Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what measures being developed to support street children during the COVID-19 pandemic (1) the Department for International Development, and (2) the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, are aware of; what measures the Government are implementing in the UK; and what steps they are taking to involve specialist expert organisations in the development of such measures.

The UK is committed to protecting the most vulnerable children in the world. We are working with international partners to ensure that child protection is integrated into a comprehensive, multi-sectoral response to Covid-19 which supports the most marginalised and vulnerable groups around the world, often with limited or no state protection, including children who live and work on the streets. We provide significant support to protect children from violence in conflict and humanitarian crises and to reduce their risks of exploitation and neglect. We welcome the statement made by the Chairpersons of the 10 UN Treaty Bodies on 24 March calling for a human rights approach in fighting COVID-19 and in the subsequent guidance provided by other Treaty Bodies, such as the Committee on the Rights of the Child.

Providing financial support to UNICEF enables the UK to protect vulnerable children across the world who would be significantly affected by the spread of COVID-19, and through emergency grants to "Education Cannot Wait" we are supporting children in 16 Covid-19 hit countries. We are also working to ensure that existing UK programming is responsive to the challenge of supporting those in need during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Work on supporting street children in the UK does not come under the remit of the Department for International Development or the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.