The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Lord Collins of Highbury) (Lab)

My Lords, this instrument amends the Syria (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019. It was laid on 30 July using powers provided by the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018. It entered into force on 31 July. For clarity, this instrument was first laid on 24 May under the previous Government. This Government support the aims of the instrument, so we revoked and relaid it to provide additional time, post election, for the required parliamentary scrutiny. There are no amendments to the policy, and the substance of this instrument remains the same. With the conflict in Syria now in its 14th year, the humanitarian situation remains dire, and a record 16.7 million people are estimated to be in humanitarian need. Nine in 10 people in Syria are living in poverty, and nearly 13 million lack sufficient food. Many more have been forced to flee their homes and are living in settlements and camps. Our support for the Syrian people is unwavering. The United Kingdom has spent over £4 billion to date, our largest ever response to a single humanitarian crisis, and we continue to provide life-saving support to those in need. It is imperative that aid reaches the most vulnerable and that United Nations agencies, international organisations and NGOs have the support necessary for their work. The United Kingdom has engaged with financial institutions and humanitarian actors to fully understand how they use the humanitarian provisions in our sanctions legislation. Last year the Government issued general licences following the earthquakes. The United Kingdom has acted to ensure that aid continues to reach those most in need in Syria. These amendments to the regulations will allow trusted organisations to focus on delivering aid, support efficient and effective humanitarian delivery, and provide assurances for these organisations and their service providers. They will ensure that we continue to meet our humanitarian objectives while ensuring that our sanctions regime is robust. United Kingdom sanctions are designed to encourage the Assad regime to refrain from actions, policies or activities that repress the civilian population in Syria. They also serve to encourage the regime to participate in good faith in negotiations for a political settlement in line with United Nations Security Council Resolution 2254, and to bring about a peaceful solution to the conflict in Syria. The instrument amends the humanitarian exception to the petroleum measures contained in the 2019 regulations, with the aim of improving the delivery of humanitarian aid in Syria. The amendments will expand the eligibility for the humanitarian exception from solely UK-funded persons to all organisations covered by United Nations Security Council Resolution 2664, to the extent that those are captured by UK sanctions. The extension will enable more organisations to benefit from the humanitarian exemption. The instrument extends the 2019 regulations to ensure that they apply to those involved in the humanitarian delivery chain. This will ensure that the delivery chains of relevant persons as outlined in the regulations will benefit from being able to use the humanitarian exception. That provides assurances to relevant delivery partners on the ground and to financial service providers when approving payments. The instrument also amends the 2019 regulations to authorise financial service providers of relevant persons to use the humanitarian exception, removing the requirement for those providers to apply for individual licences to facilitate activities authorised by the exception. This change will also provide greater assurances to both humanitarian organisations and their financial providers, reducing delays in payments.