Asked by: Kate Hollern (Labour - Blackburn)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent steps her Department has taken to support people in Yemen affected by the conflict in that country.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The UK continues to be at the forefront of the humanitarian response in Yemen, helping secure vital access for food, fuel and medicine to enter the country and consistently being one of the largest donors to the crisis. On 3 April 2018, the UK announced an additional £170 million in response to the humanitarian crisis in Yemen for this financial year (2018/2019). This funding will meet immediate food needs for 2.5 million Yemenis and will bring the total UK bilateral support to Yemen to over £570 million since 2015.
Most recently, on World Food Day (16 October), the UK announced a package of £96.5 million which will help UNICEF tackle malnutrition in Yemen over the coming three years. This package will screen 2.2 million children under the age of five for malnutrition and provide urgent treatment for 70,000 of the most vulnerable children.
Asked by: Kate Hollern (Labour - Blackburn)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much financial assistance her Department has allocated to (a) Gaza and the (b) Palestinian territories in 2018.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The financial allocation for each financial year is subject to change throughout the year, and the final expenditure in 2018/19 will be published in the 2018 Annual Report, which is expected to be published by July 2019. This is not disaggregated by Gaza and the West Bank. The UK supports stability and vulnerable Palestinian refugees through our financial assistance to the Palestinian Authority and UNRWA respectively. We are closely monitoring the situation in Gaza and the UK is supporting water and sanitation needs through £1.9 million support to UNICEF and £1.5 million to ICRC helping support patients in 11 hospitals in Gaza.
Asked by: Kate Hollern (Labour - Blackburn)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will take steps to address demolitions by Israel of Palestinian homes and other structures in the West Bank.
Answered by Desmond Swayne
The UK remains extremely concerned at the large increase in demolitions in the Occupied Palestinian Territories since the start of 2016, compared to the monthly average in 2015, and continues to raise this with the Israeli authorities. Demolitions and the evictions of Palestinians from their homes cause unnecessary suffering, are harmful to the peace process, and in all but the most exceptional of cases are contrary to international humanitarian law. The UK supports the Norwegian Refugee Council to provide legal aid to Palestinian communities that are at risk of displacement.