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 discussions he has had with his Israeli counterpart on the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is calling for immediate unimpeded humanitarian access to Gaza so that essential aid can reach civilian populations, including food, water, fuel and medical supplies. The UK is also calling on all parties to protect border crossings to support safe humanitarian access and mitigate harm to civilians. The Foreign Secretary continues to engage regularly and closely with his Israeli counterparts, including in relation to ensuring the delivery of humanitarian aid to people in Gaza. He most recently spoke to the Israeli Foreign Minister, Eli Cohen, on 23 October. The UK will remain committed to mitigating the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza and calling for international humanitarian law to be respected, while standing alongside the people of Israel against the terrorist group Hamas.
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 discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the human rights situation in Saudi Arabia; and whether he has raised that matter with his Saudi Arabian counterpart.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
It is a long-established precedent that information about the discussions that have taken place in Cabinet and its Committees, and how often they have met, is not normally shared publicly. Saudi Arabia remains an FCDO Human Rights Priority Country. We will continue to discuss human rights with the Saudi authorities through a range of Ministerial and official channels.
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 he plans to have discussions on Saudi Arabia's human rights (a) record and (b) ongoing situation with the Crown Prince during his planned visit to the UK.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Saudi Arabia remains an FCDO Human Rights Priority Country. Our latest published assessment of human rights in Saudi Arabia can be found in the 2022 FCDO Human Rights and Democracy Report. Our relationship with Saudi Arabia enables us to engage candidly on human rights. The Minister for the Middle East, Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, regularly discusses human rights with the Saudi authorities, including the Saudi Vice Foreign Minister and Saudi Ambassador in London. Lord Ahmad, senior HMG officials, and non-governmental figures and organisations engaged in constructive dialogue with the Saudi Human Rights Commission during their first official visit to the UK on 26-29 September. We will continue to discuss human rights with the Saudi authorities through a range of Ministerial and official channels.
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 has reviewed the Saudi Arabia's human rights record ahead of the Crown Prince’s planned visit to the UK.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Saudi Arabia remains an FCDO Human Rights Priority Country. Our latest published assessment of human rights in Saudi Arabia can be found in the 2022 FCDO Human Rights and Democracy Report. Our relationship with Saudi Arabia enables us to engage candidly on human rights. The Minister for the Middle East, Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, regularly discusses human rights with the Saudi authorities, including the Saudi Vice Foreign Minister and Saudi Ambassador in London. Lord Ahmad, senior HMG officials, and non-governmental figures and organisations engaged in constructive dialogue with the Saudi Human Rights Commission during their first official visit to the UK on 26-29 September. We will continue to discuss human rights with the Saudi authorities through a range of Ministerial and official channels.
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 the UK supports a UN fact-finding mission in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
It is vital that international humanitarian organisations have independent access into Nagorno-Karabakh, so they can assess humanitarian need and respond appropriately. We therefore welcome Azerbaijan's decision on 1 October to allow UN agencies into Nagorno-Karabakh, to complement ongoing efforts by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
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 of the implications for his policies of recent clashes between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The UK continues to monitor the humanitarian situation in Nagorno-Karabakh and the significant refugee flows from Nagorno-Karabakh into Armenia. On 29 September, the UK Government announced that it is giving £1 million to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). Alongside contributions from others, this will help fund life-saving medication, healthcare, and other essential support to those affected by the recent conflict. We continue to urge both Armenia and Azerbaijan to do all they can to reduce tensions and avoid further escalation, and to return to substantive peace negotiations. We will continue to monitor the situation, in close cooperation with our international partners.
Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has made an assessment of the implications for her policies of reports of intimidation and attempted forced extradition of Uyghur Muslims living in UK.
Answered by Tom Tugendhat - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security)
We continually assess potential threats in the UK, and take protection of individuals’ rights, freedoms, and safety in the UK very seriously. Any attempt by any foreign power to intimidate, harass or harm individuals or communities in the UK will not be tolerated.
All extradition requests to the UK are subject to the safeguards contained in legislation and the full scrutiny of the UK courts. The UK does not have a bilateral extradition treaty with the People’s Republic of China.
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 steps his Department is taking to ensure that investments made by British Investment International are supporting public health infrastructure in (a) India and (b) Kenya.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
Since 2017, British International Investment's (BII) healthcare investments have been guided by a health impact framework [https://www.bii.co.uk/en/emerging-markets-investment/evaluating-the-impact-of-private-providers-on-health-and-health-systems/] which focuses on investing in private-healthcare providers that have a positive impact on the overall healthcare system. BII's investments are subject to its Policy of Responsible Investing.
In India, BII investment has supported the delivery of quality care to more than 2 million low-income patients including in underserved parts of central and eastern India. In Kenya, BII investment supports healthcare clinics and pharmacies that provide for more than 430,000 patient visits per month with over half of patients coming from low to very low-income groups. BII investments also provide access to a medical consultation with a nurse for KES 300-600 ($2-$4).
Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to (a) ensure regular and adequate uprating of benefits and (b) mitigate the risk of families falling into poverty.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government is committed to reducing poverty and supporting low-income families. We will spend around £276bn through the welfare system in Great Britain in 2023/24 including around £124bn on people of working age and children, and around £152 billion on pensioners. Of this, around £79 billion will be spent on benefits to support disabled people and people with health conditions.
With respect to up-rating, the Social Security Administration Act 1992 places an obligation on the Secretary of State to review increases in prices and earnings each tax year, and to increase certain State pensions, additional-needs disability benefits and carers benefits at least in line with the relevant index. In the case of the new and basic State Pensions, the Government is committed to increasing these in line with the triple lock for the remainder of this Parliament. This is the highest of the increase in prices, the increase in earnings, or 2.5%.
Once he has completed his review of the increase in prices, he must also decide whether to up-rate other benefit rates, and if so by how much. In the up-rating for the tax year 2023/24, all relevant State pension and benefit rates were increased by 10.1%, in line with the increase in the Consumer Prices Index in the year to September 2022.
With 1.05 million job vacancies across the UK, our focus remains firmly on supporting individuals, including parents, to move into, and progress in work, an approach which is based on clear evidence about the importance of employment - particularly where it is full-time - in substantially reducing the risks of poverty. The latest statistics show that in 2021/22 working age adults living in workless families were 7 times more likely to be in absolute poverty after housing costs than working age adults in families where all adults work.
To support those who are in work, from 1 April 2023, the National Living Wage (NLW) increased by 9.7% to £10.42 an hour for workers aged 23 and over - the largest ever cash increase for the NLW.
At the Spring Budget, the Chancellor announced an ambitious package of measures designed to support people wherever they live in the UK to enter work, increase their working hours and extend their working lives.
The Government recognises that high childcare costs can affect parents’ decisions to take up paid work or increase their working hours which is why, from 28 June, the changes to the Universal Credit (UC) childcare element announced in Spring Budget 2023 will provide generous additional financial support to parents moving into paid work and/or increasing their working hours.
This government understands the pressures people are facing with the cost of living which is why we are providing total support of over £94bn over 2022-23 and 2023-24 to help households and individuals with the rising bills.
Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will increase Local Housing Allowance to reflect the housing market.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Local Housing Allowance (LHA) determines the maximum housing support for tenants in the private rented sector.
In 2020 we spent almost £1 billion increasing LHA rates to the 30th percentile of market rents. This significant investment has been maintained ensuring that everyone who benefited continues to do so. The level of LHA rates is reviewed annually by the Secretary of State usually in the Autumn.
For those who require additional support with housing costs, Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) may be available. Since April 2017, DHPs have been fully devolved to Scotland who are responsible for the allocation and payment to Scottish local authorities.
We recognise that rents are increasing. However, the challenging fiscal environment means that difficult decisions have been necessary to ensure support is targeted effectively.
Over 2022-23 and 2023- 24 the Government is providing support in excess of £94 billion to help households and individuals with the rising cost of living.