Asked by: Stephen Gethins (Scottish National Party - Arbroath and Broughty Ferry)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department is taking steps to help support (a) refugees and (b) host communities in Jordan.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Jordan has shown tremendous generosity in hosting an estimated 1.3 million Syrian refugees in addition to 2.3 million Palestinian refugees registered with UNRWA. UK support to Jordan includes humanitarian aid, and investment in education, social protection and job opportunities, reaching both refugees and vulnerable Jordanians. FCDO Minister of State for Development Anneliese Dodds visited Jordan on 7-8 August and reaffirmed UK's commitment to supporting Jordan and the refugees it hosts. UK funding allows refugees to live in safety and with dignity until they are able to eventually return home. We acknowledge the increased pressure placed on local services for Jordanian communities.
Asked by: Stephen Gethins (Scottish National Party - Arbroath and Broughty Ferry)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department is taking steps to help gather evidence of potential crimes against humanity in Sudan.
Answered by Anneliese Dodds - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK has highlighted and condemned human rights abuses at the UN Human Rights Council and Security Council, and directly with the warring parties. We continue to call for an end to the violence, and for those responsible for human rights abuses to be held to account. We are funding the Centre for Information Resilience (CIR), a research body which is gathering open-source evidence about abuses in Sudan, to amplify the voices of those being targeted and to inform future accountability processes. The UK strongly supports the ICC Prosecutor's continuing investigation into the allegations of atrocity crimes committed in Darfur since 1 July 2002, and which encompasses the current conflict, where there are credible reports of further atrocities being committed. We are seeking the renewal at the October session of the UN Human Rights Council of the mandate of the Fact Finding Mission into alleged abuses in Sudan.
Asked by: Stephen Gethins (Scottish National Party - Arbroath and Broughty Ferry)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will hold discussions with his counterpart in Israel on the fire engine donated to Palestinian firefighters in Nablus that has been held by the port authorities in Ashdod since 21 July 2024.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK continues to call on Israel to increase humanitarian and commercial access into the Palestinian territories by ensuring all aid crossings are fully operational, including the port of Ashdod. During his recent trip to Israel, the Foreign Secretary met with Israeli Officials and raised the urgent need for a rapid increase of aid for those most in need. Officials will raise the matter of this donation directly with the Israeli authorities at the earliest opportunity.
Asked by: Stephen Gethins (Scottish National Party - Arbroath and Broughty Ferry)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to help ensure that arms are not reaching belligerents in the civil war in Sudan.
Answered by Anneliese Dodds - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
There is a longstanding UK arms embargo in place for the whole of Sudan, as well as a UN arms embargo on Darfur. The Sudan Sanctions Regulations 2020 put in place sanctions measures to ensure the UK continues to meet its obligations under the UN sanctions regime relating to Sudan, to encourage the resolution of the armed conflicts in, and the stabilisation of, Sudan. As well as this, the UK has frozen the assets of nine commercial entities linked to the parties involved in the conflict. These sanctions were designed to press the parties to engage in a sustained and meaningful peace process, allow humanitarian access and to commit to a permanent cessation of hostilities. In our engagement with international partners, the UK continues to emphasise the importance of refraining from actions that prolong the conflict. Those who have influence with the parties must use it to bring them to the negotiating table, to seek a political resolution to the conflict in Sudan.
Asked by: Stephen Gethins (Scottish National Party - Arbroath and Broughty Ferry)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he plans to bring UK sanctions in line with the humanitarian exemption in UN Security Council Resolution 2664.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK played a central role in helping secure UN Security Council Resolution 2664 - a landmark step that introduced a cross-cutting exemption to the asset freeze measures to further support humanitarian delivery. The exception applies to the UK's 7 UN sanctions regimes and 12 mixed UN and UK autonomous sanctions regimes.
Our UK regimes include humanitarian provisions including licensing grounds and exceptions to support humanitarian assistance, whether that be to a specific entity, or via a General Licence. For example, HMG has issued General Licences to facilitate humanitarian activities in Syria, and in relation to the current conflict in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Asked by: Stephen Gethins (Scottish National Party - Arbroath and Broughty Ferry)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the increase in the earnings threshold for overseas workers on the care sector.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
I refer the Honourable Gentlemen to the Home Secretary’s written ministerial statement on 30 July 2024.
Asked by: Stephen Gethins (Scottish National Party - Arbroath and Broughty Ferry)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the impact of the increase in the earnings threshold for overseas workers on the higher education sector.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
I refer the Honourable Gentlemen to the Home Secretary’s written ministerial statement on 30 July 2024.
Asked by: Stephen Gethins (Scottish National Party - Arbroath and Broughty Ferry)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the impact of the increase in the earnings threshold for overseas workers on the food and drink sector.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
I refer the Honourable Gentlemen to the Home Secretary’s written ministerial statement on 30 July 2024.
Asked by: Stephen Gethins (Scottish National Party - Arbroath and Broughty Ferry)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions his Department have had with the EU on cooperation on chemicals regulation.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is committed to protecting human health and the environment. We are currently considering the best approach to chemicals regulation in the UK.
Asked by: Stephen Gethins (Scottish National Party - Arbroath and Broughty Ferry)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans he has for greater data sharing on chemicals regulation with the European Union.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is committed to protecting human health and the environment. We are currently considering the best approach to chemicals regulation in the UK.