House of Commons
Parliament

Jonathan Ashworth, shadow health secretary, raises a point of order at the end of Health questions.

He says Jeremy Hunt promised to place details of the funding settlement in the Commons library but this has not happened.

Mr Hunt says he will comply "forthwith".

House of Commons
Parliament

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Health questions move on to topical questions to the health secretary.

Barbara Keeley, shadow health minister, says many are living with unmet care needs after years of social care cuts.

Mr Hunt says there will be a new financial settlement and Labour should take responsibility for the financial crisis that made the cuts necessary.

Labour's Afzal Khan also brings up social care, saying the extra money announced for the NHS will be wasted if social care is not reformed soon.

Minister Caroline Dinenage says a green paper will be brought forward and spending on adult social care has gone up by 8% this year.

Select Committee
Parliament

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The minister says he hopes the UK can play a positive role in encouraging attempts at peace in the region, with the United States likely to do it alone.

He says the decision by Donald Trump to move the US embassy to Jerusalem hurt the Palestinian Authority considerably, and the United Kingdom understands why.

He emphasises hopes that the UK can work with European allies in particular in helping the peace process.

Responding to a suggestion by Stephen Twigg that it must be extremely difficult working with the US given their recent actions and approach, he says: "you may say that".

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MPs observe a minute's silence to remember those who died in a terror attack outside the Finsbury Park mosque in London a year ago.

House of Commons
Parliament

Several questions focus on social care, with many Labour MPs saying it has been neglected in yesterday's funding announcement.

The minister Caroline Dinenage says social care was a key part of the new strategy and is being prioritised.

She says the government is bringing social care and health together to reduce the pressures on both.

Select Committee
Parliament

The minister, Alistair Burt, says that when he visited Gaza the increased suffering caused by electricity supply shortage was clear, and that generators are widely used where possible to deal with this.

Following suggestions by the World Bank that the Occupied Palestinian Territories are among the best suited for solar panels, DfID is planning work on economic development in Gaza specifically exploring solar power.

House of Commons
Parliament

Labour's Liam Byrne raises the issue of health inequalities in Birmingham, where clinical outcomes are poorer than elsewhere.

The minister Jackie Doyle-Price says over 80% of the GPs in his constituency are rated good. She tells him to stop talking down the NHS.

Select Committee
Parliament

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Responding to a question from Lloyd Russell-Moyle on whether Israel should be contributing more towards improving the humanitarian situation in Gaza, as they are the occupying force, and whether the responsibility should fall on foreign actors such as the UK, the minister says the situation is complicated by Hamas' control of the region.

Long term, he says, he hopes the government does not need to continue to support the humanitarian effort.

Following cuts in US funding for the humanitarian effort, he says that whilst the UK can't afford to replace that lost, the government has moved funding forward.

He adds that they are also working with UNWRA (UN Relief and Work Agency) to improve processes.

"I've made it clear that we don't support the US position."

House of Commons
Parliament

The first order of business in the Commons is questions to Health and Social Care Secretary Jeremy Hunt and his team.

Labour's Ben Bradshaw asks whether a "dogmatic hard Brexit" is damaging the recruitment of clinic staff.

The minister Stephen Barclay says 3,200 EU staff have joined the NHS since the referendum.

House of Commons
Parliament

We're about to turn to the Commons, where Health and Social Care questions kick off the day.

After that, there's an urgent question on the Glasgow Art School fire, followed by a statement from Home Secretary Sajid Javid on drug licensing.

There are Opposition day debates - which are called by Labour - on the Transport Secretary Chris Grayling, and on a bill which deals with boundary changes.

Select Committee
Parliament

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Alistair Burt says the government has completed checks on weapons licensed for export to Israel following conflict in Gaza, but these checks do not include end use.

He says "we have no evidence of any breaches in licenses".

Labour MPs Lloyd Russell-Moyle and Richard Burden both push back, arguing the lack of checks for end use mean there is no way the government can be clear that weapons exported to Israel from the UK were not used in Gaza.

The minister says he will write to the committee on what information has reassured staff in his department that these weapons were not used in the territory.

Select Committee
Parliament

Responding to a question from Richard Burden, International Development Minister Alistair Burt says he does not know of any justification for the killing of health workers in Gaza by Israeli fire.

He says the scale and circumstances in Gaza are overwhelming, and that the government believes there needs to be an independent and transparent investigation into what happened.

He explains it is extremely difficult, however, partly due to Israel's unwillingness to submit to an investigation but also because it is difficult to hear a balanced view on Hamas from Palestinians in Gaza.

He says "I'm not aware of any response" from Israel to requests from various actors for the situation to be investigated.

Select Committee
Parliament

Jamie McGoldrick says there is "no humanitarian solution to the crisis in Gaza", with his agency's work in the area only funded to 18%.

He says progress in the reconciliation process is urgent, and that only a political solution is going to improve the situation.

Aimee Shalan of Medical Aid for Palestinians says the current situation means DFID spending is being focused on the emergency situation, which means far less on longer term development in the area.

A total of 97% of households in Gaza do not have access to clean drinking water, says Rachel Evers, which has been worsened by an increase in waterborne diseases.

Select Committee
Parliament

Rachel Evers says the UN Relief and Work Agency are currently running a deficit of £250m, with no indication of more funds from the United States (previously their largest donor) forthcoming.

President Donald Trump cut the US foreign aid budget considerably on becoming president.

Ms Evers thanks the UK government for its continued funding, but says she is seriously concerned about NGOs attempts to avoid "I'm not saying a humanitarian disaster, because I think we'd all agree we're already in that situation".

Home to 1.9 million people, Gaza is 41km (25 miles) long and 10km wide, an enclave bounded by the Mediterranean Sea, Israel and Egypt.

Originally occupied by Egypt, which retains control of Gaza's southern border, the territory was captured by Israel during the 1967 Middle East war. Israel withdrew its troops and around 7,000 settlers in 2005.

It is under the control of the Palestinian Authority, and between 2007 and 2014 was ruled by the militant Islamist group Hamas. They won Palestinian legislative elections in 2006 but then had a violent rift with the rival Fatah faction.

When Hamas took over in Gaza, Israel swiftly imposed a blockade on the territory, restricting the movement of goods and people in and out. Egypt meanwhile blockaded Gaza's southern border.

Hamas and Israel fought a brief conflict in 2014, with the Israelis attempting to end rocket fire from Gaza and the militants fighting to end their isolation.

Find out more about life in the Gaza strip.

Select Committee
Parliament

Restrictions on accessing the territory and what resources can be bought into Gaza are making the situation even more difficult, says Jamie McGoldrick.

Inconsistencies in what is allowed in has made rebuilding and developing the area extremely hard, with a lack of clarity of what appears on lists of materials permitted.

As a result, funds to rebuild after massive destruction following the conflict in 2014 are completely depleted, with very little completed.

Aimee Shalan says Medical Aid for Palestinians have also had issues bringing medical equipment into the region, with delays in bureaucratic decisions by Israel causing a number of deaths as a result of delayed access to treatment.

Select Committee
Parliament

The committee session opens with all three witnesses expressing concern at the humanitarian situation, with Aimee Shalan of Medical Aid for Palestinian suggesting morale and quality of life in the territory are "at an all time low", with "life a living death".

Recent conflict has exacerbated the situation, she adds, with the whole hospital system at risk of collapse if shooting continued.

About 1,200 patients in Gaza are awaiting treatment for open fractures caused by gun shot wounds, which require 12-18 months of outpatient care.

Jamie McGoldrick from the United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says the fuel situation exacerbates the crisis, with electricity rarely available for longer than a few hours a day.

Rachel Evers of the UN Relief and Work Agency says her organisation does not currently have the funds to deliver food to the region until the end of year, with the agency expecting some difficult decisions next months which could make the crisis seriously worse.