Asked by: Lord Soames of Fletching (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent assessment he has made of the humanitarian situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
We continually monitor the humanitarian situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. We are concerned by the high levels of poverty, unemployment, and food insecurity, as well as the fragile health system, shrinking Gazan economy and the lack of access to consistent supplies of electricity.
DFID recently announced an aid package of £2 million to the International Committee for the Red Cross to support delivery of medicines, equipment and rehabilitation services. The UK’s new economic development programme aims to help the economy in Gaza and the West Bank by increasing trade and creating jobs. The UK has also made a commitment to UNRWA of up to £80m over the next two years to help provide health services and education to Palestinian refugees living across the Middle East. The UK is committed to alleviating the humanitarian situation in the OPTs and continues to urge the parties to prioritise progress towards reaching a durable solution.
Asked by: Lord Soames of Fletching (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what contribution the Government plans to make to the Global Compact for Migration.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The UK Government is supportive of the UN’s Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, as a step forward in international co-operation to tackle irregular migration and as a framework to help us deliver our commitments under the sustainable development goals.
We believe that the final document sets out a better international framework for action and co-operation on migration, whilst importantly respecting a State’s sovereign right to determine its own migration policy. The Compact also contains important commitments and actions to help us tackle human trafficking and people smuggling.
Moreover, our aim is to use the Compact to further our Migration priorities within multilateral fora. This includes: reducing modern slavery; upholding migrant’s human rights; and addressing irregular migration through improved border management and safer and more productive legal migration.
We remain committed to working closely with European and Global partners to build on the momentum we have gathered thus far to ensure effective implementation of the Compact.
We look forward to the formal launch of the Compact in Marrakech this December.
Asked by: Lord Soames of Fletching (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will call for a review of the UN Gaza Reconstruction Mechanism.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The United Nations (UN) have begun a review of the Gaza Reconstruction Mechanism. Officials are following the review closely.
Asked by: Lord Soames of Fletching (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what lessons her Department has learnt from it's work following Hurricane Irma.
Answered by Alistair Burt
DFID is working closely with FCO, MoD and other departments to incorporate the lessons learned from hurricanes Irma and Maria and ensure a stronger collective response to any hurricane this year. This includes more effective coordination and communication with partners and regional countries and structures, clearer guidance on command and control structures, and an improved crisis response framework which identifies the roles and responsibilities of all involved departments. Activities are on-going and there is a DFID mission currently in the region to further assess and support maximum preparedness for 2018.
Asked by: Lord Soames of Fletching (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will support the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs' humanitarian funding appeal for Gaza.
Answered by Alistair Burt
I recently visited Gaza and saw the dire situation that Gazans face on a daily basis. We are providing new humanitarian support of £1.5 million through the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which is not covered by the UN Appeal. ICRC activities include support to patients in 11 hospitals under pressure in Gaza, by restocking vital medical supplies following the recent surge in violence.
Last year, the UK provided £1.9 million to support the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Gaza urgent funding appeal. This is delivered through the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to support critical water and sanitation facilities to stop the spread of disease. This support will continue until September 2018.
Asked by: Lord Soames of Fletching (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what support the Government has provided for healthcare and sanitation in Gaza in each of the last three years.
Answered by Alistair Burt
In 2018/19, the UK is providing £1.5 million to support the International Committee of the Red Cross appeal. This support will help to treat patients in 11 hospitals under pressure in Gaza, by restocking vital medical supplies following the recent surge in violence.
In 2017/18 the UK provided £1.9 million to support the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Gaza urgent funding appeal. This is delivered through the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to support critical water and sanitation facilities to stop the spread of disease. This support will continue until September 2018.
In each of the last three years the UK helped to provide basic health services to 1.3 million people in Gaza through our long-term support of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA).
Asked by: Lord Soames of Fletching (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps she is taking to deliver (a) drugs and (b) medical equipment to Gaza.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The UK is working closely with our international partners to monitor the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and ensure a coordinated and effective response to urgent medical needs. UK financial assistance to the Palestinian Authority helps to pay the salaries of vetted health public servants in the West Bank. Last year this support provided up to 3,700 immunisations for children and around 185,000 medical consultations annually. In addition, the UK is a long-term supporter of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), which provides basic services, including basic healthcare, to over 800,000 Palestinian refugees in the West Bank and 1.3 million Palestinian refugees in Gaza. I am reviewing how the UK can best support the health system in Gaza at this time. I will keep the House informed of my decision.
Asked by: Lord Soames of Fletching (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent assessment she has made of the humanitarian situation in Occupied Palestinian Territory.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs’ 2017 Humanitarian Response Plan assessed that 1.1 million of Gaza’s population and 0.5 million in the West Bank are acutely vulnerable and in need of humanitarian assistance in 2017; and report that a lack of funding for water, sanitation and hygiene interventions have left 1.45 million Gazans at risk of waterborne diseases.
I visited Gaza and the West Bank in August and saw the extent of the humanitarian situation first hand. The UK is supporting approximately 1 million Gazans by addressing critical water, sanitation and hygiene needs through the United Nations Children’s Fund. The UK is also a long-term supporter of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees, which provides basic services to people across Gaza and the West Bank, including basic health care.
Asked by: Lord Soames of Fletching (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, at how many meetings during her visit to Israel she was accompanied by Lord Polak; and who was present at each meeting on that visit.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
My Rt Hon Friend the member for Witham (Ms Patel) resigned as Secretary of State for International Development on 8 November. I refer the Hon Gentleman to the exchange of letters between my Rt Hon Friend and my Rt Hon Friend the Prime Minister on her resignation; and to the statement issued by my Rt Hon Friend on 6 November:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/statement-from-international-development-secretary-priti-patel
Asked by: Lord Soames of Fletching (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether she has had discussions with the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew on the potential role of that organisation in advising the UN and other institutions on desertification.
Answered by Nick Hurd
The UK Government maintains a close dialogue with the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew on tackling international environmental and conservation issues, with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) leading HMG’s relationship with Kew. As a world leading organisation and a holder of the Red List for Plant species, Kew Gardens is already providing valuable information which supports action on desertification, including work by the UN in relation to the Global Goal indicators. Kew Gardens has received funding from the UK government’s Darwin Initiative to improve understanding of the link between conservation and poverty alleviation.