Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to revise their policy of not paying for the repatriation of British citizens forced to marry abroad, and whether they will provide the Forced Marriage Unit with the relevant funds.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) is not funded to provide financial assistance to British nationals overseas. However, we can provide emergency loans on a discretionary basis, in very exceptional circumstances, when people want to return home from overseas and they are unable to do this via any other means. Emergency loans are from public funds and therefore we have an obligation to recover the money.

The Government recognises the risks that victims of forced marriage can face and the challenges that they may encounter on the return to the UK. This is why emergency loans are offered to assist British nationals in these circumstances. Through the joint FCO and Home Office Forced Marriage Unit, we work very closely with partner organisations in the UK, including the police, social services and healthcare professionals, to ensure that those at risk are appropriately protected.

We regularly review all aspects of our consular policy and as such will be reviewing our policy on issuing emergency loans in early 2017.