Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department plans to take to (a) monitor and (b) evaluate the effectiveness of the people smuggling sanctions regime.

The UK has so far sanctioned 25 targets - 20 individuals and five entities - at the heart of people-smuggling networks that drive irregular migration to the UK. These targets were identified through close co-ordination across government departments, including the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Home Office, National Crime Agency, our global network of Diplomatic Posts and others. We will collectively continue to monitor the effectiveness of the designations imposed so far, including with international partners and others, and forthcoming designations, as we seek to demonstrate our ability to target individuals and entities around the world, disrupt the activities of criminal networks, and deter others from engaging in this vile trade.