Tag: Baroness Tonge

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they intend to take following the second postponement of the visit to follow up the June 2012 report Children in Military Custody.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

On 18 February during his visit to Israel, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth East (Mr Ellwood), expressed his disappointment to Israel’s Deputy Foreign Minister at Israel’s unwillingness to facilitate meetings for the British lawyers. We are now considering alternative means to take forward this work.

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with the government of Israel about why the Israel Defence Forces have been positioned behind the Green Line and on 1 March fired on Beit Hanun farmland and farmers working in fields east of Juhor al-Dik.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

We have not had any discussions with the Israeli authorities on this issue. However, we have an ongoing dialogue with the Israeli authorities about the Israeli Defence Forces use of live fire.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-04-12.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the fact that donations to the Jewish National Fund are tax deductible, and that one of its primary activities has been the creation of forests over disputed Palestinian land, what action they are taking to rescind the charitable status of organisations that are for the benefit of one group at the expense of another.

Lord Bridges of Headley

The Jewish National Fund is not a charity. The Jewish National Fund Charitable Trust is a charity registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales having exclusively charitable purposes. Under s34 of the Charities Act 2011, the Commission must remove a charity from the register if it no longer considers the organisation to be a charity or if it has ceased to exist or does not operate. None of these criteria apply to this charity. Any concern regarding the charitable status of an organisation is a matter for the Commission.

Taxation is a matter for HM Revenue and Customs who do not comment on individual cases.

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they intend to take to enable UNRWA to deliver urgent aid to Palestinian refugees trapped in Yarmouk camp in Damascus.

Baroness Verma

The UK is extremely concerned about the situation in Yarmouk camp in Syria, especially given intense fighting between Daesh and Al-Nusra Front in recent weeks. According to UNRWA, the intensified fighting has acutely aggravated shortages of food and clean water for the approximately 6000 civilians residing inside Yarmouk. We condemn in the strongest terms the grave crimes committed by Daesh and Al-Nusra Front against civilians in the camp, and continue to call on all parties to the conflict to protect civilians, ensure humanitarian access to the area, and allow the safe passage and evacuation of civilians.

We welcome UNRWA’s efforts in protecting and assisting vulnerable Palestinian refugees. To date, the UK has allocated over £59 million to UNRWA to provide assistance for Palestinian refugees affected by the violence in Syria and the region.

The UK has given support to the UN and international NGOs since the start of the conflict to deliver aid to besieged and hard to reach areas and continue to use our position in the UN Security Council to push for humanitarian access to be granted to these areas. We are also part pf the International Syria Support Group that agreed at its meeting on 11 February that humanitarian access would be opened to a number of priority areas, including Yarmouk, as a first step to accelerating full and sustained access across Syria. Since then, UNRWA has delivered 21 convoys with multi-sectoral assistance to 19,000 people in Yalda, Babella, Beit-Sahm, including thousands of residents in and from Yarmouk.

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they intend to make to ensure that decisions on follow-up and review of the World Health Organization’s report Health in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development are fully integrated into the work of the United Nations High-Level Political Forum when following-up and reviewing the United Nations 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development.

Baroness Verma

The UK is fully engaged in the development of the follow up and review mechanisms for the United Nations High-Level Political Forum.

As these mechanisms become clearer we will promote alignment with the accountability processes for specific goals and themes in the 2030 Agenda, including the World Health Organization’s report: Health in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-06-07.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government why the Home Office refused visas to two marathon runners from Palestine who were due to compete in the Derry Walled City marathon on 5 June.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

All applications are considered on their individual merits and in line with the Immigration Rules. In order to safeguard an individual’s personal information and comply with the Data Protection Act 1998 the Home Office is limited in what information it can provide when the request is made by someone who is not the applicant. The Home Office is therefore unable to provide the information requested.

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they intend to make to the government of Israel asking them to take financial responsibility for the territories they occupy.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

We have no plans to make any representations to the Israeli authorities on this issue.

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they intend to take in the light of the call by the UN Coordinator for Humanitarian Aid and Development Activities for international support to improve the living conditions of those living in Gaza and to lift the blockade.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The UK remains deeply concerned by the situation in Gaza. As my hon friend the Minister of State Rory Stewart is new to his role, he is conducting a full examination of our work in the OPTs, including our support to Gaza. UK aid helps to provide basic services and support economic development in Gaza. The UK government continues to press for a sustainable political solution which will address Israel’s legitimate security concerns whilst opening up movement and access.

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 recent polling of the views of parents on religious selection in state-funded schools.

Lord Nash

We are consulting on proposals to enable more high quality providers of schools to establish new schools and we are keen to hear the views of parents as part of the consultation. Many faith schools are successful and popular with parents and we want to provide sufficient high quality places to meet demand. We will take account of all the responses received when considering the government’s response to the consultation.

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what distinction they draw in issuing visas between Israeli citizens who live in Israel and those who live in illegal settlements in the West Bank.

Baroness Williams of Trafford

All applications for visas, entry clearances and leave to enter at the border are considered against the criteria set out in the published Immigration Rules (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/immigration-rules) regardless of the applicant’s nationality or where they live.

A variety of factors may be taken into account when considering the application, but that would depend upon the applicant’s personal circumstances and what they had applied to do in the UK.