Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the merits of developing a Marshall Plan to assist Syria’s neighbours in meeting the humanitarian needs of civilians displaced by the conflict in Syria.

To date, the UK has pledged over £1 billion in response to the humanitarian crisis in Syria and the region. The UK has allocated £519 million to support refugees in the region and vulnerable host communities to date, including £279 million in Lebanon and £183 million in Jordan. In Turkey, the UK has allocated £29 million for programmes supporting Syrian refugees including food, shelter and primary healthcare. The UK is also working in partnership with multiple Turkish institutions on targeted projects to build their capacity to tackle irregular migration.

We have been working intensively in recent weeks to lobby the EU and Member States to develop a substantial package of measures on migration and economic development between now and 2020. The UK has called for a €10 billion development–focused EU migration package focusing on upstream work in source and transit countries to address the lack of jobs and opportunities for those who rightly aspire to a better life. The UK government is working with partners right across Europe to ensure that, collectively, we are able to deliver a significant and comprehensive development response to this crisis.