of aid getting into Gaza, including allowing the delivery of humanitarian aid through the Port of Ashdod and the Erez crossing.
The UK has long urged Israel to take these steps and welcomes these commitments, and we have urged Israel to deliver on implementation. The Foreign Secretary discussed this with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu on 17 April. We are resolved that the international community will work with Israel to see these vital changes fully implemented.
We have announced £3 million of additional funding for equipment to support UN and aid agencies at new and existing land crossings to get more aid into Gaza. The UK's contribution will include trucks, forklifts, generators, fuel stores and lighting towers.
Asked by: Helen Grant (Conservative - Maidstone and The Weald)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what diplomatic steps he is taking to strengthen international co-operation to tackle illegal migration.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
We engage with partners worldwide, including through international fora such as the G7 and the UK-hosted European Political Community summit in July 2024, to improve returns processes, tackle organised immigration crime and address the root causes of irregular migration.
In 2023/2024, we signed new deals with Bulgaria, Belgium, and Frontex (European border and coastguard agency), and through our close partnership with France stopped over 26,000 crossing attempts in 2023.
On 17 April 2024, the UK signed an agreement with Vietnam to increase cooperation on tackling illegal migration.
Asked by: Helen Grant (Conservative - Maidstone and The Weald)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what progress the Government has made on meeting its £11.6 billion climate finance pledge by 2026; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK spent over £1.4 billion on international climate finance in 2021/22 and will publish figures for 2022/23 in due course.
Asked by: Helen Grant (Conservative - Maidstone and The Weald)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for the UN Security Council's policies on children and armed conflict of the delisting of the Saudi-led coalition in the UN Secretary General's report on Children and Armed Conflict, published on 2 June 2016.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
We are aware of the UN Secretary General’s annual report on Children in Armed Conflict which was published on 2 June and included a section outlining the impact of the conflict in Yemen on children. We consider all these reports very carefully. We note the announcement by the UN Secretary General on 6 June that removed the listing of the Saudi Arabian-led Coalition from the report’s annex, pending the conclusion of a joint review by the UN and Saudi Arabia on the cases and numbers cited in the text. We welcome co-operation between the UN and Saudi Arabia to look in to this matter. The UK Government continues to support the work of the United Nations on Children and Armed Conflict.
Asked by: Helen Grant (Conservative - Maidstone and The Weald)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to the UN Secretary General's report on Children and Armed Conflict, published on 2 June 2016, what steps he is taking to engage with (a) the Saudi-led coalition and (b) his counterparts in the UN Security Council on the listing in that report of the Saudi-led coalition.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
We are aware of the UN Secretary General’s annual report on Children in Armed Conflict which was published on 2 June. We note the announcement by the UN Secretary General on 6 June that removed the listing of the Saudi Arabian-led Coalition from the report’s annex, pending the conclusion of a joint review by the UN and Saudi Arabia on the cases and numbers cited in the text. We welcome co-operation between the UN and Saudi Arabia to look in to this matter.