Asked by: Mike Gapes (The Independent Group for Change - Ilford South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when he or Ministers of his Department became aware of the visit of the Secretary of State for International Development to Israel in August 2017.
Answered by Alistair Burt
It is longstanding practice under successive Governments that we do not routinely disclose information relating to internal discussion and advice. My right hon. Friend the member for Witham (Ms Patel) resigned as Secretary of State for International Development on 8 November. I refer the Hon Member to the exchange of letters between my right hon. Friend and the Prime Minister on her resignation; and to the statement issued by my right hon. Friend on 6 November, a copy of which is available on the gov.uk website.
Asked by: Mike Gapes (The Independent Group for Change - Ilford South)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what advice she received from officials of her Department before her visit to Israel in August 2017.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
My Rt Hon Friend the member for Witham (Ms Patel) resigned as Secretary of State for International Development on 8 November. The Department was not aware of the visit in advance of it taking place.
Asked by: Mike Gapes (The Independent Group for Change - Ilford South)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will list all her meetings with representatives of the Government of Israel since June 2017 and the dates of each such meeting.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
My Rt Hon Friend the member for Witham (Ms Patel) resigned as Secretary of State for International Development on 8 November. The Department has not arranged any such meetings.
Asked by: Mike Gapes (The Independent Group for Change - Ilford South)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what discussions she has had with officials of her Department before her August 2017 visit to Israel.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
My Rt Hon Friend the member for Witham (Ms Patel) resigned as Secretary of State for International Development on 8 November. The Department was not aware of the visit in advance of it taking place.
Asked by: Mike Gapes (The Independent Group for Change - Ilford South)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether she used her office telephone to discuss arrangements for her visit to Israel in August 2017.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
My Rt Hon Friend the member for Witham (Ms Patel) resigned as Secretary of State for International Development on 8 November. The information is not held by the Department.
Asked by: Mike Gapes (The Independent Group for Change - Ilford South)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether she used her parliamentary email account to arrange her visit to Israel in August 2017.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
My Rt Hon Friend the member for Witham (Ms Patel) resigned as Secretary of State for International Development on 8 November. The information is not held by the Department.
Asked by: Mike Gapes (The Independent Group for Change - Ilford South)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether she used her official departmental email account to arrange her visit to Israel in August 2017.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
My Rt Hon Friend the member for Witham (Ms Patel) resigned as Secretary of State for International Development on 8 November. We do not have a record of any departmental emails being used to arrange this visit.
Asked by: Mike Gapes (The Independent Group for Change - Ilford South)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, when she made the decision to visit Israel in August 2017.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
My Rt Hon Friend the member for Witham (Ms Patel) resigned as Secretary of State for International Development on 8 November. The information is not held by the Department.
Asked by: Mike Gapes (The Independent Group for Change - Ilford South)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what discussions she had with Ministers of her Department about Middle East policy prior to her visit to Israel in August 2017.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
My Rt Hon Friend the member for Witham (Ms Patel) resigned as Secretary of State for International Development on 8 November. Ministers have frequent and ongoing discussions about the Department's work in the Middle East.
Asked by: Mike Gapes (The Independent Group for Change - Ilford South)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what meetings, conversations, telephone calls or email exchanges she had with the Israeli Embassy in the UK prior to her visit to Israel in August 2017.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
My Rt Hon Friend the member for Witham (Ms Patel) resigned as Secretary of State for International Development on 8 November. The Department does not hold information related to the question.