Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-05-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assistance her Department is providing to people affected by flooding in Sri Lanka.

Mr Desmond Swayne

The UK provides substantial funding to international NGOs and UN agencies, enabling them to respond to disasters around the world, including Sri Lanka. This includes the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) , which was established by the UN and other leading donors to enable rapid emergency response. The CERF is doing an assessment of the situation following the rainfall and landslips in Sri Lanka. The UK, along with other leading donors, will provide support as required through this coordinated response mechanism.

The UK is the biggest contributor to the CERF, having provided in excess of $855m in the last 10 years. The UK also provides funding to the European Union humanitarian agency (ECHO) which is also undertaking an assessment.