Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-01-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 5 January 2016 to Question 20540, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of the distribution of Syria crisis response funds in (a) Lebanon and (b) Jordan; and if she will make a statement.

Mr Desmond Swayne

To date, the UK has allocated £304 million in Lebanon and £193 million in Jordan to support Syrian refugees and vulnerable host communities. This allocation has effectively delivered humanitarian and development support where needs are greatest and most unmet across both countries. For example, as of June 2015 in Jordan and Lebanon respectively, 1,684,800 and 2,032,500 food rations have been delivered providing food for one person for one month.

The effectiveness of the UK’s humanitarian response in Jordan and Lebanon is assessed regularly through progress reports from funded agencies monitoring their achievements against plans outlined in their funding agreements. Progress is followed up through regular discussions and periodic field monitoring visits to project sites by DFID staff based in our Embassies in Amman and Beirut and from our headquarters in the UK. In addition, projects are formally reviewed on an annual basis and in some cases we also commission independent evaluations.