Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether she has held discussions with Palestinian officials on recent reports that the Palestinian Authority will reduce the salaries of its public sector workers but continue paying salaries for the families of martyrs, wounded or prisoners.

DFID officials are aware of the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) plans to make partial salary payments to public sector officials earning 2,000 NIS (£425) or above a month. We are in the process of assessing the implications for PEGASE beneficiaries (who are vetted health and education public servants) including through discussions with the PA. The UK continues to support a stable PA which can act as an effective partner for peace with Israel, through financial assistance that exclusively supports the salaries of vetted public servants in the West Bank in the health and education sectors. This move does not affect the robust financial safeguards that ensure UK financial aid only reaches intended beneficiaries, meaning aid is not allocated to Prisoner or Martyr payments. The UK government continues to press the PA to reform the prisoner payments system to become more needs-based, transparent and affordable.