Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the additional (a) internally displaced population and (b) need for humanitarian assistance that would be generated in the event that Marib city were taken by the Houthi rebels in Yemen.

The current Houthi offensive in Marib is worsening the humanitarian crisis and increasing levels of need. Humanitarian agencies have recorded over 60,000 displaced in Marib since September 2021 and a total of more than 200,000 have been displaced around Marib since January 2020. Our partners the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and World Food Programme (WFP) are currently responding in Marib. We are also working with the UN to ensure adequate presence on the ground and updated contingency planning for all potential scenarios. In 2021, the UK contributed £63.5 million to the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), which has provided $40 million to UN agencies for Marib. This is in addition to £87 million in aid that the UK is spending in Yemen for this financial year.

A negotiated political settlement is the only way to bring long-term stability to Yemen. On 10 January, I [Minister Cleverly] hosted UN Special Envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, in London and reiterated UK support for UN led peace efforts to drive forward the political process in Yemen. We urge the parties to engage constructively in negotiations to end the conflict and alleviate the dire humanitarian crisis.