Asked by: Stephen Twigg (Labour (Co-op) - Liverpool, West Derby)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure the provision of essential healthcare and mental healthcare for unaccompanied minors in Greece.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
The Greek Government is responsible for supporting migrants on arrival in Greece, including healthcare for unaccompanied minors. The EU has allocated over €2 billion since 2015 to support Greek handling of migration and border management. The United Kingdom is also providing bilateral support. This includes, in 2019, funding a shelter for the most vulnerable unaccompanied children who arrive in Samos. In addition, under Section 67 of the 2016 Immigration Act (the "Dubs Amendment") the United Kingdom is accepting the transfer of some of the most vulnerable unaccompanied children from Greece.
Asked by: Stephen Twigg (Labour (Co-op) - Liverpool, West Derby)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what support his Department is providing to Yemeni-led civil society organisations.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
In order to protect key institutions and build national capacity in Yemen, the UK is supporting the Yemen Social Fund for Development, a national institution established in 1997. It works across the country to deliver development outcomes such as public employment programmes, access to water and sanitation, and local capacity building through a community-led approach.
DFID is providing £34.48 million to the Fund over three years (2018-2021), including £11.48 million this financial year. This support will provide hundreds of thousands of Yemenis with work opportunities through cash for work schemes, train health and education workers, and support local development by supporting small and medium enterprises.
Asked by: Stephen Twigg (Labour (Co-op) - Liverpool, West Derby)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether any licences have been granted for military equipment where the Saudi National Guard is certified as the end user since the Court of Appeal’s judgment of 20 June 2019 on arms sales at risk of being used in Yemen.
Answered by Graham Stuart
Since the Court of Appeal’s judgment of 20 June 2019, no licences have been granted for military equipment where the Saudi National Guard is certified as the end user.
Asked by: Stephen Twigg (Labour (Co-op) - Liverpool, West Derby)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 30 September 2019 to Question 290584, whether the Saudi Government reported the RSLF helicopter crash of 14 September 2018 in Al-Mahra province in Yemen to his Department.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The British Government hold no official record of the incident in question.
Asked by: Stephen Twigg (Labour (Co-op) - Liverpool, West Derby)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 9 September 2019 to Question 286088 on Yemen: Military Intervention, what additional information has he received from the coalition partners on the attack on a detention centre in Dhamar, Yemen on 1 September 2019.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
We have received no additional information on the reported attack on 1 September in Dhamar province, Yemen. We take very seriously allegations that detainees and civilians were killed in the attack and therefore welcome the Saudi-led Coalition (SLC) referral of the incident to the Joint Incident Assessment Team and await its findings. The UK takes every opportunity to raise with Saudi ministers and senior leadership within the SLC the importance of International Humanitarian Law compliance, and of the need for speedy, thorough, independent investigation and reporting where violations are alleged.
Asked by: Stephen Twigg (Labour (Co-op) - Liverpool, West Derby)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure that local Yemeni organisations are involved in the peace process in that country.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The UK is supporting Yemen through £6.6 million of funding from the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF) this year. This funding will support different programmes, including bolstering the UN’s capacity to facilitate the peace process, working with groups formally outside the formal peace process and establishing long-lasting conflict resolution mechanisms in Yemeni communities.
The UK will also continue to elevate and champion women peacebuilders in Yemen and provide spaces for Yemeni women to engage with the peace process and across the Tracks. We continue to support UN Women through the Yemeni Women’s Pact for Peace and Security (Tawafaq). This Pact is a powerful platform for Yemeni women leaders to forge strategic links, develop effective coalitions, and raise awareness of women organisations.
We are also funding a Gender Advisor and Senior Inclusion Advisor within the UN Special Envoy’s office to ensure the peace process is representative and inclusive. Through CSSF, we support a grassroots Track 3 initiative on women, peace and security to ensure local voices of Yemeni women are amplified in the peace process.
Asked by: Stephen Twigg (Labour (Co-op) - Liverpool, West Derby)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 30 September 2019 to Question 290584, whether his Department was aware of the Saudi Press Agency release of 14 September 2018 that stated that an RSLF helicopter crashed on operations in in Al-Mahra province in Yemen.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
We closely monitor the situation in Yemen. The UK Ministry of Defence does not hold an official record of the incident in question.
Asked by: Stephen Twigg (Labour (Co-op) - Liverpool, West Derby)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 30 September 2019 to Question 290584, whether his Department was aware of the Saudi Press Agency release of 14 September 2018 that stated that an RSLF helicopter crashed on operations in Al-Mahra province in Yemen.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
We closely monitor the situation in Yemen. We do not hold an official record of the incident in question.
Asked by: Stephen Twigg (Labour (Co-op) - Liverpool, West Derby)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Prime Minister, whether he discussed the conflict in Yemen in his meeting with Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani on 24 September 2019.
Answered by Boris Johnson
Details of my meeting with President Rouhani are available on the GOV.UK website.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/pm-meeting-with-president-rouhani-25-september
Asked by: Stephen Twigg (Labour (Co-op) - Liverpool, West Derby)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his (a) Saudi Arabian and (b) Emirati counterparts on the airstrike on a mosque in Al Sawad, Amran Governorate in Yemen on 23 September; and if he will make it his policy to support an independent investigation into that airstrike.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
We are deeply concerned about reports of civilian deaths after recent attacks in Amran and Al Dhale’e. Our thoughts are with those who have been affected. We are working with our partners to try and establish exactly what happened. We welcome the Coalition’s referral of both incidents to be investigated by the Joint Incident Assessment Team (JIAT). The UK continues to call on all parties to the conflict in Yemen to exercise restraint, comply fully with International Humanitarian Law and engage constructively with the peace process led by the UN Special Envoy, which is the only way to end the cycle of violence.