Asked by: Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh (Scottish National Party - Ochil and South Perthshire)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many Yemeni local and national non-governmental organisations received humanitarian aid from her Department in each of the last five years; and what proportion of her Department's overall aid for Yemen that represented in each of those years.
Answered by Rory Stewart
DFID has provided £85.5 million to the Yemen Humanitarian Pooled Fund (YHPF) over the last five years from the total DFID bilateral funding listed in the table below. In 2016, the YHPF provided £94.5 million of support to 7.8 million people, including food security, water and sanitation and health interventions. Approximately £13 million of this funding was delivered by local and national NGOs.
In addition, in 2017/18 we will provide £24 million to our Multi-Sector Humanitarian Response programme, approximately £1.5m of which will directly support local and national NGOs.
Financial Year | DFID bilateral programme outturn (in £s) |
2015/16 | 89.6 million |
2014/15 | 65.9 million |
2013/14 | 81.4 million |
2012/13 | 59.1 million |
Asked by: Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh (Scottish National Party - Ochil and South Perthshire)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many South Sudanese local and national non-governmental organisations received humanitarian aid from her Department; and what proportion of her Department's overall aid for South Sudan that represented in each of the last five years.
Answered by Lord Wharton of Yarm
DFID has provided over £70 million to the South Sudan Humanitarian Fund (SSHF) over the last 3 years from the total DFID bilateral funding listed in the table below. In 2016, the SSHF provided over £70 million to reach over 1.2m people with WASH, nutrition, health, and other lifesaving activities. Approximately £8 million of this funding was delivered through local and national NGOs.
In addition to our bilateral funding, targeted support is being provided through DFID’s centrally managed Disaster Emergency Preparedness Programme to deliver 3 projects supporting national and local NGOs in South Sudan to engage more effectively in humanitarian preparedness and response.
Financial Year | DFID bilateral programme outturn (in £s) |
2015/16 | 188.184m |
2014/15 | 158.013m |
2013/14 | 139.647m |
2012/13 | 108.516m |
Figures for financial year 2016/17 will be published in the DFID Annual Report and accounts due for publication in Summer 2017.
Asked by: Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh (Scottish National Party - Ochil and South Perthshire)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what technical assistance the Government has given the government of Yemen to help ensure that the Central Bank of Yemen remains fully operational while its headquarters is moved to Aden.
Answered by Rory Stewart
The UK is not providing direct technical assistance to the Central Bank of Yemen (CBY) in Aden. However, we are working closely with other donors to look at ways to support the CBY to continue to function, pay salaries across the country, and pay for essential food and fuel imports.
Asked by: Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh (Scottish National Party - Ochil and South Perthshire)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to support the UN's delivery of aid to affected areas of Syria.
Answered by Rory Stewart
The UK is at the forefront of the humanitarian response to the Syria crisis. We have committed £2.3 billion, of which £436 million supports UN agencies delivering aid inside Syria. We are using all our diplomatic tools to press the Syrian regime and its backers to allow the UN immediate and unhindered access to all those in need across Syria. As part of this, the UK co-sponsored and lobbied hard to secure UN Security Council Resolutions 2165, 2191, 2258 and 2332 which enable the UN and its partners to deliver aid across borders into Syria without the consent of the Syrian regime. Between July 2014 and December 2016, 467 aid convoys had reached people in dire need through these routes.
Asked by: Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh (Scottish National Party - Ochil and South Perthshire)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to improve access for aid organisations to deliver humanitarian assistance to affected areas in Yemen.
Answered by Rory Stewart
We continue to urge all parties to the conflict to take all reasonable steps to facilitate rapid and safe humanitarian access. DFID is supporting the UN Verification and Inspection Mechanism, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and the UN Humanitarian Air Service to improve access for vital commercial imports of food and for humanitarian aid.
Asked by: Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh (Scottish National Party - Ochil and South Perthshire)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what funding and other support her Department has given for UN agencies, non-governmental agencies and civil society to (a) identify children at risk of human rights violations in Yemen, (b) support the development and implementation of programmes to secure the release and rehabilitation of children associated with armed groups and (c) respond to other violations of children's rights in that country.
Answered by Desmond Swayne
The UK has more than doubled its humanitarian commitment to Yemen over the last year to £75 million for 2015/16. This includes funding for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and Save The Children to raise awareness of child rights, monitor and support displaced children, and provide food, nutrition, water and sanitation to children.
The UK continues to raise the importance of compliance with international law with all parties to the conflict, including urging against the recruitment and use of child soldiers. We are also supporting the UN’s efforts to achieve a ceasefire and end to the conflict.
Asked by: Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh (Scottish National Party - Ochil and South Perthshire)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to support the access of (a) all children in Yemen and (b) children displaced by the conflict in that country to high-quality education.
Answered by Desmond Swayne
UK humanitarian aid to Yemen is currently focused on urgent life-saving needs, in particular food, nutrition, health, water and sanitation. However, DFID has also supported education in Yemen through the Social Fund for Development (SFD). Since 2010, more than 240,000 children have attended schools supported by SFD. DFID support to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to rehabilitate two schools is also helping 3,500 refugee and Yemeni children to resume education.
Asked by: Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh (Scottish National Party - Ochil and South Perthshire)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department has taken with the UN and others to establish a regular, scheduled UN-facilitated cargo flight service into Yemen.
Answered by Desmond Swayne
DFID has provided £1 million to the UN Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) to establish a regular flight between Djibouti and Sana’a for the exclusive use of the humanitarian community. UNHAS has provided 88 flights since the crisis began, carrying 2,129 passengers and 8.6 metric tons of essential medical supplies. 14 UN agencies and 28 NGOs are now using the service. We are also working with UNHAS to establish other regular flight services to Yemen.
Asked by: Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh (Scottish National Party - Ochil and South Perthshire)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, when she next plans to meet the Minister for Europe and International Development in the Scottish Government.
Answered by Desmond Swayne
There are no arrangements in place at present. I will write to the Minister for Europe and International Development in the Scottish Government in due course.