We are appalled by allegations that the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) staff were involved in the 7 October attack against Israel, a heinous act of terrorism that the UK Government has repeatedly condemned. We are pausing any future funding of UNRWA whilst we review these concerning allegations. The US, Germany, Australia, Italy, Canada, Finland, Switzerland and the Netherlands have also all temporarily paused funding.<\/p>
We remain committed to getting humanitarian aid to the people in Gaza who desperately need it, including through other UN agencies such as the UN World Food Programme, and UNICEF. We engage regularly with our international and UN partners, including UNRWA, on a wide range of issues relating to the humanitarian situation and the delivery of aid to Gaza.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/1211", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Mr Andrew Mitchell"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Sutton Coldfield"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Mr Andrew Mitchell"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2024-02-19", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2024-02-19T10:09:24.51Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "208"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2024-02-06", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "UNRWA: Finance"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what discussions he held with (a) his international counterparts and (b) United Nations organisations before deciding to pause funding to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/3930", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Caroline Lucas"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Brighton, Pavilion"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Caroline Lucas"} ], "uin" : "13322"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1654876", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Business and Trade"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1654876/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
Kinship carers can already benefit from many workplace entitlements designed to help parents and carers combine work with childcare. These include unpaid parental leave, emergency time off for dependents and the right to request flexible working.<\/p>
<\/p>
In our government response to the Independent Review of Children\u2019s Social Care, we committed to explore the introduction of additional workplace entitlements for kinship carers. Since then, work has been underway across government to better understand how government can support kinship carers to balance work and childcare. The Department for Education is committed to publishing a national kinship strategy by the end of 2023.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4474", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Kevin Hollinrake"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Thirsk and Malton"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Kevin Hollinrake"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2023-09-05", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2023-09-05T08:19:38.377Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "214"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Business and Trade"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Business and Trade"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2023-07-20", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Carers: Leave"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will make it her policy to introduce paid leave for kinship carers.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/3930", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Caroline Lucas"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Brighton, Pavilion"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Caroline Lucas"} ], "uin" : "195356"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1609221", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1609221/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
'Ecocide' is not a crime recognised under the International Criminal Court's Rome Statute. While there are currently no UK plans to propose an amendment to the Rome Statute to include 'ecocide', Article 8 of the Rome Statute does provide protections to the natural environment in armed conflict: it designates intentional attacks that knowingly cause widespread, long-term, and severe damage to the natural environment as a war crime.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4531", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Anne-Marie Trevelyan"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Berwick-upon-Tweed"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Anne-Marie Trevelyan"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2023-04-18", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2023-04-18T09:11:57.567Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "208"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2023-03-30", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Ophthalmic Services"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make it his policy to work with other parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court to propose an amendment to make ecocide a crime under that statute.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/3930", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Caroline Lucas"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Brighton, Pavilion"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Caroline Lucas"} ], "uin" : "177706"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1583423", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1583423/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
Emissions of key pollutants have fallen significantly since 2010, with nitrogen dioxide down by 44%, sulphur dioxide down by 70% and fine particulate matter (PM2.5<\/sub>) down 18%. But there is more to do.<\/p> <\/p> The UK has a proud history of global leadership on air quality, from co-founding the UNECE Convention on Long Range Transboundary Air Pollution in 1979, to co-chairing the new Forum for International Co-operation on Air Pollution. We have used these fora to drive reductions in global transboundary air pollution, and to share our science and policy expertise.<\/p> <\/p> Domestically we are taking world-leading action on air quality, including by:<\/p> <\/p> - being the first G7 country to announce it will phase out the sale of all new petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2030, and that from 2035, all new cars and vans must be zero emissions at the tailpipe. The Government has already spent over £2 billion to support the transition to zero emission vehicles.<\/p> - setting an innovative population exposure reduction target under the Environment Act 2021, which will, on average, reduce people\u2019s exposure to PM2.5 by over a third by 2040 compared to 2018, supported by an expansion of the national monitoring network to add over 100 new PM2.5 monitors across England by the end of 2027;<\/p> - speeding up the deployment of clean and renewable technologies such as solar and wind \u2013 where the UK is already a world leader in offshore generation. The transition towards these forms of energy generation will have significant air quality co-benefits.<\/p> - continuing to deliver the measures set out in our Clean Air Strategy. We have built on these measures in our recently published Environmental Improvement Plan.<\/p>"}
, "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4522", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Rebecca Pow"}
}
, "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Taunton Deane"}
, "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Rebecca Pow"}
, "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2023-02-09", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2023-02-09T12:23:00.107Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
]}
, "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "13"}
, "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Environment, Food and Rural Affairs"}
, "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Environment, Food and Rural Affairs"}
, "date" : {"_value" : "2023-02-02", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Air Pollution: Pollution Control"}
, "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"}
, "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"}
}
], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to Answer to the Question from the hon. Member for Brighton, Pavilion at Prime Minister's Questions on 1 February 2023, Official Report, column 338, on what evidential basis he stated that the measures the Government is putting in place to improve air quality are world leading.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/3930", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Caroline Lucas"}
}
, "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Brighton, Pavilion"}
, "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Caroline Lucas"}
], "uin" : "138312"}
, {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1525017", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs"}
], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1525017/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : " In October 2021 we published our Net Zero Strategy, including indicative sector pathways to meet net zero targets, including for the agriculture, forestry and other land use sector. As published in January 2022, we anticipate the collective actions of farmers under our environmental land management scheme agreements, together with our other farming offers such as the Farming Investment Fund, will decarbonise agricultural emissions by a total of up to 6 MtCO2e p.a. in Carbon Budget 6 (2033-37) in England.<\/p> <\/p> We are designing the environmental land management schemes so that farmers will be paid to deliver climate change mitigation alongside other public goods.<\/p>"}
, "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4055", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Sir Mark Spencer"}
}
, "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Sherwood"}
, "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Mark Spencer"}
, "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2022-10-31", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2022-10-31T16:14:19.833Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
]}
, "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "13"}
, "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Environment, Food and Rural Affairs"}
, "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Environment, Food and Rural Affairs"}
, "date" : {"_value" : "2022-10-21", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Environmental Land Management Schemes: Greenhouse Gas Emissions"}
, "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"}
, "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"}
}
], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the scope for Environmental Land Management schemes to contribute to reducing the emissions from the agriculture and land use sector by at least two thirds as outlined in the Government's net zero strategy.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/3930", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Caroline Lucas"}
}
, "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Brighton, Pavilion"}
, "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Caroline Lucas"}
], "uin" : "68522"}
, {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1506746", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Treasury"}
], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1506746/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : " The Plastic Packaging Tax was introduced on 1 April 2022 to tackle the pressing global issue of plastic waste. The tax applies to importers and manufacturers of plastic packaging and provides an economic incentive to use more recycled plastic in packaging.<\/p> <\/p> If businesses that are liable for the tax choose to pass the cost down to consumers, the Government expects the impact of the tax on consumer prices to be small as plastic packaging typically makes up a very small amount of the total cost of goods.<\/p> <\/p>