Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to get (a) food and (b) fuel imports into Yemen during the ongoing humanitarian crisis.

The UK government continues to raise concerns with the Saudi led-Coalition about the potential impact of any assault on the port and city of Hodeidah and is in regular contact with the Coalition about the need to ensure that any further military operations do not disrupt commercial and humanitarian flows both through the port and onwards across the country. To date, Red Sea ports remain operational and continue to import most of the food and fuel on which Yemenis rely.

As we have consistently made clear, the Houthis must facilitate access throughout areas they control which is where most of the population live.

As part of our effort to secure vital access for food, fuel, and medicine into and throughout Yemen, the UK is also providing £1.3 million to the UN Verification and Inspection Mechanism to give the Saudi-led Coalition confidence that weapons are not coming in to Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen on large commercial ships.