Asked by: Craig Williams (Conservative - Montgomeryshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of donating cold chain equipment alongside the donation of 20 million doses of covid-19 vaccines committed bilaterally to countries in need.
Answered by Wendy Morton - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK will donate 100 million vaccine doses over the next year, with 80% to go to COVAX. As of 9 August, the UK has donated 10.3 million doses, of which 4 million have been given bilaterally. We are aware of the challenges associated with storing and distributing COVID-19 vaccines, particularly in hard-to-reach communities. Resilient supply chains are essential, and cold chain equipment can bring capacity to this critical global challenge.
The UK's direct funding on COVID-19 vaccines has focused on vaccine development and procurement. For delivery, the Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO) has been engaging Multilateral Development Banks to make funds available to countries as part of a combined $29 billion COVID-19 financing envelope that can support vaccine procurement. Gavi has also raised $775 million to support vaccine delivery. The FCDO is also active in the UNICEF-convened Country Readiness and Delivery Working Group to drive coordination across donor and international organisation delivery programming. We are specifically engaging through our humanitarian networks to ensure that delivery planning and financing addresses the challenges of delivery in fragile environments.
Asked by: Craig Williams (Conservative - Montgomeryshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether it is the Government's policy that permanent Agenda Item 7 at the United Nations Human Rights Council represents systematic institutional bias.
Answered by James Cleverly - Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
The UK has stood up for Israel when it faces bias and unreasonable criticism, and has been clear that the existence of a dedicated agenda item ('Item 7') damages the prospect for a two-state solution and does little to advance dialogue, stability or mutual understanding. As such, at the 40th session of the Human Rights Council in March 2019 we moved to voting against all resolutions under Item 7. However, the UN and its member states have every right to address issues of concern in a measured, balanced and proportionate way. We will continue to support scrutiny of Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories in the Human Rights Council, so long as it is justified, proportionate, and not proposed under Item 7.
Asked by: Craig Williams (Conservative - Montgomeryshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has received a copy of the EU interim report on the Palestinian Authority school curriculum.
Answered by James Cleverly - Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
Publication of the interim report is not currently foreseen by the EU. The UK has repeatedly lobbied the EU to push for publication, but this is ultimately a decision for the EU.
Asked by: Craig Williams (Conservative - Montgomeryshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the effect on the Middle East peace process of recent attacks against Israeli citizens.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
The current violence makes the environment in Israel and the Occupied Territories less conducive to peace. It also underlines that a just and lasting resolution that ends the occupation and delivers peace for both Israelis and Palestinians is long overdue. We are urging all parties to de-escalate current tensions.