Asked by: Baroness Deech (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Verma on 12 May (HL8117), what assessment they have made of paragraph 29 of the Third Report of the House of Commons International Development Committee <i>The UK’s Development Work in the Occupied Palestinian Territories</i> which states "We are also extremely concerned about the PA’s policy of paying salaries to the families of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. While appreciating it is a sensitive issue, issuing payments to families based on the length of jail terms, rather than need, is a political and not a welfare decision and thus unacceptable. In addition, while the British Government maintains that no UK money supports this activity, UK aid payments fund the payment of PA civil servants. It could therefore be said with some justification that this payment of UK funds enables the PA to release alternative funds which allow these payments to continue.".
Answered by Baroness Verma
The UK provides financial support to the PA because we want to help deliver peace and support progress towards a two state solution, which is the only way to secure a prosperous and peaceful future for Israelis and Palestinians alike. The UK support to the PA funds named civil servants from a pre-approved EU list only. The EU PEGASE mechanism is used to earmark funds to payment of vetted PA civil servants and pensioners. The list of approved recipients is subject to a vetting process that includes screening against international and ad hoc sanctions lists. The screening covers over 20 different risk categories, including terrorism financing and is updated daily. The EU PEGASE mechanism is independently audited, as is UK direct financial assistance to the PA.
As the Committee noted, prisoners are a sensitive political issue on both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Payments to Palestinian prisoners are made by the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO), which has full administrative control for the monthly payments that are provided to prisoners’ families and dependants. The UK has consistently raised prisoner payments at the highest levels with the Palestinian authorities and continues to urge that these payments are more transparent, needs-based and affordable.
Asked by: Baroness Deech (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Verma on 11 May (HL8117) what assessment they have made of paragraph 27 of the Third Report of the House of Commons International Development Committee <i>The UK’s Development Work in the Occupied Palestinian Territories</i> which states "We are nevertheless concerned that DFID is not taking adequate measures to prevent its funds from being misused. Given the scale of the operation, with 85,000 civil servants being paid with UK money, there is a serious risk of abuse. We do not regard a six-monthly audit as an adequate protection to secure the integrity of UK aid money."
Answered by Baroness Verma
We investigate thoroughly any claims that UK funds are misused. UK aid to the PA is subject to rigorous scrutiny, with safeguards in place to ensure its being used for proper development purposes.
UK support to the PA funds named civil servants from a pre-approved EU list only. The EU PEGASE mechanism is used to earmark funds to payment of vetted PA civil servants and pensioners. The list of approved recipients is subject to a vetting process that includes screening against international and ad hoc sanctions lists. The screening covers over 20 different risk categories, including terrorism financing and is updated daily.
The EU PEGASE mechanism is independently audited, as is UK direct financial assistance to the PA.
Asked by: Baroness Deech (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Verma on 11 May (HL8116), whether the Deloitte auditors who determine the eligible Palestinian beneficiaries under the PEGASE mechanism are regulated by any British regulator.
Answered by Baroness Verma
Deloitte is a registered audit firm that employs certified public accountants who conduct their assignment in compliance with the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) standards.
Asked by: Baroness Deech (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Verma on 25 April (HL7413), whether the independent auditor of UK payments to the Palestinian Authority that are channelled through a trust fund administered by the World Bank is regulated by any British regulator.
Answered by Baroness Verma
Deloitte is a registered audit firm that employs certified public accountants who conduct their assignment in compliance with the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) standards.
Asked by: Baroness Deech (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Verma on 11 May (HL8116), what is their assessment of the view expressed in section 4.1.1 of the Overseas Development Institute’s Final Report of November 2015 <i>Evaluative Review of the Statebuilding Grant and the Palestinian Governance Facility—DFID Palestinian programme </i>that "the manner in which DFID’s funds are demonstrated to have only paid the salaries of PEGASE-approved employees is of questionable efficacy", and the "accounting exercise" "undertaken <i>ex post </i>to show that DFID funds are less than the outstanding amount needed to fund salaries of PEGASE-approved PA employees" "is of questionable robustness, as this kind of notional earmarking provides few fiduciary assurances."
Answered by Baroness Verma
UK direct financial assistance to the Palestinian Authority is used for the sole purpose of paying the salaries of civil servants responsible for providing essential services. Our support is provided through a multi-donor trust fund administered by the World Bank, which carries out close monitoring of PA expenditure. Only named civil servants from a pre-approved EU list are eligible, and the vetting process ensures that our funds do not benefit terrorist groups. The process is subject to independent auditing, which is regularly reviewed and strengthened accordingly.
As the ODI report itself makes clear, UK support to the PA is delivering real results, improving lives and is instrumental in preventing economic collapse and violent escalation.
Asked by: Baroness Deech (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Decision on health conditions in the occupied Palestinian territory adopted at the 69th World Health Assembly, whether they will bring forward resolutions at the Assembly concerning people in urgent need of health care in Yemen and attacks on medical facilities in Syria.
Answered by Baroness Verma
Tackling emergency healthcare needs in Yemen is absolutely critical. According to the United Nations, more than 14 million people lack access to basic healthcare in Yemen in 2016 and 2.1 million women and children are malnourished, of which an estimated 320,000 are severely malnourished children. We are currently focussed on helping to meet those needs and have no plans for a resolution at this stage. Since January 2015, UK assistance has helped provide healthcare to more than 120,000 Yemenis and improved sanitation for over 650,000 people.
In Syria, it is unacceptable that parties to the conflict continue to carry out flagrant human rights violations, indiscriminate attacks against densely populated areas and targeting of civilian infrastructure. We are particularly concerned by continued attacks against health facilities and personnel, with only 40 percent of public hospitals reported as functioning.
The UK has consistently supported the need for accurate reporting and accountability for the atrocities that have been committed in Syria. The UN Secretary General and UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Stephen O’Brien, already provides monthly reports to the UN Security Council on violations of human rights and international humanitarian law inside Syria. These updates include detailed reports on attacks on medical facilities.
Asked by: Baroness Deech (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have given any consideration to suspending aid to the Palestinian Authority in the light of its decision to transfer over £85 million a year to the Palestine Liberation Organisation for the purpose of paying salaries to convicted terrorists imprisoned in Israel.
Answered by Baroness Verma
DFID is currently reviewing all its programmes following the publication of the updated Official Development Assistance strategy last year. DFID provides financial support to the Palestinian Authority (PA) to help deliver peace and support progress towards a two state solution. DFID funding helps build Palestinian institutions and promotes economic growth so that any future Palestinian state will be a prosperous and effective partner for peace. UK funding to the PA is for vetted civil servants only.
The PA has reaffirmed that prisoner payments are administered by the Palestinian Liberation Organisation. We continue to lobby that the payments to prisoner’s families are more transparent and needs-based.
Asked by: Baroness Deech (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Verma on 25 April (HL7413), how the pre-approved EU list of named civil servants is approved, and by whom; and how that process is subject to independent auditing, and by whom.
Answered by Baroness Verma
The UK uses the EU PEGASE mechanism to earmark funds to payment of vetted PA civil servants and pensioners. The list of PEGASE Direct Financial Support eligible beneficiaries is determined each month by Deloitte auditors on the basis of the EU eligibility criteria. The list of approved recipients is subject to a vetting process that includes screening against international (including Israeli) ad hoc sanctions lists.
Asked by: Baroness Deech (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact on charities operating in Gaza of the freezing of financial transfers to them owing to the orders of the Palestinian Authority to Palestinian banks.
Answered by Baroness Verma
The UK remains supportive of the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) efforts to strengthen its revenue generation. A transparent and effective tax system is an important part of this. It is also important that the tax system is implemented in a way that does not negatively impact the vital role which NGO’s play in responding to the needs of Palestinians in the Occupied Palestinian Territories is an importtant part of this.
DFID officials have raised concerns with the Ministry of Finance (MOF) about this, particularly the need for clarity on the implications of the tax system for NGOs, and how this could affect issues such as operations in Gaza and banking signatory authorities. The UK, along with other donors, UN OCHA and the NGO community, will continue to be in close contact with PA to clarify their approach.
Asked by: Baroness Deech (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to ensure that UK aid to Palestine is not given, directly or indirectly, to the families of suicide bombers or to convicted prisoners.
Answered by Baroness Verma
UK aid to the Palestinian Authority (PA) is subject to rigorous scrutiny, with safeguards in place to ensure its being used for proper development purposes. Our financial assistance to the PA is used to pay the salaries of civil servant and pensioners. Our support is provided through a multi-donor trust fund administered by the World Bank, which carries out close monitoring of PA expenditure. Only named civil servants from a pre-approved EU list are eligible, and the vetting process ensures that our funds do not benefit terrorist groups. The process is subject to independent auditing.