Tag: Baroness Tonge

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they plan to take in response to Israel’s Jerusalem Municipality plan to demolish Palestinian homes to make way for a tourist complex in the Silwan neighbourhood of East Jerusalem.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

We have not raised the specific issue of demolition of Palestinian homes to make way for the Kedem Compound. We are not aware of any impending home demolitions to make way for the site.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-05-19.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they plan to take within the World Health Organization to ensure that targets on universal access to sexual and reproductive health-care services and reproductive rights are treated on an equal footing with other targets in terms of implementation, financial support, follow-up and review.

Baroness Verma

We support the World Health Assembly resolution that proposes to review, at future World Health Assemblies, the report of the Every Woman Every Child Independent Accountability Panel. The proposed accountability mechanism will review key indicators under the strategic themes of Survive, Thrive and Transform, including those on sexual and reproductive services (including for adolescents) and including rights.

UK officials are engaged in developing the rights component of the accountability mechanism.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-05-24.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they intend to take to protect the Golan Heights from further Israeli settlement expansion, discriminatory policies against the native Syrian population, and the extraction of natural resources from the area.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The Government regards the Golan Heights – along with East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza – as Occupied Territory. We continue to call on Israel, as the Occupying Power, to uphold its obligations under international law in the Occupied Territories, including abiding by UN Security Council Resolution 497 (1981). We have been clear that Israel must comply with its obligations under international law, including the Fourth Geneva Convention.

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have made for bilateral and multilateral aid to the Palestinian Authority after the UK has left the EU.

Baroness Verma

The Prime Minister has been clear that the negotiation for Britain’s future relationship with Europe will need to begin under a new Prime Minister, and we have now got to look at all the detailed arrangements. In the meantime, Departments continue working to deliver the Government agenda.

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the case for ending the siege of Gaza in the light of the new data released by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs confirming that Israel’s blockade on the Gaza Strip tightened during July and the warning from the UN that Gaza will be uninhabitable by 2020.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

While we have not made any assessment on this specific issue, we remain deeply concerned by the situation in Gaza. We continue to press for urgent measures to relieve the humanitarian suffering of those in Gaza and urge donors to disburse their Gaza pledges.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-10-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consultation they have held on the proposal to remove the 50 per cent cap on religious selection for existing schools as well as new schools, and which groups they have consulted.

Lord Nash

On 9^th September the Prime Minister announced that we will remove the 50 per cent cap for new faith free schools and consult on a new set of much more effective requirements to ensure that new faith schools are properly inclusive. The consultation is available to view at consult.education.gov.uk/ under ‘Schools that work for everyone’. We would welcome your views on our proposals.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-10-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel about the recent attacks in Silwan and the fatal shooting of Ali Alef Shyoukhi.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

While we have not made any representations to the Israeli authorities on this issue, we have an ongoing dialogue with the Israeli authorities about the Israel Defence Forces’ use of live fire. We remain concerned by the use of force by Israeli security personnel in response to protests and security incidents. We regularly raise these concerns with the Israeli Government, stressing the need for proportionality and proper accountability.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2015-11-09.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the recent report from B’Tselem about the closure policy imposed in Jerusalem, what discussions they have had with the government of Israel regarding the new restrictions placed on Palestinians living in East Jerusalem that limit their movement.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

We remain deeply concerned about restrictions on freedom of movement in East Jerusalem. Our Ambassador in Tel Aviv raised this issue with Israeli National Security Advisor Cohen on 2 November. Our Consul-General to Jerusalem also raised this issue with the Mayor of Jerusalem on 28 October.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2015-11-24.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to increase their financial assistance for family planning and sexual and reproductive health and rights in Myanmar, in the light of the reduction in funding by other donors.

Baroness Verma

DFID is helping to improve the health of the poorest and most vulnerable people in Burma, including funding programmes to increase access to modern methods of family planning and other reproductive health services. We are supporting the 3MDG health fund in Burma with nearly £90 million between 2010 and 2017. The 3MDG health fund is providing family planning services for a population of 4.4 million. DFID is currently reviewing our approach for all country programmes for the next five years as part of the government’s overall spending review.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2015-12-14.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel regarding the hospital bills sent to the Palestinian Authority for medical treatment of Ahmad Dawabsha.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

We have not made representations to the Government of Israel on this issue. However, the Government of Israel has confirmed to us that they covered the cost of the medivac. We had also previously understood from contact with the Dawabsheh family that their hospital fees were being met by Israel.