Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that aid to Yemen reaches those people who need it most; and if she will make a statement.

The UK is deeply concerned about the humanitarian situation in Yemen. This is why we have increased UK aid to Yemen to £155 million for 2017-18, and have stepped up our work with UN agencies and other partner organisations to make sure that our aid is delivered to people in dire need. We regularly monitor and review our programmes and use independent experts to monitor and verify that food and supplies reach those in need.

As pen-holder on Yemen at the UN Security Council, the UK proposed and coordinated a Presidential Statement earlier this year, calling for all parties to recognise the importance of unhindered humanitarian access. The UK is also funding the UN’s Verification and Inspection Mechanism with £1.3 million in 2017-18 to ensure the unimpeded flow of commercial and humanitarian shipments into Yemen, as well as the UN’s Humanitarian Air Service with £1 million this year to support regular humanitarian flights into Yemen.