Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking to help support the inclusion of Syrian youth and women in post-conflict reconstruction and decision-making processes including funding for locally-led initiatives and civic empowerment programmes.

The UK has long recognised the importance of education for Syria's long-term resilience, stability and prosperity. Since 2022, the UK's Syria Education Programme has trained over 15,000 school staff and provided foundational literacy and numeracy materials to primary school children in Idlib and Aleppo. In the past year, the UK has funded the rehabilitation of 90 schools in Idlib and Aleppo and provided £2.5 million to UNICEF for school rehabilitation across the country.

The UK also places the inclusion of women and girls at the centre of its approach to Syria's recovery. Syria is a priority country under the UK's National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security and we are supporting agricultural livelihoods, vocational training and entrepreneurship opportunities with a focus on young people, female-headed households and conflict‑affected communities in economically marginalised regions.

The UK's Global Mine Action Programme is supporting mine clearance and livelihoods programming in North East Syria and our Syria Education Programme provides safety information to children in Idlib and Aleppo, promoting safe behaviours and encouraging the reporting of suspicious or hazardous objects.