Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to provide immediate humanitarian assistance to the people of Darfur by securing a safe passage of aid from Port Sudan to the affected areas, including food, water, shelter, medicine and other essential supplies.

We recognise the extremely fragile security situation across Darfur even prior to 15 April, and it is clear that this has only worsened since the outbreak of hostilities. The UK's priority is to secure workable humanitarian access, including operational security assurances for humanitarian agencies to help the most at-need and provide life-saving aid. The Minister for Development and Africa announced £21.7 million in May to assist Sudan. The UK is pursuing all diplomatic levers, working notably with the UN, the Quad (Saudi Arabia, UAE, UK and US) and a new African Union-led Core Group, to secure safe access, including from Port Sudan, to affected areas.