Covid-19: International Response

Jason McCartney Excerpts

Wednesday 6th May 2020 Commons Chamber

[Anne-Marie Trevelyan]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his question. The challenge of fundraising for charities and organisations that have really great objectives and reach out to the most vulnerable is indeed a challenge, but I would refer anyone to Captain Moore’s efforts. It is possible to raise money in different and novel ways, and I encourage everyone out there to come up with brilliant new ideas to support the charities and causes they most believe in.

[Jason McCartney (Colne Valley) (Con) [V]]

I am very proud to co-chair the all-party group for Fairtrade, alongside the hon. Member for Halifax (Holly Lynch). Earlier this year we welcomed a Fairtrade cocoa farmer from the Ivory Coast to Parliament. Can my right hon. Friend tell the House what her Department is doing to safeguard and support Fairtrade supply chains during this global covid pandemic?

[Anne-Marie Trevelyan]

We are engaging with businesses in the UK and developing countries to understand the challenges they are facing in protecting incomes and livelihoods and in ensuring that supply chains remain resilient. To tackle the factors driving covid-19-induced food insecurity and to keep farmers’ supply chains open, we are repurposing programmes in agriculture, social protection and humanitarian assistance. In all of these we continue to put the poorest and most marginalised at the heart of our programmes to address the underlying causes of chronic hunger.

Syria Crisis: UK Response

Jason McCartney Excerpts

Monday 8th February 2016 Commons Chamber

[Justine Greening]

The general point that the right hon. Gentleman raises about access and making sure, alongside generating the resources that UN agencies and NGOs need, that we have the ability to get those resources to people in need was a central part of the conference. That is why I set out in my statement how important it was for the international community to reiterate its support for free and unfettered humanitarian access. We should condemn all those who are daily preventing key supplies from reaching people who are often at death’s door and in need of such supplies.

[Jason McCartney (Colne Valley) (Con)]

The easiest thing in politics is to say, “Do more”, but may I say how proud I am of the Secretary of State, the Prime Minister and the UK for our response to this humanitarian crisis? I agree with my right hon. Friend the Member for Wokingham (John Redwood), the right hon. Member for Cynon Valley (Ann Clwyd) and many other Members that we must now tackle the issue of indiscriminate bombing by Russian air forces. What can be done to get the UN special envoy back around the table with the Russians and to stop the bombing, which is making the crisis so much worse?

[Justine Greening]

The UK Parliament is playing its own role in highlighting this issue, which has led to the current pause in the peace talks. In Munich on Thursday, it is vital that the Russians take a long, hard look at their role in being able to make or break the peace talks. At the moment, the actions they are taking are preventing progress—it is as simple as that—on two fronts: one is the ceasefire, and the other is their failure to persuade the Assad regime to allow supplies into key areas under its control. Of the many requests that UN agencies have made to the Assad regime to allow access to such areas, just 10% have been agreed, which is a total disgrace. I hope the Russians will raise that with the Assad regime, which they are doing so much to support.

Syria: Madaya

Jason McCartney Excerpts

Monday 11th January 2016 Commons Chamber

[Justine Greening]

I do agree with that. If this situation shows us anything, it is that Assad can have no place in Syria’s future. How can people living in besieged areas such as Madaya ever realistically be asked to live under the leadership of a man who is willing literally to starve them to death? The only way in which we will tackle this situation is through tackling the root cause of the conflict. That will require a regionally owned response in the end. Of course, it requires other countries, such as Russia, to be around the table. I want to hear condemnation of these breaches of international humanitarian law from all those people who have stood alongside the Assad regime. They need to play their role in helping us to get aid through to the people who need it.

[Jason McCartney (Colne Valley) (Con)]

I congratulate the hon. Member for Batley and Spen (Jo Cox), my near neighbour in west Yorkshire, on securing the question. The horrors of Syria transcend party politics. I am proud that the United Kingdom is taking the lead in delivering humanitarian relief in Syria. I visited Domiz refugee camp on the Syria-Iraq border. Will the Secretary of State continue to rule absolutely nothing out in helping civilians in Syria, even if it means looking seriously at Royal Air Force aid drops?

[Justine Greening]

We do not rule anything out. The key thing that we always consider is what is the most effective way to get to the people in need. The challenge when using military assets, particularly in the context of the airdrops that are being discussed, relates, as much as anything else, to the practicalities of dropping food and water from what would need to be very great heights to do it safely, while targeting them at the people who actually need them, as opposed to risking them ending up in the wrong hands. Additionally, there is the need to make sure that there are the logistics on the ground to get that aid from wherever it arrives to the people who are most at risk of death and starvation.

Right now, what will hopefully be happening, not just in Madaya but in two other besieged communities quite close by, is not only that food has got into the town, but that it will be directed to those—particularly children—who are most acutely malnourished. As the House will start to see, this is not just about how we get food and supplies into a community and area; it is about ensuring that we have people on the ground to distribute that aid fairly.

Oral Answers to Questions

Jason McCartney Excerpts

Wednesday 18th March 2015 Commons Chamber

[Justine Greening]

The hon. Lady obviously has not yet received the letter I signed off to her earlier this week, which says precisely that. I commend her for the work she has done on the International Development Committee and on her interest in what is clearly a vital area. I can assure her that the Department will work with her.

[Jason McCartney (Colne Valley) (Con)]

11. Many of the 5.6 million displaced children in Syria are struggling to access education. What role is my right hon. Friend playing to ensure that we do everything we can to keep Syrian children learning?

[Justine Greening]

For those children in places such as Jordan and Lebanon we have programmes under way to ensure that they can double-shift with local children in schools. For the several million children still in Syria, ensuring that they can access education is clearly far harder.

Oral Answers to Questions

Jason McCartney Excerpts

Wednesday 5th November 2014 Commons Chamber

[Justine Greening]

We are extremely concerned about the continued restrictions, which have a tremendous effect on the Gazan economy. Of course we understand the security concerns of Israel, but ultimately we need leadership from both parties to move forward to some political settlement. We will never get to provide the long-term support to people unless we can get in and out of Gaza easily and, as the right hon. Gentleman knows, that has been a very great problem for us.

[Jason McCartney (Colne Valley) (Con)]

10. Will the Secretary of State join me in thanking my constituents from Lockwood, Crosland Moor and Thornton Lodge for their fundraising efforts to help address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, and will she confirm what steps the UK is taking to aid reconstruction in Gaza following the Cairo conference?

[Justine Greening]

I pay warm tribute to my hon. Friend’s constituents. They are among the millions of groups and communities around our country that do fantastic work supporting people in very difficult parts of our world. We are playing our role. Part of our announcement at the international donor conference was to make sure we can help fund some of the reconstruction that is now required in Gaza.

Humanitarian Situation (Iraq)

Jason McCartney Excerpts

Wednesday 9th July 2014 Westminster Hall

[Ann Clwyd]

Certainly. In fact, the last time I was in the Kurdish area, about 18 months ago, I went to a conference of all minority religions—there are not only Christians, as I am sure the hon. Gentleman knows, but many other religious groups as well. The conference was supposed to bring them all together. I also met various groups individually, some of which wanted to set up territories of their own, although I think that they have been persuaded that that is not a good idea. We need to ensure safety for all the minorities of Iraq.

The attention of the world is focused on the terrorist group called the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, known as ISIS or ISIL. Inside Iraq, however, the group is only one part of a larger revolt that has been years in the making. Although there is some co-ordination between ISIL and other Sunni groups fighting in northern Iraq, ISIL is only part of the revolt. Anger against Nouri al-Maliki and the behaviour of the Iraqi Government has been building for almost eight years.

The Maliki Government reneged on their promises to build an inclusive Government with the Sunnis and went after moderate Sunni leaders as soon as American troops left. It is regrettable that the Iraqi Parliament has had to adjourn again until the middle of August. It did convene, but has adjourned because it could not agree on the election of a new Speaker.

Iraqi army and police crackdowns over the past year in cities—including Falluja and Madain—have been part of the escalating Sunni-Shi’a tit-for-tat violence that has plagued Iraq for over a year. In one incident in April 2013, dozens of Sunnis were killed by Iraqi security forces in the town of Hawijah during what had been a peaceful protest. As a former US official in Iraq, Ali Khedery, wrote in the Washington Post on 3 July, the US policy during the crucial years following the 2008 Sunni awakening was to place its faith in Maliki to build an inclusive system rather than supporting other political actors.

The international community should support a process in which all political stakeholders could be brought together to review the political process and devise a whole new formula for the sharing of power and resources in Iraq. More specifically, it should step in and play a role in helping solve the real problems in Iraq by encouraging a unity Government. In the end, the involvement of other countries, particularly those supporting only one side or the other in the conflict, can only destabilise the region further.

[Jason McCartney (Colne Valley) (Con)]

I congratulate the right hon. Lady on raising this important issue. Like her, I have real knowledge of the region, having served in the no-fly zone over northern Iraq in a previous career as a Royal Air Force officer; last year I returned there, invited by the Kurdistan regional Government. She is absolutely right that the international community needs to support the area.

Some 100,000 refugees from the Arab south and 260,000 refugees from Syria are being supported by the Kurdistan regional Government, and there are now half a million extra people displaced from Mosul and Anbar. I welcome the £5 million of funding that the Department for International Development has brought forward in support, but the right hon. Lady is right that we need the whole international community to stop the crisis from becoming even worse and prevent the complete splintering of the country.

[Ann Clwyd]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for making that point. I was partly instrumental in setting up the no-fly zone: I visited Kurdistan when I was shadow International Development Secretary, and then came back and spoke to John Major about what I had seen—Kurds fleeing over the mountains from helicopter gunships and so on. I am pleased that the hon. Gentleman took part in the no-fly zone.

The numbers are horrific. The armed conflict in Iraq has spread from Anbar to Mosul and into parts of central Iraq. With sectarian clashes growing, already nearly half a million Iraqi citizens have been displaced from Anbar province. After the ISIL takeover of Mosul and large areas of northern Iraq, perhaps half a million refugees fled from Mosul, many of whom took refuge in areas controlled by the Kurds. There are reports that many are now returning to Mosul because they feel that they have no other choice and that the city is relatively calm at this moment.

Oral Answers to Questions

Jason McCartney Excerpts

Wednesday 9th April 2014 Commons Chamber

[Justine Greening]

The right hon. Gentleman is right to raise these issues. We have certainly raised our concerns with the Qatari authorities, including at ministerial and ambassadorial level. Of course, the work in freedom programme, which we are bringing in—this new programme is about to start—is all about helping particularly girls and women who are being trafficked, and we hope to see that programme succeed over the coming years. [Interruption.]

[Jason McCartney (Colne Valley) (Con)]

What discussions has my right hon. Friend had with other UK Departments about how Her Majesty’s Government can bring an end to female genital mutilation and early and forced marriage worldwide?

[Justine Greening]

I am delighted to say that the UK will host an international summit on these topics in the summer, hosted by the Prime Minister. We have been working hand in hand with my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary, who has done some excellent work domestically on this agenda, too. [Interruption.]

--- Later in debate ---

[The Prime Minister]

I pay tribute to the hon. Lady for the work that she does on this front. Anyone who believes that change is not possible or that politicians cannot rise to a challenge in Northern Ireland will have been struck—as I was—by seeing Martin McGuinness around the table at Windsor castle, toasting the Queen at the banquet celebrating British-Irish relations. People have come a huge way and we need to continue that vital work, including the work to fight racism and sectarianism wherever it arises. Above all, what we need is politicians in Northern Ireland to build a shared future, to take down the peace walls, and to make sure that the economy can grow and opportunities are there for everyone in Northern Ireland.

[Jason McCartney (Colne Valley) (Con)]

Thirty-five thousand runners in last year’s London marathon raised £53 million for good causes. I will run again this Sunday for the Forget Me Not children’s hospice in Huddersfield. Will the Prime Minister join me in wishing all the runners good luck, including a record contingent from this House, including the children’s Minister, my hon. Friend the Member for Crewe and Nantwich (Mr Timpson), and the shadow Chancellor?

[The Prime Minister]

Over the cornflakes this morning I saw a very attractive picture of my hon. Friend in his shorts and the shadow Chancellor in a curious pair of black leggings. I bow down to the bravery of colleagues who are taking part—26 miles is a very long way, and I certainly could not manage it. I am full of admiration for them and for the money that they will raise for excellent causes. I pay tribute to all hon. Members on both sides of the House who are taking part.

Oral Answers to Questions

Jason McCartney Excerpts

Wednesday 13th March 2013 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

And it is a particularly interesting one, because I have here a copy of the right hon. Gentleman’s diary and I know what he has been up to. These are the dinners that he has held to raise money from the trade unions in the last few weeks: the GMB, USDAW, ASLEF, the TSSA, UCATT—£2.7 million, dinosaur after dinosaur, dinner after dinner. They pay the money, they get the policies, but the country would end up paying the price.

[Jason McCartney (Colne Valley) (Con)]

Q2. It is national apprenticeship week. More than 1,500 businesses in Kirklees are now offering apprenticeships, and we are becoming an official apprenticeship hub. Will the Prime Minister join me in praising all the businesses in my area that are taking on apprentices, Kirklees college under the leadership of Peter McCann, which is offering vocational training, and all the great young people who are going to see a positive future for our great nation?

[The Prime Minister]

I will certainly join my hon. Friend in what he says about national apprenticeship week. It is an important moment for our country, because over the past two and a half years we have seen 1 million people start apprenticeships, and the run rate is at more than half a million a year. That is very important for our country, and what I want to see is a new norm where we recognise that people who leave school should either be going to university or taking part in an apprenticeship. That is the agenda and the ambition that we should set for young people and our country.

Syria (Humanitarian Response)

Jason McCartney Excerpts

Monday 4th February 2013 Commons Chamber

[Justine Greening]

I hope that I can provide the hon. Gentleman with that reassurance. We have been careful to ensure that the humanitarian agencies with which we work that offer support within Syria go through the appropriate due diligence to ensure that they are working with non-extremist groups. That is one of the complex factors that have made delivering support within Syria even more challenging. As he is aware, the opposition have been quite fragmented, so humanitarian agencies have had to assess whether they can work with individual groups on a case-by-case basis.

[Jason McCartney (Colne Valley) (Con)]

Having visited the refugee camps, does my right hon. Friend agree, as she has just indicated, that the aid is getting through to the people who have fled Syria, but that the big challenge now facing the world community is getting aid through to Syria itself? Did Russia or China indicate that they would be willing to get humanitarian aid into Syria?

[Justine Greening]

I do not believe that Russia was explicit in saying that it supported humanitarian aid getting into Syria. However, we have been clear, as has the international community, that the Syrian authorities and opposition should ensure that humanitarian workers have totally unimpeded access to help the 4 million people who are still in Syria. Many of those people are in areas that are still contested. It has been very challenging to ensure that there is coverage across the entire country. There are times when the humanitarian agencies have made progress and then, owing to the conflict, have had to pull back. The situation is challenging, and we need the international community to speak with one voice to urge those actors in Syria to allow humanitarian support to get through.

Oral Answers to Questions

Jason McCartney Excerpts

Wednesday 11th July 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Mitchell]

The hon. Gentleman rightly identifies the importance of being able to demonstrate to hard-pressed taxpayers that every pound of their hard-earned money is really delivering 100p of value on the ground. That is exactly what the Government are doing in the case of development policy. The 0.7% commitment to which the hon. Gentleman refers reflects the state of the economy, because the spending figure will go up and down with economic health. Many of us think that is what it should do.

[Jason McCartney (Colne Valley) (Con)]

3. What humanitarian support his Department is providing for Syrian refugees; and if he will make a statement.

[Tim Farron (Westmorland and Lonsdale) (LD)]

6. What humanitarian support his Department is providing for Syrian refugees; and if he will make a statement.

[The Minister of State, Department for International Development (Mr Alan Duncan)]

In addition to the support that we are providing within the country itself, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State recently announced that we were increasing our funding to £3 million to support the UN-led response for Syrian refugees, providing humanitarian assistance for up to 185,000 people in Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey and Iraq.

[Jason McCartney]

I thank the Minister. It is really important that I can show my constituents that we are supporting the Syrian people in these difficult times. How many people have fled across the border to Jordan, and does he think Jordan can cope with the influx of refugees?

[Mr Duncan]

Three weeks ago I was in Ramtha, on the Syrian border in Jordan, just 2 miles away from Daraa, from where we could hear the gunfire. Some 140,000 people have left Syria for Jordan since the start of the crisis, more than 30,000 of whom are seeking assistance. The Jordanian Government and host families have generously accommodated a great number of refugees. We are concerned, however, that they may soon reach capacity and that the UN may need to create tented camps to accommodate the increasing numbers.