Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what proportion of UK aid to Yemen has been spent on imports of food in each year since 2015.

The World Food Programme (WFP) is playing a vital role in Yemen, delivering food aid to millions of those in need across the country. We are providing WFP with £35 million in support this financial year (2019/20) and provided £35 million last financial year (2018/19). This support has been used exclusively to provide cash and vouchers to vulnerable people to buy food in local markets, and as such 0% of UK Aid has been spent on food imports over the 2018/19 and 2019/20 financial years.

In the 2017/18 financial year, the UK spent £65 million on imported food, vouchers and nutritional assistance through WFP, approximately 32% of our overall funding over the period.

Over the financial years 2015/16 and 2016/17, the UK spent £10 million on imported food through WFP, approximately 5% of our overall funding over the period.