My Rt. Hon. friend the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice Robert Buckland has responded to the letter from hon. Member for Enfield North, on behalf of the Prime Minister.

We are monitoring the situation in northern Syria very closely and the Secretary of State has been in touch with Sir Mark Lowcock, the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, and other UN officials. We have allocated £40 million this financial year for our NGO and UN partners operating in Northeast Syria. Our funding is focused on providing vital food, water, shelter and healthcare. We have been in close dialogue with our partners to ensure that they have the flexibility to utilise this funding to meet immediate needs arising from the current military action in the region. We are assured that they do, but we will work closely with other UK Departments to keep this under review, given the fluidity of the situation on the ground and the significant access constraints for humanitarian actors on the ground.

The situation in Northeast Syria remains very fluid, and we are continually adjusting our assessment of the current impact on the humanitarian situation in the region at this stage. Prior to the recent military action, there were already 1.65 million people in need of humanitarian assistance in the region. The UN reports at least 160,000 people have been displaced since the Turkish military action began, including at least 70,000 children. Critical civilian infrastructure, including schools and hospitals, has also been affected by the conflict. The ongoing military action on the ground is also impacting the humanitarian response. Many NGOs have already had to withdraw staff, and some have suspended activities altogether. This is very concerning, and we are in close discussion with our NGO partners and the UN.

The situation in Northeast Syria remains very fluid. As of 17 October, the UN estimates that at least 160,000 people have been displaced in Northeast Syria since Turkish military action began a week ago, including at least 70,000 children, and 42 civilian deaths.

The UN estimates that 160,000 civilians have been internally displaced in Northeast Syria due to Turkey’s recent military action. An estimated 1,500 people have crossed the border into Iraq which is already hosting 229,000 refugees. Those that have arrived in Iraq have been registered and assisted by the Kurdistan Regional Government and the UN Refugee Agency.

The Secretary of State has been in touch with Sir Mark Lowcock, the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, and the UK is closely monitoring potential humanitarian impacts on Iraq. There are currently resources in place to respond, but we stand ready to assist should there be a significant deterioration in the situation.

DFID officials are in daily contact with the UN, other Government departments, and other delivery partners regarding the emerging situation in Northeast Syria. I spoke with the UN Refugee Agency last week to discuss the situation on the ground and the Secretary of State has also been in touch with Sir Mark Lowcock, the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, and other UN officials.

Updated EU Settlement Scheme quarterly statistics to 30 September 2019 are planned for publication in November 2019.

The Home Office is committed to publishing more detailed quarterly statistics on the EU Settlement Scheme. Home Office statisticians are currently considering the content of the next quarterly release.

Updated EU Settlement Scheme quarterly statistics to 30 September 2019 are planned for publication in November 2019.

The Home Office is committed to publishing more detailed quarterly statistics on the EU Settlement Scheme. Home Office statisticians are currently considering the content of the next quarterly release.

The UK strongly condemns all forms of violence and incitement on both sides of the conflict. We continue to urge the Israeli and Palestinian leadership to avoid engaging in or encouraging any type of action and language that makes it more difficult to achieve a negotiated solution to the conflict.

We have an active dialogue with the Palestinian Authority (PA) on their commitment to adhere to the principle of non-violence and to tackle language and avoid actions that could incite violence or hatred, including an annual assessment of the terms of the Memorandum of Understanding that DFID holds with the PA. We have specifically raised our concerns over the naming of education institutions and will continue to do so.

For reasons of national security, it would not be appropriate to disclose figures on the number of Da’esh affiliated individuals in the UK.

Membership and support for a proscribed terrorist organisation is an offence under sections 11 and 12 of the terrorism act 2000. The police and security services work day and night to keep the public safe, they are currently managing nearly 800 live investigations of around 3,000 individuals.

For reasons of national security, it would not be appropriate to disclose figures on the number of Al Qaeda affiliated individuals in the UK.

Membership and support for a proscribed terrorist organisation is an offence under sections 11 and 12 of the terrorism act 2000. The police and security services work day and night to keep the public safe, they are currently managing nearly 800 live investigations of around 3,000 individuals.

The independent evaluation commissioned by the Palestinian Authority (PA) was completed by the Arab European Foundation. DFID is not the owner of the report. Ultimately it will be the decision of the Palestinian Authority whether to make the evaluation public.

The UK strongly condemns all forms of violence and incitement on both sides of the conflict. We continue to urge the Israeli and Palestinian leadership to avoid engaging in or encouraging any type of action and language that makes it more difficult to achieve a negotiated solution to the conflict.

We have an active dialogue with the Palestinian Authority (PA) on their commitment to adhere to the principle of non-violence and to tackle language and avoid actions that could incite violence or hatred, including an annual assessment of the terms of the Memorandum of Understanding that DFID holds with the PA.

The Government’s approach to this issue has not changed. Investigations into individuals who may be members or supporters of proscribed organisations are an operational matter for the police and intelligence agencies. The department does not collect data on specific numbers of Hizballah members or supporters in the UK.

Data on the number of dentists accepting new patients is not held centrally and dental practice closures is not held in the format requested.

Data on the number of dentists accepting new patients is not held centrally and dental practice closures is not held in the format requested.

DFID can confirm that the Palestinian Authority (PA) commissioned an independent evaluation of their pilot curriculum, and that this evaluation was completed in March 2019.

Given the seriousness with which the UK takes the allegations of incitement in the Palestinian pilot curriculum and textbooks we have taken the time needed to make sure that the independent review delivered will be rigorous, credible and can form the basis for discussions with the Palestinian Authority (PA) on this important issue. Securing the backing of the wider international community is central to this. We are pleased that after calls by the UK government for international action the European Union (EU) agreed to lead and co-fund the independent review. DFID has pressed hard to expedite this and had hope to make findings available to Parliament by September 2019, including by commissioning an inception report to form the basis of the independent review.

The EU are currently in contracting negotiations with a potential service partner. Following this negotiation DFID will provide an update to Parliamentarians on the timetable for the report. We recognise that publishing findings by September is now very unlikely, although we anticipate only a short delay. In the interim, we are continuing to raise our concerns about incitement in education, which I did personally at a meeting with the Palestinian Authority Education Minister in Ramallah in May 2019.

DFID has not reduced its funding to the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) health and education sectors for financial year 2019/20. While PA salaries have recently been reduced, our contribution still comprises only a proportion of the PA’s total health and education sector wage bill. UK aid to the PA’s health and education sectors is used exclusively to pay the salaries of vetted health and education public servants, including teachers, doctors and nurses, in the West Bank. The PA’s decision to make partial salary payments to public sector officials does not affect the robust financial safeguards that ensure UK financial aid reaches its intended beneficiaries.

The latest threat assessment on county lines was published by the National Crime Agency (NCA) in January 2019. This sets out that while criminal exploitation is the most common exploitation type within county lines, victims are sometimes subjected to sexual exploitation and these victims are largely female. The assessment also points out the likelihood that females are underrepresented as both victims and perpetrators of county lines criminality.

Work is ongoing to protect those who are exploited and target county lines offenders. The Home Office has provided £3.6m to establish the National County Lines Coordination Centre (NCLCC) to enhance our cross border intelligence and activity on county lines and to better safeguard and protect victims of county lines. NCLCC has so far carried out three separate weeks of operational intensification leading to over 1600 arrests and over 2100 individuals engaged with for safeguarding.

In addition, the Government provides a range of support for county lines victims including; funding Young People’s Advocates in Birmingham, Manchester and London to work directly with gang-affected women and girls, especially if they have been victims, or are at risk, of sexual violence by gangs including county lines; funding through the Trusted Relationships fund of £13 million over two years to help foster relationships between frontline professionals and young people at risk of exploitation including county lines; and we have provided funding through the £22m Early Intervention Youth Fund over two years for six projects which will specifically address those at risk of involvement in county lines and criminal exploitation.