Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what proportion of his Department's aid to Gaza is channelled through the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
UK funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) was disbursed before the allegations that UNRWA employees were involved in the appalling 7 October terror attack against Israel came to light. No more British funding is due this financial year and we are pausing any future funding of UNRWA.
The UK provided £16 million this financial year to UNRWA's Flash Appeal in response to the Gaza Crisis, which constitutes 22% of the UK's total humanitarian allocations to Gaza. Our decision to pause future funding to UNRWA has had no impact on the UK's contribution to the humanitarian response. We are doing everything we can to get more aid into Gaza as quickly as possible by land, sea and air, working with partners including the British Red Cross, UNICEF, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) and Egyptian Red Crescent Society to respond to critical food, fuel, water, health, shelter and security needs in Gaza.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what proportion of UK aid to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) is spent on (a) food, (b) medicines, (c) other essentials, (d) salaries and (e) other costs for (i) UNRWA personnel and (ii) other employees.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
UK funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) was disbursed before the allegations that UNRWA employees were involved in the appalling 7 October terror attack against Israel came to light. No more British funding is due this financial year and we are pausing any future funding of UNRWA.
We provided £19 million of unearmarked funding this financial year to UNRWA's programme budget. This enabled UNRWA to deliver education, health, relief and social services and protection to 5.9 million Palestinian refugees in the West Bank, Gaza, Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan. The UK also provided £16 million to UNRWA's Flash Appeal in response to the Gaza Crisis, supporting UNRWA to deliver humanitarian assistance, food, shelter, and non-food items for refugees in Gaza.
Our decision to pause future funding to UNRWA has no impact on the UK's contribution to the humanitarian response.
Our commitment to trebling aid to Gaza still stands and we are supporting partners including the British Red Cross, UNICEF, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) and Egyptian Red Crescent Society to respond to critical food, fuel, water, health, shelter and security needs in Gaza.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what funds his Department contributed to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in each of the last five years.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK provided the following funding to UNRWA in each of the last five financial years:
FY 2019 - 20: £65.5 million
FY 2020 - 21: £65 million
FY 2021 - 22: £11 million
FY 2022 - 23: £18.7 million
FY 2023 - 24: £35 million
The UK provided £35 million to UNRWA this financial year, including an uplift of £16 million for the Gaza humanitarian response, all of which was disbursed before the recent allegations came to light. No more British funding is due this financial year. We are pausing any future funding of UNRWA.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether his Department has made an assessment of the impact of reducing the Official Development Assistance budget to 0.5% of Gross National Income (GNI) on foreign aid spending; and if he will make it his policy to increase that budget to 0.7% of GNI.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
Due to the impact of the pandemic on public finances, the Government took the difficult decision temporarily to reduce the UK Official Development Assistance (ODA) budget from 0.7 per cent of gross national income (GNI) to 0.5 per cent from 2021.
The FCDO's focus has been on how best to use its revised ODA budget. FCDO Ministers have used a range of information, including Equalities Impact Assessments and analyses of need, to make informed spending decisions, including focusing spend on the poorest and most vulnerable.
The Government remains committed to returning to a target of spending 0.7% of GNI on ODA when, on a sustainable basis, the Government is not borrowing for day-to-day spending and underlying debt is falling.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the UK’s obligations to protect marine habitats in international waters.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK complies with its obligations under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea to protect and preserve the marine environment. The UK played a key role in securing a landmark international Agreement to Protect Marine Biodiversity in Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) in March 2023. We will continue to play a leading role in implementation, including supporting developing countries. The Agreement will help to achieve the target to effectively conserve and manage at least 30 per cent of the ocean by 2030 set out in the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. We support the work of regional seas bodies such as the OSPAR Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic, which has designated ten Marine Protected Areas in the high seas, and are a signatory to the Hamilton Declaration on Collaboration for the Conservation of the Sargasso Sea.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of signing an international moratorium on deep sea mining.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK recognises the growing pressure to extract deep-sea resources, and is deeply worried about the potential impacts of mining activities on the fragile marine environment. The UK's policy is not to sponsor or support the issuing of any exploitation licences for deep sea mining projects unless and until there is sufficient scientific evidence about the potential impact on deep sea ecosystems, and strong enforceable environmental Regulations, Standards and Guidelines have been developed by the International Seabed Authority (ISA) and are in place. The UK's approach is both precautionary and conditional.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of reports of staff from the Consulate General in Jerusalem wearing t-shirts which erase Israel's existence at a marathon race event in Jerusalem on 10 March 2023.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
There is no implication for UK policy. The UK's position is long-standing - we wish to see a viable two-state solution with Israelis and Palestinians living side by side in peace, prosperity and security.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the involvement of Hezbollah in the captagon trade.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Syrian regime's reliance on illicit profits gained from captagon increases regional instability and strengthens Russian and Iranian influence in the region. In particular, Hezbollah benefits from captagon, using their knowledge of narcotic trading routes, political connections, and security infrastructure to expand the production and trafficking of this narcotic. Known Hezbollah drug lords and leaders have been implicated in seizures and work closely with Syria's military 'fourth division' to facilitate smuggling efforts. Hezbollah is proscribed by the UK, and we maintain an asset freeze against the organisation and are working to ensure they cannot continue to profit from this trade.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if his Department will make an assessment of the impact of the captagon trade on the ability of States to circumvent sanctions.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Estimates by independent experts suggest captagon provides the Syrian regime with between $USD 10-57 billion per year, up to 10 times more than Syria's annual budget. This trade increases regional instability and provides the Asad regime with a financial lifeline, little of which helps the Syrian people. The application of international sanctions remains an appropriate tool to encourage a change in regime behaviour. We will also target those benefiting from narcotics trading, where appropriate. Sanctions continue to signal to regional partners the downside for those who may consider engaging with Damascus or normalising relations with drug lords and war profiteers.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department has a strategy for countering the captagon trade in the Middle East.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The production and smuggling of captagon is a multi-billion dollar trade, essentially emanating from Asad-regime control within Syria. The captagon trade is a growing concern, which is having a destabilising effect in the region. Captagon provides illicit revenue streams to multiple malign actors, notably the Syrian Asad regime and its co-conspirators, principally Hezbollah and other Iranian militias. The UK is stepping up its efforts to work with likeminded partners to combat this, including by drawing international attention to the issue (for example in an intervention at the UN Security Council on 25 January) and increasing our cooperation with regional States.