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1015488

registered interest
date	27/11/2018
answering body	Department for International Development
answering dept id	20
answering dept short name	International Development
answering dept sort name	International Development
hansard heading	Palestinians: Overseas Aid
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps she has taken to ensure that funding allocated by her Department from the public purse does not find its way into the hands of terrorists in the Palestinian Territories.
tabling member constituency	Hendon
tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
uin	196174
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/12/2018 answer text <p>The UK has a zero-tolerance approach to fraud and robustly controls against the diversion of aid. We have strong controls in place to monitor spending, including due diligence assessments, annual financial audits of project spending and regular field visits; all to ensure that UK aid reaches the intended beneficiaries. DFID complies with UK and international counter terrorism legislation and DFID funding agreements commit partners to understand and comply with international counter terrorism legislation.</p> answering member constituency North East Bedfordshire answering member printed Alistair Burt question first answered 05/12/2018 17:15:19 answering member 1201 label Biography information for Alistair Burt
tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord

1015839

registered interest
date	27/11/2018
answering body	Department for International Development
answering dept id	20
answering dept short name	International Development
answering dept sort name	International Development
hansard heading	Palestinians: Overseas Aid
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bates on 23 November (HL11378), whether they have made any assessment as to whether the non-publication of the audit reports relating to UK direct financial assistance to the Palestinian Authority is compatible with provisions of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Palestinian National Authority and the Government signed on 7 July 2011 and extended on 22 December 2014 relating to the provision of effective public oversight of budget formulation and other key areas.
tabling member printed	Baroness Deech
uin	HL11840
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/12/2018 answer text <p>The Memorandum of Understanding included a commitment to the UK’s Partnership Principles. One of those Principles was about improving domestic accountability through oversight mechanisms for Palestinian citizens to scrutinise budget formulation and implementation. The Principle did not relate to publishing audits of UK contributions. In line with Section 27 of the Freedom of Information Act (2000), we withheld the audit reports of the Palestinian Authority (PA) from 2010 – 2015.</p> answering member printed Lord Bates question first answered 11/12/2018 17:28:50 answering member 1091 label Biography information for Lord Bates
tabling member	3756 label Biography information for Baroness Deech

1012374

registered interest
date	22/11/2018
answering body	Department for International Development
answering dept id	20
answering dept short name	International Development
answering dept sort name	International Development
hansard heading	Palestinians: Overseas Aid
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether the Memorandum of Understanding between her Department and the Palestinian National Authority signed in 2015 has been extended; and if she will place copies of all ministerial correspondence with the Palestinian Authority amending that agreement in the Library.
tabling member constituency	Dudley North
tabling member printed	Ian Austin
uin	194657
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/11/2018 answer text <p>A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between DFID and the Palestinian Authority (PA) originally in effect from July 2011 to March 2014 was extended to cover the period up to March 2016. This MoU set out the individual and shared commitments in the development partnership made between DFID and the PA during this time. DFID and the PA now sign MoUs annually, which oversee our programme of financial assistance to the PA.</p><p> </p><p>I will place copies of relevant ministerial correspondence with the PA in the Library.</p> answering member constituency North East Bedfordshire answering member printed Alistair Burt question first answered 28/11/2018 14:55:00 answering member 1201 label Biography information for Alistair Burt
tabling member	1511 label Biography information for Lord Austin of Dudley

1012375

registered interest
date	22/11/2018
answering body	Department for International Development
answering dept id	20
answering dept short name	International Development
answering dept sort name	International Development
hansard heading	Palestinians: Overseas Aid
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, when her Department last made an assessment of the Palestinian National Authority's adherence to the principle of non-violence set out in the Memorandum of Understanding between her Department and that authority; and if she will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Dudley North
tabling member printed	Ian Austin
uin	194658
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/11/2018 answer text <p>The Palestinian Authority’s (PA) commitment to the principle of non-violence is assessed as part of the annual Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) dialogue between DFID and the PA, and is kept under review throughout the year. The last MoU dialogue took place in May 2018. We continue to assess that the PA is committed to the principle of non-violence.</p> answering member constituency North East Bedfordshire answering member printed Alistair Burt question first answered 28/11/2018 14:56:20 answering member 1201 label Biography information for Alistair Burt
tabling member	1511 label Biography information for Lord Austin of Dudley

1012378

registered interest
date	22/11/2018
answering body	Department for International Development
answering dept id	20
answering dept short name	International Development
answering dept sort name	International Development
hansard heading	Palestinians: Overseas Aid
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, on what date her Department last made an assessment of the Palestinian National Authority's adherence to its human rights commitments set out in the Memorandum of Understanding between her Department and that Authority; and if she will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Dudley North
tabling member printed	Ian Austin
uin	194659
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/11/2018 answer text <p>As part of our assessment of the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) commitment to the Partnership Principles, DFID officials assess the PA’s commitment to respecting human rights and other international obligations. This was most recently done in May 2018 as part of a formal annual meeting with the PA. The full Partnership Principles assessment is not public but I am happy to share a summary of the most recent assessment which concluded that the Palestinian Authority continues to demonstrate a credible commitment to the partnership principles under increasingly fragile and volatile conditions.</p><p> </p><p>We are aware of the serious and concerning allegations made in the recent Human Rights Watch (HRW) report about human rights violations by the PA. We have immediately raised our concerns with the PA Ministry of Interior and continue to urge the PA to respect human rights, to ensure complaints of mistreatment or arbitrary detention are properly investigated and to continue to improve the performance of the security sector.</p> answering member constituency North East Bedfordshire answering member printed Alistair Burt question first answered 28/11/2018 14:58:23 answering member 1201 label Biography information for Alistair Burt
tabling member	1511 label Biography information for Lord Austin of Dudley

1005607

registered interest
date	12/11/2018
answering body	Department for International Development
answering dept id	20
answering dept short name	International Development
answering dept sort name	International Development
hansard heading	Palestinians: Overseas Aid
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Verma on 20 June 2016 (HL413), whether they will make available the independent audits relating to UK direct financial assistance to the Palestinian Authority.
tabling member printed	Baroness Deech
uin	HL11378
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/11/2018 answer text <p>In line with Section 27 of the Freedom of Information Act (2000), we withheld the audit reports of the Palestinian Authority (PA) from 2010 - 2015, in order to protect delivery of our poverty focused objectives.</p> answering member printed Lord Bates question first answered 23/11/2018 14:16:30 answering member 1091 label Biography information for Lord Bates
tabling member	3756 label Biography information for Baroness Deech

1005608

registered interest
date	12/11/2018
answering body	Department for International Development
answering dept id	20
answering dept short name	International Development
answering dept sort name	International Development
hansard heading	Palestinians: Overseas Aid
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Verma on 20 June 2016 (HL413), what is their assessment of (1) the adequacy of independent audits relating to UK direct financial assistance to the Palestinian Authority, and (2) the regular reviews of those audits, following of PwC’s response to a complaint submitted to the UK National Contact Point for the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises that the narrow scope of its auditing work did not require it to consider the distribution of funds to individuals implicated as terrorists.
tabling member printed	Baroness Deech
uin	HL11379
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/11/2018 answer text <p>UK officials safeguard and continuously monitor the expenditure of UK aid in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. UK aid is channelled through the EU Palestinian-European Socio-Economic Management Assistance Mechanism (PEGASE). Our money goes into a special, dedicated bank account before being paid to individuals who have been vetted in advance. Independent auditors then check that the money paid out of the UK dedicated bank account only goes to these vetted individuals after every disbursement. We remain confident that these measures enable us to adequately monitor and evaluate our support to the Palestinian Authority.</p><p> </p><p>The UK National Contact Point has published its Initial Assessment of the complaint made by a UK NGO. This concluded that the issues raised in the complaint merit further examination. The Initial Assessment is not an indication of any wrongdoing by the respondent. The UK National Contact Point is now working with both parties to facilitate mediation on the issues raised. In line with its procedures, the NCP will not be expected to publish further information on the case until this stage of the process is complete and a Final Statement has been prepared.</p> answering member printed Lord Bates question first answered 23/11/2018 14:14:19 answering member 1091 label Biography information for Lord Bates
tabling member	3756 label Biography information for Baroness Deech

984633

registered interest
date	10/10/2018
answering body	Department for International Development
answering dept id	20
answering dept short name	International Development
answering dept sort name	International Development
hansard heading	Palestinians: Overseas Aid
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	What processes are in place to monitor UK aid spending in the Palestinian Territories.
tabling member constituency	Filton and Bradley Stoke
tabling member printed	Jack Lopresti
uin	906958
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/10/2018 answer text <p>DFID continuously monitors UK aid spending in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. We rigorously manage delivery partners according to the Supply Partner Code of Conduct, map the flow of funds through the delivery chain, and all our programmes are subject to independent audits. We evaluate and improve our programmes regularly through annual reviews.</p> answering member constituency North East Bedfordshire answering member printed Alistair Burt question first answered 10/10/2018 13:31:59 answering member 1201 label Biography information for Alistair Burt
tabling member	3989 label Biography information for Jack Lopresti

943935

registered interest
date	18/07/2018
answering body	Department for International Development
answering dept id	20
answering dept short name	International Development
answering dept sort name	International Development
hansard heading	Palestinians: Overseas Aid
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 15 May 2018 to Question 141795, on Palestinians: Overseas Aid, which the auditing body was that was charged with carrying out the independent financial audit.
tabling member constituency	Enfield North
tabling member printed	Joan Ryan
uin	165443
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/07/2018 answer text <p>Financial audits are carried out on all individual DFID programmes operating in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs). The body carrying out the audits, and the terms of reference for these audits vary depending on the DFID programme in operation in the OPTs, however all programmes receive full independent financial audits to provide assurance to DFID that disbursed funds are spent and managed in line with agreed programme activities. The overall DFID OPTs programme portfolio is also subject to the regular audit cycle of DFID’s Internal Audit Department and the National Audit Office.</p> answering member constituency North East Bedfordshire answering member printed Alistair Burt question first answered 23/07/2018 16:09:59 answering member 1201 label Biography information for Alistair Burt
tabling member	166 label Biography information for Joan Ryan

943016

registered interest
date	17/07/2018
answering body	Department for International Development
answering dept id	20
answering dept short name	International Development
answering dept sort name	International Development
hansard heading	Palestinians: Overseas Aid
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 15 May 2018 to Question 141795, on Palestinians: Overseas Aid, what the terms of engagement are for that independent financial audit.
tabling member constituency	Enfield North
tabling member printed	Joan Ryan
uin	164830
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/07/2018 answer text <p>Financial audits are carried out on all individual DFID programmes operating in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs). The body carrying out the audits, and the terms of reference vary depending on the DFID programme, however all independent financial audits provide assurance to DFID that funds are spent and managed in line with agreed programme activities. The overall DFID OPTs portfolio is also subject to the regular audit cycle of DFID’s Internal Audit Department and the National Audit Office.</p> answering member constituency North East Bedfordshire answering member printed Alistair Burt question first answered 23/07/2018 15:00:38 answering member 1201 label Biography information for Alistair Burt
tabling member	166 label Biography information for Joan Ryan