Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their policy on payment of emergency loans to British victims of forced marriage overseas.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) is not funded to provide financial assistance to British nationals overseas, but can provide emergency loans on a discretionary basis, in very exceptional circumstances. The FCO can provide an emergency loan to assist victims of forced marriage, where there are no alternative sources of funding. Emergency loans can be used to fund the reasonable costs relating to repatriation to the UK. 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.