Asked by: Alison McGovern (Labour - Birkenhead)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he has taken to support humanitarian planning to ensure that civilians are protected and are offered safe routes to voluntarily evacuate during the military offensive to capture Raqqa.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
The protection of civilians is a priority for the UK, and we will continue to work closely with the US and other partners to that end. We have provided significant support to humanitarian planning for Raqqah operations. This has included involvement in the Coalition's civil-military planning process and detailed engagement with the UN and agencies.
Arranging the safe passage of civilians to areas of safety hinges entirely on the goodwill of parties to the conflict. UK aid does not currently go to Daesh-held areas because Daesh are blocking humanitarian access. In areas of the Raqqah Governorate liberated from Daesh, DFID-funded partners are supporting the displaced with food, shelter, healthcare, water, sanitation and hygiene assistance.
Asked by: Alison McGovern (Labour - Birkenhead)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the UK has changed its targeting practices and widened its rules of engagement in Syria.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
In order to maintain operational and personnel security, we do not comment on rules of engagement or on UK targeting procedures.
Asked by: Alison McGovern (Labour - Birkenhead)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if his Department will make an assessment of the accuracy of reports by Amnesty International that white phosphorus has been used by US-led forces in Syria.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
The UK has not used White Phosphorous in Syria. In accordance with the law of armed conflict, white phosphorus rounds are used for screening, obscuring, and marking in a way that fully considers the possible incidental effects on civilians and civilian structures. The Coalition takes all reasonable precautions to minimize the risk of incidental injury to non-combatants and damage to civilian structures.
Asked by: Alison McGovern (Labour - Birkenhead)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent estimate he has made of the level of civilian casualties in Syria as a result of the recent Counter-Daesh military assault on Raqqa.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
The RAF's targeting process is rigorous: the protection of civilians is at its heart. Commanders constantly weigh the arguments for and against strikes in their consideration of whether or not to give permission. Parameters are set in advance of each planned strike to minimise the risk of collateral damage. UK aircrews always operate in accordance with International Humanitarian Law, the Law of Armed Conflict and under strict Rules of Engagement. Our pilots can - and do - decide, right up to the last minute, NOT to strike if they have any reason to believe there is a risk of causing civilian casualties.
There is no evidence from the operations so far - either from our own detailed assessments which take place after every strike, or from the information provided to us by third parties - that any RAF airstrikes have caused civilian casualties.
Asked by: Alison McGovern (Labour - Birkenhead)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps the UK is taking, as a member of the US-led Counter-Daesh coalition, to ensure that civilian casualties are minimised in the military offensive in Raqqa.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
The RAF's targeting process is rigorous: the protection of civilians is at its heart. Commanders constantly weigh the arguments for and against strikes in their consideration of whether or not to give permission. Parameters are set in advance of each planned strike to minimise the risk of collateral damage. UK aircrews always operate in accordance with International Humanitarian Law, the Law of Armed Conflict and under strict Rules of Engagement. Our pilots can - and do - decide, right up to the last minute, NOT to strike if they have any reason to believe there is a risk of causing civilian casualties.
There is no evidence from the operations so far - either from our own detailed assessments which take place after every strike, or from the information provided to us by third parties - that any RAF airstrikes have caused civilian casualties.
Asked by: Alison McGovern (Labour - Birkenhead)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make an assessment of reports by independent monitoring groups of civilians casualties caused by British air strikes in Syria; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt
All UK airstrikes in Iraq and Syria are assessed post-strike using the best available imagery, intelligence and other sources of information to assess the impact of the strike on the target and affected area. This assessment, coupled with pre-strike checks provides the evidence base to support the statement that in the hundreds of airstrikes conducted by the RAF to date in Iraq and, more recently Syria, we have found no evidence of civilian casualties arising from UK airstrikes.
Asked by: Alison McGovern (Labour - Birkenhead)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what organisations in Wirral South constituency have received funding from the Libor fund; and how much each such organisation has received.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 2 June 2015 to Question 428 to the hon. Member for St Helens North (Conor McGinn).
In addition, it is likely that other organisations have benefited from LIBOR funds distributed by other Government Departments. However this information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Alison McGovern (Labour - Birkenhead)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to improve childcare infrastructure; and how much LIBOR funding has been used for that purpose.
Answered by Anna Soubry
The Government recognises that many military units, both in the UK and overseas, have evolved without the same standard of purpose-built childcare facilities that civilian families can expect. That is why the Chancellor announced in 2013 that up to £20 million of LIBOR money would be provided to update existing childcare facilities and provide new purpose-built buildings on the Defence Estate.
In December 2014 the Prime Minister announced that around £3 million of this money will be spent on a childcare project at the RAF base in Akrotiri, Cyprus. In addition, initial scoping undertaken by the Ministry of Defence (MOD) has identified a further 38 locations where this money could increase the accessibility or availability of childcare provision for the Service community. MOD officials are now working to establish the levels of funding required for each project and announcements will be made in due course. It is anticipated the full £20 million will be used.
Asked by: Alison McGovern (Labour - Birkenhead)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will introduce a medal for service personnel and medical staff deployed to West Africa as part of the fight against Ebola.
Answered by Anna Soubry
Our Armed Forces are playing a significant role, in the fight against the Ebola epidemic in West Africa. The risk and rigor being faced by our Service personnel in the region is unique, and the situation is kept under review by the Operational Review Board. Officials are currently examining the issue of medallic recognition for those who have deployed.
Asked by: Alison McGovern (Labour - Birkenhead)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will provide an update on the use of his Department's resources to help efforts to locate abducted girls in northern Nigeria.
Answered by Mark Francois - Shadow Minister (Defence)
The Ministry of Defence is contributing to the international effort to find the missing school girls through the deployment of a Sentinel surveillance aircraft to help improve the intelligence picture, complementing other international intelligence and surveillance assets. UK military personnel have also been deployed to a multi-national intelligence fusion team based in Nigeria, whose role is to assist the Nigerians in their efforts to locate the girls.