Asked by: Baroness Tonge (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of delays to HPV vaccinations arising from the COVID-19 pandemic; and when they expect to have rectified any such delays.
Answered by Lord Bethell
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all educational settings were closed from 23 March 2020, pausing the delivery of the 2019/20 school immunisation programmes.
In June 2020, NHS England and NHS Improvement commissioned school-aged immunisation providers were able to implement their restoration and recovery plans to commence partially delivered or incomplete programmes during the summer period. This included the delivery of programmes in school and community settings following a robust risk assessment in line with United Kingdom COVID-19 guidance. As such, by the end of July 2020, 91% of all NHS England and NHS Improvement commissioned providers were delivering school aged immunisation programmes, ensuring those eligible for the human papillomavirus vaccine had been offered at least one dose of the vaccine. The school-aged immunisation providers have continued to operationalise their restoration and recovery plans, with delivery that continued throughout August and September 2020 in line with the Government’s guidelines.
Asked by: Baroness Tonge (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports that the government of Israel has charged Palestinians for the demolition of their homes by the Israel Defence Force.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are seriously concerned by increasing rates of demolition of Palestinian property by the Israeli authorities. In all but the most exceptional of circumstances demolitions are contrary to International Humanitarian Law. The practice causes unnecessary suffering to ordinary Palestinians and is harmful to the peace process. The UK is focused on preventing demolitions from happening in the first place through our legal aid programme, which supports Bedouin communities and Palestinians facing demolition or home eviction in both the West Bank and East Jerusalem. We continue to urge the Government of Israel to develop improved mechanisms for zoning, planning and permitting in Area C for the benefit of the Palestinian population, including by facilitating local Palestinian participation in such processes.
Asked by: Baroness Tonge (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel about reports that Palestinians who have been shot by the Israel Defence Force are being denied medical care.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The long-lasting movement restrictions and the serious constraints imposed by the occupation can impact the provision of medical care. Under International Humanitarian Law, Israel, as the Occupying Power, has the duty of ensuring and maintaining public health in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs) to the fullest extent of the means available and with the cooperation of the local authorities. Our Embassy in Tel Aviv regularly raises the matter of access to healthcare with the Israeli authorities. We have also publicly and privately expressed our longstanding concerns about the use of live ammunition and excessive force by the Israel Defence Forces.
Asked by: Baroness Tonge (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports that an Israeli settler attacked Gethsemane Church in East Jerusalem; and what steps they are taking to protect Christian churches from any damage caused by Israeli settlers.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
UK Consul General Jerusalem visited the Church of All Nations in the Garden of Gethsemane on 7 December, following the attack on the church. The UK stands in solidarity with Christian communities in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and condemns all attacks on freedom of religious belief. Holy sites in Jerusalem hold particular significance for many groups around the globe, especially the three Abrahamic faiths of Christianity, Islam and Judaism. We condemn all forms of violence, including against places of worship, and raise this with the authorities when necessary. We also condemn any incidence of violence by Israeli settlers.
Asked by: Baroness Tonge (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports about recent remarks by Israel's Ambassador to the United Kingdom about (1) the Nakba, and (2) the displacement of Palestinians since 1948.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Minister for the Middle East and North Africa met with the Israeli Ambassador to the UK on 15 December and reiterated the UK's position on the Middle East Peace Process, including our commitment to a two state solution with Jerusalem as a shared capital. The UK is clear that the status of Palestinian refugees must be agreed as part of wider peace negotiations. Until that time, the UK remains firmly committed to supporting the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) and Palestinian refugees across the Middle East. We support a just, fair, agreed and realistic settlement for refugees in line with UN Security Council Resolution 1515. In practice, this means that any such agreement must be demographically compatible with two states for two peoples and a generous package of international compensation should be made available. Following the 1948 Arab-Israeli conflict, UNRWA was established by United Nations General Assembly Resolution 302 (IV) of 8 December 1949 to carry out direct relief and works programmes for Palestinian refugees. The operational definition of a Palestinian refugee is any person whose "normal place of residence was Palestine during the period 1 June 1946 to 15 May 1948 and who lost both home and means of livelihood as a result of the 1948 conflict".
Asked by: Baroness Tonge (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by Yesh Din, Physicians for Human Rights Israel and Breaking the Silence A life exposed: Military invasions of Palestinian homes in the West Bank, published in November.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are concerned by the findings of the report by Yesh Din entitled, 'A Life Exposed: Military invasions of Palestinian homes in the West Bank'. We repeatedly call on Israel to abide by its obligations under international law and have a regular dialogue with Israel on legal issues relating to the occupation, including the Israeli security forces' rules of engagement. While we recognise Israel's legitimate need to deploy security measures, we encourage them to deploy these in a way which minimises tension and to use appropriate force.
Asked by: Baroness Tonge (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel about the demolition of a historic stairway which leads to Al-Aqsa Mosque by the Jerusalem Municipality as part of their plans to establish the "Biblical garden path".
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK has not made representations on this specific issue. The holy sites of Jerusalem hold particular significance for many groups around the globe, especially the three Abrahamic faiths of Christianity, Islam and Judaism. The UK is committed to working with all parties to maintain calm, avoid provocation and uphold the status quo in order to ensure the safety and security of Al Haram Al Sharif/Temple Mount and all who worship and visit there. We support the freedom of Muslims to worship at Al Haram Al Sharif. In our meetings with the Israeli authorities we regularly raise the need to respect the status quo of the holy sites in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.
Asked by: Baroness Tonge (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Sugg on 8 December (HL11055), what DAC codes are used to calculate all the listed annually estimated FCDO spending.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Development Assistance Committee (DAC) codes included to calculate the estimated Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) spending under our usual methodologies for the written answer HL11055 includes health policy, health systems, reproductive health care, family planning, STD control, Water and Sanitation, Nutrition, Malaria, TB, and Infectious disease control. For more details please refer to: https://euromapping.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/EM2018-Methodology.pdf
The DAC codes included under the Muskoka 2 report to calculate the estimated FCDO spending cover a similar list to the above with the addition of Humanitarian sector codes. For more details please refer to: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(20)30005-X/fulltext
Asked by: Baroness Tonge (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Sugg on 28 January (HL435), how they calculated the 13.6 per cent of UK Official Development Assistance spent on sexual and reproductive health and rights in 2017–18.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
In the written answer HL435, the percentage's numerator was calculated as the sum of Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn and Child Health spend using the Muskoka Methodology for Calculating Baselines and Commitments.
The percentage's denominator is FCDO total programme spend.
The data source used was the FCDO spending publication "Statistics on International Development 2017 to 2018: GPEX tables".
Asked by: Baroness Tonge (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the rights of children under the Convention on the Rights of the Child of reports that the Israel Defence Force is conducting night time raids on families in Palestine; and what representations they have made to the government of Israel about respecting such rights as a signatory to that Convention.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
While we recognise Israel's legitimate need to deploy security measures, we encourage them to deploy these in a way which minimises tension. We repeatedly call on Israel to abide by its obligations under international law and have a regular dialogue with Israel on legal issues relating to the occupation, including the treatment of Palestinian children. We continue to stress the importance of the Israeli security forces providing appropriate protection to the Palestinian civilian population, in particular the need to protect children.