Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, following the UK–Albania announcement on a joint task force against illegal migration, how many British caseworkers will be sent to Tirana; and how much is the total cost of the policy.

Following the new approach agreed with the Albanian government on 13^th Dec, we are in close discussions with them on the operational details. Under the joint communiqué, the UK will support the relevant Albanian structures to bolster mechanisms used to refer victims for appropriate support and increase the existing Albanian Responsible Authority and National Referral Mechanism capacity to reinforce processes and decision-making in line with the European Convention on Action against Trafficking of Human Beings. We are not currently expecting to send any caseworkers to Tirana; rather support will be offered from the UK and the British Embassy in Tirana. Currently resources are being reprioritised and reallocated to deliver on the commitments made from within existing budgets.