The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-02-25.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to work with the UK members of parliament who are attending the forthcoming World Humanitarian Summit in May.
Baroness Verma
The UK is committed to making the World Humanitarian Summit a success and recognises that this requires coordination with a large number of interested parties.
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 Bahrain concerning the imprisonment of Ibrahim Sharif for making speeches about democracy.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
We have raised Ibrahim Sharif’s case with the Government of Bahrain, including at the highest levels, and we understand that he has the right of appeal. The UK encourages Bahrain to respect the rights of all peaceful opposition figures. We call on the Bahraini government to act proportionately in all such cases to protect the universal rights of freedom of expression and assembly. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth East (Mr Ellwood), most recently raised human rights with the Bahraini Ambassador to the UK, His Excellency Sheikh Fawaz bin Mohammed Al Khalifa , on 8 March.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-03-22.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government which organisation is responsible for collecting air pollution data generated by monitoring in and around Heathrow airport.
Lord Gardiner of Kimble
Air quality monitoring data collected in and around Heathrow Airport is presented on the Heathrow AirWatch website which is funded via a joint working partnership consisting of Heathrow Airport Ltd, London Boroughs of Hillingdon and Hounslow, Slough and Spelthorne Borough Councils and British Airways. It is managed by the consultant Ricardo Energy and Environment.
Two local monitoring sites are included in the Government’s national monitoring network (the Automatic Urban and Rural Network). All national air quality monitoring data is available on the Government’s UK-Air website.
The two monitoring sites are London Hillingdon which is located in a suburban residential area approximately 30 metres from the M4 motorway and London Harlington which is located close to a minor road to the east of Harlington village.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-04-25.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, in the light of the remarks by the Foreign Secretary in 2010 that the window of opportunity for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict would have closed by 2016, they have plans to announce the end of the possibility of such a solution.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
We believe a negotiated two-state solution remains the only way to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict once and for all. We continue to press both sides strongly on the need to refrain from taking action which make peace more difficult. We believe that if both parties show the bold leadership and political strength necessary to find a way forward, a two-state solution remains possible.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-05-19.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the inclusion of Universal Health Coverage as a target in the World Health Organization report Health in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, published on 8 April 2016.
Baroness Verma
The UK Government welcomes the report of the World Health Organisation, which highlights the integrated and indivisible nature of all the Goals in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and the role of health among them, and presents Universal Health Coverage as a target in itself and a contributor to the other health targets
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-05-24.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they are making to the government of Israel regarding the arrest of 13 Palestinian civilians at military checkpoints in the West Bank between 12 and 18 May.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
We have no plans to raise these arrests with the Israeli authorities.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-06-27.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what further representations they have made to the government of Israel to enable the legal team headed by Baroness Scotland of Asthal that produced the report Children in Military Custody to re-visit and assess progress in that area.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
We have not made any further representations to enable the legal team to meet with Government of Israel. The issue of children in detention is a human rights priority for the UK. We are considering alternative options to encourage further progress.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-09-06.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking in response to the concern expressed by the UN Coordinator for Humanitarian Assistance and Development Aid in the occupied Palestinian territory about the declining health of Bilal Kayid.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
According to an agreement made between Mr. Kayid and the Israeli Government, Mr. Kayid’s administrative detention will not be renewed past 12 December. Our Embassy in Tel Aviv regularly raises our concerns over the use of administrative detention with the Israeli authorities.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-09-13.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what percentage of Official Development Assistance was allocated to sexual and reproductive health and family planning in fragile and conflict-affected states in the last year for which figures are available.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
The UK aid strategy has committed that, from 2016, we spend 50% of our support in fragile states and regions. This will include our work on family planning and broader sexual and reproductive health and rights. In such settings, DFID uses multilateral mechanisms, for example United Nations Population Fund, and our bilateral programmes to disburse funding for sexual and reproductive health services. In addition the UK has made a commitment that in humanitarian crises, DFID calls for proposals will require that the sexual and reproductive health and rights of women and girls to be considered.
DFID spent approximately £605m on sexual, reproductive, maternal and child health in fragile and conflict affected states and their neighbours in 2014; £606m in 2013 and £526m in 2012. This was approximately 6% of DFID ODA in 2012 and 2013 and 7% in 2012.
In 2015/16 our support to UNFPA totalled £112.5m and included work in fragile and conflict-affected states and humanitarian settings, including in Syria, Afghanistan and Yemen. In Syria, for example, DFID will be providing £18.5 million through UNFPA over three years to 2018. This is in addition to the UK’s previous support to Syria, which has helped tackle gender-based violence and enabled access to reproductive health services for more than 260,000 girls and women.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-10-10.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the Department for International Development will provide funding to the United Nations Population Fund in 2017.
Lord Bates
The Department of International Development values the work of the UN Population Fund (UNPF), therefore we have guaranteed it £20 million of funding for the financial year 2016/2017. This funding is provided with the request that the UNPF works across the UN system on reform: to accelerate progress and to deliver improved results on the ground.