Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent steps he is taking to protect the Yazidi community in and around Mount Sinjar from ISIS; and if he will make a statement.

The Ministry of Defence has not conducted any humanitarian aid drops in and around MountSinjar since the summer, although the coalition has done. UK and coalition airstrikes, in support of Iraqi security forces and the Kurdish Peshmerga, have continued to check and push back ISIL, helping to reduce the threat posed to the Yazidi community.

The Department for International Development is leading the UK's humanitarian response. The UK Government is delivering £39.5 million of aid to Iraq. This includes: support to over 200,000 people affected by the recent crisis, delivering essential winter supplies to 14,000 vulnerable displaced families, providing cash and voucher assistance to help 16,000 families buy warm winter clothing and ensuring 4,500 families are sheltered from winter conditions.