Asked by: Philippa Whitford (Scottish National Party - Central Ayrshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 31 March 2022 to Question 148224, on Coronavirus: Vaccination, what quantities of (a) AstraZeneca and (b) mRNA vaccines the UK (i) has donated and (ii) plans to donate to other countries through (A) COVAX and (B) bilateral country donations.
Answered by Amanda Milling - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
As of 20 April 2022, the UK has delivered over 60.2 million COVID-19 vaccines (AstraZeneca and Janssen). 53.5 million of these have gone to COVAX for allocation and distribution in line with their fair allocation model, while 6.7 million have gone bilaterally.
We have offered 100 million doses for donation but global supply has increased considerably. Many low-income countries have limited capacity to deploy COVID vaccines and face other pressing health challenges to be tackled with limited health resources. We will continue to facilitate donations, including of mRNA vaccines, where there is demand and countries have the capacity to manage them.
Asked by: Philippa Whitford (Scottish National Party - Central Ayrshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what (a) type and (b) make of covid-19 vaccines the UK is donating to (a) COVAX and (b) bilateral arrangements with low and middle-income countries as of 28 March 2022.
Answered by Amanda Milling - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
As a force for good in the world, through our participation in COVAX and by sharing vaccines, the UK is championing the need for access for all countries. As of 28 March the UK has delivered Adenovirus (AstraZeneca and Janssen/Johnson and Johnson) vaccines to low and middle-income countries through COVAX, who will also soon be delivering UK Protein Adjuvant (Novavax) vaccines to developing countries in line with their fair allocation model. We also have made bilateral donations, and are working on bilateral deliveries of AstraZeneca and mRNA (Moderna and Pfizer) vaccines in the coming months.
The UK was one of the earliest and largest donors to COVAX, contributing £548 million to the COVAX Advance Market Commitment (AMC). Our early funding gave the COVAX AMC the purchase power to secure deals with manufacturers to supply internationally approved vaccines for up to 92 low and middle-income countries. So far, COVAX has helped deliver over 1.16 billion doses to 144 participants.
Asked by: Philippa Whitford (Scottish National Party - Central Ayrshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many and what proportion of the staff in the Department for International Development who left their posts following the merger with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in September 2020 were based in East Kilbride.
Answered by Vicky Ford
Data about departing staff is collected as part of the Annual Civil Service Employment Survey (ACSES) cross government data collection, and published by the Cabinet Office. Data for FCDO leavers by government department and leaving cause can be found in Table 42 of https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1006364/Statistical_tables_-_Civil_Service_Statistics_2021.xlsx
Asked by: Philippa Whitford (Scottish National Party - Central Ayrshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to sustain progress towards global polio eradication, including through the global health contribution of polio surveillance network.
Answered by Wendy Morton
The UK remains committed to polio eradication, and supports the work of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), to which we have provided £1.37 billion since 1995. GPEI have led efforts that have eradicated wild polio from all but 2 countries, with the African region being declared free of wild polio last year. The difficult economic situation has meant that we have had to reduce the aid budget, including for programmes such as GPEI. We will return to spending 0.7% of our Gross National Income on Official Development Assistance when the fiscal situation allows.
The UK is clear on its support to maintain polio surveillance. As demonstrated in our participation at the World Health Assembly and G7 communiques, new pandemic measures should build on existing surveillance systems from polio.
Asked by: Philippa Whitford (Scottish National Party - Central Ayrshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many UK-funded humanitarian aid structures in the West Bank including East Jerusalem have been demolished or seized by the Israeli authorities since 1 January 2021.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
Data on demolition and displacement in the West Bank is published by The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) at: https://www.ochaopt.org/publications/west-bank-demolitions-and-displacement. On the issue of confiscations and demolitions, the UK's position is clear; in all but the most exceptional of circumstances, demolitions and evictions are contrary to International Humanitarian Law. We call on Israel to end these practices, and to allow the delivery of emergency humanitarian aid for those who have had their homes demolished or confiscated.
Asked by: Philippa Whitford (Scottish National Party - Central Ayrshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment her Department has made of the equity of provision by the Jerusalem Municipal Authorities of essential (a) health, (b) education, and (c) welfare services to Palestinian neighbourhoods compared to Jewish Israeli neighbourhoods in Jerusalem.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The UK remains firmly committed to ensuring access to essential health, education and welfare services for all Palestinians. The UK Embassy in Tel Aviv regularly raises the importance of access to essential services with the Israeli authorities.
Asked by: Philippa Whitford (Scottish National Party - Central Ayrshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 15 November 2021 to Question 75008 on Occupied Territories: Health Services, what steps the Government has taken since January 2021 to help ensure access to essential healthcare services for Palestinians.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The UK is a longstanding supporter to the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). Our annual contribution to UNRWA's core programme budget helps UNRWA provide basic education to more than 533,000 children a year (half of which are girls), access to health services for 3.5 million Palestinian refugees and social safety net assistance for around 255,000 of the most vulnerable across the region. The UK Embassy in Tel Aviv also regularly raises the importance of access to essential services with the Israeli authorities.
Asked by: Philippa Whitford (Scottish National Party - Central Ayrshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the UK’s foreign aid programs for 2021-22 will support the delivery of essential healthcare services in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The UK remains firmly committed to ensuring access to essential healthcare services for Palestinians. We are a longstanding supporter to the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) which provides core services, including healthcare to Palestinian refugees. Our future spending allocations will be set in the next Spending Review and full budgets for 2021 will be published in due course, including in our regular Statistics on International Development website and in the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office Annual Report and Accounts.
Asked by: Philippa Whitford (Scottish National Party - Central Ayrshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the impact of the UK’s decision to reduce funding that supports the salaries of health and education workers in Palestine on the delivery of essential healthcare services in the occupied Palestinian territory.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
Following Official Development Assistance (ODA) prioritisation exercises undertaken in March 2021, the UK no longer provides direct funding to the Palestinian Authority to support the salaries of education workers and health professionals. The UK remains firmly committed to ensuring access to essential healthcare services for Palestinians. We are a longstanding supporter to the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) which provides core services, including healthcare to Palestinian refugees.
Asked by: Philippa Whitford (Scottish National Party - Central Ayrshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent representations his Department has made to the Government of Israel on the ending of policies and practices which inhibit a covid-19 response in the occupied Palestinian territories including the blockade and closure of Gaza.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
Cooperation is key to tackling Covid-19. The British Embassy Tel Aviv and the British Consulate-General Jerusalem are in regular contact with both parties and continue to urge them to coordinate on vaccine access.