Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds North West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he plans to introduce a (a) visa exemption, (b) visa on arrival and (c) eVisa scheme for people from North Macedonia.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
There are no plans to introduce a visa exemption or visa on arrival for North Macedonians. The introduction of eVisas will help travellers prove their status at the UK border in a secure, timely and efficient manner. This introduction will not be country specific.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds North West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many visas his Department has granted to applicants from North Macedonia in each year since 2020.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The Home Office publishes data on entry clearance visas in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on visas granted, by nationality, are published in table Vis_D02 of the Entry clearance detailed dataset. Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. The latest data relate up to the end of 2023.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds North West)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether she has taken recent steps to facilitate bilateral trade with North Macedonia.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Bilateral trade between the UK and North Macedonia was worth a total of £2.5 billion in the 4 quarters to end of Q4 2023, comprising of £1.7bn of exports and £787 million of imports. North Macedonia is the UK’s largest trading partner in the Western Balkans. The UK’s trade relationship is underpinned by the Partnership, Trade and Cooperation Agreement (PTCA), signed in 2020. The inaugural PTCA Joint Committee met in 2022 and we hope to convene the second version later this year. In September 2023, the UK launched the British-Macedonian Business Chamber, as a symbol of the growing trade & investment partnership.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds North West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, if he will make it his Department's policy to ensure that all Ukrainian organisations in receipt of overseas development assistance train all staff to be able to identify indicators of (a) modern slavery and (b) human trafficking.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
The Government is committed to eradicating modern slavery and human trafficking. In Ukraine, as well as other countries currently hosting millions of refugees from Ukraine, we are working closely with delivery partners to protect the most vulnerable from the risks of modern slavery. The UK has committed £357 million in humanitarian assistance to Ukraine and the region since the start of the invasion, with a focus on protecting the most vulnerable groups, particularly women and girls. We are providing life-saving assistance, including targeted gender-based violence services, legal support and crisis accommodation to help tackle safeguarding concerns and trafficking risks.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds North West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, how much and what proportion of overseas development assistance for Ukraine has been allocated to helping Ukraine to develop specialist capabilities to prevent (a) modern slavery and (b) human trafficking in the 2024-25 financial year.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
The Government is committed to eradicating modern slavery and human trafficking. In Ukraine, as well as other countries currently hosting millions of refugees from Ukraine, we are working closely with delivery partners to protect the most vulnerable from the risks of modern slavery. The UK has committed £357 million in humanitarian assistance to Ukraine and the region since the start of the invasion, with a focus on protecting the most vulnerable groups, particularly women and girls. We are providing life-saving assistance, including targeted gender-based violence services, legal support and crisis accommodation to help tackle safeguarding concerns and trafficking risks.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds North West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of Overseas Development Assistance for Ukraine in (a) identifying and (b) safeguarding the most vulnerable people from modern slavery and human trafficking.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
The Government is committed to eradicating modern slavery and human trafficking. In Ukraine, as well as other countries currently hosting millions of refugees from Ukraine, we are working closely with delivery partners to protect the most vulnerable from the risks of modern slavery. The UK has committed £357 million in humanitarian assistance to Ukraine and the region since the start of the invasion, with a focus on protecting the most vulnerable groups, particularly women and girls. We are providing life-saving assistance, including targeted gender-based violence services, legal support and crisis accommodation to help tackle safeguarding concerns and trafficking risks.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds North West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, pursuant to the Answer of 27 November 2023 to Question 2390 on Gubad Ibadoghlu, if he will make it his policy to call for the unconditional release of Dr Gubad Ibadoghlu.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
Since Dr Gubad Ibadoghlu's arrest in July 2023, the UK has consistently advocated for appropriate medical access and the right to a fair legal process. The UK has consistently called on the Azerbaijani Government to protect the freedoms and human rights of all of its citizens, and we will continue to work to ensure Dr Ibadoghlu's rights are upheld. I raised this issue directly with the Azerbaijan Ambassador on 30 April.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds North West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of rebuilding Nagorno-Karabakh in Azerbaijan on UK-based businesses.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
The UK recognises the importance of economic development across the South Caucasus for the region's peace and stability. However, at present the Government does not encourage or provide assistance to UK-based businesses considering involvement in Nagorno-Karabakh. The UK Government will continue to review this position as the situation in Azerbaijan and the wider region develops.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds North West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what his Department's timescales are for the conclusion of the negotiations for the UK-Armenia Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
The UK values our ongoing cooperation with Armenia towards agreeing a UK-Armenia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA). The timescale for concluding the agreement is subject to final negotiations and legal processes in both countries.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds North West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the average processing time was for reissuing a driving licence following medical clearance in the last 12 months; and if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of that average processing time.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) aims to make a licensing decision within 90 working days in 90% of cases where a medical investigation must be investigated before a licence can be issued. In the 2023/24 financial year, the average time to make a licensing decision in such cases was 55 working days.
The length of time taken to deal with an application varies depending on the medical condition(s) involved and whether further information is required from medical professionals. The DVLA is often reliant on receiving information from medical professionals before it can take any further action on an application.