Asked by: Lord Bishop of Southwark (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the diplomatic visit on 30 January to the Palestinian community of Khan Al Ahmar regarding the threat of demolition facing that village, what was the outcome of their meeting in London with the Israeli Foreign Minister about the future of Khan Al Ahmar.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign Secretary and I (Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon) met Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen in London on 21 March and emphasised the need to de-escalate the situation in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories as we approach the convergence of several religious festivals. That included asking the Israeli Government to refrain from unilateral actions, such as demolitions, that make achieving this de-escalation more difficult. I know that the Prime Minister also echoed this message of de-escalation in his meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu on 24 March. We oppose the demolition of Khan al-Ahmar, and we continue to urge Israel to cease evictions and demolitions of Palestinian property in Area C, which cause unnecessary suffering and in all, but the most exceptional circumstances are illegal under international law.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Southwark (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of their state of relations with the Palestinian Authority following the recall of the Head of Mission of the Palestinian Authority to the UK in response to the 2030 roadmap for UK-Israel bilateral relations, signed on 21 March.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Palestinian Head of Mission Zomlot and I (Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon) met on 31 March to discuss this issue, and I reaffirmed the UK's long-standing commitment to a two-state solution based on 1967 lines. The UK is a friend of the Palestinian Authority (PA) and the Palestinian people. We support Palestinians in realising self-determination through an independent sovereign, and unified Palestinian state, in the West Bank and Gaza.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Southwark (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what response they have received from the government of Israel regarding the joint call that they and diplomatic representatives from 16 other countries made on the 13 March to reverse the eviction of six Palestinian families from Silwan, Sheikh Jarrah, and the Old City of Jerusalem.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
No such response was received, and I [Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon] have raised this matter with the Israeli ambassador separately. Demolitions and evictions from their homes cause unnecessary suffering to ordinary Palestinians, call into question Israel's commitment to a viable two-state solution and, in all but the most exceptional of cases, demolitions by an occupying power are contrary to international humanitarian law. Officials from our embassy in Tel Aviv have repeatedly raised our apprehensions about demolitions with Israeli ministers and senior officials and we continue to support Palestinians through UK funding to legal aid programmes in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The Foreign Secretary has reinforced this message on 7 April when he called for de-escalation and made clear the need to avoid actions which escalate tensions and violence.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Southwark (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they have received from, or on behalf of the governments of (1) Canada, (2) Australia, and (3) New Zealand, in the past 12 months on the subject of UK state pensions paid to individuals resident in their territories, and their annual uprating in line with those paid in the United Kingdom; and what representations have they received from non-governmental groups on the same subject.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The government does not have a policy to increase the number of countries with which the UK has reciprocal agreements on state pensions. The government has no plans to change its social security relationship with these countries on state pensions.
Requests for social security agreements may be raised in formal and informal meetings and in correspondence at both ministerial and official level. The Department for Work and Pensions does not, as a matter of routine, maintain full records of such requests. The department can, however, confirm that a response was provided to the government of Canada in August 2022 on its request to conclude a reciprocal agreement to include state pension uprating, where the department outlined its longstanding position as stated above.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Southwark (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what stage they have reached in negotiations with (1) the government of Canada, (2) the government of Australia, and (3) the government of New Zealand, on the annual uprating and payment of the UK state pension to beneficiaries resident in those countries.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The government does not have a policy to increase the number of countries with which the UK has reciprocal agreements on state pensions. The government has no plans to change its social security relationship with these countries on state pensions.
Requests for social security agreements may be raised in formal and informal meetings and in correspondence at both ministerial and official level. The Department for Work and Pensions does not, as a matter of routine, maintain full records of such requests. The department can, however, confirm that a response was provided to the government of Canada in August 2022 on its request to conclude a reciprocal agreement to include state pension uprating, where the department outlined its longstanding position as stated above.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Southwark (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the annual cost of uprating the UK basic state pension to UK pensioners living abroad, regardless of any reciprocal agreements on pensions uprating.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
UK State Pensions are payable worldwide and up-rated overseas where there is a legal requirement to do so. The policy on up-rating UK State Pensions overseas is long-standing and has been supported by successive post-war Governments for over 70 years.
No recent assessment has been made of the annual cost of up-rating the UK basic State Pension to UK pensioners living abroad, regardless of any reciprocal agreements on pensions up-rating.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Southwark (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what research they have undertaken of the impact of their decision not to uprate the UK state pension upon (1) British citizens resident in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, and (2) Commonwealth citizens who have retired to a country in the Caribbean with a UK state pension entitlement.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department has not undertaken such research. The UK State Pension is payable worldwide to those who meet the qualifying conditions. Entitlement is based on an individual’s national insurance record. The policy on up-rating UK State Pensions overseas is long-standing and has been supported by successive post-war Governments for over 70 years. We continue to up-rate UK State Pensions abroad where there is a legal requirement to do so – for example where there is a reciprocal agreement that provides for up-rating. There are no plans to change this policy.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Southwark (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to annually uprate the UK basic state pension to qualifying individuals on the same basis regardless of the state or territory in which they are currently resident; and what reciprocal agreements they have made, if any, with other countries in respect of pension uprating.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
UK State Pensions are payable worldwide and up-rated overseas where there is a legal requirement to do so – for example where there is a reciprocal agreement in place that allows for up-rating. The policy on up-rating is longstanding and has been supported by successive Governments for over 70 years. The Government has no plans to change this policy.
The UK has reciprocal social security agreements, which provide State Pension up-rating, with the following authorities:
The UK also has agreements in place with the European Economic Area and Switzerland which provide for State Pension up-rating.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Southwark (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel regarding the statement by Israel's Minister of Finance, Mr Bezalel Smotrich, on 1 March, that the Palestinian village of Hawara "should be wiped out”.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
As I set out in my tweet on 26 February, the scenes of abhorrent violence in Huwara were shocking. The UK also stresses the importance of the Israeli security forces providing appropriate protection to the Palestinian civilian population. Rhetoric about "wiping out" places is harmful and irresponsible. The British Embassy in Tel Aviv has raised these comments with the Government of Israel at senior levels. We condemn Finance Minister Smotrich's incitement to violence. Such rhetoric serves no purpose other than to stoke tensions further.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Southwark (Bishops - Bishops)
Question
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the work of a British Museum team in the discovery of an early Sumerian Palace at Girsu/Tello, funded by the Getty Museum, and (2) making provision of similar funding for the training of Iraqi archaeologists and the conservation of Iraq’s antiquities under the Cultural Heritage Protection Programme.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
His Majesty’s Government is proud of the partnership between the British Museum, the Getty Museum and the Iraqi State Board of Antiquities. HM Government supports the protection of cultural heritage – particularly in regions at risk from conflict, instability and climate change – through the Cultural Protection Fund, which includes support for training and education.
Since its inception, the Cultural Protection Fund has supported and continues to support a number of projects in both Iraq and Iraqi Kurdistan. This included the Iraq Scheme which from 2015 to 2021 trained over 50 staff from the State Board of Antiquities. The Girsu Project builds on the legacy of the scheme and we congratulate the British Museum for its part in recent excavations in Tello.
In November 2022, 17 new Cultural Protection Fund projects were awarded funding. Four of these will support the preservation of cultural heritage in Iraq and Iraqi Kurdistan. The projects include archaeological training, safeguarding folk music, and the preservation of maritime craft and life in the wetlands of Southern Iraq.