Asked by: Lord McInnes of Kilwinning (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many resettlement interviews conducted in (1) Jordan, (2) Lebanon, (3) Iraq, and (4) Turkey, in 2019 resulted in (a) acceptance, or (b) rejection, of the case for resettlement in the UK, broken down by the country of origin of those interviewed.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford
The Home Office is committed to publishing data in an orderly way as part of the regular quarterly Migration Statistics, in line with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics. These can be found at www.gov.uk/government/collections/migration-statistics. The next statistics, which contain resettlement arrivals by nationality for the year ending December 2019, is planned for publication on 27 February. We do not publish a breakdown of resettlements by host country.
The Home Office undertakes remote video interviews with refugees referred for resettlement under the Vulnerable Persons and Vulnerable Children's Resettlement Schemes. These interviews are principally designed to gain a deeper understanding of any UK family links and gather information to assist with the process of matching refugees to suitable offers of accommodation, and do not form part of the case consideration process. We do not publish a breakdown of resettlement case acceptance or rejection by host country.
Asked by: Lord McInnes of Kilwinning (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they had with the government of Israel about proposed changes to land ownership in relation to the sale of church properties in Israel.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
Officials from our Embassy in Tel Aviv have previously raised the Bill with the Israeli authorities and encouraged a swift resolution that all parties are content with. Our Embassy in Tel Aviv is closely following developments on the Church Lands issue, and we understand that the Bill has been paused.
Asked by: Lord McInnes of Kilwinning (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many refugees resettled in the UK under the Syrian Vulnerable Resettlement Scheme since 2015; what were the ages of such refugees when resettled; and what proportion of them were from refugee camps in (1) Lebanon, (2) Turkey, and (3) Jordan.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford
The Home Office is committed to publishing data in an orderly way as part of the regular quarterly Immigration Statistics, in line with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics.
The statistics are available at the quarterly release on the gov.uk website.
As of September 2018, a total of 13,818 people had been resettled in the UK under the Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme (VPRS) since 2015, of which almost half were children. We do not currently publish a breakdown of resettlements by age or host country.
Asked by: Lord McInnes of Kilwinning (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the government of Turkey to identify the level of support that is needed to deal with any expected influx of refugees to Turkey from Idlib province; and what support they intend to provide as a result of such discussions.
Answered by Lord Bates
The UK maintains a regular dialogue – at all levels – with the Turkish authorities on a range on humanitarian issues, including contingency planning for large scale movements of people from Idlib and surrounding areas, as well as support for those currently located in the Northwest Syria.
The UK is supporting refugees and host communities in Turkey through EU Facility for Refugees in Turkey (FRIT). The FRIT is supporting refugees and host communities by building schools, providing health services and social welfare payments for the most vulnerable refugees, to alleviate pressure on Turkish communities hosting refugees. The UK committed €328 million to the FRIT in 2016, as well as an additional €155 million in 2018.
The UK is already supporting those living in Northwest Syria, and has boosted this support in preparation for a regime offensive in the region. On 13 September, DFID announced additional aid funding of up to £42 million for Northern Syria. This money will help to provide Syrians affected by a regime military offensive with shelter, clean water and sanitation, mental health services, and support of health workers and facilities.
Asked by: Lord McInnes of Kilwinning (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government which countries hosted a British Council office and staff in (1) 1990, (2) 2000, (3) 2010, and (4) 2015.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
(1) In 1990, as stated in the 1989-1990 Annual report, the British Council had offices in the following countries*:
* Details were correct as at 1 September 1990.
Algeria | Argentina | Australia | Austria | Bahrain |
Bangladesh | Belgium | Botswana | Brazil | Brunei |
Bulgaria | Burma | Cameroon | Canada | Chile |
China | Colombia | Cote d'Ivoire | Cyprus | Czechoslovakia |
Denmark | East Jerusalem | Ecuador | Egypt | Ethiopia |
Finland | France | Germany, Federal Republic of | Ghana | Greece |
Hong Kong | Hungary | India | Indonesia | Iraq |
Ireland, Republic of | Israel | Italy | Jamaica | Japan |
Jordan | Kenya | Korea | Kuwait | Lesotho |
Malawi | Malta | Mauritius | Mexico | Morocco |
Mozambique | Namibia | Nepal | Netherlands | New Zealand |
Nigeria | Norway | Oman | Pakistan | Peru |
Philippines | Poland | Portugal | Qatar | Romania |
Saudi Arabia | Senegal | Sierra Leone | Singapore | South Africa |
South Pacific | Soviet Union | Spain | Sri Lanka | Sudan |
Swaziland | Sweden | Tanzania | Thailand | Tunisia |
Turkey | Uganda | United Arab Emirates | USA | Venezuela |
Yemen, Republic of | Yugoslavia | Zambia | Zimbabwe |
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(2) In 2000, as stated in the 1999-2000 Annual Report, the British Council had offices in the following countries*:
*Details are correct as at 31 March 2000.
Albania | Algeria | Argentina | Australia | Austria |
Azerbaijan | Bahrain | Estonia | Latvia | Lithuania |
Bangladesh | Belarus | Belgium | Luxembourg | Bolivia |
Bosnia-Herzegovina | Botswana | Brazil | Sâo Paulo | Brunei |
Bulgaria | Burma (Myanmar) | Cameroon | Canada | Chile |
China | Colombia | Croatia | Cuba | Cyprus |
Czech Republic | Denmark | East Jerusalem (West Bank and Gaza) | Ecuador | Egypt |
Eritrea | Ethiopia | Finland | France | Georgia |
Germany | Ghana | Greece | Hungary | India |
Indonesia | Ireland | Israel | Italy | Jamaica |
Japan | Jordan | Kazakhstan | Kenya | Korea |
Kuwait | Lebanon | Lesotho | Macedonia, former Yugoslav Republic of | Malawi |
Malaysia | Malta | Mauritius | Mexico | Morocco |
Mozambique | Namibia | Nepal | Netherlands | New Zealand |
Nigeria | Norway | Oman | Pakistan | Peru |
Philippines | Poland | Portugal | Qatar | Romania |
Russia | Saudi Arabia | Senegal | Sierra Leone | Singapore |
Slovakia | Slovenia | South Africa | Spain | Sri Lanka |
Sudan | Swaziland | Sweden | Switzerland | Syria |
Tanzania | Thailand | Trinidad and Tobago | Tunisia | Turkey |
Uganda | Ukraine | United Arab Emirates | USA | Uzbekistan |
Venezuela | Vietnam | Yemen | Yugoslavia | Zambia |
Zimbabwe |
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(3) In 2010, as stated in the 2009-10 Annual Report, the British Council had offices in the following countries*:
*Details were correct as at 31 March 2010.
Afghanistan | Albania | Algeria | Argentina | Armenia |
Australia | Austria | Azerbaijan | Bahrain | Bangladesh |
Belgium | Bosnia and Herzegovina | Botswana | Brazil | Bulgaria |
Burma | Cameroon | Canada | Chile | China |
Colombia | Croatia | Cuba | Cyprus | Czech republic |
Denmark | Egypt | Eritrea | Estonia | Ethiopia |
Finland | France | Georgia | Germany | Ghana |
Greece | Hungary | India | Indonesia | Iraq |
Ireland | Israel | Italy | Jamaica | Japan |
Jordan | Kazakhstan | Kenya | Korea, Republic of | Kosovo |
Kuwait | Latvia | Lebanon | Libya | Lithuania |
Macedonia | Malawi | Malaysia | Malta | Mauritius |
Mexico | Montenegro | Morocco | Mozambique | Namibia |
Nepal | Netherlands | New Zealand | Nigeria | Norway |
Oman | Pakistan | Palestinian Territories | Philippines | Poland |
Portugal | Qatar | Romania | Russia | Saudi Arabia |
Senegal | Serbia | Sierra Leone | Singapore | Slovakia |
Slovenia | South Africa | Spain | Sri Lanka | Sudan |
Sweden | Switzerland | Syria | Taipei | Tanzania |
Thailand | Trinidad and Tobago | Tunisia | Turkey | Uganda |
Ukraine | United Arab Emirates | United Kingdom | United States of America | Uzbekistan |
Venezuela | Vietnam | Yemen | Zambia | Zimbabwe |
(4) In 2015, as stated in the 2014-15 Annual Report, the British Council had offices in the following countries*:
*Details were correct as at 31 March 2015.
Afghanistan | Albania | Algeria | Argentina | Armenia |
Australia | Austria | Azerbaijan | Bahrain | Bangladesh |
Belgium | Bosnia and Herzegovina | Botswana | Brazil | Bulgaria |
Burma | Canada | Chile | China | Colombia |
Croatia | Cuba | Cyprus | Czech Republic | Egypt |
Estonia | Ethiopia | France | Georgia | Germany |
Ghana | Greece | Hungary | India | Indonesia |
Iraq | Ireland | Israel | Italy | Jamaica |
Japan | Jordan | Kazakhstan | Kenya | Korea, Republic of |
Kosovo | Kuwait | Latvia | Lebanon | Libya |
Lithuania | Macedonia | Malawi | Malaysia | Malta |
Mauritius | Mexico | Montenegro | Morocco | Mozambique |
Namibia | Nepal | Netherlands | New Zealand | Nigeria |
Occupied Palestinian Territories | Oman | Pakistan | Peru | Philippines |
Poland | Portugal | Qatar | Romania | Russia |
Rwanda | Saudi Arabia | Senegal | Serbia | Sierra Leone |
Singapore | Slovakia | Slovenia | South Africa | South Sudan |
Spain | Sri Lanka | Sudan | Switzerland | Taiwan |
Tanzania | Thailand | Trinidad and Tobago | Tunisia | Turkey |
Uganda | Ukraine | United Arab Emirates | United Kingdom | United States of America |
Uruguay | Uzbekistan | Venezuela | Vietnam | Yemen |
Zambia | Zimbabwe |
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Asked by: Lord McInnes of Kilwinning (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government which countries they are prioritising for anti-corruption aid between 2018 and 2020.
Answered by Lord Bates
DFID’s anti-corruption country strategies support the five DFID partner countries who attended the London Anti-Corruption Summit in 2016 (Afghanistan, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria and Tanzania) to deliver on their commitments. This is in addition to work with international partners to improve global standards and transparency, and strengthen international architecture to deter corruption and track stolen assets so they can be returned to developing countries.
Asked by: Lord McInnes of Kilwinning (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government which countries have had a British Council establishment opened since 1990.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
Since 1990, the British Council has opened new offices for the first time in Switzerland, Rwanda, Namibia, Taiwan, and Mozambique. They also established offices in the newly independent states of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Ukraine, Uzbekistan and Russia, after the break-up of the Soviet Union. Following the break-up of Yugoslavia, the British Council established offices in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, the Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro and Slovenia; they also opened offices in the Czech Republic and Slovakia when they became independent states.
Asked by: Lord McInnes of Kilwinning (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government which countries have had a British Council establishment closed since 1990.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
Since 1990, British Council offices in the following countries have been closed: Belarus, Bolivia, Brunei, Cameroon, Cote D'Ivoire, Denmark, Ecuador, Eritrea, Finland, Iran, Lesotho, Norway, Swaziland, and Sweden.
Asked by: Lord McInnes of Kilwinning (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how much of the Department for International Development's (DfID) budget was spent on anti-corruption support for developing countries in (1) 2015–16, (2) 2016–17, (3) 2017–18; and what are those figures as a proportion of DfID's total budget for each of those years.
Answered by Lord Bates
The amount and proportion of Official Development Assistance spent by DFID on anti-corruption1 activities in calendar years 2015 and 2016 are given in the table below:
Table – DFID Net ODA on anti-corruption activities1
| 2015 | 2016 | |||
| £m | % of total DFID ODA | £m | % of total DFID ODA | |
Total DFID Net ODA on anti-corruption activities | 654 | 6.7% | 570 | 5.8% | |
Of which |
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Bilateral | 444 | 4.5% | 379 | 3.8% | |
Multilateral | 210 | 2.1% | 191 | 1.9% | |
Total DFID Net ODA | 9,772 | 100.0% | 9,871 | 100.0% | |
In line with the international definitions, ODA is collected on a calendar year basis. The table reflects the latest published data and figures for 2017 UK ODA spending will be published in autumn 2018.
Asked by: Lord McInnes of Kilwinning (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government which countries have received anti-corruption support funded by the UK since 2015.
Answered by Lord Bates
Countries that have received UK Official Development Assistance (ODA) for anti-corruption support1 in 2015 and 2016 are listed below:
Country | UK ODA contributor involved | Country | UK ODA contributor involved | Country | UK ODA contributor involved |
Afghanistan | CSSF, DFID and FCO | India | DFID, FCO and Prosperity Fund | Peru | FCO |
Albania | FCO | Indonesia | BEIS, DFID, Prosperity Fund and FCO | Philippines | FCO and Prosperity Fund |
Algeria | FCO | Iraq | FCO | Rwanda | DFID and HMRC |
Angola | FCO and Prosperity Fund | Jamaica | CSSF, DFID and FCO | Senegal | FCO |
Argentina | FCO and Prosperity Fund | Jordan | DFID, FCO and Prosperity Fund | Serbia | CSSF and FCO |
Armenia | CSSF and FCO | Kenya | DFID, FCO and HMRC | Seychelles | FCO |
Bangladesh | DFID | Korea, Dem. Rep. | FCO | Sierra Leone | DFID, FCO and HMRC |
Belize | FCO | Kosovo | CSSF and FCO | Somalia | CSSF and DFID |
Bolivia | FCO | Kyrgyz Republic | DFID and FCO | South Africa | DFID, FCO and Prosperity Fund |
Bosnia-Herzegovina | CSSF and FCO | Laos | FCO | South Sudan | DFID |
Brazil | FCO and Prosperity Fund | Lebanon | DFID | Sri Lanka | FCO |
Burma | DFID, FCO and Prosperity Fund | Lesotho | HMRC | St. Helena | DFID |
Cameroon | FCO | Liberia | DFID | Sudan | DFID and FCO |
Chile | FCO and Prosperity Fund | Madagascar | FCO | Syria | FCO |
China | FCO and Prosperity Fund | Malawi | DFID, HMRC and Scot Gov | Tajikistan | DFID |
Colombia | CSSF, FCO and Prosperity Fund | Malaysia | FCO and Prosperity Fund | Tanzania | DFID and HMRC |
Congo, Dem. Rep. | DFID | Mauritius | FCO | Thailand | FCO and Prosperity Fund |
Costa Rica | FCO | Mexico | FCO and Prosperity Fund | Tunisia | FCO |
Cote d'Ivoire | FCO | Moldova | DFID and FCO | Turkey | FCO and Prosperity Fund |
Dominican Republic | CSSF | Mongolia | FCO | Uganda | Defra, DFID and HMRC |
Egypt | BEIS, DFID and FCO | Montenegro | FCO | Ukraine | CSSF, DFID, FCO and HMRC |
Ethiopia | DFID, FCO and HMRC | Montserrat | DFID and FCO | Uruguay | FCO |
Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia | FCO | Morocco | FCO | Uzbekistan | FCO |
Gambia | FCO | Mozambique | DFID | Vietnam | DFID, FCO and Prosperity Fund |
Ghana | DFID, FCO and HMRC | Namibia | FCO | West Bank & Gaza Strip | DFID |
Guatemala | FCO | Nepal | DFID | Yemen | DFID |
Guinea | FCO | Nigeria | DFID, FCO and Prosperity Fund | Zambia | DFID |
Guyana | DFID and FCO | Pakistan | CSSF, DFID, FCO and HMRC | Zimbabwe | DFID |
Honduras | FCO | Panama | FCO |
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1. Anti-corruption activities cover support to anti-corruption organisations and institutions, public finance management, public sector policy and management, tax and administrative support, mining policy and administrative management, and sub-national government. Some projects cover multiple countries; ODA data categorises these as “Developing Country, unspecified” or as regional spend.
UK ODA data for calendar year 2017 will be published in autumn 2018.