Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what steps he is taking as the penholder on Sudan at the UN Security Council to prevent the flow of arms to the Rapid Support Forces.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK uses its position as a Permanent Member of the UN Security Council (UNSC) and penholder on Sudan to take action to bring an end to the conflict and atrocities in the country. There is a UN Arms Embargo and Sanctions Regime on Darfur, which the UN renewed in March 2023. There is also a longstanding bilateral UK arms embargo in place for the whole of Sudan. In our engagement with international partners, the UK continues to emphasise the importance of refraining from actions that prolong the conflict. On 15 April, a year after the outbreak of conflict in Sudan, the UK imposed new sanctions targeting three businesses linked with the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support forces.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of Government legal advice on his policies in the context of Israel’s proposed military operations in Rafah.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
We are clear that we would not support a major operation in Rafah unless there is a very clear plan for how to protect people and save lives. We have not seen that plan so, in these circumstances, we would not support a major operation in Rafah.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether he has made changes to the planned distribution of aid in Sudan.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
In 2024/2025, UK ODA to Sudan will nearly double to £89 million. This includes funding to UNICEF, providing emergency, life-saving food assistance to support people particularly in hard-to reach areas; and the World Food Programme food commodities including cereals, pulses, oils and salt.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether he has made changes to the planned distribution of aid in Gaza.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
We trebled our aid commitment in the last financial year and we are doing everything we can to get more aid in as quickly as possible by land, sea and air. We have been clear that Israel must take concrete steps to increase the flow of aid into Gaza. On 17 May, the first consignment of UK aid across the new floating pier in Gaza was successfully delivered. More will follow in the coming weeks.
As the Foreign Secretary has said, maritime is just one part of the bigger picture. Land routes remain the most effective means of getting aid into Gaza at the scale needed.
Israel must ensure land routes are open and that aid gets safely to where it is needed. Guaranteed deconfliction for aid convoys and aid workers, and for other humanitarian work, remains essential.
The Foreign Secretary reiterated these points in his call with Israeli Minister Gantz on 21 May.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what recent assessment he has made of the impact of Israel’s political strategy on Gaza.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
Israel suffered an appalling terrorist attack on 7 October - the deadliest in its history. It has the right to defend itself in accordance with International Humanitarian Law. Hamas must release the hostages immediately.
The fastest way to end the conflict is to secure a deal which gets the hostages out and allows for a pause in the fighting in Gaza. We must then work with our international partners to turn that pause into a sustainable, permanent ceasefire.
The UK wants to bring the Gaza conflict to a sustainable end as quickly as possible.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether he is taking steps to investigate reports of Israeli air strikes on refugee camps in Gaza.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
We are aware of these reports. We continue to call for International Humanitarian Law to be respected and civilians to be protected.
The UK Government continues to have significant concerns over humanitarian access and protection of civilians in Gaza. The Foreign Secretary reiterated this during his visit to Israel on 17 April.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what steps he is taking to help protect women in El Fasher.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
Since the outbreak of conflict in April 2023, there has been a significant escalation of gender-based violence (GBV) in Sudan. The UK has pivoted our programme delivery to focus on GBV protection and care for rape survivors. We have also integrated consideration of conflict-related sexual violence into the humanitarian system, making use of Women's Centres, mobile clinics and internally displaced persons' gathering points, for community engagement and service provision for GBV care.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether he has made an estimate of the amount of fuel required to operate electricity generators in Gaza; and if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of fuel supplies available in Gaza.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UN and humanitarian agencies estimate that 200,000 litres of fuel a day are needed in Gaza.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she plans to respond to the APPG on Music report entitled Artificial Intelligence and the Music Industry- Master or Servant, published on 1 May 2024.
Answered by Julia Lopez
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department plans to take steps to monitor secondary ticketing practices.
Answered by Julia Lopez
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.