Tag: Baroness Tonge

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-01-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Bahrain concerning their alleged use of torture.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The British Government consistently and unreservedly condemns torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, and it is a priority for us to combat it wherever and whenever it occurs. The Government of Bahrain has previously committed to consider ratifying the Optional Protocol of the Convention Against Torture. The UK strongly supports this and we have been working with the authorities to share best practice on torture prevention measures. We also continue to call upon the Government of Bahrain to agree a visit of the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-02-08.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps the UK Embassy in Israel has taken to monitor attacks on Christian places of worship.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

Officials from our Embassy in Tel Aviv are in regular contact with representatives of churches on a range of issues, including concern about attacks on places of worship. The last attack occurred on 17 January when the Dormition Abbey compound of the Orthodox Church in the Old City of Jerusalem was vandalised with anti-Christian slogans. The ‘Tag Meir’ organisation has listed 44 cases of vandalism and arson on Christian and Muslim places of worship in Israel and the West Bank since December 2009.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-02-29.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to commemorate the centenary of the Balfour Declaration.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The centenary of the Balfour Declaration in 2017 is one of a number of significant upcoming anniversaries relating to the Middle East. We are beginning to plan for these anniversaries in conjunction with our international partners. These plans are still at an early stage.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-03-14.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel concerning the reported raids on Palestinian homes on 1 March.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

We have not raised this issue with the Israeli authorities.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-04-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel regarding the pre-dawn raid on the Students Council office and store of Alquds University 5 April.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

We have not raised this specific incident with the Government of Israel.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-04-25.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Mr Tobias Ellwood, on 18 January (HC21629), what action they propose to take to prevent the forcible transfer of Bedouin in the West Bank by Israel.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

We continue to raise our concerns with the Israeli authorities over demolitions and the treatment of the Bedouin community. We have supported Bedouin communities in Area C facing demolition or eviction through support to Rabbis for Human Rights and the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) legal aid programme. This helps individuals challenge decisions in the Israeli legal system. The NRC has successfully suspended demolitions and evictions so that Palestinians can remain in their homes in 99 per cent of the cases they represent.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-05-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government in the light of the news that the HALO Trust has been granted approval to clear mines around the site of the baptism of Christ, what representations they plan to make to the government of Israel about clearing mines along the River Jordan that were laid during the 1967 war.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

We welcome the HALO Trust’s work in the West Bank and are pleased that the UK has provided support to this. We will continue to liaise with Israeli and Palestinian authorities on these activities. The British Government has not lobbied the Israeli government to clear mines laid in 1967 along the rest of Jordan River.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-06-06.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether Clinical Commissioning Groups’ midwifery workforce planning has taken into consideration the impact on the workload of midwives of an increase in the number of older mothers.

Lord Prior of Brampton

At a national level, it is Health Education England’s (HEE) responsibility to ensure that there is sufficient future supply of staff, including midwives, to meet the workforce requirements of the English health system taking in to account issues such as demographic changes, for example, increases in older mothers.

The Workforce Plan is built upon the needs of local employers, providers, commissioners and other stakeholders who, as members of its Local Education Training Boards (LETBs), shape the 13 local plans.

The Workforce Plan is predominately an aggregate of the local LETB plans, but the final national plan is only agreed with the advice and input of its clinical advisory groups and Patients’ Advisory Forum, as well as the royal colleges and other stakeholders.

At a local level, it is ultimately the responsibility of National Health Service trusts, working with their clinical commissioning groups, to ensure they have sufficient staff on their wards with the right skills to treat patients in their care and this would include taking account of changes in patient condition profile, for example, any rise in non-communicable diseases, in their workforce planning.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-06-27.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what recent assessment has been made of the access to clean drinking water and adequate water supplies for the Palestinian people in the Occupied Territories.

Baroness Verma

Water and sanitation facilities in Gaza are declining. Demand for water exceeds supply by nearly four times and 96% of extracted water currently fails WHO safety standards. 40% of Gaza’s population receive just 5-8 hours of water every 3 days. In the West Bank the Joint Water Committee has not met for a number of years, which continues to stall agreement of water projects. In the West Bank, there are reports of reduced water supplies in large parts of the West Bank during Ramadan.

UK officials are in regular dialogue with Israel, the Palestinian Authority (PA), the UN, World Bank, EU and other development actors on energy and water issues in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. We continue to press both parties to reconvene the Joint Water Committee to facilitate approval of projects that will improve Palestinian access to water. Through the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, DFID has invested up to £1.24m to help vulnerable rural farmers in Area C and improve irrigation efficiency by rehabilitation of water systems. The UK supports partners such as the UN Works and Relief Agency, who provide basic services and repair water infrastructure in Gaza. Through the Climate Action for Middle East and North Africa programme, DFID has provided €600,000 to develop project preparation documents for the Gaza Desalination Plant.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-09-06.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will make representations to the government of Israel following reports that Israeli forces prevented an ambulance from taking an injured person from Fawwar refugee camp on 16 August.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

We have not made representations to the Israeli authorities over this specific issue.