Asked by: Aphra Brandreth (Conservative - Chester South and Eddisbury)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will take steps to ensure that carbon monoxide alarms are properly tested using (a) UK manufactured, (b) safe and (c) industry-approved test gas.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Carbon monoxide alarms should be properly tested before they can be placed on the UK market. British Standard EN 50291-1:2018 outlines the test methods and performance requirements of carbon monoxide alarms used in a domestic setting, and British Standard EN 50291:2:2019 outlines the same for carbon monoxide alarms used in recreational vehicles and similar premises.
The Product Regulation and Metrology Bill, which is going through Parliament at the moment, will provide the powers needed to keep our wide and technical product regulation framework up to date, enabling the UK to maintain its high product standards.
Asked by: Aphra Brandreth (Conservative - Chester South and Eddisbury)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the effectiveness of UNRWA in removing antisemitic material from school textbooks used in (a) the West Bank and (b) Gaza.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Education is an essential component to the humanitarian response in Gaza, and critical to building the foundations for a sustainable and lasting peace for the Israeli and Palestinian people. It is therefore essential that partners delivering education services across the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs), including United Nations Relief and Work Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), uphold the highest standards of neutrality. Catherine Colonna's Independent Review of Mechanisms and Procedures to Ensure Adherence by UNRWA to the Humanitarian Principle of Neutrality notes that the most recent UNRWA Rapid Review of textbooks from the Palestinian Authority (2022/2023) "found that 3.85 per cent of all textbook pages contain issues of concern to UN values, guidance, or position on the conflict". The UK supports the Colonna review's conclusion that "the presence of even a small fraction of problematic content in textbooks, supplemental material and teaching content remains a serious issue." We welcome the initiatives launched by UNRWA to ensure neutrality of its educational material and teaching, in addition to its long-standing work with UNESCO and the Palestinian Authority to reform curricula and educational materials. £1 million of UK funding to UNRWA this financial year has been earmarked for the implementation of the Colonna review's recommendations.
Asked by: Aphra Brandreth (Conservative - Chester South and Eddisbury)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an estimate of the proportion of international aid that has been misappropriated by terrorist organisations in Gaza.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Aid diversion is an ongoing concern in Gaza, but we welcome reports that more aid is now entering Gaza, and looting has reduced. Israel must now continue to work with partners to ensure law and order is maintained in Gaza so that safe distribution of aid across the Gaza strip is sustained. Most of our aid budget for the Occupied Palestinian Territories is disbursed as funding to trusted partners. The UK conducts thorough due diligence assessments of partners to ensure procedures are in place to manage the risks of aid diversion and to report losses. Programmes are monitored regularly, including through annual and project completion reviews.