Speeches

Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-05-23.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what priority they are giving to ensuring that children of school age, who are refugees, displaced or migrants, receive continuous education regardless of their location; and whether they will discuss this issue, and the needs of refugee children not in school, at the World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul.

Baroness Verma

The UK is committing to providing long-term support for education in emergencies and crises, including education to refugees and internally displaced children. A key example is the Syria region. Through the No Lost Generation Initiative, we’ve announced a further £240m for education in Jordan and Lebanon over the next four years, on top of the £115 million already provided to give every child in the region access to education. The recent London Syria conference has resulted in international pledges to get every refugee and vulnerable child in the host countries bordering Syria, into quality education by the end of the next academic year. These commitments were re-emphasised at the World Humanitarian Summit through an event on No Lost Generation: Empowering Youth Affected by the Syria Crisis.

In addition, the UK has been a leading force behind Education Cannot Wait – a new fund for education in emergencies, which was launched at the World Humanitarian Summit. A key focus for the fund will be on ensuring that all children and young people are able to access a quality education including refugees and internally displaced children. The International Development Secretary announced a £30 million UK commitment to the fund, as a founding donor to this important initiative.