Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps he is taking to help support women and girls in Gaza.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
We trebled our aid commitment during Financial Year 23-24 to support partners including the British Red Cross, UNICEF, the UN World Food Programme and the Egyptian Red Crescent. This includes £4.25 million to the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency, to provide life-saving support to vulnerable women and girls in Gaza. 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.
We have also 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.
Through our Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict programmes and dedicated funding totalling £60 million since 2012, we are leading work internationally to prevent conflict-related sexual violence and strengthen justice and support for all survivors. We stand ready to use our PSVI expertise and tools to ensure victims and survivors of CRSV, both Israeli and Palestinian, receive the holistic and survivor-centred support they need.
Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what recent assessment he has made of the extent of the damage to (a) hospitals and (b) aid agency offices in Gaza.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
It is clear that the international community will need to make a massive effort to deliver a reconstruction plan for Gaza
All parties must act within International Humanitarian Law. Hamas is putting Palestinian civilians at grave risk by embedding themselves in the civilian population and civilian infrastructure.
We also want to see Israel take greater care to limit its operations to military targets and avoid harming civilians and destroying homes.
The Foreign Secretary and Prime Minister have underlined the need for Israel to increase the amount of aid getting into Gaza, deconflict with the UN and aid agencies, protect civilians and repair vital infrastructure like hospitals and water networks.
Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what discussions he has had with his Israeli counterpart on increasing the amount of aid entering Gaza.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The Foreign Secretary visited Israel on 17 April and met with Israeli counterparts. During his visit he said to Prime Minister Netanyahu and Foreign Affairs Minister Katz that we must maintain focus on getting more aid into Gaza and getting hostages out.
Asked by: Lord Scriven (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether any foreign country has paid for the flights or accommodation of any Minister visiting that country in the past two years; and if so, who the Ministers were, what were the reasons for their visits, which country was visited, and the cost of (1) the flights, and (2) the accommodation.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Cross-Whitehall data on flights and accommodation of any Minister visiting foreign countries is not centrally held by the FCDO and complying with this request would incur a disproportionate cost to the department.
However, information relating to overseas travel by Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Ministers is published on GOV.UK, including costs of travel, and on other costs (visas, accommodation, meals).
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps he is taking to promote stability in the (a) region of Kurdistan and (b) surrounding area.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Through our diplomatic engagements, we continue to encourage greater cooperation between Baghdad and Erbil to resolve their outstanding issues, as well as between the political parties in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI).
Our focus remains on bolstering the region's stability through our bilateral programming and defence offer. As a leading member of the Global Coalition, the UK supports the Iraqi Security Forces and the Kurdish Peshmerga to tackle the threat from Daesh and promote stability. This is in addition to the UK's contribution to NATO Mission in Iraq.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps he is taking to promote relations between the Kurdistan Regional Government and Turkey.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We reiterate to all parties the need for dialogue and cooperation between the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and Turkey to combat terrorism, ensure regional security, and protect civilians.
The UK recognises Turkey's right to self-defence but also fully supports the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Iraq. It is critical that Turkey and Iraq reach a way of addressing their security concerns that does not lead to greater regional instability.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will publish a summary of the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs' recent meeting with Benny Gantz.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The Foreign Secretary issued a statement on 6 March, following his meeting with Israeli Minister Benny Gantz. The Foreign Secretary made clear the steps Israel must take to increase aid into Gaza, and the UK's deep concern about the prospect of a military offensive in Rafah.
Asked by: Alan Brown (Scottish National Party - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, with reference to the Note to Correspondents on the Independent Review of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) of 20 March 2024, what assessment he has made of the (a) adequacy of the mechanisms and procedures UNRWA has in place to ensure compliance with the Humanitarian Principle of neutrality and (b) potential implications of that Note for his policies towards UNRWA; and if will resume funding to UNRWA.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
We are appalled by allegations that UNRWA staff were involved in the 7 October attack against Israel, a heinous act of terrorism that the UK Government has repeatedly condemned.
We are aware that the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services and Catherine Colonna have now provided their interim reports to the UN Secretary-General
We want UNRWA to give detailed undertakings about changes in personnel, policy and precedents to ensure this can never happen again.
We are working with allies to try to bring this situation to a rapid conclusion - not least because UNRWA have a vital role to play in providing aid and services in Gaza. We continue to urge Israel and all parties with relevant information to cooperate fully with the independent investigations.
Asked by: Alan Brown (Scottish National Party - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, pursuant to the Answer of 20 March 2024 to Question 18736 on Hamas: UNRWA, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of Israel's cooperation with the investigations carried out by the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services and Catherine Colonna; and whether the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs has had discussions with his Israeli counterpart on that country's cooperation with those investigations.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
We are appalled by allegations that UNRWA staff were involved in the 7 October attack against Israel, a heinous act of terrorism that the UK Government has repeatedly condemned.
We are aware that the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services and Catherine Colonna have now provided their interim reports to the UN Secretary-General
We want UNRWA to give detailed undertakings about changes in personnel, policy and precedents to ensure this can never happen again.
We are working with allies to try to bring this situation to a rapid conclusion - not least because UNRWA have a vital role to play in providing aid and services in Gaza. We continue to urge Israel and all parties with relevant information to cooperate fully with the independent investigations.
Asked by: Alan Brown (Scottish National Party - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what (a) criteria he is using and (b) conditions he has set for UNRWA to determine the resumption of funding to that organisation; and what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the interim reports of the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services and Catherine Colonna.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
We are appalled by allegations that UNRWA staff were involved in the 7 October attack against Israel, a heinous act of terrorism that the UK Government has repeatedly condemned.
We are aware that the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services and Catherine Colonna have now provided their interim reports to the UN Secretary-General
We want UNRWA to give detailed undertakings about changes in personnel, policy and precedents to ensure this can never happen again.
We are working with allies to try to bring this situation to a rapid conclusion - not least because UNRWA have a vital role to play in providing aid and services in Gaza. We continue to urge Israel and all parties with relevant information to cooperate fully with the independent investigations.