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Written Question
Israel: Palestinians
Wednesday 24th June 2020

Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)

Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 11 June 2020 to Question 54900 on Israel: Palestinians, which other suppliers submitted proposals for that project at the design phase.

Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary

No other suppliers submitted proposals for our people to people programme. DFID has a range of procurement options available when developing programmes. One of these is to award an Accountable Grant to a not-for-profit organisation, which is a non-competitive process. While many organisations are clearly performing excellent work in different fields of people to people work, Search for Common Ground (SFCG) approached DFID and proposed a comprehensive programme based on international best-practice. Based on our research, we judged that the SFCG proposal was the best fit for the outcomes that we wished to pursue, and therefore awarded SFCG an accountable grant to take the project forward.

Having SFCG as the sole implementer also offered a cost-effective approach to managing the unique risks associated with the delivery of the people to people programme in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. SFCG delivered some activities directly and worked through partners in areas requiring specialist expertise.


Written Question
Israel: Palestinians
Thursday 11th June 2020

Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)

Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 30 April 2020 to Question 38897 on Israel: Palestinians, what criteria her Department used to determine the implementing partner for that programme; and what mechanisms she has put in place to ensure open and competitive funding bids.

Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary

Our people to people programme aimed to build understanding between Israelis and Palestinians, helping build support for a peaceful, negotiated resolution.

During the design phase of the programme, Search for Common Ground (SFCG) approached DFID with a proposal for a comprehensive programme. While many organisations are performing excellent work in different fields, it was judged more effective to fund one partner to focus on a few specific thematic areas rather than funding several grants in a broad range of sectors through a wide call for bids. With this focused approach we were able to add to the research on what works in people to people programming.

SFCG delivered some activities directly and worked through partners in areas requiring specialist expertise. A Committee consisting of SFCG, DFID and FCO officials agreed a robust set of criteria for SFCG’s assessment of potential downstream partners and approved the final selection.


Written Question
Israel: Palestinians
Thursday 30th April 2020

Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)

Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 21 April 2020 to Question 34965 on Israel: Palestinians, which organisations (a) distributed funds and (b) have received UK funds from the People to People programme.

Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary

Our three-year People to People programme aimed to bring together Israelis and Palestinians to cooperate on issues which can have a positive impact on both communities, helping to build understanding between people on both sides of the conflict in support of a peaceful, negotiated resolution.

Our programme was implemented by Search for Common Ground, who delivered some activities directly and worked through partners in areas requiring specialist expertise. These partners were: the Jerusalem Intercultural Centre, the Musalaha network, and the Al-Quds Public Health School.


Written Question
British Overseas Territories: Coronavirus
Wednesday 29th April 2020

Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)

Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to support the Overseas Territories to deal with the covid-19 pandemic.

Answered by Wendy Morton

A range of government departments, led by DFID and the FCO, are supporting Overseas Territories to mitigate the impacts of the pandemic. Support includes essential medical supply, public health advice, security and access support, and financial aid to mitigate the economic impacts in the most vulnerable territories.


Written Question
Trade: Coronavirus
Tuesday 28th April 2020

Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)

Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent steps her Department has taken to ensure the sustainability of global supply chains during the covid-19 pandemic.

Answered by Nigel Adams

Disruption to trade is one of the key drivers of COVID-19 global economic shock. Long-lasting or overly restrictive trade measures that inhibit free trade will hit the most vulnerable countries hardest.

The government is working to keep supply chains open to ensure essential goods and services reach consumers and vulnerable livelihoods are protected. The demand and supply challenges facing global trade are acute.

We are working with the G20, WTO and World Bank on development-focused trade support, including ensuring flows of medical supplies.


Written Question
Developing Countries: Coronavirus
Monday 27th April 2020

Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)

Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what support her Department is providing to UK-based charities and small businesses to help those organisations tackle the covid-19 outbreak in the developing world.

Answered by Wendy Morton

DFID will deliver a comprehensive response to the COVID-19 pandemic in developing countries, through programming to support the global health and economic response, funding for further vaccine development, preparation for the recovery phase and leadership within the international community.

We have agreed that part of this funding will go to NGOs, including UK charities that are using British expertise and experience to deal with COVID-19, the majority of which will be allocated through the Rapid Response Facility. We have also committed funding to the International Committee of the Red Cross and British Red Cross to reach populations in some of the hardest to reach areas, including those affected by conflict. We are reviewing our portfolio to identify existing programmes that can support the response immediately and others that can be adapted or scaled up, such as our support to health systems and humanitarian crises.

We will continue engaging with UK charities and private sector partners, including Small Medium Enterprises, to address the challenges posed to their organisations and DFID-funded projects by COVID-19.


Written Question
Developing Countries: Health Services
Monday 27th April 2020

Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)

Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to help to build resilience amongst domestic health services and systems in developing countries during the covid-19 outbreak.

Answered by Wendy Morton

Strong and resilient national health systems are vital to global health security and helping to protect the world from infectious diseases, including COVID-19. The UK has, so far, pledged £744 million of UK aid to help end the COVID-19 pandemic as quickly as possible. This includes a package of £200 million to support UK charities and international organisations to help reduce mass infections in developing countries, which often lack the healthcare systems to track and prevent the virus from spreading.

Through our multilateral partnerships with organisations like the WHO and the World Bank, and our regional and national programmes, the UK supports developing countries to make their domestic health systems stronger and more resilient. In turn this enables them to prevent, detect and respond to health threats, such as COVID-19. For example, DFIDs’ Tackling Deadly Diseases in Africa Programme includes capacity building for health security and preparedness for health emergencies, including disease surveillance.


Written Question
Israel: Palestinians
Tuesday 21st April 2020

Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)

Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, with reference to the Answer of 18 July 2017 to Question 3942 on Israel: Palestinians, what initiatives have the £3 million been allocated to help Israelis and Palestinians to work together.

Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary

Our People to People programme aimed to bring together Israelis and Palestinians to cooperate on issues that can have a positive impact on both communities, helping to build understanding between people on both sides of the conflict in support of a peaceful, negotiated resolution.

Our £3 million three-year (2017-2020) programme facilitated interaction between youth leaders, religious communities and within the health sector. It:

  • helped tackle a neglected tropical disease (Leishmaniasis) through cooperation between health academics and senior health workers for the wellbeing of both populations.
  • facilitated discussion and activity between young people on reducing interreligious tensions around holy sites.
  • brought together young leaders from different professional, political and religious backgrounds to identify future areas for co-operation.

Written Question
UNRWA: Finance
Wednesday 25th March 2020

Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)

Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the answer of 18 March 2020 to Question 27998, what criteria is used by UK officials to assess UNRWA’s effectiveness in allocating resources on the basis of need.

Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary

UK officials are in regular contact with the United Nations Relief and Work Agency (UNWRA) to ensure high quality aid delivery. This includes attendance at all of UNRWA’s formal meetings, such as the sub and advisory commission meetings and budgetary briefings. UNWRA has provided substantial briefings on its budgeting and funding situation, which UK officials assess alongside the United Nations Board of Auditors report, which provides an external assessment of UNRWA’s performance on financial matters.


Written Question
Palestinians: Textbooks
Wednesday 18th March 2020

Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)

Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will publish the (a) outcomes and (b) recommendations of the planned EU review of Palestinian textbooks.

Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary

The UK government is deeply concerned about allegations of incitement in Palestinian Authority’s school textbooks; and secured an independent EU-funded review of the textbooks which is underway. We expect interim findings to be due by June 2020 and full findings later in the year. We continue to encourage the EU to publish the report.

The International Development Secretary reiterated our concerns in a call to the Palestinian Authority’s Education Minister just last month.