Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what plans her Department has to (a) increase humanitarian aid and (b) provide development assistance for state building in Iraq; and if she will make a statement.

The Department for International Development is delivering £23 million in response to the crisis in Iraq. Our Advisors on the ground are working closely with aid agencies, the UN and the Kurdistan Regional Government to further assess humanitarian needs. The UK government is lobbying the UN and the Government of Iraq to meet the humanitarian needs of all Iraq’s citizens, to protect minorities and to improve the tracking and reporting of human rights abuses including crimes of sexual and gender based violence.

Jointly with the FCO we are looking at how UK expertise could support the new Iraqi government build a stable and prosperous country.