Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool, Walton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what diplomatic steps his Department is taking to help ensure the protection of (a) Palestinians and (b) humanitarian workers during the distribution of aid in Gaza.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
It is imperative that those doing life-saving work are properly protected. The Foreign Secretary has called on Israel to reform its deconfliction mechanism to ensure the safety of aid workers and to make progress on the UN's minimal operating requirements, including more visas and driver approvals granted, as well as more trucks permitted to cross into Gaza.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool, Walton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, which arms export licences are for end-use by Israeli (a) military and (b) security forces.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
HM Government publishes data on export licensing decisions on a quarterly basis in the Official Statistics, including data on outcome, end user destination, overall value, type (e.g. military, other) and a summary of the items covered by these licences. This data is available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/strategic-export-controls-licensing-data. The most recent Official Statistics cover the period 1 April - 30 June 2023.
Information regarding export licensing decisions made between 1 October - 31 December 2023 will be published after April 2024 and information regarding export licensing decisions made between 1 January - 31 March 2024 will be published later this year.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool, Walton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the appeal by Israel-based civil society groups to the UN Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment relating to the alleged (a) torture and (b) inhumane treatment of Palestinian detainees, published on 16 February 2024.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
We are concerned by reports of ill-treatment of Palestinian detainees in Israeli military detention. The UK Government is clear that administrative detention should only be used when it is justified in accordance with international law. Those under detention should either be charged or released. We are committed to working with Israel to secure improvements in its detention practices.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool, Walton)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what progress his Department has made on establishing a Royal Commission on the criminal justice process.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
Although we recognise the opportunity that a Royal Commission could present to look at structural questions in the criminal justice system, we think it is right that, following the pandemic and the Criminal Bar Association’s disruptive action, we focus on delivering priority measures to speed up justice for victims and improve the justice system over the coming months.
We continue to keep issues in the wider criminal justice system under review.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool, Walton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, with reference to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification report entitled Famine Review Committee: Gaza Strip, published in March 2024, if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of the analysis in that report on the likelihood of imminent famine in Gaza.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
Palestinians are facing a devastating and growing humanitarian crisis. The UK and our partners are stepping up our efforts to get aid in as quickly as possible by land, sea and air.
Israel must take action to allow more aid into Gaza, including scaling up the Jordan corridor, opening a crossing in northern Gaza (Karni, Erez or a new crossing point), fully opening Ashdod Port for aid delivery and increasing screening capacity at Kerem Shalom and Nitzana to seven days a week and extended hours.
The UK is doing all it can to get as much food into Gaza as possible. We recently announced that more than 2,000 tonnes of UK-funded food aid are being distributed by the World Food Programme on the ground. This is our largest delivery of aid to Gaza in this crisis. This follows 750 tonnes of UK funded food aid arriving in Gaza in December, delivered through the World Food Programme, followed by a second delivery of 315 tonnes in January.Last month the UK and Jordan also air-dropped life-saving food and medicines directly to the Tal Al-Hawa hospital in northern Gaza.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool, Walton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to improve the regulation of debt collection practices.
Answered by Bim Afolami - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government wants to see fair treatment of individuals in problem debt, and there is a range of work underway across government and regulators to promote responsible debt collection practices.
In June 2023 the FCA, Ofgem, Ofwat and Ofcom published a joint letter via the UK Regulators’ Network (UKRN) setting out how firms in their respective sectors should support customers in financial difficulty. On 18 March 2024, the same group of regulators issued further guidance, setting out their shared expectations on firms’ debt collection practices. This is to ensure that firms support customers in debt and that firms’ collection practices are not causing harm to customers.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool, Walton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department plans to increase the regulation digital buy-now pay-later products.
Answered by Bim Afolami - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is committed to regulating Buy-Now Pay-Later (BNPL).The Government will publish a response to the consultation, which will set out next steps, in due course.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool, Walton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, with reference to the press release entitled PM announces the UK will end support for fossil fuel sector overseas, published on 12 December 2020, how many fossil fuel-related investments British International Investment has divested away from since that date.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
All investment commitments made by British International Investment (BII) since December 2020 meet the conditions set out in BII's Climate Change Strategy and the UK Government's fossil fuel policy. BII publishes detailed metrics on portfolio-level exposure to carbon-related assets in their publicly available Annual Accounts. This is in line with TCFD-recommended disclosures. The latest data can be found at: https://www.bii.co.uk/annual-review-2022/publication/contents/templates/British_International_Investment_Annual_Review_2022.pdf. BII will release an update to these figures in the 2023 Annual Accounts, to be published later this year.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool, Walton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) statement entitled, At least one UNRWA staff killed when Israeli Forces hit UNRWA centre used for food and lifesaving supplies, published on 13 March 2024.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
We are aware of this statement.
The Foreign Secretary and Prime Minister have underlined the need for Israel to ensure effective deconfliction in Gaza, and to take all possible measures to ensure the safety of medical personnel and facilities.
Israel must limit its operations to military targets and avoid harming civilians and destroying homes. All parties must act within International Humanitarian Law.
The safety of humanitarian personnel and healthcare workers in Gaza is critical to enable aid to reach those who need it most. Medics and aid agencies must be able to operate freely and reach people in need. We cannot separate this tragedy from the inadequate level of aid supplies. Israel must take action to allow more aid into Gaza, including:
The Foreign Secretary and Prime Minister have underlined the need for Israel to ensure effective deconfliction in Gaza, and to take all possible measures to ensure the safety of medical personnel and facilities. We continue to call for International Humanitarian Law to be respected and civilians to be protected. Too many civilians have been killed. The Foreign Secretary raised the above issues with Israeli Minister Benny Gantz on 6 March.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool, Walton)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of delays to planned rail reforms.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Department has actively managed rail reform costs in response to delays to original plans. A recent National Audit Office report noted that the Department estimates it will spend £0.4bn on rail reform up to the end of March 2024, compared to initial planned spending of £1.2bn.