Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support Syrian refugees during the covid-19 pandemic.

The UK has provided over £1.73 billion since 2011 to help neighbouring countries host Syrian refugees, and we continue to support host governments to assist Syrian refugees during the pandemic. This support includes our commitment at the Brussels Syria Conference to provide at least £300 million to the Syria Crisis, helping vulnerable Syrians with education, healthcare, food and economic recovery.

In addition to existing UK funding to the most vulnerable in Lebanon, the UK has committed $2 million to provide medical equipment for the World Health Organisation, and support police and security forces to help implement the response to COVID-19 and keep communities safe. Additionally, following the Beirut port explosion, the UK provided a £25 million package of assistance. In Turkey, Syrian refugees are supported through the UK-funded Facility for Refugees in Turkey (FRIT). Despite the challenges of COVID-19, the FRIT has continued to support the 3.6 million Syrian refugees living in Turkey. Regular monthly stipends continued uninterrupted and were increased in value to 1.7 million of Turkey's most vulnerable refugees.

In Jordan, existing UK funding continues to support more than 479,000 refugees meet their basic requirements through the provision of cash-based assistance. The UK also provided an additional £2 million to meet the urgent needs of the most vulnerable and has helped the Government of Jordan to support the needs of vulnerable children including refugees recover and accelerate their learning following the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.