Asked by: Lord Selkirk of Douglas (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, in the light of reports that Russian soldiers are castrating Ukrainian prisoners in prisoner of war camps, what assessment they have made of whether Russian soldiers are repeatedly committing crimes against humanity.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine is marked by increasing evidence of war crimes and crimes against humanity against Ukrainian service personnel and civilians, including executions, torture and sexual violence. We are fully committed to holding Russian forces to account for any atrocities that have been committed in Ukraine. Established accountability mechanisms, including the International Criminal Court's investigations and Ukrainian domestic judicial processes are investigating all allegations of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. The UK continues to support these independent investigations, including by establishing the Atrocity Crimes Advisory Group with the US and EU to provide practical and financial support to assist the War Crimes Unit of the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine.
Asked by: Lord Selkirk of Douglas (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government when patient organisations such as Cystic Fibrosis Trust, whose Clinical Trials Accelerator Platform informed the design of Clinical Trial Acceleration Networks, will be able to share lessons to feed into the implementation update for the O'Shaughnessy Review.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government appointed Lord James O’Shaughnessy to carry out an independent review into United Kingdom commercial clinical trials. Following publication of the review on May 26, the Government made five headline commitments to improve the commercial clinical trials system backed by £121 million. This included £20 million to establish two or three new Clinical Trial Acceleration Networks which will bring together several existing mechanisms to create a joined-up approach to clinical trials, focusing on accelerating priority areas of research and delivering best practice.
An update on implementation will be provided in Autumn, which will outline progress against these commitments as well as responding in full to the review recommendations. Implementation of the five headline commitments and the full review response will be informed by consultation with the UK clinical trials community including individual medical research charities and the Association of Medical Research Charities, of which the Cystic Fibrosis Trust is a member.
Asked by: Lord Selkirk of Douglas (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to support for people living with long-term conditions such as cystic fibrosis, following the publication of the report Your life and CF by the Cystic Fibrosis Trust on 6 June, which found that one in five people affected by that condition missed a hospital appointment in the past 12 months due to cost.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
People with long term conditions such as cystic fibrosis who are eligible for financial assistance through the Healthcare Travel Costs Scheme can claim a refund of reasonable travel costs. Travel expenses should be calculated by reference to the cheapest means of transport that is reasonable for the patient. This can include journeys made in a private vehicle.
To help alleviate cost pressures associated with travel for appointments, NHS England is supporting NHS providers to embed, spread and use video consultations innovatively across their services. The decision on whether an appointment needs to take place face-to-face, on video or by telephone will be made by an expert clinician based on patients’ individual care needs and preferences.
Asked by: Lord Selkirk of Douglas (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to whether they would grant permission for Vladimir Putin to enter the UK.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK has made clear, for the avoidance of any doubt, that President Putin would not be welcome in the UK. FCDO officials re-emphasised this to senior officials at the Russian Embassy in the UK at a face-to-face meeting in early April. The UK sanctioned President Putin and applied an asset freeze shortly after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Asked by: Lord Selkirk of Douglas (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to offer to give (1) assistance, and (2) drinkable water, to Turkey and Syria following the earthquake of 6 February.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK has provided lifesaving and life-sustaining assistance to those in need in Turkey and northwest Syria, committing £43 million in aid. In Syria, the UK provided £4.3 million to the White Helmets for life-saving search and rescue and emergency relief operations. In addition, we provided 242 tonnes of vital relief items to help provide protection against the freezing winter weather conditions. In Turkey, the UK provided: search and rescue capability; specially trained dogs; and treatment to over 19,000 patients by UK medical teams. UK funding has also contributed to restoring the supply of clean water, reaching an estimated 263,000 people.
Asked by: Lord Selkirk of Douglas (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they have taken following the fires in North America to offer to give assistance, and in particular drinking water, to Canada.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
We have been in contact with the Canadian Foreign Minister and Canadian Government officials, offering UK support and our sympathy, following the devastating wildfires. Canada is a close partner of the UK, and we will continue to work together closely and provide support to one another in times of crisis.
Asked by: Lord Selkirk of Douglas (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made, if any, of the case (1) for preserving the historic fabric of RAF Scampton, (2) for commemorating (a) the 53 RAF personnel who died on the Dambusters Raid, and (b) the 55,573 who died in total during operations with RAF Bomber Command, and (3) for providing necessities for any refugees to be accommodated there.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
The Ministrt of Defence (MOD) has had to make some difficult decisions to dispose of sites, including the former RAF Scampton, that have become surplus to military requirements in accordance with HM Treasury guidance on the management of surplus Government land. As part of the disposal process, full consideration is always given to the history and heritage of a site. Leading up to the disposal of the former RAF Scampton, a number of heritage assets were relocated to other either RAF stations, returned to their private owners or donated to the local Scampton Heritage Group in order to preserve them for future generations.
The MOD is extremely proud of its personnel and those that gave their lives in the defence of the United Kingdom. The sacrifices made by these heroic individuals are remembered through the various memorials that are open to the public with the Dambusters squadron crew that lost their lives being represented by the memorial at Woodhall Spa, Lincolnshire, and with the 55,573 Bomber Command crew that lost their lives being represented by the Bomber Command memorial located within The Green Park, London.
Questions on provision of necessities for any asylum seekers housed at the former RAF base in the future are a matter for the Home Office.
Asked by: Lord Selkirk of Douglas (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support the creation of an international funding facility to combat climate change and respond to the loss and damage commitments made at COP27.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
All parties at COP27, including the UK, agreed to establish both new funding arrangements for assisting developing countries that are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change, and a fund for responding to loss and damage. Parties also agreed to establish a Transitional Committee on operationalisation of the funding arrangements and the fund.
The UK announced at COP27 £5 million of funding for the Santiago Network for Loss and Damage which will bring together and enhance the technical assistance available to developing countries suffering from the worst impacts of climate change.
The UK will constructively engage with the Committee, with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and parties and with civil society to help ensure the funding arrangements, fund and the Santiago Network for Loss and Damage deliver effectively for countries particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change.
Asked by: Lord Selkirk of Douglas (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to provide (1) medical supplies, and (2) aid, to Ethiopia.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
In the last eighteen months the UK has provided nearly £90 million of life-saving aid to communities across Ethiopia affected by crises. This support has provided emergency health supplies for 1 million people. Through the recently announced package of £14 million humanitarian support, funding is expected to reach up to 150,000 people with comprehensive health, water sanitation, hygiene and nutrition services across Ethiopia.
Asked by: Lord Selkirk of Douglas (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much funding the UK has contributed to the G7 Famine Prevention and Humanitarian Crises Compact since 2021.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The Famine Prevention and Humanitarian Crises Compact was agreed during the UK's G7 Presidency and we have provided our share of the $7 billion in humanitarian assistance to the countries one step from famine in 2021. Globally we intend to spend UK humanitarian funding of £3 billion over the next three years. We continue to deliver on our policy commitments in the Compact. For example, in 2021 we partnered with the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and Germany to co-host the High-Level Event on Anticipatory Action.