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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-10-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether international relief and resettlement aid has reached Manbij in Syria; and if not, what plans they have to make this possible.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

DFID partners, working with the local council, have already provided relief to Manbij city in the form of repairs to water and electricity networks, as well the provision of safe water, hygiene kits and support for waste removal. Our international NGO partners are also assessing needs and planning to provide further assistance.

DFID supports the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Humanitarian Pooled Fund, which has allocated over $1 million for the prepositioning of humanitarian supplies for use in Manbij. These will be distributed as access into Manbij increases – it is currently hampered by the presence of unexploded ordnance.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-10-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the government of Lebanon has requested British air support for its frontier and other military forces; and if so, what their response was.

Earl Howe

No formal request for air support to the Lebanese Armed Forces has been received from the Government of Lebanon. However, should the UK Government receive such a request, it would be given due consideration, in consultation with the counter-Daesh Coalition.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-10-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they will ensure that the funds allocated for new housing are used promptly; what steps they are taking to ensure that the housing revenue account borrowing programme is fully used by local authorities and housing associations; and what assessment they have made of whether greater flexibility between allocations is now necessary.

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

There are a number of government programmes that support the delivery of new homes including the biggest affordable housing programme since the 1970s.

Government affordable housing programmes are bid-based. The Homes and Communities Agency manages programmes outside London, and the Greater London Authority in London. A programme is normally launched through a bid round with a publication of prospectus which sets out information required for bids, eligibility and assessment criteria and grant conditions. Providers can submit bids to the grant-giving body who assess bids based on the criteria set out in the prospectus, focusing on value for money and deliverability. This allows for flexibility between allocations because value for money can be assessed across products, tenures, geographies and the types of providers. The Homes and Communities Agency carries out quarterly contract reviews with each provider to ensure delivery is on track. Through this route we have delivered 193,000 affordable homes between 2011 and 2015, exceeding the target by 23,000.

The Government also regularly monitors the additional borrowing that local authority have been allocated under the Housing Revenue Account borrowing programme to ensure delivery of the provision of new affordable homes. We also consider applications from local authorities seeking flexibility in the profiling of their borrowing allocations across years. However, flexibility is not needed between authorities’ allocations as the programme, which was time limited, is now closed, and authorities are making good progress in using their allocations to deliver affordable homes.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-10-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the consequences to date of the reduction in the foreign aid budget to the Palestinian Authority between 2013 and 2016.

Lord Bates

The UK provided £88 million in financial assistance to the Palestinian Authority (PA) from 2013-2016. UK aid has supported the PA to deliver basic services and promote economic growth. The PA continues to face challenges to ensure fiscal stability. As the Development Secretary is new to her role, she is conducting a full examination of DFID’s work in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, including UK financial assistance to the PA.