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 information his Department holds on the number of (a) obstructions and (b) physical assaults there have been on Palestinian health workers by Israeli forces since 1 January 2023.
Answered by David Rutley
The work of healthcare workers across the globe is vital and they must be protected when carrying out their critical work. We recognise that under international humanitarian law, Israel, as the occupying power, has a duty of ensuring and maintaining public health to the fullest extent possible. The wounded and critically ill in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories should be able to access the urgent medical care they need. The British Embassy in Tel Aviv regularly raises the importance of regularised access to healthcare with the Israeli authorities. During his call on 4 July with the Israeli chargé d'affaires in London, the Minister of State for the Middle East, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, urged Israel to safeguard access to healthcare and take proactive steps to guarantee the safety of civilians during Israeli operations in the West Bank. The Foreign Secretary also emphasised the importance of the proactive protection of civilians during his call with Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen on 5 July.
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 potential impact of the closure of Gaza and associated movement restrictions on survival rates of patients with cancer in Gaza.
Answered by Gillian Keegan
We have made clear our concern about the ongoing humanitarian situation in Gaza. The UK Embassy in Tel Aviv regularly raises the importance of access to healthcare, including critical health services, with the Israeli authorities, most recently on 1 June. We are urging the Government of Israel to ensure this access is maintained. The wounded and critically ill in Gaza should be able to access the urgent medical care they need.
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 potential impact of Israel’s permit regime on the mental health of patients in Gaza in need of treatment that is only available elsewhere.
Answered by Gillian Keegan
We have made clear our concern about the ongoing humanitarian situation in Gaza. The UK Embassy in Tel Aviv regularly raises the importance of access to healthcare, including critical health services, with the Israeli authorities, most recently on 1 June. We are urging the Government of Israel to ensure this access is maintained. The wounded and critically ill in Gaza should be able to access the urgent medical care they need.
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 a decision has been taken on the financial contribution the UK will make to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative over the next three years.
Answered by Amanda Milling
The UK is a longstanding supporter of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), having provided £1.38 billion of funding since 1995. GPEI has been allocated £50 million of fully flexible funding over the next three years, which will enable GPEI to immediately respond to outbreaks of polio. Investing in GPEI will support the delivery of the objectives contained in the International Development Strategy, including to reduce the risk of future global health threats. The UK will continue be a strong partner to GPEI.
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
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
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 - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
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 - Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
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 - Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
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.