Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assistance they plan to provide to the government of Syria to clear landmines, improvised explosive devices, and other explosive weapons.

Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)

Explosive ordnance continues to pose a significant threat to civilians and humanitarian workers across Syria, as well as preventing the rehabilitation of buildings such as schools and clinics, as well as agricultural land.

We provide funding to the mine action sector via the UK-led Aid Fund for Syria, the UK Global Mine Action Programme and the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs. We are working with partners to clear mines and unexploded ordnance in North East Syria, to allow restoration of services and landmines.

Question

To ask the Leader of the House what monitoring process is in place to ensure that responses to Written Questions answer the question that has been asked.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Basildon - Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal

As Leader I regularly remind Ministers of the importance of timely and accurate answers to written questions. I have met the working group of departmental Parliamentary Clerks and am scheduled to meet separately Permanent Secretaries next week to stress the importance of written questions and the need for those to be answered on time. Alongside this my office routinely contacts departments who have breached the 10 working day target.

Question

To ask the Leader of the House whether audits are conducted by departments to assess the accuracy of answers given to Written Questions.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Basildon - Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal

It is the responsibility for departmental Ministers to ensure that answers to written questions are accurate and address the question posed by the Peer. It is for each individual department to decide its approach to auditing responses. The Guide to Parliamentary Work makes clear that “in responding to questions, ministers should follow the principles of the Ministerial Code making the utmost effort to give accurate and helpful answers”.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what support they have provided to survivors of conflict-related sexual violence in Haiti.

Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)

The UK strongly condemns the violence that continues to undermine efforts to restore democratic rule in Haiti, and the infliction of human rights abuses by gangs on the Haitian people, including rape and sexual violence against women and children. The UK contributes approximately £28 million per annum to development in Haiti via multilateral bodies including through the UN and its agencies. We have supported expansion of the Human Rights Team within the UN Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH), with a focus on addressing sexual and gender-based violence. We also funded the creation and implementation of the human rights compliance framework to the Multinational Security Support mission to Haiti and the designation of gang leaders under the UN Sanctions Regime for enabling human rights abuses.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to prevent wealthy foreign individuals from donating to UK political parties.

Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

We are bringing forward a package of reforms which represents a substantial tightening of the UK’s political finance system. These measures will introduce strict new requirements on political donations to reduce the risk of foreign money entering UK politics. While the law already prohibits foreign donations, it is clear that the threat of foreign interference is evolving, becoming increasingly hostile and sophisticated.

Under new legislation, we will require enhanced checks by recipients of donations to consider the risk of political donations being illegitimate, ensure political donors declare any benefit or sources of funding connected to their donation and tighten the rules around company donations by allowing them to donate only if they have a genuine connection to the UK or Ireland.

The rules around political donations must be abided by regardless of the type of donation made, which includes donations made using cryptocurrency. Political donations can only be accepted from permissible sources, and the recipients of donations must make an honest assessment of the value of the donation at the time they receive it. The Electoral Commission provides guidance on donations, including for non-standard donations such as those made in cryptocurrencies.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the use of cryptocurrency for donations to UK political parties.

Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

We are bringing forward a package of reforms which represents a substantial tightening of the UK’s political finance system. These measures will introduce strict new requirements on political donations to reduce the risk of foreign money entering UK politics. While the law already prohibits foreign donations, it is clear that the threat of foreign interference is evolving, becoming increasingly hostile and sophisticated.

Under new legislation, we will require enhanced checks by recipients of donations to consider the risk of political donations being illegitimate, ensure political donors declare any benefit or sources of funding connected to their donation and tighten the rules around company donations by allowing them to donate only if they have a genuine connection to the UK or Ireland.

The rules around political donations must be abided by regardless of the type of donation made, which includes donations made using cryptocurrency. Political donations can only be accepted from permissible sources, and the recipients of donations must make an honest assessment of the value of the donation at the time they receive it. The Electoral Commission provides guidance on donations, including for non-standard donations such as those made in cryptocurrencies.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made on the proposed policy to restrict foreign donors from giving funds to UK political parties.

Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

We are bringing forward a package of reforms which represents a substantial tightening of the UK’s political finance system. These measures will introduce strict new requirements on political donations to reduce the risk of foreign money entering UK politics. While the law already prohibits foreign donations, it is clear that the threat of foreign interference is evolving, becoming increasingly hostile and sophisticated.

Under new legislation, we will require enhanced checks by recipients of donations to consider the risk of political donations being illegitimate, ensure political donors declare any benefit or sources of funding connected to their donation and tighten the rules around company donations by allowing them to donate only if they have a genuine connection to the UK or Ireland.

The rules around political donations must be abided by regardless of the type of donation made, which includes donations made using cryptocurrency. Political donations can only be accepted from permissible sources, and the recipients of donations must make an honest assessment of the value of the donation at the time they receive it. The Electoral Commission provides guidance on donations, including for non-standard donations such as those made in cryptocurrencies.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what quantity of humanitarian aid entered Gaza in each of the past six months.

Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)

Quantifying how much aid has entered into Gaza is difficult, due to the complex operating environment and limited real-time data, as well as Israel's restrictions on humanitarian workers and monitors. All allocations from the UK's Humanitarian Programme are available publicly on the Development Tracker website.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many crossings into Gaza for humanitarian aid are open.

Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)

Border crossing access remains limited and only the Kerem Shalom and Kissufim crossings are currently operational. The UK continues to put pressure on Israel at official and ministerial levels to open all border crossings, and allow the unrestricted flow of aid into Gaza.