Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 13 June 2016 to Question 40083, what recent assessment her Department made of the feasibility of air drops of humanitarian aid in Syria.

My department’s assessment is that aid delivered by road, by trusted humanitarian partners who can ensure it gets to those who need it most, remains the best way of getting help to affected populations. The use of air drops to deliver aid is high risk and should only be considered as a last resort when all other means have failed, and if it is an effective way of getting humanitarian supplies to people. Air drops require certain conditions to be met for successful delivery that are difficult to meet in most of Syria; ideally including clear drop zones, safe air space and access for the intended recipients, and co-ordination with authorities on the ground to oversee distribution.

We therefore continue to deliver the majority of our supplies by road, although our partners have made occasional air-drops in the past.