Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her Department's policies of the findings of the 5th November report by the Office of the Inspector General at the United States Department of Defense concerning the diversion of USAID funding for humanitarian assistance in Syria to support the activities of the Ha’yat Tahrir Al-Sham militia.

hile we acknowledge that working in fragile and conflict-affected countries carries risks, DFID has robust and extensive controls in place to ensure that tax payers’ funds are used appropriately and effectively; that UK aid reaches those who need it and that it does not benefit extremist groups, such as Ha’yat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS). DFID does not provide funding unless our NGO and UN partners can assure us that it will not benefit extremist groups, and we will withdraw support if there is reason to believe UK tax payer’s money may be at risk. We remain at the forefront of the humanitarian response to the Syria crisis, and maintain close communication with the US, the UN and other donors to support international efforts in Syria.

As with other DFID programmes, our work in Syria remains under constant review and scrutiny, both through internal and independent processes, including by the National Audit Office and Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI), which last audited DFID’s Syria humanitarian programmes in May 2018.