Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will urgently increase funding for (a) child protection and (b) mental health and psychosocial support as part of her Department's humanitarian and development assistance to Gaza.

I [Minister Milling] met with UNRWA staff during my visit to the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs) on 23 June where I heard first-hand about the vital work the agency undertakes to provide core services to Palestinian refugees. In 2021, the UK provided £2 million to UNICEF to help them provide child-sensitive grants to vulnerable households in Gaza reaching 4,311 boys and girls. This support enabled families to meet the essential needs of their children, with the majority of the support spent on food, education, and healthcare. Through our annual support to UNRWA, the UK supports their Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) interventions, especially for children, which included summer school activities targeting 98,595 children (52,236 girls and 46,359 boys) in Gaza in 2021.