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997414

	registered interest
	date	29/10/2018
	answering body	Department for International Development
	answering dept id	20
	answering dept short name	International Development
	answering dept sort name	International Development
	hansard heading	Syria: Humanitarian Aid
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent assessment she has made of the humanitarian situation in Rukban Camp in the Tanf zone of Syria; and if she will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	Wycombe
	tabling member printed	Mr Steve Baker
	uin	185076
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/11/2018 answer text <p>Lord Bates’ statement on 16 October to the House of Lords expressed the UK’s increasing concern regarding the estimated 50,000 people currently stranded at the Rukban camp. A recent UN mission revealed rapid deterioration in the humanitarian situation, with access to those at the Rukban Berm extremely constrained. To date, the UN has not been granted sustained access by the Assad regime.</p><p> </p><p>The UK urges all parties to ensure unconditional and sustained humanitarian access that will enable regular aid deliveries to take place. We continue to call on all parties to ensure that the approved humanitarian convoy from Damascus to Rukban takes place, providing the assistance these people badly need.</p> answering member constituency North East Bedfordshire answering member printed Alistair Burt question first answered 01/11/2018 14:02:20 answering member 1201 label Biography information for Alistair Burt
	tabling member	4064 label Biography information for Mr Steve Baker

997279

	registered interest
	date	29/10/2018
	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: Women's Rights
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the protection of women's rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territories; and what steps her Department is taking to promote the protection of women's rights in those Territories.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
	uin	184874
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/11/2018 answer text <p>According to UN Women, while there has been progress towards gender equality and women’s empowerment in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs), for example a closing gender gap on literacy rates and amendments to laws discriminatory to women’s rights, the volatile context means this progress is fragile. The occupation and political situation can increase women’s vulnerability to social and economic insecurity and violence; this is heightened in Gaza where the situation remains dire. Female unemployment across the OPTs stood at around 40% in 2017, whereas for males it was 24%. The last available survey from 2010/11 shows that 37% (around 30% in the West Bank and over 51% in Gaza) of ever-married women suffered from a form of violence within the household. UN Women and other UN agencies support the Palestinian Authority in the implementation of gender-sensitive plans and policy-level initiatives to ensure the protection of women’s rights.</p><p> </p><p>The UK is a long-term supporter of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) which works to ensure gender equality and the protection of Palestine refugees’ rights in all its programming. UNRWA supports around 1 million Palestinian refugee women across the OPTs and protects their rights to health, water and sanitation, shelter and food security. UNRWA ensures an inclusive approach to protecting children’s right to an education (covering 160,000 girls in the West Bank and Gaza), provides antenatal and postnatal care for more than 50,000 women, and works to protect women and children from violence through access to services and community engagement.</p><p> </p><p>The UK is also working to protect women’s economic rights across the OPTs. Our Palestinian Market Development Programme supported a total of 219 female-owned managed enterprises from 2013 to 2018 and helped to create over 800 jobs for women. A new £38 million economic development programme will address barriers faced by women to employment and economic opportunities.</p> answering member constituency North East Bedfordshire answering member printed Alistair Burt question first answered 01/11/2018 13:57:31 answering member 1201 label Biography information for Alistair Burt
	tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

997169

	registered interest
	date	29/10/2018
	answering body	Department for International Development
	answering dept id	20
	answering dept short name	International Development
	answering dept sort name	International Development
	hansard heading	Gaza: Overseas Aid
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether irregularities in UK official development assistance spending were discovered during programme audits and field visits to Gaza in each of the last two years; and if she will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	East Londonderry
	tabling member printed	Mr Gregory Campbell
	uin	184898
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/11/2018 answer text <p>The UK is part of the international effort to provide critical humanitarian and development support to the civilian population in Gaza. DFID is aware of a small number of minor irregularities in UK official development assistance spending on bilateral programmes in Gaza in the last two years. There are inherent risks to delivering aid in Gaza, which is why the UK has stringent controls in place to prevent the diversion of aid and only works with organisations that have a strong track record of delivering humanitarian aid in difficult places. We take immediate and strong action when any irregularities are reported and work closely with partners to prevent future cases. We do not disclose individual case details to protect the integrity of investigations, anonymity of informants and help ensure that we can get the best deal for the UK taxpayer through recovery of funds.</p><p> </p><p>In Gaza, our rigorous controls include: monitoring spending closely; mapping the flow of funds through each organisation involved in delivery; regular audits of programme spending; and field visits. These all enable us to deliver critical assistance to people in need whilst protecting UK taxpayers’ money. Additionally, DFID aid complies with UK and international counter terrorism legislation and our funding agreements commit partners to understand and comply with international counter terrorism legislation.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency North East Bedfordshire answering member printed Alistair Burt question first answered 01/11/2018 14:00:37 answering member 1201 label Biography information for Alistair Burt
	tabling member	1409 label Biography information for Mr Gregory Campbell