Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, with reference to his Department's policy paper entitled International women and girls strategy 2023 to 2030, published on 8 March 2023, when he will publish a timeline of how he plans to meet the commitment that at least 80% of his Department’s bilateral aid programmes will have a focus on gender equality by 2030.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The International Women and Girls Strategy was published in March 2023 and we have committed to publishing a biennial progress report. The commitment that at least 80 per cent of FCDO's bilateral Official Development Assistance (ODA) programmes will have a focus on gender equality by 2030 reflects how we are prioritising gender equality in our work and investment moving forward. The most recent official data, sourced from the Statistics for International Development and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Development Assistance Committee (DAC) Creditor Reporting System, is available for 2022. This data indicates that in 2022, 58 per cent of FDO bilateral ODA programmes had a focus on gender equality (using OECD DAC markers Significant and Principal).
Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee Central)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what recent assessment he has made of the strength of the Union.
Answered by David T C Davies
Our United Kingdom has never been stronger.
This Government is championing the Welsh contribution to our shared strength and prosperity, including announcing two Investment Zones for Wales, worth £160 million each. They will boost productivity, support high-priority jobs and level up the economy in Wrexham and Flintshire Cardiff and Newport.
Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee Central)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether she has sought legal advice on the implications for her policies on arms export licences to Israel of the International Court of Justice’s decision on the request for provisional measures in the case concerning Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip (South Africa v. Israel).
Answered by Greg Hands
All export licence applications are assessed on a case-by-case basis against the UK’s Strategic Export Licensing Criteria, including with regard to international humanitarian law.
All licences are kept under careful and continual review and the Government is able to amend, suspend, refuse or revoke licences as circumstances require.
The Secretary of State for Business and Trade receives legal advice as appropriate, on all matters related to import and export licensing, as part of advice from officials.
Any legal advice received is subject to legal professional privilege and as such we do not comment on legal advice that may or may not have been sought or received.
Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will publish details of the discussions between the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs and his Israeli counterpart during his most recent visit to that country.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The Foreign Secretary spoke with Prime Minister Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Katz in Jerusalem, during his most recent visit to Israel.
The Foreign Secretary discussed the urgency of getting significantly more aid into Gaza to alleviate the desperate situation there with Prime Minister Netanyahu. He reiterated the need for Israel to open more crossing points into Gaza, for Nitzana and Kerom Shalom to be open for longer, and for Israel to support the UN to deliver aid effectively across the whole of Gaza.
We also want to see Israel take greater care to limit its operations to military targets and avoid harming civilians and destroying home.
Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether representations were made to the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs on the UK's funding of UNRWA in meetings with Israeli government officials during his most recent visit to that country.
Answered by Leo Docherty
The UK is appalled by allegations that the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) staff were involved in the 7 October attack against Israel, a heinous act of terrorism that the UK Government has repeatedly condemned. The UK is temporarily pausing any future funding of UNRWA whilst we review these concerning allegations. We remain committed to getting humanitarian aid to the people in Gaza who desperately need it.
Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee Central)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment the Government has made of the security of civil servants' pensions data following the cyber attack against Capita in March 2023.
Answered by John Glen - Shadow Paymaster General
The Civil Service Pension Scheme (CSPS) contract has been structured to ensure that robust Information Security including Cyber Security controls are in place. This has been a fundamental principle from the inception of the procurement. As such the procurement has built measures into the CSPS contract and supporting requirements to ensure that Information Security including Cyber Security is of paramount importance throughout all stages of transition and the contract term. This includes:
CSPS requirements including a robust set of security principles that are up to date with the latest His Majesty's Government (HMG) requirements, specifically no off-shoring of CSPS data, annual IT health checks, a monthly Security Working Group to review and investigate any issues relating to security and ongoing requirement to provide Cabinet Office Digital team, assurance against the Cyber Assessment Framework (GovAssure) standard.
Embedding within the CSPS contract is the requirement to ensure that Capita, and the administration solution, will be subject to a rigorous accreditation process prior to any CSPS data being migrated to their infrastructure.
Enhancements being made to the standard Model Service Contract Security Schedule (2.4) to ensure that the Cabinet Office has the contractual leverage to enforce proactive and reactive controls for cyber and data security.
Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee Central)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what criteria were used to assess the suitability of Capita to administer the Civil Service Pension Scheme for his Department.
Answered by John Glen - Shadow Paymaster General
The Civil Service Pension Scheme (CSPS) procurement was run in accordance with the Public Contracts Regulations 2015. In accordance with this, strict criteria were applied to the evaluation of all bids submitted. In summary:
All final tender bids submitted were assessed against three criteria, each with an allocated weighting. These areas were Quality (65%), Price (25%) and Social Value (10%).
The Quality aspects of the bid evaluated included: Security, Business Systems, Core Administration, Member & Employer Engagement, Data, Fraud & Finance, Risk & Governance and Transition.
The Social Value aspects of the bid evaluated included: Tackling Economic Inequality, Fighting Climate Change, Equal Opportunity and Wellbeing.
To ensure that the evaluation of all bids was fair, proportionate and met the criteria for best value for money, strict moderation protocols were implemented to ensure that consensus was agreed on the outcomes.
Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee Central)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the impact of the cyber attack against Capita in March 2023 on the security of civil servants' pensions data.
Answered by Andrew Murrison
The Integrity and Security of the Civil Service pension scheme is a matter for the Cabinet Office as the lead Department for the scheme. Any assessment of the impact of the reported Capita data breach on the security of civil servant pension data is a matter for the Cabinet Office and should be directed to them.
Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee Central)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of AI on democracy.
Answered by Michelle Donelan
The Government takes threats posed by digitally manipulated content extremely seriously.
The Defending Democracy Taskforce is leading the Government's response, working with DSIT and others to protect the integrity of our democratic processes.
We are working with international partners to tackle this shared challenge and to ensure that social media platforms have the right processes in place to respond. The Online Safety Act puts requirements on platforms to remove illegal mis/dis information - including where it is AI generated.
Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what information his Department holds on the level of damage that has been caused to (a) civilian infrastructure and (b) homes in Gaza since 7 October 2023.
Answered by David Rutley
The UK Government is clear that civilian infrastructure like schools, hospitals and shelters must be protected in conflict. The UK is calling for unimpeded humanitarian access so that essential aid can reach civilian populations in Gaza including food, water, fuel and medical supplies. The UK is steadfast in its position that all states should uphold International Humanitarian Law and we call on our friends and partners to do so. Israel has the right to defend itself proportionately and its military operations must be conducted in accordance with International Humanitarian Law. Civilian infrastructure must be respected and protected. The Prime Minister, along with the Foreign Secretary, continues to engage regularly and closely with their Israeli counterparts, including in relation to ensuring the protection of civilian infrastructure in Gaza.