Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the announcement on 17 February 2022 of a £100m three-year energy independence programme in Ukraine, how much of that funding has been disbursed as of 14 March 2022; what the timetable is for disbursement; when the programme is expected to commence; and whether that funding will be counted (a) as Official Development Assistance and (b) in addition to the 0.5 per cent of Gross National Income target for the relevant financial year(s).

The UK has now pledged £220 million of ODA (counted as part of the 0.5% Gross National Income) for humanitarian assistance to meet immediate humanitarian needs and support the international humanitarian response to the crisis in Ukraine and the region.

So far this financial year we have disbursed funding to humanitarian agencies in Ukraine; committed £25 million to the Disasters Emergency Committee Ukraine Appeal through the UK Aid match scheme, which has now raised over £150 million; and provided non-food items including medical supplies, to support immediate humanitarian needs. We have deployed a 13 person field team of humanitarian experts to the region to provide logistics advice and analysis of the evolving refugee situation and needs. This analysis will inform further humanitarian funding disbursements in this financial year and next.