Asked by: Keith Vaz (Labour - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what estimate his Department has made of the extent of the fulfilment of pledges of humanitarian aid by British allies towards the Yemen Humanitarian Response plan.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The UN’s 2019 Yemen Humanitarian Response Plan is 69.5% funded so far this year.
We thank all donors who have provided funding, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait, who provided approximately $800 million between them in September.
We continue to encourage all donors to rapidly release their remaining pledges and consider providing further funding.
Asked by: Keith Vaz (Labour - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what estimate he has made of the operability of urban water and sanitation plants by each governorate in Yemen.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
According to the UN’s 2019 Humanitarian Needs Overview, only 22 per cent of rural and 46 per cent of urban populations are connected to partially functioning public water networks, and trucked water is mostly unregulated and expensive.
Where functioning public water and sanitation systems exist, coverage remains poor, with a majority of governorates and districts reportedly showing coverage below 60% of the populations they serve.
The international humanitarian response, including funding from the UK, ensures that sustained water delivery reaches an average of approximately 3.5 million people per month whilst sustained sanitation delivery reaches an average of approximately 1.7 million people per month.
Asked by: Keith Vaz (Labour - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what estimate he has made of the proportion of Yemeni Government workers by each Governorate in receipt of salary payments; and what the regularity of those payments is.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The UK does not collect comprehensive information on the number of Government of Yemen workers receiving salary payments.
However, we welcome reports of the Government of Yemen making recent progress towards paying public-sector salaries across more of the country, including in Hodeidah governorate and other Houthi-controlled areas.
The UK continues to encourage the Government of Yemen to resume the full and regular payment of public-sector salaries in all areas of the country.
Asked by: Keith Vaz (Labour - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what estimate he has made of the (a) monetary value and (b) tonnage of commercial imports of (i) food, (ii) fuel, (iii) medical supplies and (iv) essential materials awaiting transshipment using letters of credit issued by the Government of Yemen.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
As of 29 September, according to data from the UN Verification Inspection Mechanism (UNVIM), ten vessels carrying cargos of fuel were awaiting to berth at Hodeidah port.
These vessels were carrying a total estimated volume of over 212,000 Metric Tonnes of fuel – the equivalent of approximately a month’s average fuel imports through Hodeidah port. We cannot estimate the value of this fuel as the overall value depends on the individual commercial arrangements made in each case.
As of 29 September, no issues were reported by UNVIM on vessels carrying food, medical supplies and other cargo.
Asked by: Keith Vaz (Labour - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what support his Department is providing to the World Food Programme to resume distribution of humanitarian aid in Sana’a.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The World Food Programme (WFP) resumed their distribution of food aid in Sana’a city on Wednesday 21 August, following an agreement with the Houthis on the introduction of biometric registration of beneficiaries and an end to Houthi aid interference.
The UK has worked closely with WFP throughout this year to ensure that food aid can continue to reach those who need it most.
Most recently, on Friday 9 August, the International Development Secretary met with David Beasley, WFP’s Executive Director, where they discussed progress towards the resumption of food deliveries to Sana’a city.
The UK actively calls on the Houthis to stand by their commitments to WFP to allow the biometric registration of beneficiaries so that millions of vulnerable Yemenis can continue to be reached with life-saving aid.
Asked by: Keith Vaz (Labour - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps is he taking to prevent the interruption of road-borne humanitarian aid reaching areas in need in Yemen.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The UK remains extremely concerned by constrained humanitarian access within Yemen, including road blockages such as the ongoing closure of the direct Hodeidah to Sana’a road and recent insecurity causing disruption to Aden to Sana’a routes.
We regularly raise obstructions to humanitarian access with all parties, including at the highest levels. The UK also calls on all parties to comply with the UN Security Council Resolution 2451 and support the unhindered flow of humanitarian supplies across Yemen.
UK aid is also supporting the UN Verification and Inspection Mechanism (UNVIM), UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the UN Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) to improve humanitarian and commercial access across the country.
Asked by: Keith Vaz (Labour - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many aid trucks have been prevented from accessing areas in need of humanitarian assistance in Yemen since 2015.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The UK remains extremely concerned by constrained humanitarian access within Yemen. We do not hold comprehensive data on the exact number of aid trucks being prevented from accessing areas in need of humanitarian assistance, however the UN has reported that four million Yemenis in need of humanitarian assistance were affected by the interruption of services or delays in delivery in April and May this year.
Administrative restrictions imposed on humanitarian agencies by both parties remain a principal driver of access constraints. This includes recent delays enforced by Houthi authorities on aid trucks at the border between Government of Yemen and Houthi controlled areas.
We regularly raise obstructions to humanitarian access with all parties, including at the highest levels. The UK also calls on all parties to comply with the UN Security Council Resolution 2451 and support the unhindered flow of humanitarian supplies across Yemen.
Asked by: Keith Vaz (Labour - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what estimate he has made of the number of aid workers operating on (a) on UK funded and (b) non-UK funded missions in Yemen.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
DFID does not collect or verify data on the number of international aid workers in each country.
However, in line with the current ceiling on international UN Country Team workers (set by UN Department of Safety and Security), we understand that the number of UN international aid workers currently in Yemen is around 250.
Asked by: Keith Vaz (Labour - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what estimate he has made of the cost to his Department of demurrage and related operational expenses in Yemen since 2015.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
Administrative costs, including demurrage and related operational costs - as well as rent, travel, asset purchase and maintenance and other similar costs - are set at individually agreed rates with our partners so that they have the means to deliver life-saving aid across Yemen.
These individually agreed administrative costs ranged between £2,678 (3.11% of overall partner spend) and £4,789,341(15.96% of overall partner spend) for each of our partners last financial year (2018/19).
Asked by: Keith Vaz (Labour - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what proportion of food consumed in Yemen has been imported in each year since 2015.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
Yemen relies on imports to meet 90% of its basic needs like food and fuel. Before the conflict, an estimated 80% of these imports entered Yemen through the critical Red Sea ports of Hodeidah and Saleef.
We are unable to provide a more direct response given the difficulty of obtaining specific data from Yemen.
We welcome the redeployment of Houthi forces away from these ports. It is vital that imports continue to flow into Hodeidah and Saleef and that vital onward supply routes remain open; both sides must facilitate the unhindered flow of essential supplies throughout the country.