Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Verma on 12 May (HL8117), what assessment they have made of paragraph 29 of the Third Report of the House of Commons International Development Committee <i>The UK’s Development Work in the Occupied Palestinian Territories</i> which states "We are also extremely concerned about the PA’s policy of paying salaries to the families of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. While appreciating it is a sensitive issue, issuing payments to families based on the length of jail terms, rather than need, is a political and not a welfare decision and thus unacceptable. In addition, while the British Government maintains that no UK money supports this activity, UK aid payments fund the payment of PA civil servants. It could therefore be said with some justification that this payment of UK funds enables the PA to release alternative funds which allow these payments to continue.".

The UK provides financial support to the PA because we want to help deliver peace and support progress towards a two state solution, which is the only way to secure a prosperous and peaceful future for Israelis and Palestinians alike. The UK support to the PA funds named civil servants from a pre-approved EU list only. The EU PEGASE mechanism is used to earmark funds to payment of vetted PA civil servants and pensioners. The list of approved recipients is subject to a vetting process that includes screening against international and ad hoc sanctions lists. The screening covers over 20 different risk categories, including terrorism financing and is updated daily. The EU PEGASE mechanism is independently audited, as is UK direct financial assistance to the PA.

As the Committee noted, prisoners are a sensitive political issue on both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Payments to Palestinian prisoners are made by the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO), which has full administrative control for the monthly payments that are provided to prisoners’ families and dependants. The UK has consistently raised prisoner payments at the highest levels with the Palestinian authorities and continues to urge that these payments are more transparent, needs-based and affordable.