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House of Lords Official Report Vol. 789 Wednesday No. 97 21 February 2018 PARLIAMENTARYDEBATES (HANSARD) HOUSE OF LORDS OFFICIAL REPORT ORDEROFBUSINESS Questions Gaza ...............................................................................................................................119 Small Businesses: Retention ...........................................................................................121 Local Neighbourhood Services ......................................................................................124 Cannabis-based Medication ...........................................................................................126 European Union (Withdrawal) Bill Committee (1st Day)......................................................................................................128 Volunteering Question for Short Debate...............................................................................................203 European Union (Withdrawal) Bill Committee (1st Day) (Continued) ................................................................................219 Lords wishing to be supplied with these Daily Reports should give notice to this effect to the Printed Paper Office. No proofs of Daily Reports are provided. Corrections for the bound volume which Lords wish to suggest to the report of their speeches should be clearly indicated in a copy of the Daily Report, which, with the column numbers concerned shown on the front cover, should be sent to the Editor of Debates, House of Lords, within 14 days of the date of the Daily Report. This issue of the Official Report is also available on the Internet at https://hansard.parliament.uk/lords/2018-02-21 The first time a Member speaks to a new piece of parliamentary business, the following abbreviations are used to show their party affiliation: Abbreviation Party/Group CB Cross Bench Con Conservative DUP Democratic Unionist Party GP Green Party Ind Lab Independent Labour Ind LD Independent Liberal Democrat Ind SD Independent Social Democrat Ind UU Independent Ulster Unionist Lab Labour LD Liberal Democrat LD Ind Liberal Democrat Independent Non-afl Non-affiliated PC Plaid Cymru UKIP UK Independence Party UUP Ulster Unionist Party No party affiliation is given for Members serving the House in a formal capacity, the Lords spiritual, Members on leave of absence or Members who are otherwise disqualified from sitting in the House. © Parliamentary Copyright House of Lords 2018, this publication may be reproduced under the terms of the Open Parliament licence, which is published at www.parliament.uk/site-information/copyright/. 119 Gaza [21 FEBRUARY 2018] Gaza 120 House of Lords Lord Bates: Our understanding is that of $125 million due to be paid to UNRWA in January, $65 million was Wednesday 21 February 2018 withheld. We have made the consequences of doing that very clear to our US friends. We have also made 3 pm clear our strong support for UNRWA. At the same time, the US rightly points out that it is responsible for Prayers—read by the Lord Bishop of Winchester. a significant proportion of UNRWA’s budget. Whereas the UK, France, Germany and Saudi Arabia contribute around $60 million to $70 million, the US contributes Gaza some $360 million. The US has said that it wants more countries that are expressing concern about Gaza to Question reach into their pockets and put money into the situation 3.07 pm as well. We continue to hope that the situation will be resolved very quickly, as we believe that the longer it Asked by Baroness Tonge goes on, the more damage it does to the people of Toask Her Majesty’sGovernment what assessment Gaza and the Palestinian refugees for whom UNRWA they have made of living conditions in Gaza. is responsible. The Minister of State, Department for International Baroness Warsi (Con): My Lords, is my noble friend Development (Lord Bates) (Con): My Lords, the UK is familiar with the case of Ahed Tamimi, the teenage very concerned about Gaza. We assess that around Palestinian girl currently in custody and subject to a 1.6 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance. trial behind closed doors? Have any representations Households are receiving only five to six hours of been made by Her Majesty’s Government in relation electricity per day, there is limited access to safe water to this detained teenager? Do they have any concerns and power shortages are impeding health provision. about reports that she may be subjected to sexual violence while in detention? Baroness Tonge (Non-Afl): My Lords, I am glad that the Minister has such an understanding of what is Lord Bates: Those are very serious concerns. We are going on in Gaza. Let me add that it is so good to see aware of the case. My noble friend will be aware, from him in his place. her former distinguished role in the Foreign Office, that representations have been made. They have certainly Noble Lords: Hear, hear! been made at a diplomatic level. I believe they have also been made at a ministerial level but I will correct Baroness Tonge: However, with all these things that that if it is not the case. We remain very concerned we hear are going on in Gaza, does the Minister agree about the situation and will be seeking its urgent that its people have now for 10 years been suffering resolution. cruel and degrading treatment, which amounts to the collective punishment of nearly 2 million people, more Baroness Sheehan (LD): What representations have than half of whom are children? How long must this been made to the Israeli Government about the go on? How long will it be before our Government 54 Palestinian patients who, according to the World take some action? Health Organization, died while awaiting permits to exit Gaza for medical treatment in 2017? Lord Bates: We are taking immediate action in the sense that we are providing humanitarian aid. The assistance that we are providing to UNRWA is helping Lord Bates: We continue to work through that, some 1.1 million of the 1.9 million people who are most importantly by trying to ease the effect of those there, but I have to say that the parties to the conflict restrictions. We are major funders of a body called the must be the parties to the solution. There is an opportunity UN Access Coordination Unit. We are trying to work here in Gaza for its people to recognise the state of through that body to ensure that the majority of Israel, to renounce violence and to accept the agreements people who need medical treatment get access to it in a that are there to allow the situation to normalise and timely manner. But we remain very concerned about progress, as has happened in the Palestinian Authority those reports. areas. It is a desperate situation and we call on all those people to put the children, the women and the Lord Green of Deddington (CB): My Lords— people of Gaza at the heart of their concerns. Lord Davies of Stamford (Lab): My Lords— Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab): My Lords, the Minister mentioned UNRWA. We know that at the end of last year the US threatened its funding of The Lord Privy Seal (Baroness Evans of Bowes Park) UNRWA, which does such vital work. The EU and (Con): My Lords, it is the turn of the Cross Benches. United Kingdom are the second and third biggest funders. What discussions have the UK Government Lord Green of Deddington: My Lords, as a former had with the US Government to ensure that they do chairman of Medical Aid for Palestinians, I entirely not follow through on the threat of withdrawing such endorse the remarks of the noble Baroness, Lady Tonge. significant funds from UNRWA? Do the Government realise the appalling effect of 121 Gaza [LORDS] Small Businesses: Retention 122 [LORD GREEN OF DEDDINGTON] Lord Aberdare (CB): My Lords, retentions as currently conditions in Gaza on Arab and Muslim opinion practised mean that not only do small construction throughout the world? Do they give sufficient priority, firms have to wait to be paid for work that they have effort and importance to tackling this abysmal situation? done, often for several years, but that when a client It has gone on for 10 or 20 years and it is appalling. company becomes insolvent they never get paid at all. Carillion alone held some £700 million of retentions, Lord Bates: I certainly echo the view that it is which its suppliers have now lost. Can the Minister absolutely appalling. The suffering in Gaza is a shame assure us that immediate steps will now be taken to on humanity. Of course, the question then is: what do protect small firms from the loss of funds they are you do about it and who can unlock this process? We owed—for example, by ring-fencing retention funds in believe that the parties to the conflict have to come secure trust accounts? Will he look at the 10-minute together and, in the interests of humanitarian need, rule Bill recently introduced in the other place by Peter resolve their differences. We believe that there is a Aldous MP, with widespread cross-party and industry possibility. We recognise that Israel has taken some support, as a possible approach to achieving this? steps down this road recently by easing some of the When will something happen after all the promises we restrictions on access to construction materials. There have had over the years? has been some movement in Cairo in Egypt—of course, Egypt blocks the border to the south as well—where Lord Henley: My Lords, I agree with some of the there have been some efforts at reconciliation between noble Lord’sanalysis about problems related to retention, Fatah and Hamas. All the elements are there. It is a practice that is common within the construction frustratingly close. To see so much suffering continuing industry but which has negative impacts. That is why is a tragedy. we had the consultation, as I think he knows. We obviously want to consider the results of that consultation Lord Grocott (Lab): My Lords, given that the and in doing so we will look, as he has suggested, at Government’s policy, and that of their predecessor, has Peter Aldous’s Bill and see whether it is appropriate for years rightly been to support a two-state solution, that we can take further steps.
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