Tag: Baroness Tonge

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have plans to support the women reportedly imprisoned in Rwanda for terminating their pregnancies after rape.

Baroness Verma

The Department places the empowerment of girls and women at the heart of its programme in Rwanda. We mainstream women and girls across our programme, and deliver targeted interventions where needed to address particular constraints faced by women. For example, we are providing up to £4.6m over 4 years (2014-2018) for a programme that will work with women and men, opinion leaders and members of the community to tackle the triggers of gender-based violence. The programme will reach over 1.7 million people. We are also supporting a Girls Empowerment Programme which is enabling 92,000 girls over three years to meet in safe spaces across the country. The girls are mentored and guided through a curriculum that includes sexual and reproductive health, prevention of violence and guidance on staying safe and healthy.

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel concerning cuts in water supply to areas of the West Bank.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

Officials from our Embassy in Tel Aviv discussed this issue with the Israeli authorities on 27 June. We have stressed the need for Israel to take immediate and practical measures to improve the current situation and ensure fair distribution of water in the West Bank and Gaza.

During the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth East (Mr Ellwood’s) visit to Israel in February, he stressed to the Israeli government and Prime Minister Netanyahu that there was an urgent need for practical, incremental steps to improve the lives of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza.

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 in the light of the concern expressed by the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine about the death of a refugee and the high number of civilian injuries from live ammunition on 16 August during an Israeli military incursion into Fawwar refugee camp.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

While we have not made specific representations to the Israeli authorities over this issue, we have regularly raised our concerns with the Israeli authorities about the Israel Defence Forces’ (IDF) use of live fire, urging robust and transparent investigations where appropriate. We understand the IDF is currently investigating the circumstances of the death.

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the admission arrangements of St Richard Reynolds Catholic Primary School in Richmond.

Lord Nash

The Department does not actively police the admission arrangements of individual schools.

Each school has an admission authority to set its admission arrangements and ensure those arrangements comply with the School Admissions Code (“the Code”). The admission authority for St Richard Reynolds Catholic Primary School is the School’s governing body.

If a parent has concerns about the admission arrangements of a school they can object to the Schools’ Adjudicator. If the Adjudicator finds that the school’s arrangements are unlawful, the admission authority must revise their arrangements to ensure they comply with the Code and other admissions legislation.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-10-17.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress has been made in setting up a coordinated and effective health care system in Sierra Leone, following the Ebola outbreak.

Lord Bates

DFID is supporting the President’s Recovery Plan (PRP) that focuses on delivering its two health priorities to strengthen Sierra Leone’s health system post Ebola. They are:

(i) Prevent, detect and respond to epidemics to ensure zero cases of Ebola. DFID is providing £38.5million to support epidemic preparedness in the country by strengthening disease surveillance, laboratory services, maintaining a rapid deployable treatment centre and monitoring Ebola survivors. This programme has been operational since December 2015 and will finish in December 2017.

(ii) Saving the Lives of 600 women and 5,000 children. DFID is providing £150million over five years (2016 – 2021) to support the Government’s saving lives target by June 2017 and then increase the availability and quality of Reproductive Maternal Neonatal Child and Adolescent Health (RMNCAH) services by 2021. This is being done by equipping emergency obstetric centres, providing adolescent reproductive health services, increasing the availability of skilled health workers and by providing bed nets and free medicines to mothers and children. This programme commenced implementation this month.

Each health priority has a clearly defined work plan with milestones and is coordinated by the Ministry of Health. Progress against the milestones is monitored and reported weekly with the President reviewing progress each fortnight. District surveillance reports are submitted weekly to track the incidence of notifiable diseases (such as Ebola, Cholera and Lassa fever), detect clusters of unexplained deaths and trigger immediate investigation. In additional DFID is engaging in the longer term planning to strengthen Sierra Leone’s health system, including the development of a five year RMNCAH strategy.

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they are making to the government of Israel concerning the allegations by Abu Anan that Israeli forces fired tear gas into or directly outside a Palestinian house resulting in the death of a baby through gas inhalation.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

While our officials in Tel Aviv have not raised this specific case with the Israeli authorities, we remain extremely concerned by the violence that we have seen across Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. As the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth East (Mr. Ellwood), said in his press statement of 13 October, “We are also concerned by the use of force by Israeli security personnel in response to protests and security incidents”.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2015-11-30.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel concerning the right of Palestinians to education.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

While we have not raised the specific issue of the right of Palestinians to education, the British Government provides financial assistance to the Palestinian Authority (PA) to provide essential services, including education. Consequently UK aid will support 35,000 children through primary school over the next four years. We also consistently urge Israel to ease movement and access restrictions across the Occupied Palestinian Territories, not least because of the impact the restrictions have on children and continuity of their education.

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they are making to the government of Israel regarding the attacks on the University in Tulkarem situated in Area A of the West Bank and their impact on students’ access to education.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

While we have not made representations to the Government of Israel on this specific issue we strongly condemn all acts of violence and all incitement to commit acts of violence. Since the start of the current violence we have spoken regularly to both the Palestinian Authority and the Israeli government, urging them to use their influence to de-escalate the tensions.

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with the government of Israel concerning the whereabouts and medical condition of the two Birzeit students who were arrested on 7 October and are being detained in an undisclosed location.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

We have not had any discussions with the Israeli authorities on this issue. Officials in our Embassy in Tel Aviv have, however, raised our concerns over the treatment of Palestinian detainees on many occasions, including with the Israeli Ministry of Justice, Attorney General’s Office and National Security Council.

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel regarding the demolition of 22 structures in Khirbet Jenbah in order to create an army training zone.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

Officials from our Embassy in Tel Aviv recently raised the demolitions in a high-level meeting with a senior Israeli defence official. We also regularly raise our concerns with the Israeli authorities over demolitions in general.