Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent assessment her Department has made of the potential humanitarian effect of a military assault on Hodeidah port in Yemen.

The UN assesses that an attack on Hodeidah could displace up to 350,000 people and leave hundreds of thousands of Yemenis without access to basic goods, water or healthcare, with any long-term closure of Hodeidah port likely to put over 3 million more people at risk of starvation. Already 8.4 million people face extreme food shortages.

The UK government has been clear in expressing its concerns to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates about any attack on Hodeidah. We urge all parties to the conflict to exercise restraint and to continue to facilitate access for essential commercial and humanitarian imports of food, fuel and medical supplies into the country, including through Hodeidah port.