Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment she has made of the humanitarian situation in Aleppo.

DFID-funded UN and other humanitarian partners are assessing and responding to needs in east Aleppo city. Approximately 65,000 people stayed in east Aleppo or have returned since its capture by the Assad regime in December. Immediate needs include food, medicine, shelter and cold weather support, such as winter clothing and thermal blankets. West Aleppo city has seen much less conflict, but our humanitarian partners have increased their activities to provide the full range of relief to the 50,000 people displaced there from the east of the city. This is in addition to the existing estimated 350,000 displaced persons already in west Aleppo city.

Access to the main water supply remains intermittent in Aleppo due to a technical failure in Al Khafse water station, but repairs are being undertaken. In the meantime, DFID-funded partners have been trucking in water and installing water tanks.