Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the Answer to Question 45069 on 13 September 2021 on Palestinians: Overseas Aid, for what reason her Department does not publish Partnership Principles Assessments.
Answered by Amanda Milling - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
In line with our transparency commitment policy, the FCDO publishes Memorandums of Understanding and Annual Programme Reviews for programmes in the Occupied Palestinian Territories on DevTracker. We do not publish Partnership Principles Assessments. We have an active dialogue with the Palestinian Authority (PA) on issues relating to the 'partnership principles' and assess that the PA continues to demonstrate a credible commitment to our agreements.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent steps her Department has taken to ensure that Palestinian communities have been meaningfully consulted in the development overseas aid initiatives intended to support them.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
Development programmes in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs) work to preserve the prospect of a negotiated Two State Solution and to improve the lives of Palestinians throughout the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem, in line with the UK's longstanding position. The UK engages with a broad range of stakeholders to understand the impact of UK programming, including in the OPTs.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 26 October 201 to Question 903830 on the Palestinian Authority: ODA recognising the importance of supporting Palestinian institutions, what plans her Department has to restore funding to the salaries of Palestinian health and education professionals in 2021-22.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
Our future spending allocations will be set in the next Spending Review and full budgets for 2021 will be published in due course, including in our regular Statistics on International Development website and in the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office Annual Report and Accounts.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the Answer of 18 October 2017 to Question 107709 on Palestinians: Overseas Aid, whether the Government made representations to the Palestinian Authority on concerns over the naming of summer camps after Dalal Mughrabi; and what assessment she has made of the effect of those representations on the decision not to rename those the summer camps.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
We have been clear that incitement to hatred or violence is unacceptable from all parties. We will continue to raise concerns about this with the PA and continue to urge all parties to condemn incitement wherever and whenever it occurs.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the Answer of 9 April 2019 to Question 240936 on Palestinians: Overseas Aid, whether the Government made representations to the Palestinian Authority (PA) on concerns over the naming of the PA Ministry of Education sports festival after Dalal Mughrabi; and what assessment she has made of the impact of those representations on the decision to rename that festival.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
We have been clear that incitement to hatred or violence is unacceptable from all parties. We will continue to raise concerns about this with the Palestinian Authority (PA) and continue to urge all parties to condemn incitement wherever and whenever it occurs.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will publish his Department’s most recent Partnership Principle Assessment with the Palestinian Authority.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
We do not publish Partnership Principles Assessments. We have an active dialogue with the Palestinian Authority (PA) on the issues identified through these channels and we assess that the PA continues to demonstrate a credible commitment to our agreements and the 'partnership principles'.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the 2020-21 Memorandum of Understanding between his Department and the Palestinian Authority, whether his Department undertook an assessment in 2020-21 of whether there had been a breach of the commitments in that memorandum by the Palestine Authority.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
Our partnership with the Palestinian Authority (PA) includes a commitment from the Palestinian leadership to adhere to the principle of non-violence and to tackle any language and actions that could incite violence or hatred. We have a regular dialogue with the PA in which we reiterate the need for both sides to prepare their populations for peaceful coexistence, including by promoting a more positive portrayal of each other. We continue to assess the PA's commitment to peace in line with our Partnership Principles and we assess that the PA continues to demonstrate a credible commitment to our agreements.
Asked by: Karen Bradley (Conservative - Staffordshire Moorlands)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure that UK aid is being used to promote the values of human rights, democracy and press freedom in (a) the West Bank and (b) Gaza.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
Every Israeli and Palestinian has the right to live in freedom, prosperity, and security. UK Aid helps promote the values of human rights by providing humanitarian and protection assistance in Gaza, including support to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian refugees. The UK is working with the Palestinian Authority (PA) - and with Palestinian civil society - to make the security sector more accountable to its citizens, ensuring complaints of mistreatment or arbitrary detention are properly investigated. Our Transparency and Accountability programme is working to help the PA become more accountable to its citizens. Our Conflict Security and Stability Fund is supporting women and girls and people with disabilities to advocate for their rights and provided services to support victims of gender based violence. We work only with implementers and partners that have strong safeguards in place, which reduces risk and ensures the maximum impact of UK aid for Palestinians.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department has signed any memoranda of understanding related to the Service, Stability and Reform Programme in the Palestinian Territories since those signed in October 2019.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
All programming and funding decisions for Financial Year 21/22 are being considered in the context of a temporary overall reduction in Overseas Development Assistance. Allocation decisions have been taken by Ministers in line with the objectives set out in the Integrated Review. We are working with suppliers and partners on what this means for individual programmes. Full budgets and programmes per country will be published in due course, including in our regular Statistics on International Development website and in the FCDO Annual Report and Accounts.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, for what reason his Department has not published any Memorandums of Understanding related to the Service, Stability and Reform Programme in the Palestinian Territories since October 2019.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
All programming and funding decisions for Financial Year 21/22 are being considered in the context of a temporary overall reduction in Overseas Development Assistance. Allocation decisions have been taken by Ministers in line with the objectives set out in the Integrated Review. We are working with suppliers and partners on what this means for individual programmes. Full budgets and programmes per country will be published in due course, including in our regular Statistics on International Development website and in the FCDO Annual Report and Accounts.