Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what contingency planning her Department has undertaken to support Iraqi Kurds in the event of a vote for independence in the forthcoming referendum.

The UK Government’s position on the referendum is clear. Unilateral moves towards independence would not be in the interests of the people of Kurdistan Region, of the rest of Iraq or of wider regional stability. Any referendum or political process towards independence must be agreed with the Government of Iraq in Baghdad. We support a stable, democratic and unified Iraq, one that is able to provide the security, jobs, healthcare and education all Iraqis want and deserve. Ministers and officials are in continuing discussions with both the Government of Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government, urging both parties to engage in dialogue to deliver a better future for their people on the basis of the Iraqi Constitution. The Department for International Development has provided £209.5 million in life-saving humanitarian aid to Iraq since June 2014, which has helped to support internally displaced people across Iraq, including those hosted in the Kurdistan region. DFID is working alongside other Government departments to assess the impact of the referendum on our priorities in Iraq.