Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of referring the case of Hafez Hureini to the International Criminal Court's investigation into alleged war crimes committed by the Israeli authorities in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
We are aware of Mr Hureini's case and will continue to monitor developments closely. The UK condemns any incidents of violence by settlers against Palestinians. We welcome the efforts of Israeli authorities to address settler violence and urge them to thoroughly investigate every instance to bring those responsible to justice and end the culture of impunity.
Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department will call for an independent, international investigation into the treatment of Hafez Hureini by the Israeli authorities.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
We are aware of Mr Hureini's case and will continue to monitor developments closely. The UK condemns any incidents of violence by settlers against Palestinians. We welcome the efforts of Israeli authorities to address settler violence and urge them to thoroughly investigate every instance to bring those responsible to justice and end the culture of impunity.
Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made for the implications of his policies of the treatment of 52-year-old Palestinian man, Hafez Hureini, by the Israeli authorities.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
We are aware of Mr Hureini's case and will continue to monitor developments closely. The UK condemns any incidents of violence by settlers against Palestinians. We welcome the efforts of Israeli authorities to address settler violence and urge them to thoroughly investigate every instance to bring those responsible to justice and end the culture of impunity.
Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee West)
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 potential merits of lifting the funding suspension on providing aid to Oxfam; and whether that suspension will be lifted.
Answered by Vicky Ford
The allegations that surfaced around Oxfam in the DRC are serious. It is right that is given careful consideration. The FCDO will make a decision shortly regarding whether to allow Oxfam to bid for HMG funding.
Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what progress he has made on opening the third referral pathway in the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The third referral Pathway of the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme was opened on 20 June 2022, when eligible at-risk Chevening alumni and British Council and Gardaworld contractors were invited to submit Expressions of Interest (EOIs). The FCDO received over 11,400 EOIs and are reviewing them to assess if the eligibility criteria have been met. We have started notifying individuals of the outcome.
Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether HM Treasury's suspension of non-essential aid spend until September applied to humanitarian aid spending.
Answered by Vicky Ford
The Government has provided significant support for Ukraine and taken a leading role in international diplomatic, economic, humanitarian, and military assistance. Some of this urgent support to Ukraine is classed as Official Development Assistance (ODA). Given the Government's response to the ongoing crisis in Ukraine, wider ODA pressures, including the ODA-eligible expenditure incurred through the Afghan resettlement programme and the UK's support to people fleeing Ukraine, the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office and other ODA spending departments will need to revisit initial allocations to ensure all ODA-eligible spending is managed within 0.5% of GNI this calendar year.
To achieve this, the Government is currently prioritising critical overseas aid funding, while also meeting needs of people seeking sanctuary in the UK from conflict in Ukraine and Afghanistan. We will prioritise spending that is vital to protect against immediate threat to life and wellbeing, will prevent people falling into humanitarian need, or will prevent delays to accessing healthcare, primary education, sanitation and clean water, in addition to considering the value for money of any decisions.
Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what her Department counts as non-essential aid in the context of the suspension by HM Treasury of non-essential aid spending until September.
Answered by Vicky Ford
The Government has provided significant support for Ukraine and taken a leading role in international diplomatic, economic, humanitarian, and military assistance. Some of this urgent support to Ukraine is classed as Official Development Assistance (ODA). Given the Government's response to the ongoing crisis in Ukraine, wider ODA pressures, including the ODA-eligible expenditure incurred through the Afghan resettlement programme and the UK's support to people fleeing Ukraine, the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office and other ODA spending departments will need to revisit initial allocations to ensure all ODA-eligible spending is managed within 0.5% of GNI this calendar year.
To achieve this, the Government is currently prioritising critical overseas aid funding, while also meeting needs of people seeking sanctuary in the UK from conflict in Ukraine and Afghanistan. We will prioritise spending that is vital to protect against immediate threat to life and wellbeing, will prevent people falling into humanitarian need, or will prevent delays to accessing healthcare, primary education, sanitation and clean water, in addition to considering the value for money of any decisions.
Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact that the suspension of non-essential aid spend until September has had on developing countries where the FCDO funds programmes.
Answered by Vicky Ford
We are currently assessing impacts of these measures on our programmes and programme participants.
Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether HM Treasury's suspension of non-essential aid spend until September resulted in reductions to existing FCDO-funded programmes in developing countries.
Answered by Vicky Ford
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has paused payments in line with HM Treasury's suspension, but this has not reduced existing programming. We have continued to meet our contractual arrangements for activity which has taken place.