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1702293

	registered interest
	date	18/04/2024
	answering body	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
	answering dept id	208
	answering dept short name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
	answering dept sort name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
	hansard heading	Gaza: Israel
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether he has had discussions with his Israeli counterpart on the alleged use of artificial intelligence software in the conflict in Gaza.
	tabling member constituency	Airdrie and Shotts
	tabling member printed	Ms Anum Qaisar
	uin	22661
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/04/2024 answer text <p>Ministers and senior officials regularly raise with their Israeli counterparts a range of issues related to the conflict.</p> answering member constituency Sutton Coldfield answering member printed Mr Andrew Mitchell question first answered 30/04/2024 13:39:34 answering member 1211 label Biography information for Mr Andrew Mitchell
	tabling member	4917 label Biography information for Ms Anum Qaisar

1695882

	registered interest
	date	13/03/2024
	answering body	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
	answering dept id	208
	answering dept short name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
	answering dept sort name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
	hansard heading	Israel: Arms Trade
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has made an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of the statement by Amnesty International UK and other NGOs entitled UK Groups say Government’s Public Position on Weapons Licences to Israel is at odds with what the Government has Admitted in Litigation, and Calls for an Explanation, as Rafah Braces for Further Atrocities, published on 28 February 2024.
	tabling member constituency	Airdrie and Shotts
	tabling member printed	Ms Anum Qaisar
	uin	18625
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/03/2024 answer text <p>The Government operates a robust and thorough assessment of licence applications against the Strategic Export Licensing Criteria, and we will not grant an export licence if to do so would be inconsistent with those Criteria. We regularly publish data on export licensing decisions on the dedicated gov.uk site: [https://www.gov.uk/guidance/strategic-export-controls-licensing-data].</p> answering member constituency Sutton Coldfield answering member printed Mr Andrew Mitchell question first answered 21/03/2024 16:47:11 answering member 1211 label Biography information for Mr Andrew Mitchell
	tabling member	4917 label Biography information for Ms Anum Qaisar

1682122

	registered interest
	date	15/01/2024
	answering body	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
	answering dept id	208
	answering dept short name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
	answering dept sort name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
	hansard heading	Gaza: Development Aid
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what assessment his Department has made of the scale of damage to UK-funded projects in Gaza since 7 October 2023.
	tabling member constituency	Airdrie and Shotts
	tabling member printed	Ms Anum Qaisar
	uin	9715
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/01/2024 answer text <p>Given the ongoing conflict, we are not able to provide this assessment at this time. There is a desperate need for increased humanitarian support to Gaza.</p><p>We have trebled our aid commitment for this financial year and are working closely with partners in international agencies and in the region to increase access. We are pushing to see Israel take greater care to limit its operations to military targets and avoid harming civilians and destroying homes. We continue to call for International Humanitarian Law (IHL) to be respected and civilians to be protected.</p> answering member constituency Sutton Coldfield answering member printed Mr Andrew Mitchell question first answered 26/01/2024 15:01:33 answering member 1211 label Biography information for Mr Andrew Mitchell
	tabling member	4917 label Biography information for Ms Anum Qaisar

1682121

	registered interest
	date	15/01/2024
	answering body	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
	answering dept id	208
	answering dept short name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
	answering dept sort name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
	hansard heading	Israel: Foreign Relations
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, how many meetings he has had with the Israeli Ambassador since 13 November 2023.
	tabling member constituency	Airdrie and Shotts
	tabling member printed	Ms Anum Qaisar
	uin	9714
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/01/2024 answer text <p>We continue to engage closely and regularly with a range of senior Israeli officials. Since the outbreak of the conflict on 7 October, the Israeli Ambassador to the UK, Tzipi Hotovely has had two meetings with Foreign Office Ministers. The Ambassador spoke with Lord Ahmad, Minister for the Middle East and North Africa, on 10 October. She also attended a meeting on 24 October between former Foreign Secretary James Cleverly and the families of those taken hostage by Hamas.</p> answering member constituency Sutton Coldfield answering member printed Mr Andrew Mitchell question first answered 24/01/2024 11:14:42 answering member 1211 label Biography information for Mr Andrew Mitchell
	tabling member	4917 label Biography information for Ms Anum Qaisar

1649927

	registered interest
	date	04/07/2023
	answering body	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
	answering dept id	208
	answering dept short name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
	answering dept sort name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
	hansard heading	British International Investment: Complaints
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a new independent complaints mechanism for British International Investment.
	tabling member constituency	Airdrie and Shotts
	tabling member printed	Ms Anum Qaisar
	uin	192458
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/07/2023 answer text <p>British International Investment (BII) has an effective complaints mechanism [https://www.bii.co.uk/en/complaints-whistleblowing/] that allows external parties to report alleged breaches of the Policy on Responsible Investing (PRI). If deemed eligible, complaints will be investigated, and where appropriate, BII will enable access to remedy.</p><p>The Reporting and Complaints Mechanism is under the direction of the Head of Compliance. Decisions required under the Reporting and Complaints Mechanism Rules are made independently of the departments involved in pre-investment due diligence and post-investment monitoring of environmental, social and business integrity issues. The Head of Compliance has a reporting line to the Board's Audit &amp; Compliance Committee.</p><p>FCDO undertakes periodic reviews of BII's assurance processes and recommends actions to improve their robustness, and monitors implementation of these. Any significant issues reported to FCDO regarding BII are notified to FCDO's Internal Audit and Investigations Department.</p> answering member constituency Sutton Coldfield answering member printed Mr Andrew Mitchell question first answered 10/07/2023 09:13:34 answering member 1211 label Biography information for Mr Andrew Mitchell
	tabling member	4917 label Biography information for Ms Anum Qaisar

1648539

	registered interest
	date	28/06/2023
	answering body	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
	answering dept id	208
	answering dept short name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
	answering dept sort name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
	hansard heading	British International Investment: Human Rights
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure recipients of intermediated investments by British International Investment are not involved in human rights abuses.
	tabling member constituency	Airdrie and Shotts
	tabling member printed	Ms Anum Qaisar
	uin	191714
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/07/2023 answer text <p>Intermediated investments allow Development Finance Institution's to effectively: provide smaller levels of financing, raise standards in the wider market, support the development of local institutions, and mobilise other capital.</p><p>British International Investment's (BII) Policy on Responsible Investing [https://assets.bii.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/22114326/Policy-on-Responsible-Investing.pdf] sets out BII's business integrity and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) expectations. This includes drawing on the standards set out in the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. Legally binding Business Integrity and ESG action plans are developed to improve standards of all investees over a defined period; and investees are risk assessed on a quarterly basis across various dimensions of risk including ESG and business integrity.</p><p>High environmental, social and business integrity risks are reported to FCDO and there is an established process for escalation of significant incidents.</p> answering member constituency Sutton Coldfield answering member printed Mr Andrew Mitchell question first answered 06/07/2023 10:34:36 answering member 1211 label Biography information for Mr Andrew Mitchell
	tabling member	4917 label Biography information for Ms Anum Qaisar

1648540

	registered interest
	date	28/06/2023
	answering body	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
	answering dept id	208
	answering dept short name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
	answering dept sort name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
	hansard heading	British International Investment: Health Services
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of investments in private healthcare providers by British International Investment on (a) people living in poverty and (b) women and girls.
	tabling member constituency	Airdrie and Shotts
	tabling member printed	Ms Anum Qaisar
	uin	191715
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/07/2023 answer text <p>British International Investment's (BII) investments are scrutinised by independent evaluators through the FCDO-BII Evaluation and Learning Programme.</p><p>Each sector evaluation includes analysis of the poverty alleviation and gender impact. Recommendations for improving impact and BII responses are published on FCDO's and BII's website. A multi-sector evaluation is currently under way, which includes a review of BII's healthcare portfolio.</p><p>In addition, BII commissions and publishes its own case studies, evaluations, and evidence reviews to help better understand the impact of its investments. Relevant case studies and evaluations include the impact of access to finance for healthcare facilities in Kenya [https://www.bii.co.uk/en/news-insight/insight/articles/what-is-the-impact-of-improved-access-to-finance-for-healthcare-facilities-in-kenya/] and investing for impact in India [https://assets.bii.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/06212044/Investing-for-impact-in-India_BII.pdf].</p> answering member constituency Sutton Coldfield answering member printed Mr Andrew Mitchell question first answered 06/07/2023 10:27:14 answering member 1211 label Biography information for Mr Andrew Mitchell
	tabling member	4917 label Biography information for Ms Anum Qaisar

1646410

	registered interest
	date	21/06/2023
	answering body	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
	answering dept id	208
	answering dept short name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
	answering dept sort name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
	hansard heading	Horn of Africa: Development Aid
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much and what proportion of the £143m of aid announced on 24 May for the Horn of Africa was additional to his Department's existing budget for the region.
	tabling member constituency	Airdrie and Shotts
	tabling member printed	Ms Anum Qaisar
	uin	190673
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/06/2023 answer text <p>The £143 million is part of a wider bilateral Official Development Assistance allocation for East and Central Africa of £389.8 million as set out in the Written Ministerial Statement on 30th March 2023.</p> answering member constituency Sutton Coldfield answering member printed Mr Andrew Mitchell question first answered 29/06/2023 11:08:43 answering member 1211 label Biography information for Mr Andrew Mitchell
	tabling member	4917 label Biography information for Ms Anum Qaisar

1646412

	registered interest
	date	21/06/2023
	answering body	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
	answering dept id	208
	answering dept short name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
	answering dept sort name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
	hansard heading	Horn of Africa: Climate Change
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent steps he has taken to help improve resilience in countries in the Horn of Africa to impacts of climate change.
	tabling member constituency	Airdrie and Shotts
	tabling member printed	Ms Anum Qaisar
	uin	190674
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/06/2023 answer text <p>The compounding pressures of conflict and cyclical climate disasters are driving unprecedented humanitarian needs, across the Horn of Africa. It is clear that humanitarian funding must complement and work alongside longer-term climate finances to help break the cycle of crisis and to build resilience. To support these efforts, in July the UK will host a conference at Wilton Park to agree concrete actions on how vulnerable countries can secure a proportionate share of climate finance which can be used to promote adaptation and resilient development.</p> answering member constituency Sutton Coldfield answering member printed Mr Andrew Mitchell question first answered 29/06/2023 11:07:37 answering member 1211 label Biography information for Mr Andrew Mitchell
	tabling member	4917 label Biography information for Ms Anum Qaisar

1646094

	registered interest
	date	20/06/2023
	answering body	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
	answering dept id	208
	answering dept short name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
	answering dept sort name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
	hansard heading	East Africa: Humanitarian Aid
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to his Department's publication entitled UK pledges support for over a million people in East Africa, published on 24 May 2023, what recent steps he has taken to ensure humanitarian support is being delivered through local actors.
	tabling member constituency	Airdrie and Shotts
	tabling member printed	Ms Anum Qaisar
	uin	190469
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/06/2023 answer text <p>Local Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) play an important role in delivering UK funded humanitarian support in East Africa and beyond. We work and consult closely with local NGOs to aid their planning, delivery and ability to access funding.</p><p>In Ethiopia in 2022 the UK provided £7.6 million to the UN's Ethiopia Humanitarian Fund (EHF) which supported a range of international and national NGOs. Similarly, the UK-funded 'Building Resilient Communities in Somalia' programme has supported a number of local NGOs alongside international civil society organisations. More broadly, the UK funds a number of Country based Pooled Funds (CBPF) and in 2022, nearly 22 percent of funding allocated by CBPFs went directly to national NGOs.</p> answering member constituency Sutton Coldfield answering member printed Mr Andrew Mitchell question first answered 28/06/2023 09:59:43 answering member 1211 label Biography information for Mr Andrew Mitchell
	tabling member	4917 label Biography information for Ms Anum Qaisar