Asked by: Lord Roberts of Llandudno (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel to discontinue their military action in Palestine, and what steps they are taking to assist Palestinian civilians.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are calling for an immediate pause to get aid in and hostages out, then progress towards a sustainable, permanent ceasefire, without a return to destruction, fighting and loss of life.
Vital steps include the release of all hostages; the formation of a new Palestinian Government for the West Bank and Gaza, accompanied by an international support package; removing Hamas's capacity to launch attacks against Israel; Hamas no longer being in charge of Gaza; and a political horizon which provides a credible and irreversible pathway towards a two-state solution.
The Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary have reiterated these messages in their contacts with Prime Minister Netanyahu and other senior Israeli political leaders, as well as leaders in Qatar, Jordan, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon in recent weeks.
Palestinian civilians are facing a devastating and growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza.. We have trebled our aid commitment for this financial year and we are doing everything we can to get more aid in and open more crossings.
We have reiterated the need for Israel to open more crossing points into Gaza, for Nitzana and Kerem Shalom to be open for longer, and for Israel to support the UN to distribute aid effectively across the whole of Gaza.
The Foreign Secretary has appointed a Representative for Humanitarian Affairs in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Mark Bryson-Richardson. He is based in the region and is working intensively to address the blockages preventing more aid reaching Gaza.
The UK is providing £60 million in humanitarian assistance to support partners including the British Red Cross, UNICEF, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) and Egyptian Red Crescent Society to respond to critical food, fuel, water, health, shelter and security needs in Gaza.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Answer of 16 November 2020 to Question 114286 on Saudi Arabia: Military Aid, whether British personnel continue to accompany the deployment of Giraffe radars to Saudi Arabia.
Answered by James Heappey
Yes. Under Op CROSSWAYS UK service personnel continue to accompany the deployment of Giraffe radars to Saudi Arabia. This capability is defensive in nature and deployed to help Saudi Arabia defend itself from aerial threats to her territorial integrity.
Asked by: Alyn Smith (Scottish National Party - Stirling)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether she has had discussions with Cabinet colleagues on the ethical implications of supplying weapons and military support to the Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
I can assure you that HM Government takes its export control responsibilities very seriously. We assess all applications against the Strategic Export Licensing Criteria, which take into account our obligations under the Arms Trade Treaty and other relevant rules of international law. They provide a thorough risk assessment framework and require us to think hard about the possible impact of providing equipment and its capabilities.
In making our decisions on the exports of arms, we take advice from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and the Ministry of Defence.
Asked by: Marquess of Lothian (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the causes underlying the increase in military takeovers in Africa in the past year, in particular in (1) Chad, (2) Guinea, (3) Sudan, (4) Mali, and (5) Burkina Faso; and what steps they intend to take in response through their (a) foreign, and (b) aid, policies.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
We are concerned by the deteriorating situation across the Sahel and the impact on regional security. We joined the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the African Union, and international partners to condemn the coups in Burkina Faso, Guinea, and Mali. We call for the return to democratic, civilian and constitutional rule without delay. In a meeting with ECOWAS President, Jean-Claude Kassi Brou, on 22 February, the Minister for Africa set out the UK's continued support for ECOWAS' mediation efforts. In Chad, we condemned the killing of President Idriss Deby in April 2021, and are working with the African Union to support a return to civilian and constitutional rule.
We also condemned the actions of the Sudanese military in October 2021 and issued statements alongside Troika (UK, Norway, US) and quad (UK, US, Saudi Arabia, UAE) partners. We urge all political actors to engage in UN-facilitated dialogue to end the crisis and engage with all parties to demonstrate support for the democratic transition.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the UK Government trained any members of the Saudi Royal Guard Rapid Intervention Force in each year from 2013 to 2017.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The UK Government did not provide training to the group known as the Rapid Intervention Force between 2013 and 2017.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 8 July 2021 to Question 27328 on Saudi Arabia: Military Aid and with reference to the video published on Twitter on 26 June 2021 of the Armed Forces Minister referencing the number of British troops in Somalia; for what reason that published information was not included in that Answer on operational and personal security grounds.
Answered by James Heappey
Each request for disclosing information related to deployed personnel is considered on its merits. In the case of the air defence deployment to Saudi Arabia, for operational and personal security reasons, we cannot disclose the number of those deployed.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 5 July 2021 to Question 24336 on Saudi Arabia: Military Aid, how many UK personnel are deployed to Saudi Arabia with those air defence units.
Answered by James Heappey
For operational and personal security reasons I cannot disclose the number of those deployed.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Answer of 23 November 2020 to Question 116502 on Saudi Arabia: Royal Artillery, what the total cost to the public purse is for the deployment of British air defence units to Saudi Arabia since February 2020, as at 29 June 2021.
Answered by James Heappey
To date, the total cost of the deployment in Question is £2,279,953.
Asked by: Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru - Arfon)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Royal Saudi Air Force pilots (a) are currently training at RAF Valley and (b) have trained at RAF Valley annually in the last three years.
Answered by James Heappey
There are no Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF) students currently training at RAF Valley. In the last three years 30* RSAF students have trained at RAF Valley.
We are unable to breakdown the total number of Royal Saudi Air Force students annually as training spans more than one year and individuals may be counted more than once.
*In accordance with the Data Protection Act and our obligations in relation to the protection of confidentiality when handling personal data, the data has been rounded to the nearest 10.
Asked by: Brendan O'Hara (Scottish National Party - Argyll and Bute)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 28 January 2021 to Question 143011 on Saudi Arabia: Training, for what reason disclosing that information would prejudice relations between the UK and another state; and for what reason disclosing similar information in the Answers of 6 July 2020 to Question 69656 and of 9 July 2020 to Question 69657 on Saudi Arabia: Military Aid was not deemed prejudicial to those relations.
Answered by James Heappey
The UK has an ongoing and wide-ranging defence engagement relationship with Saudi Arabia which is an important partner regionally and in tackling potential security and terrorist threats to both the UK and other countries.
We consider the circumstances for disclosing information related to international training on a case-by-case basis. With regards to the information sought in the hon. Member's question, we have concluded that its release could prejudice international relations.