Middle East

James Naish Excerpts

Thursday 16th January 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lammy]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right to focus on medical support. We will continue to support UK-Med, and we made a decision to give it more funds when we were just a few days into office. Half a million people have received essential healthcare as a result of that funding, and UK-Med has supported over 300,000 people across Gaza. It is hugely important work, and I suspect we will have more to say in the coming days about what more we can do.

[James Naish (Rushcliffe) (Lab)]

I thank my right hon. Friend for his very measured statement. I have met dozens of constituents in Rushcliffe who I know will wholeheartedly welcome yesterday’s news. However, I have received a lot of emails specifically about the decimation of medical facilities in the northern part of Gaza. Can I ask the Foreign Secretary what steps are likely to be taken to ensure immediate improvements to healthcare access as a result of this week’s announcement?

[Mr Lammy]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend. For the reasons I have set out, security will be essential if the aid is to get in and if international partners are to be reassured, so that the reconstruction of hospitals can properly begin.

Oral Answers to Questions

James Naish Excerpts

Tuesday 22nd October 2024 Commons Chamber

[Anneliese Dodds]

The right hon. Gentleman is absolutely right to raise that point. We are preparing at pace for that Paris conference, which is incredibly important. We need to do all we can to secure access to the food required, and it must be nutritious, healthy food. In addition, the UK is preparing to sign up to the Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty—something that I committed the UK to doing in Brazil just a few weeks ago.

[James Naish (Rushcliffe) (Lab)]

T9. I have lived and worked in the western Balkans, where Governments continue to increase efforts to tackle human trafficking, exploitation and coercion. What steps are proactively being taken with Albania and other western Balkan and mediterranean countries to tackle human trafficking at source?

[The Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Stephen Doughty)]

The Government are committed to working more closely with partners across Europe, including Albania and partners across the western Balkans, to tackle people trafficking and the gangs profiting from it. That has been a regular part of my bilateral discussions. In July, we announced steps to reinforce our co-operation with Europol and committed £4 million towards the Rome process—an Italian Government project to tackle the root causes of irregular migration.