Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the Chagossian population residing in (a) the UK, (b) Mauritius, (c) the Seychelles and (d) all other countries; and how many Chagossians not residing in the UK have applied for British citizenship through the (i) British Indian Oceans Territory citizenship registration route and (ii) other routes, broken down by the country in which each applicant lived at the time of application.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

The information requested is not held by the Home Office.

However, the overall number of applications for British citizenship including those made through the British Indian Ocean Territory route is available on:

Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will have discussions with his Mauritian counterpart on the return of Chagossians to the Chagos Archipelago without fear of (a) discrimination or (b) prosecution under the Criminal Code (Amendment) Act 2021 of Mauritius.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Mauritius will be free to resettle the islands, other than Diego Garcia. It will be for Mauritius to set the terms of and manage any future resettlement. Ministers and officials continue to engage with their Mauritian counterparts as part of routine bilateral engagement.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will have discussions with his Mauritian counterpart on Chagossians returning to the Chagos Archipelago being able to undertake (a) subsistence and (b) commercial fishing activities in the Marine Protected Area.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Mauritius will be free to resettle the islands, other than Diego Garcia. It will be for Mauritius to set the terms of and manage any future resettlement. Ministers and officials continue to engage with their Mauritian counterparts as part of routine bilateral engagement.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Mauritian counterpart on the return of Chagossians without a Mauritian passport but in possession of (a) British, (b) Seychellois or (c) other citizenship.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Mauritius will be free to resettle the islands, other than Diego Garcia. It will be for Mauritius to set the terms of and manage any future resettlement. Ministers and officials continue to engage with their Mauritian counterparts as part of routine bilateral engagement.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to his oral statement on British Indian Ocean Territory: Negotiations of 7 October 2024, Official Report, column 45, what guidance his Department has provided to Chagossians who are resident outside of Mauritian territory on accessing the trust fund.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

After a treaty with Mauritius is ratified, the UK will capitalise a new trust fund for Mauritius to use in support of Chagossians. Separate to the Trust Fund, we will also increase our support to Chagossians living in the UK and around the world, through new and existing projects. As details of the Trust Fund will be agreed as part of the implementation of the Agreement after signature, no guidance has yet been issued.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to tackle the shortage of licensed (a) aircraft engineers and (b) pilots.

Answered by Mike Kane - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

My Department works with industry to identify any skills gaps to ensure their workforce is resilient. There are three main approaches Government is taking to support the pipeline of talent:

- Encouraging opportunities for all with the ‘Generation Aviation’ programme raising the profile of aviation careers, removing barriers to access and attracting diverse and talented people to tackle new technologies, decarbonisation and other emerging trends. This includes the Reach for the Sky fund supporting outreach projects that only last week I announced the winners for 2025.

- Making it easier to train engineers and pilots of the future by transforming the apprenticeships levy into a new growth and skills levy, which will offer greater flexibility to employers and learners. As well as encouraging industry to fully funded pilot training programmes and applaud effort of companies such as TUI and British Airways which have established sustainable pipeline for budding aviators.

- Following EU exit, my Department sympathises with the difficulties faced by stakeholders in the aviation industry and establishing an effective personnel licensing regime that supports UK aviation remains a priority for us.

Keeping transport workers safe

Oversight of homelessness

Christians Against Poverty and debt advice funding

Israel’s military presence in the West Bank

UK-Ukraine voluntary aid groups

UAE imprisonment of Ryan Cornelius

Rememberance of former lobby corespondent Mike Steele

Found: ) Sam Carling (Labour; North West Cambridgeshire) Lauren Edwards (Labour; Rochester and Strood) Peter Lamb

Found: Dr Simon Opher Mary Kelly Foy Nadia Whittome Jeremy Corbyn Kate Osborne Chris Hinchliff Peter Lamb

Found: Presented by Peter Lamb Ordered, by The House of Commons, to be Printed, 16th October 2024.

Found: Presented by Peter Lamb Ordered, by The House of Commons, to be Printed, 16th October 2024.

Found: Dr Simon Opher Mary Kelly Foy Nadia Whittome Jeremy Corbyn Kate Osborne Chris Hinchliff Peter Lamb

Found: Negatived on division_281 Rachael Maskell Naz Shah Munira Wilson Frank McNally Tom Morrison Peter Lamb

Found: Dr Simon Opher Mary Kelly Foy Nadia Whittome Adrian Ramsay Kate Osborne Chris Hinchliff Peter Lamb

Found: Dr Simon Opher Mary Kelly Foy Nadia Whittome Adrian Ramsay Kate Osborne Chris Hinchliff Peter Lamb

Found: Negatived on division_281 Rachael Maskell Naz Shah Munira Wilson Frank McNally Tom Morrison Peter Lamb

Found: _365 Wera Hobhouse Naz Shah Sarah Olney Peter Lamb Helen Maguire Steff Aquarone Liz Jarvis .

Found: Fenton-Glynn Apsana Begum Lizzi Collinge Brian Leishman Andy McDonald Valerie Vaz Karl Turner Peter Lamb

Found: _365 Wera Hobhouse Naz Shah Sarah Olney Peter Lamb Helen Maguire Steff Aquarone Liz Jarvis .

Found: Henry Tufnell Josh Fenton-Glynn Apsana Begum Lizzi Collinge Brian Leishman Andy McDonald Peter Lamb

Found: _365 Wera Hobhouse Naz Shah Sarah Olney Peter Lamb Helen Maguire Steff Aquarone Liz Jarvis .

Found: _365 Wera Hobhouse Naz Shah Sarah Olney Peter Lamb Helen Maguire Steff Aquarone Liz Jarvis .

Found: Lewell-Buck Jon Trickett Patricia Ferguson Maya Ellis Henry Tufnell Josh Fenton-Glynn Apsana Begum Peter Lamb

Found: _365 Wera Hobhouse Naz Shah Sarah Olney Peter Lamb Helen Maguire Steff Aquarone Liz Jarvis .

Found: Lewell-Buck Jon Trickett Patricia Ferguson Maya Ellis Henry Tufnell Josh Fenton-Glynn Apsana Begum Peter Lamb

Found: Negatived on division_281 Rachael Maskell Naz Shah Munira Wilson Frank McNally Tom Morrison Peter Lamb

Found: _363 Wera Hobhouse Naz Shah Sarah Olney Peter Lamb Margaret Mullane Helen Maguire Adam Dance

Found: Lewell-Buck Jon Trickett Patricia Ferguson Maya Ellis Henry Tufnell Josh Fenton-Glynn Apsana Begum Peter Lamb

Found: Negatived on division_281 Rachael Maskell Naz Shah Munira Wilson Frank McNally Tom Morrison Peter Lamb

Found: _363 Wera Hobhouse Naz Shah Sarah Olney Peter Lamb Margaret Mullane Helen Maguire Adam Dance

Found: _363 Wera Hobhouse Naz Shah Sarah Olney Peter Lamb Margaret Mullane Helen Maguire Adam Dance

Found: Lewell-Buck Jon Trickett Patricia Ferguson Maya Ellis Henry Tufnell Josh Fenton-Glynn Apsana Begum Peter Lamb

Found: Lewell-Buck Jon Trickett Patricia Ferguson Maya Ellis Henry Tufnell Josh Fenton-Glynn Apsana Begum Peter Lamb

Found: _363 Wera Hobhouse Naz Shah Sarah Olney Peter Lamb Margaret Mullane Helen Maguire Adam Dance

Found: Emma Lewell-Buck Jon Trickett Patricia Ferguson Maya Ellis Henry Tufnell Josh Fenton-Glynn Peter Lamb

Found: _363 Wera Hobhouse Naz Shah Sarah Olney Peter Lamb Margaret Mullane Helen Maguire Adam Dance

Found: Negatived on division_281 Rachael Maskell Naz Shah Munira Wilson Frank McNally Tom Morrison Peter Lamb

Found: Emma Lewell-Buck Jon Trickett Patricia Ferguson Maya Ellis Henry Tufnell Josh Fenton-Glynn Peter Lamb

Found: _281 Rachael Maskell Naz Shah Munira Wilson Frank McNally Tom Morrison Peter Lamb Lillian Jones

Found: Negatived on division_281 Rachael Maskell Naz Shah Munira Wilson Frank McNally Tom Morrison Peter Lamb

Submit Evidence (by 14 Apr 2025)

Over the course of this Parliament, we will have an ongoing focus on the Civil Service that the UK needs and how we get it. We will be pursuing this through a series of targeted inquiries. The first of these of these inquiries is into Mission Government. The Government has announced a series of five “missions” on which policy will be focussed. This focus on missions will, it claims, enable government to operate in a less siloed and more long-term manner.