Asked by: Lord Roberts of Llandudno (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much aid the UK has given to Greece to help accommodate and care for refugees from Syria.
Answered by Lord Bates
DFID has provided £27 million in humanitarian assistance to help tackle the refugee and migrant crisis in Greece since October 2015. This has provided life-saving assistance, according to need, to refugees and migrants from Syria and other countries. The support includes accommodation, food, water and hygiene kits.
Asked by: Lord Roberts of Llandudno (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much funding is given annually by the UK to assist refugee projects in the Middle East.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
The Department for International Development is providing support to refugees in a number of countries in the Middle East including in Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Yemen and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. In financial year 2015/16 our support totalled more than £204 million.
Asked by: Lord Roberts of Llandudno (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what aid has been given to Greece to assist that country in supporting migrants and refugees.
Answered by Baroness Verma
Since the start of the Mediterranean migration crisis, the Department for International Development has provided £55 million in response, including over £19 million in Greece. Assistance through the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and non-governmental organisations has provided life-saving aid to migrants and refugees to support reception, protection, accommodation, and meet basic needs. We are monitoring the situation closely. We stand ready to meet additional priority needs and are sending a team to Greece to assess the situation.
Asked by: Lord Roberts of Llandudno (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what support they give to voluntary organisations engaged in the refugee crisis.
Answered by Earl of Courtown - Captain of the Queen's Bodyguard of the Yeomen of the Guard (HM Household) (Deputy Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The UK has pledged over £1.1 billion to date to help alleviate the Syria Crisis, our largest ever humanitarian response. The UK is supporting a range of implementing partners working in Syria and neighbouring countries, including United Nations agencies, international Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), the Red Cross/Crescent and other international organisations.
In relation to the Mediterranean migration crisis, the UK is supporting host government capacity and organisations such as the Red Cross, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the United Nations Children’s fund (UNICEF), the International Organisation for Migration, and NGOs to provide basic care, assistance, protection, and informationto vulnerable people.
Asked by: Lord Roberts of Llandudno (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will consider using airdrops to carry food to relieve the hunger of Syrian communities.
Answered by Earl of Courtown - Captain of the Queen's Bodyguard of the Yeomen of the Guard (HM Household) (Deputy Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The UK has pledged over £1.1 billion in response to the crisis in Syria and the region, making us the second largest bilateral donor after the US. By the end of June 2015, UK support inside Syria and in the surrounding region had, for example, delivered almost 20 million food rations that feed one person for a month; over 2.5 million medical consultations; and relief items for 4.6 million people. We have provided ongoing support to the UN and international NGOs (INGOs) since the start of the conflict to deliver aid in hard to reach and besieged areas of Syria.
The UK will consider any option compliant with international law that might save lives in Syria. We rule nothing out. However, the use of air drops is high risk and should only be considered as a last resort when all other means have failed.
Attempting air drops without the consent of the parties to the conflict may risk undermining ongoing negotiations on humanitarian access to the 4.5 million people in hard to reach areas across Syria. Even in uncontested space air drops poise significant challenges. There is a requirement to identify clear drop zones, ensure safe access for the intended recipients and to co-ordinate with authorities on the ground. Instead, the UN, the Red Cross Movement and NGO partners are best placed to deliver aid to vulnerable people in besieged and hard to reach areas.
The desperate situation in besieged and hard to reach areas shows why we need the international community to come together at the London Conference for Syria and the Region on 4 February to support immediate needs and identify longer-term solutions to address the needs of those affected by the crisis.
Asked by: Lord Roberts of Llandudno (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to transport food supplies by air into the town of Madaya in Syria to alleviate severe food shortages.
Answered by Earl of Courtown - Captain of the Queen's Bodyguard of the Yeomen of the Guard (HM Household) (Deputy Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The UK has pledged over £1.1 billion in response to the crisis in Syria and the region, making us the second largest bilateral donor after the US. By the end of June 2015, UK support inside Syria and in the surrounding region had, for example, delivered almost 20 million food rations that feed one person for a month; over 2.5 million medical consultations; and relief items for 4.6 million people. The UK co-sponsored and lobbied hard for the passage of UN Security Council Resolutions 2165, 2191 and 2258 which call on the parties to allow rapid, safe and unhindered access for humanitarian aid to besieged and hard to reach places.
The UK will consider any option compliant with international law that might save lives in Syria. We rule nothing out. However, the use of air drops is high risk and should only be considered as a last resort when all other means have failed. Attempting air drops without the consent of the parties to the conflict may risk undermining negotiations on humanitarian access to the 4.5 million people in hard to reach areas across Syria. Even in uncontested space air drops poise significant challenges. There is a requirement to identify clear drop zones, ensure safe access for the intended recipients and to co-ordinate with authorities on the ground. Instead, the UN, the Red Cross Movement and NGO partners are best placed to deliver aid to vulnerable people in besieged and hard to reach areas.
The most effective way to provide assistance to people who are starving is for all parties to adhere to international humanitarian law and to provide sustained, permanent and safe humanitarian access to humanitarian agencies.
Asked by: Lord Roberts of Llandudno (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what emergency arrangements are in place to care for those who are affected by bombings in Syria.
Answered by Earl of Courtown - Captain of the Queen's Bodyguard of the Yeomen of the Guard (HM Household) (Deputy Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The UK has been at the forefront of the response to the crisis in Syria and the region. We have pledged over £1.1 billion, our largest ever response to a single humanitarian crisis. We are the second largest bilateral donor after the US.
We continue to closely monitor the humanitarian impact of airstrikes in Syria. DFID’s partners are activating their own contingency plans and have scaled up their interventions to meet the evolving needs of the population. We continue to call on all parties to the conflict to respect and uphold all provisions of International Humanitarian Law.
Asked by: Lord Roberts of Llandudno (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to co-ordinate the work of the various relief organisations in Syria.
Answered by Baroness Verma
Despite our best efforts, the UN appeals for Syria and the region remain critically underfunded. It is therefore critical that UN agencies use the most cost efficient and effective methods to deliver assistance to refugees in the region. The UK is at the forefront of efforts to ensure that this is the case and there have been substantial improvements in coordination – which saves lives – over the past year.
Asked by: Lord Roberts of Llandudno (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much financial support they have provided directly to refugee camps in the Middle East since the beginning of 2015.
Answered by Baroness Verma
The vast majority of Syrians who have fled Syria live amongst host communities. HMG’s response is therefore focused on refugees in these communities, not solely those living in formal and informal camps.
In financial year 2015/2016, DFID has allocated £151 million to support Syrian refugees and vulnerable host communities in the region, including £94 million in Lebanon, £47 million in Jordan and £10 million in Turkey. Spending in these countries in financial year 2014/2014 was £120 million, including £62 million in Lebanon, £48 million in Jordan and £10 million in Turkey.
Asked by: Lord Roberts of Llandudno (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government which organisations have received monies from the £1.12 billion that the UK has allocated to responding to the Syrian crisis since 2012, according to their 29 October Syria crisis response summary, and in what proportion.
Answered by Baroness Verma
As part of the Syria Crisis Response the UK is supporting a range of implementing partners working in Syria and neighbouring countries, including United Nations agencies, international Non-Governmental Organisations, the Red Cross and other international organisations. For security reasons, some of our INGO partners working in Syria remain undisclosed. The table attached provides details of the £1.12 billion allocated by the UK to date, broken down by implementing partner and country.