Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether any UK aid given to the Palestinian Authority has been distributed to individuals released from prison after serving sentences for terrorism-related activities.
Answered by Alan Duncan
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I provided to the Hon. Member for Aberconwy (Guto Bebb) on 31 March 2014, Official Report, Column 461W.
Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what arrangements are in place to monitor the use of funds given to the Palestinian Authority.
Answered by Alan Duncan
UK direct financial assistance to the Palestinian Authority is channelled through the World Bank Palestinian Reform and Development Plan Trust Fund and is used to pay the salaries of civil servants from an approved list. The list of individuals is systematically screened and checked against international (including Israeli) and ad hoc sanctions lists. The whole process is independently audited which ensures we know exactly where and how our money is being spent.
Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much aid her Department has given to the Palestinian Authority in each of the last five years.
Answered by Alan Duncan
Information on the amounts of direct financial assistance provided by the UK to the Palestinian Authority over the last five years can be found on the DFID Development Tracker website at the following links:
http://devtracker.dfid.gov.uk/projects/GB-1-202564/
http://devtracker.dfid.gov.uk/projects/GB-1-113709/