Asked by: Sarah Green (Liberal Democrat - Chesham and Amersham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether he has discussions with Cabinet colleagues on the potential merits of banning flights by Iran Air to the UK.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell
Alongside Whitehall partners we continue to explore measures to deter Iran from their hostile and destabilising activity. However, we do not publicly speculate on future restrictive measures.
We have however sanctioned more than 400 Iranian individuals and entities, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in its entirety - for roles in weapons proliferation, regional conflicts, human rights violations, and threats to UK based individuals. We have also introduced new UK trade restrictions on the supply of drone components as part of our wider Iran sanctions regime introduced in December 2023.
Asked by: Sarah Green (Liberal Democrat - Chesham and Amersham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he is taking steps to help support children in Gaza who have been orphaned in the conflict.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell
We have been clear that there must be a reduction in civilian casualties. All parties must act within International Humanitarian Law. We want to see Israel take greater care to limit its operations to military targets and avoid harming civilians, in particular children, and destroying homes. We are calling for an immediate pause to get aid in and hostages out, then progress towards a sustainable, permanent ceasefire, without a return to destruction, fighting and loss of life.
We are directly funding UNICEF and the Red Cross to provide vital support for children's health in Gaza and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, including mental health services, medical care, essential supplies, food security, nutrition, clean water, shelter and other humanitarian assistance.
For UNICEF specifically, we have provided targeted support for children through a £5.75 million contribution, part of our wider £60 million humanitarian uplift. This is supporting their work to assist over 5,800 children with severe malnourishment and 853,000 children, adolescents and caregivers affected by the conflict, to receive emergency and child protection services, including mental health and psychosocial support.
Asked by: Sarah Green (Liberal Democrat - Chesham and Amersham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he is taking steps to help ensure that civilians in Gaza receive medical aid.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell
We remain committed to getting humanitarian aid to the people in Gaza who desperately need it, with a focus on practical solutions that save lives. We have trebled our aid commitment this financial year and are supporting NGO and UN partners to deliver medical aid and care in the Gaza Strip. This includes support for primary healthcare, trauma and emergency care services, disease surveillance and outbreak response, and deployment of Emergency Medical Teams.
We have provided targeted support for children through a £5.75 million contribution. This is supporting work to assist over 5,800 children with severe malnourishment and 853,000 children, adolescents and caregivers affected by the conflict, to receive emergency and child protection services, including mental health and psychosocial support. At the end of February, we announced £4.25 million to the United Nations Population Fund, the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency. This support is expected to reach about 111,500 women, around 1 in 5 of the adult women in Gaza. It will support up to 100 community midwives, the distribution of around 20,000 menstrual hygiene management kits and 45,000 clean delivery kits. On 21 February, the UK and Jordan air-dropped life-saving aid to the Tal Al-Hawa hospital in northern Gaza. Four tonnes of vital supplies were provided, including medicines, fuel, and food for hospital patients and staff. We are also exploring further options to help meet the medical needs of Palestinians.
Asked by: Sarah Green (Liberal Democrat - Chesham and Amersham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 17 January 2022 to Question 102809, whether her Department plans to contact any Afghan citizens who are not British Council or GardaWorld contractors or Chevening Alumni within the first year of the third referral pathway of the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme.
Answered by James Cleverly - Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
The framework of the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) was set out in the oral statement of 6 January. In Year 1 of the ACRS, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office will consider at-risk British Council and GardaWorld contractors and Chevening alumni for resettlement under the third pathway.