Asked by: Andrew Bowie (Conservative - West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department are taking to ensure that UK humanitarian aid in Gaza is not diverted to the Hamas terror group.
Answered by James Cleverly - Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
The UK has a zero-tolerance approach to fraud and robust controls against the diversion of aid. We select our partners for the strong safeguards they have in place, which reduces risks and ensures the maximum impact of UK aid for Palestinians. In Gaza, we have strong controls in place to monitor spending, including enhanced due diligence assessments, annual audits, and field visits; all to ensure UK aid reaches its intended beneficiaries and achieves value for money for the UK taxpayer. The UK's funding agreements also commit partners to understand and comply with UK and international counter terrorism legislation.
Asked by: Andrew Bowie (Conservative - West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 21 January 2021 to Question 138478, whether he has made representations to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency on reports that educational material published by that UN agency during the covid-19 pandemic includes content promoting violence against Israel.
Answered by James Cleverly - Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
The UK Government has zero-tolerance to incitement of violence, and we have raised this issue with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). We contacted the UNRWA directly regarding this issue and understand that as soon as the mistake was identified, the UNRWA took swift action to correct the issue and conducted a thorough review to address any education materials in breach of its policies. We continue to monitor the situation to ensure self-learning materials remain in line with UN values.
Asked by: Andrew Bowie (Conservative - West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 21 January 2021 to Question 138479, what assessment he has made of the long-term effect of extremist educational material reportedly taught by UK-funded teachers in the West Bank and Gaza on the prospects for a two-state solution.
Answered by James Cleverly - Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
An independent review of the content in Palestinian textbooks led by our European partners is currently underway. The study is due to be completed in early 2021. We continue to press our European partners to complete the review as soon as possible. We will study its findings carefully.
We have a regular dialogue with the PA in which we raise concerns about allegations of inappropriate content in textbooks. We continue to urge the Israeli and Palestinian leadership to avoid engaging in, or encouraging, any type of action and language that makes it more difficult to achieve a negotiated solution to the conflict.
Asked by: Andrew Bowie (Conservative - West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the quality of the education received by Palestinian children in schools run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency.
Answered by James Cleverly - Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
FCDO uses a variety of tools to monitor UNRWA's performance and ensure it continues to deliver quality services including via programme monitoring and annual assessments. UNRWA has a robust review system of each host country's textbooks to ensure education in its schools reflects the values and principles of the UN. We accompany our support to UNRWA with stringent attention to implementation of their neutrality policy, including how they apply this to textbooks.
Asked by: Andrew Bowie (Conservative - West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to prevent UK support for education in the West Bank and Gaza being undermined by extremist educational material.
Answered by James Cleverly - Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
The UK does not fund textbooks in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs). UK Aid to the Palestinian Authority (PA) contributes to the salaries of carefully vetted teachers/education workers.
An independent review of the content in Palestinian textbooks led by our European partners is currently underway. The study is due to be completed in early 2021. We continue to press our European partners to complete the review as soon as possible.
We have a regular dialogue with the PA in which we raise concerns about allegations of inappropriate content in textbooks. We continue to urge the Israeli and Palestinian leadership to avoid engaging in, or encouraging, any type of action and language that makes it more difficult to achieve a negotiated solution to the conflict.