Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to place in the Library of the House all correspondence between the Governor of St Helena and officials and Ministers regarding the decision to move asylum seekers who arrive in the Chagos Islands to St Helena.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Copies of the Memorandum of Understanding and supporting correspondence from the Minister or the Overseas Territories have been deposited in the library of both Houses. The St Helena Government have also published both documents on their website at www.sainthelena.gov.sh.
Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend applications of asylum seekers moved from the Chagos Islands to St Helena to be processed while they are on St Helena, and over what timescale.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Immigration is a matter for the St Helena Government. The St Helena Government will be responsible for processing any asylum claims and for the timescale by which any claims are resolved. The UK Government will provide technical support to help develop capacity and capability in St Helena's immigration department.
Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they made an assessment of the impact on public services on St Helena of the decision to move asylum seekers who arrive in the Chagos Islands to St Helena; and if so, whether they intend to publish that assessment.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government is working to support the Saint Helena Government to ensure appropriate arrangements are in place for any migrants who may arrive. If the St Helena Government considers that a migrant presents a danger to the security of St Helena, they may refuse entry to that individual. A copy of the recent MoU between the UK and St Helena has been placed in the libraries of both houses.
Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what security and policing assessment has been conducted regarding the decision to move asylum seekers from the Chagos Islands to St Helena with respect to the latter.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government is working to support the Saint Helena Government to ensure appropriate arrangements are in place for any migrants who may arrive. If the St Helena Government considers that a migrant presents a danger to the security of St Helena, they may refuse entry to that individual. A copy of the recent MoU between the UK and St Helena has been placed in the libraries of both houses.
Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what accommodation will be provided to house asylum seekers relocated from the Chagos Islands to St Helena.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government is working to support the Saint Helena Government to ensure appropriate arrangements are in place for any migrants who may arrive. If the St Helena Government considers that a migrant presents a danger to the security of St Helena, they may refuse entry to that individual. A copy of the recent MoU between the UK and St Helena has been placed in the libraries of both houses.
Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government which officials were involved in discussions regarding the decision to move asylum seekers who arrive in the Chagos Islands to St Helena; and whether the Governor of St Helena was involved in those discussions.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Immigration is a matter for the St Helena Government. The St Helena Government is responsible for local consultation.
Ministers from the FCDO and Home Office have worked closely with the Chief Minister and the St Helena Government, including the Governor. This agreement was welcomed by the St Helena Government in a public statement following the signing of the new Memorandum of Understanding.
Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they had, if any, with the St Helena Legislative Council regarding the decision to move asylum seekers who arrive in the Chagos Islands to St Helena.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Immigration is a matter for the St Helena Government. The St Helena Government is responsible for local consultation.
Ministers from the FCDO and Home Office have worked closely with the Chief Minister and the St Helena Government, including the Governor. This agreement was welcomed by the St Helena Government in a public statement following the signing of the new Memorandum of Understanding.
Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is their estimate of the number of asylum seekers who will be moved from the Chagos Islands to St Helena, and over what period.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The new Memorandum of Understanding with St Helena only applies to any new migrants who arrive from the date of the arrangement until the UK's agreement with Mauritius concerning the Chagos archipelago comes into force or 18 months have passed. This will not affect any migrants currently on the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT). This is a contingency arrangement and no new migrants have arrived on BIOT since 2022.
Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to work with other countries which have suspended funding to UNRWA to create a new independent funding agency to deliver aid to Gaza.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
We are appalled by allegations that the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) staff were involved in the 7 October attack against Israel, a heinous act of terrorism that the UK Government has repeatedly condemned.
The pause will remain in place until we review the allegations, and we are looking to our partners in the UN to carry out a robust and comprehensive investigation.
Any future funding decisions will be taken after this point.
We are getting on with aid delivery and the UK is providing £60 million in humanitarian assistance to support partners including the British Red Cross, UNICEF, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) and Egyptian Red Crescent Society (ERCS) to respond to critical food, fuel, water, health, shelter and security needs in Gaza.
Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government why the UK did not vote against the UN Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza on 8 December 2023.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The UK abstained on the 08 December UNSCR resolution, which called for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, because it is the government's view that, for a ceasefire to be sustainable, the conditions need to be in place for it to not rapidly collapse. The Government recognises the need to respond to the growing humanitarian crisis however, and welcomes the adoption of UNSCR 2720, which calls for expanded humanitarian access in Gaza. The resolution also calls for steps towards a sustainable ceasefire, reflecting the recent calls from the Foreign Secretary. We want to see a peaceful resolution to this conflict as soon as possible and the UK will work with international partners to ensure the implementation of this resolution.