Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps is his Department taking to encourage the Government of South Sudan to reduce the cost of a work permit for foreign humanitarian workers.

The UK frequently engages South Sudan’s leaders at the highest level to make clear that both bureaucratic and physical obstacles to the delivery of lifesaving aid must cease immediately. As a direct result of lobbying, the South Sudanese Ministry of Labour announced on 27 February that it intends to reduce work permit fees for foreign workers by 50 per cent. We are awaiting confirmation that this has been implemented. It is a positive step, but it does not go far enough. Fees of $2,000 per person are still unacceptably high. Alongside our international partners, we will continue to call for a return to fair and consistent permit fees.