Asked by: Abena Oppong-Asare (Labour - Erith and Thamesmead)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the UK’s international response to the covid-19 pandemic tackles gender inequality.
Answered by Wendy Morton - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is widely recognised for its leadership on gender equality and women and girls' rights. The challenges of advancing girls' education, sexual and reproductive health and rights, women's political empowerment and participation, women's economic empowerment, and ending gender-based violence, including conflict related sexual violence, are more acute now, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. We continue to engage virtually with our international partners and champion gender equality in multilateral fora including in the UN to ensure that this issue is a central element of the COVID-19 recovery. This was reiterated by the Foreign Secretary in his statement at the UN General Assembly on 29 September. He said that our global recovery must be inclusive and support the most vulnerable who are disproportionately affected by COVID-19 and we must commit to leaving no one behind. That includes standing up for gender equality and in particular every girls' right to 12 years of quality education. Baroness Sugg was appointed by the Prime Minister as the UK Special Envoy for Girls' Education in March 2020 and she works closely with international partners to encourage greater global ambition, coordination, and investment on girls' education.
The UK Government continues to build on our Strategic Vision for Gender Equality alongside our National Action Plan (NAP) on Women Peace and Security. Also, through our Presidency of COP26, we will be promoting a clean, inclusive and resilient recovery by giving a voice to those most affected by climate change, including women and girls.
Asked by: Abena Oppong-Asare (Labour - Erith and Thamesmead)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent representation his Department has to the Indian Government on the detention of Jagtar Singh Johal; and what assessment he has made of the adequacy of (a) mental and (b) physical support available to Jagtar Singh Johal during that detention.
Answered by Nigel Adams
We regularly make representations on Mr Johal's case to the Government of India. Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, the Minister for South Asia and the Commonwealth, most recently raised Mr Johal's case with the Indian High Commissioner to the UK and the Indian Minister of State for External Affairs and Parliamentary Affairs, on 23 September and 28 July respectively. We monitor Mr Johal's health and welfare through regular consular visits or, during the Covid-19 pandemic, phone calls, and raise any concerns with local authorities in line with our public guidance set out in Support for British Nationals Abroad: A Guide.
Asked by: Abena Oppong-Asare (Labour - Erith and Thamesmead)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he plans to make to his Israeli counterpart on access to healthcare for Palestinians in Gaza affected by covid-19.
Answered by James Cleverly - Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
I discussed our concerns about the impact of a COVID-19 outbreak in Gaza with the Israeli Ambassador to the UK on 31 March. The British Embassy in Tel Aviv are also in regular contact with the Israeli authorities and last raised access to healthcare for Palestinians in Gaza with them on 26 May. UN agencies, the Palestinian Authority and the Israeli Government are working together to ensure that essential medical supplies and staff are able to access Gaza. As I made clear during a meeting with Israeli Director General Rotem, Palestinian PM Shattyeh, and international donors on 2 June, we continue to welcome this ongoing cooperation. The UK is providing vital support to help respond to COVID-19 in the OPTs. Our $1 million funding contribution will enable the World Health Organization and UNICEF to purchase and co-ordinate the delivery of medical equipment, treat critical care patients, train frontline public health personnel and scale up laboratory testing capacity.
Asked by: Abena Oppong-Asare (Labour - Erith and Thamesmead)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what criteria the Government uses to prioritise the repatriation of constituents stranded overseas.
Answered by Nigel Adams
The UK Government is working with the airline industry and host governments across the world to help bring back British travellers to the UK as part of the plan announced by the Foreign Secretary on 30 March - with up to £75 million available for special charter flights from priority countries, focused on helping the most vulnerable travellers.
We will prioritise vulnerable British nationals most at risk from the effects of Coronavirus who normally live in the UK and are trying to return home for these flights, together with their families who normally live with them in the UK. We are giving additional consideration to the local context and the situation of the individual themselves, this can include lock-down processes in country, access to reliable healthcare, possible reduction in access to routine medication, and those at additional risk if they contract the virus for example the elderly or those with pre-existing medical conditions.
In many countries, commercial flights have also continued to operate and have been able to return British nationals to the UK. We are working with host governments to keep flights running and airspace open where possible for this to continue to happen.