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Written Question
Roads: Subsidence
Thursday 28th March 2024

Asked by: Earl of Sandwich (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of risk of damage to public highways from subsidence caused by global warming; what is the current budget for repairs following subsidence; and what grants are available to private landowners for such repairs.

Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Chapter 4 of the Third UK Climate Change Risk Assessment Technical Report assesses the climate-related risks and opportunities to infrastructure in the UK. Part 4.8 of that document considers the risks to subterranean and surface infrastructure from subsidence.

National Highways is responsible for the operation, maintenance, renewal and enhancement of the Strategic Road Network, funded by the Government in 5-year roads periods with objectives set out in Road Investment Strategies. The second Road Investment Strategy (2020-2025) includes action to enhance all-weather resilience of the strategic road network, to minimise the risk of incidents and their impact for road users. National Highways also reports under the adaptation reporting power of the Climate Change Act 2008 on what it is doing to check climate resilience against the latest Met Office Climate Projections and undertake actions to improve resilience across its network. The next round of adaptation reporting closes at the end of 2024.

In respect of local roads, the Department is providing over £5.5 billion of highways maintenance funding between 2020/21 – 2024/25 for eligible highway authorities outside London and those receiving City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements (CRSTS). This funding is not ring-fenced, and authorities may choose to use it to maintain their network, including repairs to the highway following subsidence and actions to make networks more resilient to changing weather patterns. The Government has also announced that it will provide an additional £8.3 billion of reallocated HS2 funds over this year and the next decade to help authorities to transform their highway networks.

The Department for Transport does not provide grants to private landowners for repairing subsidence damage.


Written Question
UNRWA: Finance
Monday 25th March 2024

Asked by: Earl of Sandwich (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what impact the UK's suspension of funding for UNRWA had on its performance in delivering aid to Gaza in the last financial year; and what is their forecast of funding in 2024.

Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK provided £35 million to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) this financial year, including an uplift of £16 million for the Gaza humanitarian response, all of which was disbursed before the recent allegations came to light. No more British funding is due this financial year and we are pausing any future funding of UNRWA.

Our decision to pause future funding has no impact on the UK's contribution to the humanitarian response. We remain committed to getting humanitarian aid to people in Gaza who desperately need it, including through other UN agencies and British charities. On 13 March, the Government announced a further £10 million in aid funding to bring UK support to more than £100 million this financial year. UK funding has supported the work of partners including the British Red Cross, World Food Programme, UNICEF and Egyptian Red Crescent Society (ERCS) to deliver vital supplies.


Written Question
Hamas: UNRWA
Monday 25th March 2024

Asked by: Earl of Sandwich (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the continuing role of the UNRWA in aid distribution in Gaza following allegations against some of the staff.

Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK provided £35 million to UNRWA this financial year, including an uplift of £16 million for the Gaza humanitarian response, all of which was disbursed before the recent allegations came to light. No more British funding is due this financial year and we are pausing any future funding of UNRWA. Our decision to pause future funding to UNRWA has had no impact on the UK's contribution to the humanitarian response. Our commitment to trebling aid to Gaza still stands and we are supporting partners including the British Red Cross, UNICEF, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) and Egyptian Red Crescent Society to respond to critical food, fuel, water, health, shelter and security needs in Gaza.


Written Question
Gaza: Aid Workers
Friday 22nd March 2024

Asked by: Earl of Sandwich (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many aid workers from UNRWA and other agencies have (1) died, and (2) been injured, in the course of aid distribution and the provision of essential services in Gaza to date.

Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

A shocking number of Palestinian civilians have been killed or injured. We want Israel to stop harming civilians and destroying homes.

The Foreign Secretary and Prime Minister have underlined the need for Israel to ensure effective deconfliction in Gaza, and to take all possible measures to ensure the safety of medical personnel and facilities.

We need the fighting to stop immediately to allow humanitarian actors and Gazans to operate and move safely, and enable hostages to be released.

We need Israel to ensure effective systems to guarantee the safety of aid convoys, humanitarian operations and IDP returns, and facilitate access.


Written Question
Sudan: USA
Friday 15th March 2024

Asked by: Earl of Sandwich (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the fact that the US has appointed a temporary envoy to Sudan; and what impact this appointment has had on the role and forward plan of the Troika in Sudan.

Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK welcomes Tom Perriello's appointment. We look forward to working with him, Troika partners and the wider international community to press the warring parties to end the violence, secure urgently needed humanitarian access, ensure the protection of civilians and commit to a sustained and meaningful peace process.


Written Question
Sudan: United Nations
Thursday 14th March 2024

Asked by: Earl of Sandwich (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact that the closure of the UN Transitional Mission to Sudan will have on the Sudanese people and other UN operations; and whether they expect there to be a successor to that Mission.

Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK continues to use its position as penholder to speak out against egregious human rights abuses being committed by both warring parties, and call for a permanent ceasefire, a transfer of power to a civilian administration, as well as unfettered humanitarian access. We worked closely with Security Council members and the UN Secretariat to agree an orderly transition and liquidation last December; this was the best available outcome in the circumstances. We welcome the Secretary-General's appointment of Ramtane Lamamra as a personal envoy, whom we are keen to support.


Written Question
Sudan: Cholera
Friday 9th February 2024

Asked by: Earl of Sandwich (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, following reports from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs that there have been almost 10,000 suspected cases of cholera in Sudan as of 20 January, what channels of assistance, if any, they are using to combat the outbreak; and what discussions they have had with other international partners as part of those efforts.

Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Due to the ongoing conflict, Sudan continues to grapple with mass displacement, disease outbreaks and malnutrition. The health system has been overwhelmed by attacks on health facilities and the scarcity of medical supplies, equipment, health workers and funds. The World Health Organization (WHO) is supporting Sudan with cholera treatments and direct support to cholera isolation centres. The UK is funding Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) and health activities in Sudan via the Sudan Humanitarian Fund, UNICEF and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). We are supporting the WHO's Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network and have deployed a senior epidemiologist to bolster the national response.


Written Question
Sudan: Internally Displaced People
Thursday 8th February 2024

Asked by: Earl of Sandwich (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the extent to which UK and international contributions to UN humanitarian agencies to date are meeting the needs of internally displaced people in Sudan.

Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UN estimates almost 9 million people are currently internally displaced in Sudan. This is now the largest displacement crisis in the world. We are working with regional and international partners to help bring an end to the hostilities, ensure the protection of civilians, and secure safe humanitarian access to and for the most at-need communities. The UK continues to provide assistance to the many people in need in Sudan through our humanitarian aid package of £38 million for 2023-2024. In the next financial year 2024/2025 the UK bilateral Official Development Assistance (ODA) to Sudan will double, to £89 million.


Written Question
Trade
Wednesday 7th February 2024

Asked by: Earl of Sandwich (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to the proposal from the International Agreements Committee, set out in its letter to the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, published on 23 March 2023, that the Department for Business and Trade should publish a trade policy framework, setting out strategic policies and objectives for trade negotiations, to facilitate better parliamentary scrutiny of all trade.

Answered by Lord Offord of Garvel - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The Government communicates its trade strategy in publicly available documents: the Integrated Review Refresh, speeches and committee appearances, and our Export Strategy. Publishing a framework may risk revealing our positions, undermining our ability to negotiate effectively and therefore place UK businesses in an uncompetitive position.

The Government is committed to providing updates to Parliament, which are also then available to the public. This information includes the Government’s strategic approach to free trade agreements, providing written updates after negotiating rounds, engaging with committees throughout negotiations, and in debates during Bill scrutiny. Ministers also provide information when answering written and oral questions.


Written Question
Migration: EU Countries
Tuesday 6th February 2024

Asked by: Earl of Sandwich (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what new opportunities they are considering for discussing migration in Europe, in particular (1) through the European Union or its institutions, (2) with European Union members, or (3) the Council of Europe.

Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

The Government is committed to working with international partners on migration. We must intensify efforts to stop migrant smuggling across Europe, over Europe’s external borders, and in source and transit countries. This requires a collective European voice on the global stage, including in multilateral fora.

Migration is a focus of all our bilateral and multilateral engagement with our European partners. The UK is clear that reducing illegal migration requires a coordinated approach across Europe. For example, the Prime Minister and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni chaired a small-group meeting on migration and organised immigration crime at the European Political Community Summit in Granada in October 2023, agreeing an eight-point plan to address growing levels of illegal migration to mainland Europe. We will continue to build on this work throughout 2024.