Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what the average salary is of employees of the Palestinian Authority Ministry of Health whose salaries are paid for by his Department through the PEGASE scheme.

UK financial aid to support the Palestinian Authority’s (PA’s) health and education sectors is used exclusively to pay the salaries of vetted health and education public servants, including teachers, doctors and nurses, in the West Bank. The EU vets the list of PA health and education sector employees before every disbursement of financial aid to ensure only eligible beneficiaries receive UK aid, at a range of grades based on the PA payroll system. These payments are then independently audited. The average salary and number of employees earning in excess of 2,000 NIS per month who receive UK aid therefore could change each time a disbursement is made. The data necessary to calculate figures for every DFID disbursement is held by the EU.