Asked by: Lord Bishop of Norwich (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of ongoing settler attacks on Palestinian communities in Taybeh in the West Bank, including the attack on St George’s Church on 7 July; and what steps they are taking to impose travel bans and financial sanctions on those responsible.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
The UK condemns settler violence and is concerned by incidents and attacks on holy sites across the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Our Consul General in Jerusalem has recently visited Taybeh with church leaders and international partners to express solidarity with the local community following attacks by settlers. We regularly raise settler violence with Israeli ministers and officials, and we are clear that the Israeli government must clamp down on settler violence and settlement expansion. The Government has introduced three rounds of sanctions targeting individuals, illegal settler outposts and organisations perpetrating and supporting violence against Palestinian communities in the West Bank. We do not comment on future sanctions designations as to do so could reduce their impact.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Norwich (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what representation they have made to the government of Israel to investigate and prevent the reported incidents of arson and assaults by settlers on Palestinian property, agricultural land and holy sites in Taybeh in the West Bank.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
The UK condemns settler violence and is concerned by incidents and attacks on holy sites across the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Our Consul General in Jerusalem has recently visited Taybeh with church leaders and international partners to express solidarity with the local community following attacks by settlers. We regularly raise settler violence with Israeli ministers and officials, and we are clear that the Israeli government must clamp down on settler violence and settlement expansion. The Government has introduced three rounds of sanctions targeting individuals, illegal settler outposts and organisations perpetrating and supporting violence against Palestinian communities in the West Bank. We do not comment on future sanctions designations as to do so could reduce their impact.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Norwich (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have met or intend to meet representatives of the Greek Orthodox Church, Latin Church, and the Melkite Geek Catholic Church following settler violence against Palestinian communities in Taybeh in the West Bank.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
The UK condemns settler violence and is concerned by incidents and attacks on holy sites across the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Our Consul General in Jerusalem has recently visited Taybeh with church leaders and international partners to express solidarity with the local community following attacks by settlers. We regularly raise settler violence with Israeli ministers and officials, and we are clear that the Israeli government must clamp down on settler violence and settlement expansion. The Government has introduced three rounds of sanctions targeting individuals, illegal settler outposts and organisations perpetrating and supporting violence against Palestinian communities in the West Bank. We do not comment on future sanctions designations as to do so could reduce their impact.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Norwich (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to deliver climate finance to communities around the world most impacted by climate change.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
It remains our ambition to deliver £11.6 billion of International Climate Finance between April 2021 and March 2026, of which £1.5 billion should be Adaptation and Resilience finance for 2025 to support to the most vulnerable communities who are experiencing the worst impacts of climate change. We are working with our partners to ensure that Small Island Developing States and Least Developed Countries - among the most climate vulnerable - are able to access the climate finance they need from the global system for adaptation and resilient growth. We are also championing locally led approaches and the meaningful engagement and involvement of marginalised people in climate resilience action.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Norwich (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of Official Development Assistance has been spent on ecosystem conservation, protection and restoration and tree planting internationally in the last five years, and what proportion of Official Development Assistance is forecast to be spent in these areas in the next budget period.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Lord Chamberlain (HM Household)
Over the last five years (2018/19 - 2022/23) the UK spent £1,397 million of Official Development Assistance (ODA) on programmes that protected and restored nature, including £865 million specifically targeting forests. Between 2021/22 and 2025/26 the UK has pledged to spend at least £3 billion of our International Climate Finance (ICF) on restoring and protecting nature, including £1.5 billion on forests. Our latest results [UK International Climate Finance results 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)]show that between 2011 and 2023 UK ICF has avoided 413,000 hectares of ecosystem loss, and generated or protected ecosystem services valued at £5,302,000.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Norwich (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the Communion Forest, an initiative comprising local activities of tree growing and ecosystem conservation, protection and restoration undertaken by parishes, dioceses and provinces across the Anglican Communion.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Lord Chamberlain (HM Household)
The UK Government has not made a formal assessment of the Communion Forest Initiative but would be happy to meet with representatives to hear more about their work. It is heartening to learn about this initiative from the Anglican Communion, as it echoes the importance this government places on efforts to restore and protect forests. Please thank your teams for their efforts, noting that it is important that we all are working to combat climate change and reverse forest loss.