Tulip Siddiq – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2015-12-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to paragraph 19 of the Prime Minister’s written response to the Foreign Affairs Committee’s report on British military operations in Syria published on 26 November 2015, what the evidential basis is for the statement that within Syria local councils and emerging local governance structures (a) have become stronger and (b) deliver basic services to a population of over 1.1 million people.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

The UK, through the Conflict, Security and Stability Fund, is supporting local councils and emerging local governance structures in 28 communities across Syria. These communities contain a population of 1.1 million people. Our support means that local councils have the assistance they need to deliver essential services, including health, education and utilities, in a way that they were not able to previously. This also includes specific support for building good governance practices. This is confirmed by our project partners who operate in Syria.