Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment her Department has made of food security in Sri Lanka.

We are closely monitoring the economic situation in Sri Lanka, particularly as it relates to food insecurity. We will be working to support the UN and its agencies in their coordinated response based on the UN's recent joint Humanitarian Needs and Priorities (HNP) Plan, launched on 9 June. This has called for $47.2 million USD to provide life-saving assistance to 1.7 million people who are most at risk and need immediate support. The HNP Plan includes $13.94 million USD to support food security and $16.8 million USD to support agriculture and livelihoods.

The UK Government recognises the difficult economic situation and welcomes the start of in-depth discussions with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on reforms needed to bring the economy back to a sustainable path. The World Bank has announced over $400 million USD in assistance to provide economic as well as health sector support, with the UK being a major donor to the UN and World Bank.