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Written Question
Biofuels: Electricity Generation
Monday 11th March 2024

Asked by: Tommy Sheppard (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh East)

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, for what reason she chose 29 February 2024 as the closing date of her Department's consultation on a transitional support mechanism for large-scale biomass generators.

Answered by Andrew Bowie - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

Government considered the closing date of 29 February to provide an appropriate and reasonable length of time for interested parties to respond to the consultation.


Written Question
Israeli Settlements
Monday 11th March 2024

Asked by: Tommy Sheppard (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh East)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of placing sanctions on (a) Itamar Ben Gvir, (b) Bezalel Smotrich and (c) other Israeli officials that support the expansion of settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)

We urge Israel to halt settlement expansion immediately. We continue to take a strong stance against settler violence and urge Israel to take stronger action to stop settler violence and hold the perpetrators accountable.

We do not speculate on future designations.


Written Question
Rafael Advanced Defense Systems: Arms Trade
Tuesday 20th February 2024

Asked by: Tommy Sheppard (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh East)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what information he holds on (a) arms exports originating from factories owned by Rafael Defense Systems Ltd and (b) whether such exports have been used by the Israeli military in Gaza.

Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The export of strategic goods is controlled by export licensing and the government publishes data on its export licensing decisions: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/strategic-export-controls-licensing-dataLicences. We continue to monitor closely the situation in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. All export licence applications are assessed on a case-by-case basis against the Strategic Export Licensing Criteria. We will not issue an export licence to any destination where to do so would be inconsistent with the Criteria. Licences are kept under careful review and we are able to amend, suspend or revoke extant licences, or refuse new licence applications, as circumstances require.


Written Question
Rafael Advanced Defense Systems: Arms Trade
Monday 19th February 2024

Asked by: Tommy Sheppard (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh East)

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether she has received legal advice on the operations of Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd at sites in the UK; and if she will conduct a review to ensure that imports and exports of arms and components are not being used in violations of international law.

Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

All export licence applications are assessed on a case-by-case basis against our Strategic Export Licensing Criteria, including with regard to international humanitarian law.

All licences are kept under careful and continual review and the Government is able to amend, suspend, refuse or revoke licences as circumstances require.

The Secretary of State for Business and Trade receives legal advice as appropriate, on all matters related to import and export licensing, as part of advice from officials.


Written Question
Alcoholic Drinks: Scotland
Monday 19th February 2024

Asked by: Tommy Sheppard (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh East)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has had discussions with his Scottish counterpart on minimum unit pricing for alcohol.

Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Government notes the recent outcome report from Public Health Scotland on minimum unit pricing for alcohol. The Government will continue to monitor emerging evidence relating to minimum unit pricing with interest.


Written Question
Jerusalem: Ethnic Groups
Wednesday 7th February 2024

Asked by: Tommy Sheppard (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh East)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has had recent discussions with his Israeli counterpart on the (a) recent physical assault on Hagop Djernazian and (b) safety of Armenians in the Old City of Jerusalem.

Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)

We have not held discussions with Israeli counterparts on the situation in the Cow Garden site of the Armenian Quarter in the Old City of Jerusalem. The UK is monitoring the situation and is clear on the need to avoid any further rise in tensions. British Consulate General staff in Jerusalem met members of the community on 19 January, discussed the current situation and visited the Cow's Garden site. The UK's position on the status of Jerusalem is clear and long-standing: it should be determined in a negotiated settlement between the Israelis and the Palestinians, and Jerusalem should ultimately be the shared capital of the Israeli and Palestinian states. The UK is a strong supporter of Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) and an advocate for the integrity of cultural important areas to be respected. The UK continues to take a strong stance against settler violence and urges Israel to take stronger action to stop settler violence and hold the perpetrators accountable.


Written Question
UNRWA: Finance
Monday 5th February 2024

Asked by: Tommy Sheppard (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh East)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what recent discussions he has had with his Israeli counterpart on funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).

Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)

The Foreign Secretary is in close contact with senior Israeli political leaders regarding the wider humanitarian situation in Gaza; he discussed the urgency of getting significantly more aid into Gaza with Prime Minister Netanyahu on 24 January. The UK is appalled by allegations that the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) staff were involved in the 7 October attack against Israel, a heinous act of terrorism that the UK Government has repeatedly condemned, and announced on 27 January its pause to any future funding of UNRWA whilst we review these concerning allegations. We are looking to our partners in the UN to carry out a robust and comprehensive investigation.


Written Question
Jerusalem: Cultural Heritage
Wednesday 17th January 2024

Asked by: Tommy Sheppard (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh East)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will (a) make an assessment of the implications for his policies of and (b) introduce sanctions following the attempted takeover of the Cows Garden site of the Armenian Quarter of Old Jerusalem.

Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)

The UK is monitoring the situation in the Cow Garden site of the Armenian Quarter of Old Jerusalem and is clear on the need to avoid any further rise in tensions. The UK's position on the status of Jerusalem is clear and long-standing: it should be determined in a negotiated settlement between the Israelis and the Palestinians, and Jerusalem should ultimately be the shared capital of the Israeli and Palestinian states. The UK is a strong supporter of Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) and an advocate for the integrity of culturally important areas to be respected. The UK continues to take a strong stance against settler violence, and urges Israel to take stronger action to stop settler violence and hold the perpetrators accountable. We keep our sanctions under review and reserve the right to introduce further measures.


Written Question
Veterans: LGBT+ People
Tuesday 16th January 2024

Asked by: Tommy Sheppard (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh East)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of removing the cap on compensation for LGBT+ veterans.

Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)

The Government has accepted the recommendations of the LGBT Veterans Independent Review including the financial award scheme. Defence continues to work at pace with experts across Government and reference other schemes, such as the Canadian scheme, to establish an appropriate scheme for the financial award, and is currently working within the £50 million limit as recommended in the report.

Development of the scheme is at an early stage so the Government cannot yet confirm the details, the expected number of claimants, or the likely size of awards. Defence encourages those affected to register their interest in applying for a financial award by completing the LGBT veterans: support and next steps - GOV.UK webpage. Such registrations of interest will enable us to learn more about the affected community and thereby design the most suitable scheme possible.


Written Question
Veterans: LGBT+ People
Tuesday 16th January 2024

Asked by: Tommy Sheppard (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh East)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if officials in his Department will meet representatives of Fighting with Pride to discuss the experience of LGBT+ veterans.

Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)

There is and has been extensive engagement with Fighting with Pride at official and Ministerial level.

The LGBT Veterans Independent Review provided the opportunity for Defence and the Government to better understand the lived experience of LGBT veterans who served prior to 2000, including how being discharged or dismissed from the military due to their sexuality, affected their life.

Defence will continue to engage with Fighting with Pride and a number of other charities and independent veterans.