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1006959

	registered interest
	date	14/11/2018
	answering body	Department for International Development
	answering dept id	20
	answering dept short name	International Development
	answering dept sort name	International Development
	hansard heading	Syria: Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether funding from her Department has been used in financial years (a) 2016-17, (b) 2017-18 and (c) 2018-19 to support humanitarian assistance programmes in areas of Syria controlled by the Ha’yat Tahrir Al-Sham militia .
	tabling member constituency	Islington South and Finsbury
	tabling member printed	Emily Thornberry
	uin	191349
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/11/2018 answer text <p>The UK is at the forefront of the humanitarian response providing life-saving and life-changing support for millions of people across Syria, including those living in Northwest Syria where Ha’yat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) is present.</p><p>In 2016/17 and 2017/18, DFID spent £205 million and £152 million respectively on humanitarian projects in Syria. In 2017/18, over a third of this was delivered cross-border from Turkey, mostly to Idlib governate in Northwest Syria, where in 2017 we reached over 600,000 people in need. For 2018/19, DFID plans to spend £174 million for life-saving support in Syria.</p><p>While we acknowledge that working in fragile and conflict-affected countries carries risks, DFID has robust and extensive controls in place to ensure that tax payers’ money is used appropriately and effectively, that UK aid reaches those who need it most and that it does not benefit extremist groups such as HTS. Our programmes are delivered by trusted NGO and UN partners with proven expertise and track records. We do not provide funding unless these organisations can assure DFID that it will not benefit extremists. All our assistance is monitored robustly, and DFID will withdraw support if there is a reason to believe UK tax payer’s money may be at risk. For example, in September 2018, DFID took the precautionary measure to pause all cross-border assistance at Bab Al Hawa in Northwest Syria, while we investigated concern around whether HTS collected fees from trucks delivering humanitarian aid. Whilst this situation was swiftly resolved, it demonstrates the robust approach we take to these matters, and are working with other donors to mitigate the risks of a similar situation reoccurring in the future.</p><p>As with other DFID programmes, our work in Syria remains under subject to regular review and close scrutiny, both through internal and independent processes, including by the National Audit Office and the Independent Commission for Aid Impact, which last examined DFID’s Syria humanitarian programmes in May 2018.</p> answering member constituency North East Bedfordshire answering member printed Alistair Burt grouped question UIN 191350 question first answered 21/11/2018 15:49:41 answering member 1201 label Biography information for Alistair Burt
	tabling member	1536 label Biography information for Emily Thornberry

1006960

	registered interest
	date	14/11/2018
	answering body	Department for International Development
	answering dept id	20
	answering dept short name	International Development
	answering dept sort name	International Development
	hansard heading	Syria: Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will ask the National Audit Office to investigate whether funding from her Department has been diverted in financial years (a) 2016-17, (b) 2017-18 and (c) 2018-19 to support the activities of the Ha’yat Tahrir Al-Sham militia.
	tabling member constituency	Islington South and Finsbury
	tabling member printed	Emily Thornberry
	uin	191350
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/11/2018 answer text <p>The UK is at the forefront of the humanitarian response providing life-saving and life-changing support for millions of people across Syria, including those living in Northwest Syria where Ha’yat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) is present.</p><p>In 2016/17 and 2017/18, DFID spent £205 million and £152 million respectively on humanitarian projects in Syria. In 2017/18, over a third of this was delivered cross-border from Turkey, mostly to Idlib governate in Northwest Syria, where in 2017 we reached over 600,000 people in need. For 2018/19, DFID plans to spend £174 million for life-saving support in Syria.</p><p>While we acknowledge that working in fragile and conflict-affected countries carries risks, DFID has robust and extensive controls in place to ensure that tax payers’ money is used appropriately and effectively, that UK aid reaches those who need it most and that it does not benefit extremist groups such as HTS. Our programmes are delivered by trusted NGO and UN partners with proven expertise and track records. We do not provide funding unless these organisations can assure DFID that it will not benefit extremists. All our assistance is monitored robustly, and DFID will withdraw support if there is a reason to believe UK tax payer’s money may be at risk. For example, in September 2018, DFID took the precautionary measure to pause all cross-border assistance at Bab Al Hawa in Northwest Syria, while we investigated concern around whether HTS collected fees from trucks delivering humanitarian aid. Whilst this situation was swiftly resolved, it demonstrates the robust approach we take to these matters, and are working with other donors to mitigate the risks of a similar situation reoccurring in the future.</p><p>As with other DFID programmes, our work in Syria remains under subject to regular review and close scrutiny, both through internal and independent processes, including by the National Audit Office and the Independent Commission for Aid Impact, which last examined DFID’s Syria humanitarian programmes in May 2018.</p> answering member constituency North East Bedfordshire answering member printed Alistair Burt grouped question UIN 191349 question first answered 21/11/2018 15:49:41 answering member 1201 label Biography information for Alistair Burt
	tabling member	1536 label Biography information for Emily Thornberry

1010166

	registered interest
	date	19/11/2018
	answering body	Department for International Development
	answering dept id	20
	answering dept short name	International Development
	answering dept sort name	International Development
	hansard heading	Syria: Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her Department's policies of the findings of the 5th November report by the Office of the Inspector General at the United States Department of Defense concerning the diversion of USAID funding for humanitarian assistance in Syria to support the activities of the Ha’yat Tahrir Al-Sham militia.
	tabling member constituency	Islington South and Finsbury
	tabling member printed	Emily Thornberry
	uin	192766
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/11/2018 answer text <p>hile we acknowledge that working in fragile and conflict-affected countries carries risks, DFID has robust and extensive controls in place to ensure that tax payers’ funds are used appropriately and effectively; that UK aid reaches those who need it and that it does not benefit extremist groups, such as Ha’yat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS). DFID does not provide funding unless our NGO and UN partners can assure us that it will not benefit extremist groups, and we will withdraw support if there is reason to believe UK tax payer’s money may be at risk. We remain at the forefront of the humanitarian response to the Syria crisis, and maintain close communication with the US, the UN and other donors to support international efforts in Syria.</p><p> </p><p>As with other DFID programmes, our work in Syria remains under constant review and scrutiny, both through internal and independent processes, including by the National Audit Office and Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI), which last audited DFID’s Syria humanitarian programmes in May 2018.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency North East Bedfordshire answering member printed Alistair Burt question first answered 26/11/2018 14:21:13 answering member 1201 label Biography information for Alistair Burt
	tabling member	1536 label Biography information for Emily Thornberry