Asked by: Lord Bishop of Worcester (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking (1) to secure a ceasefire, and (2) to press for an investigation by the International Criminal Court of violations of international humanitarian law, in Gaza.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK wants to see an end to the fighting in Gaza as soon as possible. We are calling for an immediate humanitarian pause to get aid in and hostages out, and as a vital first step towards building a sustainable, permanent ceasefire, without a return to destruction, fighting and loss of life. But to achieve that:
Regarding the involvement of the International Criminal Court (ICC), the UK is a strong supporter of ICC and we respect its independence.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps he is taking to help ensure that adequate aid is being allowed into Palestine.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK has trebled its aid commitment for this financial year and is working closely with partners in international agencies and in the region to get aid to where it is desperately needed.
We played a leading role in securing the passage of Security Council resolution 2720, which set out the urgent demand for expanded humanitarian access, and supported the United Nations World Food Programme to deliver a new humanitarian land corridor from Jordan into Gaza, with 750 metric tons of life-saving food aid arriving in the first delivery. The Foreign Secretary continues to discuss and press for the action that needs to be taken to increase aid to Gaza in his regular calls with his Israeli, Egyptian, Jordanian, Lebanese, US and Palestinian Authority counterparts. The Foreign Secretary's Representative for Humanitarian Affairs in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Mark Bryson-Richardson, is based in the region and working intensively to address the blockages preventing more aid reaching Gaza.
Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, pursuant to the Answer of 16 January 2024 to Question 8417 on Bilateral Aid: Gender Based Violence, how much bilateral aid spending (a) his Department and (b) the predecessor Department has used to tackle violence against women and girls in each year since 2010.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
Ending violence against women and girls overseas remains a top priority for FCDO. Please find a summary of bilateral spend in (a) Foreign, Commonwealth and Development and (b) Department for International Development (DFID) from 2016 - 2022. The sector code '15180', which is used to track spend on ending violence against women and girls, was first created in 2016 with governments only able to report against it since then. The figures presented are likely to be an underestimation as some humanitarian and other sectoral programmes also work to prevent and respond to violence, but are not captured.
(£) Millions | |||||||
2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | |
Department for International Development (DFID) | 1.9 | 11.3 | 18.3 | 29.2 | 25.0 | ||
Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) | 2.8 | 0.04 | |||||
Total for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) | 4.8 | 11.3 | 18.3 | 29.2 | 25.0 | 14.2 | 69.0 |
Source: [https://www.gov.uk/guidance/statistics-on-international-development]
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of support available for children with allergies in pre-school nurseries in the West Midlands.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The early years foundation stage framework (EYFS) sets the standards that all registered early years providers in England must meet for the learning, development and care of children from birth to age five and includes provisions to support children with allergies. The framework is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-years-foundation-stage-framework--2.
The EYFS requires that before a child is admitted to the setting the provider must obtain information about any special dietary requirements, preferences and food allergies that the child has, and any special health requirements.
In addition to this, the EYFS states that at least one person who has a current paediatric first aid (PFA) certificate must be on the premises and available at all times when children are present. PFA training must include how to help a baby or child suffering from anaphylactic shock.
The EYFS also signposts to the Department of Health and Social Care document: ‘Example menus for early years settings in England’ which includes guidance on menu planning, food safety, managing food allergies and reading food labels, which staff preparing food will find helpful in ensuring that children are kept safe. The document is available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/658870/Early_years_menus_part_1_guidance.pdf.
In September 2023, the department changed the adequate supervision requirement within the EYFS to be explicit that “adequate supervision” while children are eating means that children must always be in sight and hearing of an adult, not within sight or hearing. This will help practitioners to be able to notice the signs of an allergic reaction as soon as they present and allow them to act quickly.
The new early years educator Level 3 qualification criteria will come into force in September 2024. The criteria is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-years-educator-level-3-qualifications-criteria/early-years-educator-level-3-qualifications-criteria-from-1-september-2024. Changes have been made to ensure that early years practitioners have an understanding of allergies and anaphylaxis.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool, Walton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, with reference to the IPC Acute Food Insecurity Report on Gaza, published 21 December 2023, what assessment he has made of (a) the risk of famine in that region and (b) the potential implications for his policies.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
According to the World Food Programme (WFP), nine out of every 10 Palestinians in northern Gaza may be eating less than one meal a day. The situation is desperate - and projected to get worse. What matters is simple: more aid delivered by land, more quickly and more effectively. We have already supported the United Nations World Food Programme to deliver a new humanitarian land corridor from Jordan into Gaza, with 750 metric tons of life-saving food aid arriving in the first delivery. The Foreign Secretary continues to discuss and press for the action that needs to be taken to increase aid to Gaza in his regular calls with his Israeli, Egyptian, Jordanian, Lebanese, US and Palestinian Authority counterparts. As he has outlined, Israel must take steps, working with other partners including the UN and Egypt, to significantly increase the flow of aid into Gaza including allowing prolonged humanitarian pauses, opening more routes into Gaza and restoring and sustaining water, fuel and electricity.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether recent progress has been made towards opening the Kerem Shalom border crossing into Gaza for humanitarian aid.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK Government welcomes Israel's opening of the Kerem Shalom crossing for humanitarian aid deliveries into Gaza, including food, water, medicine and shelter. The Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary were among the first to call on Israel to do this, including with Prime Minister Netanyahu. Significantly more aid needs to reach Gaza to address the humanitarian crisis. As the Foreign Secretary has set out, Israel must take steps, working with other partners including the UN and Egypt, to significantly increase the flow of aid into Gaza, including extending the opening hours and capacity of the Kerem Shalom checkpoint so more trucks, aid and fuel can enter Gaza, and open the crossing seven days a week. The British Government continues to discuss and press for the action that needs to be taken to increase aid to Gaza in his regular calls with his Israeli, Egyptian, Jordanian, Lebanese, US and Palestinian Authority counterparts.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what diplomatic steps he is taking to help secure the permanent opening of the Kerem Shalom crossing.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK Government welcomed Israel's opening of the Karem Shalom crossing in December for humanitarian aid deliveries into Gaza. The Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary were among the first to call on Israel to do this, including with Prime Minister Netanyahu. We urge Israel to extend the opening hours and capacity of the Nitzana screening facility and open the Kerem Shalom checkpoint to 7 days a week, so that more trucks, aid and fuel can enter Gaza.
We call on Israel to open further routes for aid to Gaza, such as Asdod Port and the Erez crossing.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what estimate he has made of how much UK aid has reached people in the northern Gaza.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
On 3 January, the Royal Fleet Auxiliary Ship Lyme Bay delivered 87 tonnes of aid into Port Said. Delivery includes over 10,000 thermal blankets, nearly 5,000 shelter packs and medical supplies to be transferred to Gaza through the Rafah crossing. This is in addition to 74 tonnes of aid previously delivered. We have also supported the United Nations World Food Programme to deliver a new humanitarian land corridor from Jordan into Gaza. 750 metric tons of life-saving food aid arrived in the first delivery in December and a second delivery of 315 tons was made last week.
The UK is supporting the Egyptian Red Crescent Society (ERCS), who are leading and coordinating the delivery of all national and international aid to Gaza within its auxiliary role to the Government of Egypt. The ERCS is working with other humanitarian actors, including the UN, to improve the tracking system of aid deliveries for this extremely complicated operation.
We have trebled our aid commitment this financial year and are working closely with partners in international agencies and in the region to get aid to where it is desperately needed.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool, Walton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of the report by Human Rights Watch entitled Israel: Starvation Used as Weapon of War in Gaza, published on 18 December 2023.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The FCDO is aware of this report. We support Israel's right to defend itself against Hamas, but it must comply with International Humanitarian Law; we keep under continuous review whether they are abiding by their obligations. The Prime Minister has made this clear to Prime Minister Netanyahu repeatedly and has been in close contact throughout. We recognise that there is a desperate need for increased humanitarian support to Gaza. We have trebled our aid commitment this financial year and are doing everything we can to get more aid in and open more crossings. We have also supported the United Nations World Food Programme to deliver a new humanitarian land corridor from Jordan into Gaza, with 750 metric tons of life-saving food aid arriving in the first delivery. Israel must also take steps, working with other partners including the UN and Egypt, to significantly increase the flow of aid into Gaza including allowing prolonged humanitarian pauses, opening more aid routes into Gaza and restoring and sustaining water, fuel and electricity.
Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress her Department has made on ensuring that schools in Solihull constituency have defibrillators.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
On 26 July 2023, the department announced that the Automated External Defibrillator programme had successfully completed the rollout of over 20,000 defibrillators to almost 18,000 schools, ensuring that all stand-funded schools in England have access to this life saving first-aid equipment, this includes schools in Solihull. More information about this programme can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/millions-of-children-get-access-to-life-saving-defibrillators.