Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department has held discussions with the (a) Tony Blair Institute and (b) Boston Consulting Group on the situation in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories since 7 October 2023.

Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Officials have met with the Tony Blair Institute to discuss Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories since 7 October 2023. We have no record of meetings with the Boston Consulting Group. We continue to call for a ceasefire in Gaza, for the release of the hostages and for Israel to allow for a full and unhindered resumption in the flow of aid, including allowing the entry of more types of aid such as medicine, fuel and shelter.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department plans to (a) support the establishment of a peacekeeping mandate and (b) pursue other multilateral action at the United Nations Security Council to protect the provision of UN-delivered aid to Gaza.

Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

On 4 June, the UK voted in favour of a UN Security Council Resolution calling for urgent improvements to the humanitarian situation in Gaza. We co-called a meeting of the UN Security Council on 16 July where we reiterated calls for a ceasefire and for Israel to lift its restrictions on aid, raising serious concerns about the imminent collapse of basic services in Gaza. On 21 July, together with 30 international partners, we released a statement condemning the appalling humanitarian conditions in Gaza, the killing of civilians, and called for the war to end immediately. On 25 July we released a statement, together with France and Germany, calling on Israel to immediately lift restrictions on the flow of aid into Gaza. The political and security conditions in Gaza are not currently suitable for the deployment of a United Nations peacekeeping operation.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what discussions he has had with Ofgem on reducing electricity and gas standing charges.

Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The Government knows that, for many consumers, too much of the burden of the bill is placed on standing charges. We are committed to lowering the cost of standing charges and are working constructively with Ofgem, on this issue. Ofgem have conducted a broad public consultation to understand the views of consumers on this issue, receiving over 5,000 responses on their 2024 discussion paper. Since then, Ofgem have been continuing work in two areas.

Firstly, Ofgem have been working to ensure that domestic consumers can choose tariffs with low or no standing charges. Ofgem took a further step towards this goal on 24th July, announcing proposals to require suppliers to offer their customers low or no standing charge tariffs from early 2026. You can read about this here: https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/policy/standing-charges-energy-price-cap-variant-next-steps.

Secondly, Ofgem have been reviewing how ‘fixed’ costs, which tend to be funded through standing charges, should be recovered in the future energy system. This includes whether those fixed costs could be recovered in more progressive ways, and we are working closely with the regulator on this.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department has cooperated with the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation; whether his Department plans to cooperate with this organisation; and whether it is his policy that UK humanitarian aid support for Palestine should be delivered solely by (a) the UN and (b) established humanitarian partners.

Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK has not cooperated with the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. We have been clear that we will not cooperate with any aid delivery mechanism that does not fully respect humanitarian principles. In a joint statement on 19 May with 26 partners, we highlighted our concerns that Israel's new mechanisms for aid delivery in Gaza place beneficiaries and aid workers at risk, undermine the role and independence of the UN and our trusted partners, and link humanitarian aid to political and military objectives. We continue to call on Israel to enable the UN and humanitarian non-governmental organisations to do their work safely and effectively, in line with the humanitarian principles.

Global Sumud Flotilla

State visit to the UK of US President Donald Trump

Impact of upgrading the energy efficiency of private rented homes

Sanctions on Israel and International Court of Justice findings

Plastic in chewing gum

Awdah Hathaleen

Companion bus passes for the disabled

DARC in Wales