Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to increase humanitarian aid to the Middle East.

The UK Government's future bilateral Official Development Assistance (ODA) funding strategy and country level allocations will be determined through the forthcoming Spending Review. Parliament will be informed of the bilateral country budget allocations in the normal way when the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) Annual Report and accounts are laid before Parliament. The Minister for the Middle East is determined that all allocations within the Middle East will support the Foreign Secretary's priorities to prevent conflict, support stability, and lift vulnerable people out of crisis. The UK continues to do all we can to address humanitarian need, ensuring we mobilise sufficient support to respond to crises. This financial year we are providing over 70 per cent of our bilateral aid budget for the Middle East and North Africa on humanitarian aid to support the most vulnerable across the Middle East, and most recently on 20 January The Minister for the Middle East announced a £5 million uplift in humanitarian aid to Yemen, supporting nearly 900,000 people to buy food and provide vital supplies for 700 health facilities. We continue to work closely with the UN and other partners to increase the amount of humanitarian aid going into Gaza, under the terms of the ceasefire agreement, and in Syria, following the fall of the Assad regime, to push for an immediate surge of humanitarian assistance.