Asked by: Philippa Whitford (Scottish National Party - Central Ayrshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many and what proportion of the staff in the Department for International Development who left their posts following the merger with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in September 2020 were based in East Kilbride.
Answered by Vicky Ford
Data about departing staff is collected as part of the Annual Civil Service Employment Survey (ACSES) cross government data collection, and published by the Cabinet Office. Data for FCDO leavers by government department and leaving cause can be found in Table 42 of https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1006364/Statistical_tables_-_Civil_Service_Statistics_2021.xlsx
Asked by: Philippa Whitford (Scottish National Party - Central Ayrshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to sustain progress towards global polio eradication, including through the global health contribution of polio surveillance network.
Answered by Wendy Morton - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK remains committed to polio eradication, and supports the work of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), to which we have provided £1.37 billion since 1995. GPEI have led efforts that have eradicated wild polio from all but 2 countries, with the African region being declared free of wild polio last year. The difficult economic situation has meant that we have had to reduce the aid budget, including for programmes such as GPEI. We will return to spending 0.7% of our Gross National Income on Official Development Assistance when the fiscal situation allows.
The UK is clear on its support to maintain polio surveillance. As demonstrated in our participation at the World Health Assembly and G7 communiques, new pandemic measures should build on existing surveillance systems from polio.
Asked by: Philippa Whitford (Scottish National Party - Central Ayrshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many UK-funded humanitarian aid structures in the West Bank including East Jerusalem have been demolished or seized by the Israeli authorities since 1 January 2021.
Answered by James Cleverly - Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
Data on demolition and displacement in the West Bank is published by The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) at: https://www.ochaopt.org/publications/west-bank-demolitions-and-displacement. On the issue of confiscations and demolitions, the UK's position is clear; in all but the most exceptional of circumstances, demolitions and evictions are contrary to International Humanitarian Law. We call on Israel to end these practices, and to allow the delivery of emergency humanitarian aid for those who have had their homes demolished or confiscated.
Asked by: Philippa Whitford (Scottish National Party - Central Ayrshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment her Department has made of the equity of provision by the Jerusalem Municipal Authorities of essential (a) health, (b) education, and (c) welfare services to Palestinian neighbourhoods compared to Jewish Israeli neighbourhoods in Jerusalem.
Answered by James Cleverly - Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
The UK remains firmly committed to ensuring access to essential health, education and welfare services for all Palestinians. The UK Embassy in Tel Aviv regularly raises the importance of access to essential services with the Israeli authorities.
Asked by: Philippa Whitford (Scottish National Party - Central Ayrshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 15 November 2021 to Question 75008 on Occupied Territories: Health Services, what steps the Government has taken since January 2021 to help ensure access to essential healthcare services for Palestinians.
Answered by James Cleverly - Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
The UK is a longstanding supporter to the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). Our annual contribution to UNRWA's core programme budget helps UNRWA provide basic education to more than 533,000 children a year (half of which are girls), access to health services for 3.5 million Palestinian refugees and social safety net assistance for around 255,000 of the most vulnerable across the region. The UK Embassy in Tel Aviv also regularly raises the importance of access to essential services with the Israeli authorities.