Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department is taking steps to support access to education for children fleeing Gaza.

On 21 July, the former Foreign Secretary announced £20 million of support for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) to carry out essential services for Palestinian refugees in Syria, Lebanon and Jordan. This funding will provide emergency food, shelter and other support for over 2 million people, as well as support UNRWA's wider work across the region, enabling the Agency to restore some education services for hundreds of thousands of children and expand psychosocial support for traumatised families. The vital work of UNRWA in ensuring that Palestinians have access to education must also be protected in Gaza as well as the West Bank and East Jerusalem. We call on Israel to work urgently with international partners, including the UN, so there is no disruption to this vital work. UK support has meant that to date, at least 14,000 children have been given access to education materials and welfare support. We have provided £5.6 million to the Global Partnership for Education to support the educational needs of children and young people in Gaza and the West Bank. Our support to Education Cannot Wait is also supporting children's education via the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and other partners.