Oral Answers to Questions

Alan Duncan Excerpts

Wednesday 23rd October 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Marcus Jones (Nuneaton) (Con)]

3. What plans her Department has to assist with elections in Nepal in November 2013.

[The Minister of State, Department for International Development (Mr Alan Duncan)]

Our budget of £14 million for Nepal’s elections will cover items such as £5 million to the United Nations Development Programme for the electoral roll, £8 million to the Election Commission of Nepal for the administrative costs of the election itself, and a further £1 million to cover independent observers.

[Mr Jones]

I thank the Minister for his answer. Given that so many years have passed since an election last took place in Nepal, is he confident that the assistance he is providing will contribute to a successful outcome?

[Mr Duncan]

I know that my hon. Friend has in his constituency a Nepali community to which he pays a great deal of attention. Nepal has faced a bit of a logjam for a number of years, in that it has needed elections to approve a constitution and a constitution to approve elections. We hope that the November elections will take place with full participation and no violence.

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)]

What work is the Department doing to stop any violence between competing parties in the November elections?

[Mr Duncan]

The UK is at the forefront of engaging with politicians of all parties in Nepal. My right hon. Friends in the Foreign Office and we in the Department for International Development visit them regularly and have urged all of them to participate. When I visited in April, I was very robust in urging some of the smaller Maoist parties to participate when at the time they were minded not to do so.

[Valerie Vaz (Walsall South) (Lab)]

4. What contribution her Department is making to the implementation of the Government’s preventing sexual violence initiative.

--- Later in debate ---

[Paul Blomfield (Sheffield Central) (Lab)]

5. What assessment she has made of the adequacy of the levels of food, fuel and medical supplies entering Gaza each day.

[The Minister of State, Department for International Development (Mr Alan Duncan)]

Although the supply of food in Gaza is adequate, prices are rising fast. The level of fuel and medical supplies has dropped, exacerbating an already precarious humanitarian situation and threatening the basic needs of ordinary people in Gaza.

[Paul Blomfield]

The Minister has recognised in his reply that the humanitarian situation in Gaza is increasingly fragile. The impoverished Palestinian population is reliant on the tunnels for affordable goods. The tightening of restrictions by the Egyptian and Israeli authorities is resulting in shockingly high prices for fuel and basic commodities. With access to, and the affordability of, food becoming a huge problem, will the Government acknowledge that the blockade of Gaza is a violation of international humanitarian and human rights law and constitutes collective punishment?

[Mr Speaker]

There are extremely serious matters of life and death in Gaza. Let us hear the questions and the Minister’s answers.

[Mr Duncan]

I recognise exactly what the hon. Gentleman says. We would far rather see free movement and access for trade and economic activity in Gaza than an economy that is channelled through tunnels in a way that benefits Hamas. Israel’s plan to expand the capacity of the Allenby crossing between the west bank and Jordan is a welcome example of the sort of steps that can be taken to improve trade.

[Sir Tony Baldry (Banbury) (Con)]

The truth is that the international community and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency will have to continue supporting thousands of people in Gaza and the west bank until a two-state solution is found or until Gaza and the west bank are incorporated into de jure Israel. Permanent occupation is a perpetual hell for thousands of people. When will the international community find a long-term solution for Gaza and the west bank?

[Mr Duncan]

I hope that the efforts that are under way will lead to exactly the kind of agreement that my hon. Friend is seeking. The efforts of my right hon. Friends the Foreign Secretary and the Prime Minister, in particular in working with the US Administration, will hopefully lead to a two-state solution and a long-lasting agreement that lead to peace and security between the two countries.

[Ann McKechin (Glasgow North) (Lab)]

The Minister will be aware that the price of fuel in Gaza has almost doubled in recent weeks. What steps is his Department taking to assist small businesses in Gaza, particularly fishermen, who have been hit hard by that increase?

[Mr Duncan]

The hon. Lady makes a very fair point. The amount of fuel that enters Gaza via the tunnels has halved from about 1 million litres a day in June to about 500,000 litres this month. The Gaza power plant is operating at half its capacity, triggering electricity blackouts of up to 12 hours a day, exacerbating the already difficult economic and humanitarian situation in Gaza.

[John Mann (Bassetlaw) (Lab)]

T1. If she will make a statement on her departmental responsibilities.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Jim Cunningham (Coventry South) (Lab)]

T8. Will the Secretary of State say what discussions she has had with the Israeli Government about the price of petrol for the Palestinians?

[The Minister of State, Department for International Development (Mr Alan Duncan)]

The Department is in regular discussions with the Israeli Government, and as mentioned earlier, we are particularly concerned about the limitation that exists on fuel in Gaza. We fully understand that those pressures exist, and we make representations whenever we can.