Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what contribution the UK has made to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian refugees in each of the last three years; what contribution the UK plans to make to that Agency for such work in each of the next three years; what the reasons are for changes in the level of those contributions; and if she will make a statement.

The UK is the third largest donor to UNRWA’s General Fund and we have provided additional funding to UNRWA’s emergency appeals. In 2012/13, our contributions totalled £43.8 million; in 2013/14, we provided £49.8 million, and in 2014/15 we contributed £53.4 million. Our average General Fund contribution was £33 million. In 2015/16, we are providing £30 million to the General Fund plus £8 million for the Syria emergency appeal and £2 million for UNRWA’s work in Gaza. We will continue to review our emergency funding and agree a new multi-year package of support for UNRWA in the months ahead. We will continue to support UNRWA pending a political solution for Palestinian refugees, but the Agency needs to take urgent steps to address its chronic deficit through reform.