Syria
International Development

Richard Burden (Birmingham, Northfield, Labour)

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development with reference to his Department's press release Syria: New British medical aid and help for refugees, published on 19 April 2012, if he will make it his policy that the recipient agencies of the announced humanitarian aid should provide to him, by country, information on how and where that aid has been deployed; and if he will make a statement. [R]

Alan Duncan (Minister of State, International Development; Rutland and Melton, Conservative)

Humanitarian agencies are doing outstanding work delivering food, medical supplies and other assistance both to people affected by the violence within Syria and to refugee populations in neighbouring countries. New British funding, announced on 19 April 2012, will contribute to providing safe and appropriate accommodation for over 1,900 people fleeing their homes as a result of the violence, food for 1,200 people, as well as water and sanitation for 800 people. UK funding will also enable the urgent provision of medical care for at least 25,000 people across Syria and additional medical support as needs arise.

Regular and effective monitoring is central to how DFID measures the performance of its aid programmes. DFID is engaging closely with all recipient agencies of the humanitarian aid, requesting and interrogating results information and assessing progress against intended outcomes. We are committed to making our aid fully transparent; however, in order to protect the operations of the humanitarian agencies working on the ground, DFID will not be disclosing specific details of where and how these organisations are delivering aid. Information on their performance will still be interrogated and monitored within the Department.