Asked by: Tobias Ellwood (Conservative - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment his Department has made of the level of risk posed by the Islamic Resistance in Iraq to service personnel (a) deployed on Op Shader and (b) otherwise serving overseas.
Answered by James Heappey
The force protection of UK service personnel deployed on Op SHADER and otherwise serving overseas is kept under constant review. For reasons of operational security, I am unable to comment on specific assessments or mitigations.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what mechanisms are in place to disrupt Hamas’ financial networks.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The UK, along with our G7 partners, is committed to taking action to deny Hamas the ability to raise and use funds to carry out atrocities. Hamas is a proscribed organisation under the Terrorism Act 2000, meaning it is a criminal offence in the UK to provide money or other property to the group. Since the 7 October attacks on Israel, the UK has also designated 19 individuals and entities in the senior leadership and financial networks of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), in close coordination with the US. This adds to the existing sanctions on Hamas and PIJ in their entirety. We have also used our new Iran sanctions powers to target Iranian financial support for Hamas. As the Foreign Secretary has said, our sanctions send a clear message that the UK is committed to ensuring there is no hiding place for those financing terrorist activities.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of proscribing the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on national security.
Answered by Tom Tugendhat - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security)
While the UK Government keeps the list of proscribed organisations under review, we do not routinely comment on whether an organisation is or is not being considered for proscription.
The UK Government has long been clear about our concerns over the malign activity of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The UK maintains sanctions on over 400 Iranian individuals and entities covering human rights abuses and nuclear proliferation. The Government has also imposed sanctions on the IRGC in its entirety and on several senior security and political figures in Iran, including senior commanders within the IRGC and its Basij force.
The Government will continue to hold Iran and the IRGC to account. On 14 December 2023, a new sanctions regime came into force, providing the UK extensive new powers to disrupt Iran’s hostile activities in the UK and around the world.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what estimate he has made of the number of missiles that have been provided to the Houthis by the Islamic Republic of Iran since 2014.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
In 2022 and 2023 the Royal Navy interdicted Iranian missiles and components which were being smuggled from Iran to the Houthis in violation of UN Security Council Resolutions. These weapons were similar to the weapons the Houthis have recently used to disrupt shipping in the Red Sea. Iran has been supplying the Houthis with intelligence and continues to supply them with weapons; on 17 January the Foreign Secretary made clear to the Iranian Foreign Minister that this must stop. A new Iran sanctions regime was launched in December which includes trade restrictions on UAVs and components.
Asked by: Jonathan Gullis (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what assessment he has made of the implications for his Department's policies of comments by Iranian Minister of Cultural Heritage General Ezzatolloh Zarghami that he (a) supplied rockets for use against Israel and (b) provided training to Hamas in their underground tunnels.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
Iran poses an unacceptable threat to Israel. We have long condemned Iran's destabilising activity throughout the region, including its political, financial, and military support to several militant and proscribed groups, including Hamas, Hizballah and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Such activity compromises the region's security, its ability to prosper and further escalates tensions. The Foreign Secretary raised Iran's ongoing support to its destabilising proxies and partners with the Iranian Foreign Minister on 31 December. The UK remains clear that Iran must use its influence with groups in the region to prevent escalation, and that Iran bears responsibility for the actions of groups they have supported over many years.
We continue to work closely with our partners to hold Iran to account, and we currently have over 400 sanctions in place against the Iranian regime. The UK's new sanctions regime came into force on 14 December and is designed to target Iran and its proxies' hostile activity against the interests of the UK and our partners.
Israel has endured the worst terrorist attack in its history at the hands of Hamas. The UK Government will continue to stand with Israel as it faces pressing challenges to its security. We have deployed UK military assets to the region to carry out surveillance and act as a deterrent. On 14 November, the Foreign Secretary also announced targeted sanctions, coordinated with the US, against Hamas leadership (four Hamas leaders and two financiers) to disrupt Hamas operations in Gaza and wherever their leaders base themselves.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what (a) diplomatic and (b) military contribution the UK is making to the Global Coalition Against Daesh.
Answered by James Heappey
The UK remains committed to the Global Coalition Against Daesh and is the second largest contributor to Operation INHERENT RESOLVE.
As part of this military contribution, the UK provides support and funding for a range of initiatives across the region, including providing training, mentoring and professional military education to the Iraqi Security Forces. The UK has trained over 111,000 members of Iraqi Security forces, including over 21,000 of the Kurdish Peshmerga.
The UK also leads the Coalition’s counter-Daesh communications activity, working with Government and civil society partners.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Global Coalition Against Daesh in reducing the threat from terrorists in (a) Iraq and (b) Syria.
Answered by James Heappey
As a leading member of the Global Coalition, the UK will continue to provide military support to the Iraqi Security Forces and regional partners in order tackle the threat of terrorism from Daesh, including to the UK. This remains a priority for the international community.
Since 2014, the Coalition has helped liberate over 110,000 square kilometres of former Daesh territory and continues to provide essential support to the Iraqi Security Forces and Kurdish Security Forces at the request of the Iraqi Government. The Coalition also delivers essential aid to liberated communities, and the UK leads on the Coalition’s mission for countering Daesh propaganda.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) flying hours and (b) air strikes have been conducted by UK armed forces against Daesh in (a) Iraq and (b) Syria in each of the last 12 months.
Answered by James Heappey
There have been three air strikes conducted by UK Armed Forces against Daesh in Iraq and Syria in the last 12 months (two in Iraq and one in Syria). The combined flying hours of Reaper, Typhoon and Voyager during from November 2022 – November 2023 were 16,255 (Reaper: 6,940; Typhoon: 6,314; and Voyager: 2,999). As the data concerns operational activity, figures may be updated in the future.
Asked by: Baroness Thomas of Winchester (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they are making towards Sharia-compliant student loans.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government is committed to delivering an Alternative Student Finance (ASF) product compatible with Islamic finance principles as quickly as operationally possible. To support the delivery of an ASF product, the government took new powers in the Higher Education and Research Act 2017 to enable my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, to provide alternative payments for students to pay for tuition fees, in addition to grants and loans. The department has also carried out work with specialist advisers, the Islamic Finance Council UK (UKIFC), on the design of an ASF model.
The government is introducing the Lifelong Learning Entitlement (LLE), which will significantly change the ways students can access learning and financial support. In response to the LLE consultation, published on 7 March 2023, the department set out aims to ensure that students will be able to access ASF as soon as possible after the introduction of the LLE.
Work is underway to assess how ASF can be delivered as a product. The Islamic Finance Council UK (UKIFC) has been reappointed to support work on ASF. Furthermore, the department is also working with the Student Loans Company (SLC) to better understand timescales for delivering an ASF product.
Further information about how to develop the ASF product can be found in a blog post on ASF, and a further update on ASF will be provided later this month. The blog is available at: https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2023/07/21/alternative-student-finance-how-were-making-student-finance-accessible-to-everyone/.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, for what reason freedom of religious belief was not included in the UK-Middle East and North Africa region development partnership summary, published in July 2023.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is committed to defending Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) for all, and reaffirmed the importance of upholding this right in the International Development White Paper, which was published last month. We monitor the situation for religious and non-religious communities globally, and work bilaterally and multilaterally to promote FoRB. Earlier this year, the Minister for the Middle East and North Africa discussed interfaith dialogue when he met the Secretary General of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. The Minister also visited Abu Dhabi's Abrahamic Family House, the interfaith complex housing the Imam Al-Tayeb Mosque, St Francis Church and Moses Ben Maimon Synagogue, and was clear that, "we must never be complacent on protecting freedom of religion and belief."