Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds North West)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what discussions her Department has had with the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs on steps to establish medical evacuations and increased humanitarian assistance in Eastern Ghouta.
Answered by Alistair Burt
DFID officials discuss regularly the humanitarian situation in Eastern Ghouta with the United Nationals Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), including the issue of medical evacuations, and how to ensure humanitarian assistance reaches those most in need, as called for by UN Security Council Resolution 2401. However, humanitarian access is severely constrained by the Assad regime.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds North West)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether his Department plans to provide support for health services in Gaza as a result of the recent findings of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The UK is providing £1.9 million to support the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Gaza urgent funding appeal. This is being delivered through the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to support critical water and sanitation needs identified by the appeal. UK funding is helping to provide clean water and rehabilitate sanitation facilities to stop the spread of disease, benefitting up to 1 million Gazans. Additionally the UK is a long-term supporter of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA), which provides basic services to 1.3 million people in Gaza, including basic health care.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds North West)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether she plans to provide humanitarian assistance to South Africa to help respond to the water shortage in Cape Town.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
We, and UK experts in London and in Cape Town, are in ongoing discussions with the Western Cape provincial and Cape Town municipal governments about how UK expertise and companies could collaborate with the South African authorities to address the short and long term water challenges. There have been no requests for humanitarian assistance and we have no plans to provide it.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds North West)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, for what reasons her Department will no longer run the International Citizen Service programme from April 2018.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The UK government remains completely committed to ICS. We are currently designing a new phase of ICS, a process which will involve a range of stakeholders, including young people, to ensure we are providing the best offer for young volunteers and to deliver value for the British taxpayer.