Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Haltemprice)
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 impact of climate change on (a) fishing and (b) krill stocks in South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands.
Answered by David Rutley
Climate change is likely to result in lower oxygen and greater acidity in the waters around South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (SGSSI), together with reduced sea ice and increasing iceberg scour. Over time, these will likely lead to changes in the distribution and range of many of SGSSI's marine species, with krill and krill-eating animals likely to move further south, as new species from lower latitudes will become established in the region. The Government of SGSSI's ongoing review of the Marine Protected Area (MPA) will consider any new information on the effects of climate change and whether the current MPA measures are sufficiently precautionary given the level of regional warming.
Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Haltemprice)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he has taken to support the Red Cross to gain access to the hostages taken by Hamas since 7 October 2023.
Answered by David Rutley
We continue to do everything we can to secure the release of all hostages, this includes working with all relevant actors to support release. We are not commenting on individual cases.
Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Haltemprice)
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 adequacy of humanitarian aid supplies to the Gaza strip; and what steps he is taking to support (a) Islamic Relief, (b) the Egyptian Red Crescent and (c) other aid agencies to deliver aid.
Answered by David Rutley
The United Nations assesses that 2.3 million people in Gaza need access to safe drinking water and food. Current supplies are running out, one third of hospitals have been forced to shut down and 1.6 million people are displaced. The FCDO is actively engaging with international partners and those operating on the ground to do all we can to address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. The Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary continue to engage regularly and closely with regional counterparts including Israel and Egypt on the humanitarian response. The UK Government has already announced £30 million in humanitarian funding and has sent more than 51 tonnes of aid including lifesaving items such as wound care packs and water filters but also forklift trucks, belt conveyors and lighting towers, which have been specifically requested by the Egyptian Red Crescent. However, the flow of aid to Gaza continues to be insufficient and we are urgently exploring all options to increase this, including urging Israel to open other border crossings such as Kerem Shalom.
Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Haltemprice)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much Official Development Assistance has been allocated to projects related to (a) poverty reduction and (b) ending violence against women and girls in each of the last four years.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell
(a) It is not possible to identify all UK Official Development Assistance (ODA) allocated to projects related to poverty reduction from information FCDO holds. Expenditure on development assistance (as defined in the International Development Act 2002) requires Ministers to be satisfied that the assistance is likely to contribute to a reduction in poverty. There is no express requirement for consideration of a reduction in poverty for expenditure on humanitarian assistance, though in many cases humanitarian assistance may also contribute to poverty reduction.
Table 1 sets out total FCDO ODA spend and the amount spent on humanitarian assistance from 2019 - 2022. This is likely to be an underestimate of all UK ODA allocated to projects related to poverty reduction as it doesn't include any relevant ODA spend by other government departments.
Table 1: Estimated FCDO ODA spent on poverty reduction (£thousand) | ||||
2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | |
Total FCDO ODA | 11,785,190 | 10,663,010 | 8,174,885 | 7,634,908 |
of which: ODA to humanitarian sector | 1,526,136 | 1,523,982 | 737,272 | 1,086,403 |
Source: Statistics on International Development |
(b)
Ending violence against women and girls overseas remains a top priority for the Government. Table 2 shows UK Official Development Assistance (ODA) spend on tackling violence against women and girls. This is likely to be an underestimate as some humanitarian and other sectoral programmes also work to prevent and respond to violence but are not captured in these figures.
Table 2: UK ODA to Sector Code 15180: Ending violence against women and girls, 2019 - 2022 (£ thousands)
2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | |
UK bilateral ODA to sector code 15180 | 47,096 | 35,556 | 27,572 | 75,106 |
Imputed UK share of multilateral Net ODA to sector code 15180 | 21,829 | 19,215 | 24,647 | Data not yet available |
Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Haltemprice)
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 the situation in the occupied West Bank territories; and whether he has had discussions with his regional counterparts on (a) supporting, (b) strengthening and (c) reforming the Palestinian Authority.
Answered by David Rutley
The Prime Minister, former Foreign Secretary and the Minister for the Middle East have engaged with Israel, the Palestinian Authority and partners across the Middle East on the conflict and have urged Israel to take meaningful action to support the Palestinian Authority. Our position is clear: Israel must not take action which would further undermine security and stability in the West Bank.
The UK also recognises the importance of building the capability of Palestinian Institutions and we do provide significant technical assistance support on areas such as public financial management and security sector. Our support to the Palestinian Authority is extremely important in helping to lay the groundwork for a future Palestinian state and a lasting solution to the conflict in the region. Our policy on the Middle East Peace Process also remains clear: we support a negotiated settlement leading to a safe and secure Israel living alongside a viable and sovereign Palestinian state; based on 1967 borders with agreed land swaps, Jerusalem as the shared capital of both states, and a just, fair, agreed and realistic settlement for refugees. We believe that negotiations will only succeed when they are conducted between Israelis and Palestinians, supported by the international community.
Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Haltemprice)
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 adequacy of humanitarian aid supplies to Gaza; and what steps he is taking to support (a) Islamic Relief, (b) the Egyptian Red Crescent and (c) other aid agencies in delivering aid.
Answered by David Rutley
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Haltemprice)
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 extent of the damage to the Islamic Relief offices in Gaza City.
Answered by David Rutley
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Haltemprice)
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 support the Red Cross in gaining access to the hostages taken by Hamas since 7 October 2023.
Answered by David Rutley
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Haltemprice)
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 help secure the release of hostages taken by Hamas since 7 October 2023.
Answered by David Rutley
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Haltemprice)
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 his counterpart in India on the treatment of religious minorities in the Punjab region.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan
The UK Government has a broad and deep partnership with the Government of India and we discuss all elements of our relationship. We remain committed to defending freedom of religion or belief for all and promoting respect and tolerance between communities. Where we have issues, we raise them directly with the Government of India, including at Ministerial level. Human rights forms part of that dialogue. Our networks across India regularly meet religious representatives and have run projects supporting human rights.