Asked by: Tommy Sheppard (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has had recent discussions with his Israeli counterpart on the (a) recent physical assault on Hagop Djernazian and (b) safety of Armenians in the Old City of Jerusalem.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
We have not held discussions with Israeli counterparts on the situation in the Cow Garden site of the Armenian Quarter in the Old City of Jerusalem. The UK is monitoring the situation and is clear on the need to avoid any further rise in tensions. British Consulate General staff in Jerusalem met members of the community on 19 January, discussed the current situation and visited the Cow's Garden site. The UK's position on the status of Jerusalem is clear and long-standing: it should be determined in a negotiated settlement between the Israelis and the Palestinians, and Jerusalem should ultimately be the shared capital of the Israeli and Palestinian states. The UK is a strong supporter of Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) and an advocate for the integrity of cultural important areas to be respected. The UK continues to take a strong stance against settler violence and urges Israel to take stronger action to stop settler violence and hold the perpetrators accountable.
Asked by: Tommy Sheppard (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what recent discussions he has had with his Israeli counterpart on funding for 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)
The Foreign Secretary is in close contact with senior Israeli political leaders regarding the wider humanitarian situation in Gaza; he discussed the urgency of getting significantly more aid into Gaza with Prime Minister Netanyahu on 24 January. The UK is appalled by allegations that the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) staff were involved in the 7 October attack against Israel, a heinous act of terrorism that the UK Government has repeatedly condemned, and announced on 27 January its pause to any future funding of UNRWA whilst we review these concerning allegations. We are looking to our partners in the UN to carry out a robust and comprehensive investigation.
Asked by: Tommy Sheppard (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will (a) make an assessment of the implications for his policies of and (b) introduce sanctions following the attempted takeover of the Cows Garden site of the Armenian Quarter of Old Jerusalem.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK is monitoring the situation in the Cow Garden site of the Armenian Quarter of Old Jerusalem and is clear on the need to avoid any further rise in tensions. The UK's position on the status of Jerusalem is clear and long-standing: it should be determined in a negotiated settlement between the Israelis and the Palestinians, and Jerusalem should ultimately be the shared capital of the Israeli and Palestinian states. The UK is a strong supporter of Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) and an advocate for the integrity of culturally important areas to be respected. The UK continues to take a strong stance against settler violence, and urges Israel to take stronger action to stop settler violence and hold the perpetrators accountable. We keep our sanctions under review and reserve the right to introduce further measures.
Asked by: Tommy Sheppard (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of removing the cap on compensation for LGBT+ veterans.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Government has accepted the recommendations of the LGBT Veterans Independent Review including the financial award scheme. Defence continues to work at pace with experts across Government and reference other schemes, such as the Canadian scheme, to establish an appropriate scheme for the financial award, and is currently working within the £50 million limit as recommended in the report.
Development of the scheme is at an early stage so the Government cannot yet confirm the details, the expected number of claimants, or the likely size of awards. Defence encourages those affected to register their interest in applying for a financial award by completing the LGBT veterans: support and next steps - GOV.UK webpage. Such registrations of interest will enable us to learn more about the affected community and thereby design the most suitable scheme possible.
Asked by: Tommy Sheppard (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if officials in his Department will meet representatives of Fighting with Pride to discuss the experience of LGBT+ veterans.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
There is and has been extensive engagement with Fighting with Pride at official and Ministerial level.
The LGBT Veterans Independent Review provided the opportunity for Defence and the Government to better understand the lived experience of LGBT veterans who served prior to 2000, including how being discharged or dismissed from the military due to their sexuality, affected their life.
Defence will continue to engage with Fighting with Pride and a number of other charities and independent veterans.
Asked by: Tommy Sheppard (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has had recent discussions with his Israeli counterpart on the situation in the Cows Garden site of the Armenian Quarter in the Old City of Jerusalem.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
We have not held discussions with Israeli counterparts on the situation in the Cow Garden site of the Armenian Quarter in the Old City of Jerusalem. The UK is monitoring the situation and are clear on the need to avoid any further rise in tensions. The UK's position on the status of Jerusalem is clear and long-standing: it should be determined in a negotiated settlement between the Israelis and the Palestinians, and Jerusalem should ultimately be the shared capital of the Israeli and Palestinian states. The UK is a strong supporter of Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) and an advocate for the integrity of cultural important areas to be respected. The UK continues to take a strong stance against settler violence, and urges Israel to take stronger action to stop settler violence and hold the perpetrators accountable.
Asked by: Tommy Sheppard (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of restitution payments made under the LGBT+ Veterans Independent Review.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
Defence continues to work at pace with experts from across Government, and with reference to schemes developed by allies such as Canada, to establish an appropriate scheme for the financial award, working within the £50m limit recommended in Lord Etherton’s Review.
Development of the scheme is at an early stage and therefore Defence cannot yet confirm the details, the expected number of claimants, or the likely size of awards. However, the Government is committed to delivering the report’s recommendation, acknowledging that the process is intricate and must be followed correctly.
Defence will continue to engage with LGBT veterans as plans for the financial award progress. Defence are committed to providing updates on the development of the scheme, including eligibility criteria and the application process, which will be published to the ‘LGBT Veterans: support and next steps’ GOV.UK page as soon as possible.
Ministers are committed to maintaining the momentum of the LGBT Veterans Independent Review and so are exploring the possibility of holding a debate in the House as soon as parliamentary time allows, following publication of the Government response last year.
Asked by: Tommy Sheppard (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the implications for her Department's policies of the University of Manchester's article entitled Reforming UK fertility legislation: the effects of online DNA testing, published on 27 November.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The Government asked the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) in 2021 to undertake a review and public engagement about priorities for modernising the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act. HFEA published its report on 14 November 2023, which is available at the following link:
While the Department has made no assessment, HFEA’s report makes references to the points raised in the University of Manchester's article, noting the rapidly developing field of genetic testing, including direct to consumer testing, and includes proposals about access to donor information. The Government is considering the issues raised in the report and will respond in due course.
Asked by: Tommy Sheppard (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh East)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what proportion of civil servants on temporary contracts in his Department are women.
Answered by Alister Jack - Secretary of State for Scotland
The Scotland Office has no civil servants on temporary contracts.
Asked by: Tommy Sheppard (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh East)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what proportion of SCS2 civil servants on full-time equivalent contracts in his Department are women.
Answered by Alister Jack - Secretary of State for Scotland
The Scotland Office has only one SCS2 post which is not currently held by a woman.