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Written Question
Military Attachés
Friday 17th November 2023

Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Rawmarsh and Conisbrough)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which countries do not have a resident UK Defence Attache.

Answered by James Heappey

The table below has a list of countries covered on a Non-Residential Accreditations (NRA) basis, where a UK Defence Attaché (DA) is not resident in country, but a DA elsewhere has the responsibility. This ensures that we have coverage across the world’s regions.

Country (NRA)

Location of DA

Angola

Pretoria – South Africa

Anguilla

Jamaica - Kingston

Antigua & Barbua

Jamaica - Kingston

Armenia

Georgia – Tbilisi

Azerbaijan

Georgia – Tbilisi

Bahamas

Jamaica - Kingston

Barbados

Jamaica - Kingston

Belarus

Ukraine – Kyiv

Belize

Jamaica - Kingston

Benin

Accra - Ghana

Bermuda

USA – Washington DC

Bolivia

UK – London

Botswana

Harare - Zimbabwe

British Virgin Islands

Jamaica - Kingston

Burkina Faso

Ghana - Accra

Burundi

Uganda – Kampala

Cambodia

Singapore

Cape Verde Islands

UK-London

Cayman Islands

Jamaica – Kingston

Congo

UK - London

Cuba

Mexico – Mexico City

Djibouti

Ethiopia – Addis Ababa

Dominica Dominican Republic

Jamaica - Kingston

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Kampala - Uganda

Eritrea

Sana’a - Yemen

Ecuador

Bogota - Colombia

Gabon

London

Grenada

Jamaica - Kingston

Guinea

Sierra Leone – Freetown

Guyana

Jamaica - Kingston

Guatemala

Mexico – Mexico City

Guinea-Bissau

Senegal - Dakar

Haiti

Jamaica - Kingston

Hungary

Croatia - Zagreb

Iceland

Norway - Oslo

Ivory Coast

Ghana – Accra

Khartoum

Egypt - Cairo

Kosovo

Macedonia - Skopje

Kyrgyzstan

Kazakhstan – Astana

Lesotho

South Africa - Pretoria

Liberia

Sierra Leone - Freetown

Libya

Libya - Tripoli

Malawi

Zimbabwe – Harare

Malta

Rome

Mauritania

Morocco – Rabat

Monaco

France – Paris

Mongolia

Japan – Tokyo

Montenegro

Tirana – Albania

Myanmar

Singapore (BDS SEA)

Montserrat

Jamaica - Kingston

Mozambique

South Africa – Pretoria

Panama City

Puerto Rico

Namibia

South Africa – Pretoria

Niger

Mali - Bamako

Papua New Guinea

Australia – Canberra

Paraguay

Argentina – Buenos Aires

Peru

Colombia - Bogota

Rwanda

Uganda – Kampala

Seychelles

Kenya - Nairobi

St Kitts & Nevis

Jamaica - Kingston

St Lucia

Jamaica - Kingston

St Vincent

Jamaica - Kingston

Slovakia

Czech Rep - Prague

Slovenia

Austria – Vienna

South Sudan

Addis Ababa – Ethiopia

Switzerland

Vienna - Austria

Syria

Lebanon

Tajikistan

Kazakhstan – Astana

Tanzania

Kenya – Nairobi

The Gambia

Senegal - Dakar

Timor-Leste (East Timor)

Indonesia - Jakarta

Togo

Ghana – Accra

Tonga

Fiji – Suva

Trinidad & Tobago

Jamaica - Kingston

Turkmenistan

Uzbekistan - Tashkent

Turks & Caicos Islands

Jamaica - Kingston

Uruguay

Argentina - Buenos Aires

Vanuatu

Fiji – Suva

Venezuela

Bogota - Colombia

Zambia

Zimbabwe - Harare


Written Question
Hungary: Council of Europe
Monday 3rd July 2023

Asked by: John Howell (Conservative - Henley)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the presentation by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary on the political situation in that country at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on 19 June 2023.

Answered by Leo Docherty

The UK Government is aware of the presentation by Foreign Minister Szijjártó on 19 June which sets out the position of the Hungarian Government on a variety of topics, including on the war in Ukraine. These are longstanding policy positions of the Hungarian Government with which the UK is familiar. We maintain a constructive dialogue with Hungary, but where we have worries we do not hesitate to raise them. In recent engagements with the Hungarian Government the UK has stressed the importance of remaining united against Russia, and in steadfast support of Ukraine, and we will continue to do so.


Written Question
Hungary: Emergency Powers
Monday 26th June 2023

Asked by: Lord Hylton (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have made any representations to the government of Hungary about (1) the state of emergency imposed since March 2020, (2) the endowment of $1.7 million given by the Hungarian state to the Mathias Corvinus Collegium, and (3) the closure of Hungary's principal universities during the 2022–23 winter; and whether they will place copies of any responses in the Libraries of both Houses of Parliament.

Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

The UK Government has made no representations to the Hungarian Government about the two states of emergency imposed since 2020. The UK respects Hungary's right to determine its own constitutional arrangements, but expects alignment with international norms. UK officials from British Embassy Budapest regularly raise a variety of topics with the Hungarian Government, including education.


Written Question
State Retirement Pensions: British Nationals Abroad
Monday 15th May 2023

Asked by: Rob Roberts (Independent - Delyn)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average amount of state pension paid to individuals who live outside the UK is; and if he will provide a breakdown of the average state pension payment in each country in which recipients reside.

Answered by Laura Trott - Shadow Secretary of State for Education

In November 2020, the average (mean) amount of State Pension paid to individuals who live outside the UK was £70.61 per week.

Table 1. Average Amount of State Pension paid to individuals who live outside the UK, November 2020

Residency

Mean Weekly State Pension Amount

Outside United Kingdom

£ 70.61

Source: Stat-Xplore - Home (dwp.gov.uk)

Below is a table of the average (mean) amount of State Pension paid to individuals who live outside the UK, broken down by country of residence, in November 2020.

Table 2. Average Amount of State Pension by Country of Residence, November 2020

Country of Residence

Mean Weekly State Pension Amount

Abroad - Not known

£ 112.62

Albania

£ 110.57

Alderney

£ 126.99

Algeria

£ 62.41

Andorra

£ 94.96

Anguilla

£ 64.93

Antigua

£ 74.02

Argentina

£ 65.18

Aruba

£ 60.29

Ascension Island

£ 91.68

Australia

£ 50.09

Austria

£ 49.24

Azerbaijan

£ 166.77

Bahamas

£ 66.64

Bahrain

£ 97.27

Bangladesh

£ 39.49

Barbados

£ 116.97

Belarus

£ 111.17

Belgium

£ 63.62

Belize

£ 85.01

Bermuda

£ 81.36

Bolivia

£ 106.19

Bosnia and Herzegovina

£ 73.12

Botswana

£ 75.98

Brazil

£ 81.20

Brunei

£ 121.78

Bulgaria

£ 122.47

Burkina Faso

£ 54.09

Cambodia

£ 119.76

Cameroon

£ 58.81

Canada

£ 46.34

Cape Verde

£ 52.18

Cayman Islands

£ 89.42

Chile

£ 72.13

China

£ 96.39

Colombia

£ 89.09

Cook Islands

£ 57.92

Costa Rica

£ 81.75

Cyprus

£ 122.54

Denmark

£ 58.40

Dom Commonwealth (Dominica)

£ 77.73

Dominican Republic

£ 107.52

Dutch Caribbean

£ 67.76

Ecuador

£ 85.95

Egypt

£ 78.64

El Salvador

£ 80.36

Equatorial Guinea

£ 142.11

Ethiopia

£ 88.34

Falkland Islands and Dependencies

£ 85.64

Faroe Islands

£ 33.01

Fiji

£ 73.66

Finland

£ 58.89

France

£ 113.52

French Overseas Departments

£ 84.34

French Polynesia

£ 55.84

Gambia

£ 91.46

Germany

£ 46.48

Ghana

£ 56.69

Gibraltar

£ 100.77

Greece

£ 109.44

Greenland

£ 23.21

Grenada

£ 77.33

Guam

£ 83.49

Guatemala

£ 77.73

Guernsey

£ 84.86

Guyana

£ 60.60

Honduras

£ 79.02

Hong Kong

£ 85.42

Hungary

£ 102.32

Iceland

£ 71.68

India

£ 50.10

Indonesia

£ 106.53

Iran

£ 70.85

Iraq

£ 64.11

Ireland

£ 66.41

Isle of Man

£ 127.85

Israel

£ 101.27

Italy

£ 56.79

Jamaica

£ 116.05

Japan

£ 46.97

Jersey

£ 70.02

Jordan

£ 67.90

Kazakhstan

£ 124.13

Kenya

£ 79.34

Kuwait

£ 103.54

Kyrgyzstan

£ 76.07

Laos

£ 100.66

Lebanon

£ 88.20

Lesotho

£ 59.64

Liechtenstein

£ 28.62

Luxembourg

£ 83.34

Macau

£ 77.52

Madagascar

£ 62.23

Malawi

£ 71.90

Malaysia

£ 77.87

Malta

£ 104.22

Mauritius

£ 108.25

Mexico

£ 74.98

Moldova

£ 124.94

Monaco

£ 111.96

Montserrat

£ 65.67

Morocco

£ 75.51

Mozambique

£ 74.56

Myanmar

£ 84.84

Namibia

£ 70.17

Nepal

£ 63.99

Netherlands

£ 55.81

Nevis, St Kitts-Nevis

£ 75.56

New Caledonia

£ 79.61

New Zealand

£ 46.44

Nicaragua

£ 79.72

Nigeria

£ 27.65

Norfolk Island

£ 55.18

North Macedonia

£ 24.20

Norway

£ 58.24

Oman

£ 89.53

Pakistan

£ 48.74

Panama

£ 96.96

Papua New Guinea

£ 75.49

Paraguay

£ 68.41

Peru

£ 88.02

Philippines

£ 138.86

Poland

£ 59.39

Portugal

£ 119.47

Puerto Rico

£ 77.32

Qatar

£ 113.55

Republic of Croatia

£ 62.10

Republic of Estonia

£ 78.98

Republic of Georgia

£ 129.54

Republic of Latvia

£ 68.34

Republic of Lithuania

£ 42.71

Republic of Slovenia

£ 60.38

Romania

£ 99.40

Russia

£ 85.51

Saint Helena & Dependencies

£ 89.27

San Marino

£ 29.33

Sark

£ 117.68

Saudi Arabia

£ 86.88

Senegal

£ 74.13

Serbia

£ 123.58

Seychelles

£ 79.10

Sierra Leone

£ 52.66

Singapore

£ 89.20

Solomon Islands

£ 79.08

Somalia

£ 44.20

South Africa

£ 56.52

South Korea

£ 41.69

Spain

£ 120.61

Sri Lanka

£ 59.98

St Lucia

£ 76.63

St Vincent & Grenadines

£ 80.10

State Union of Serbia and Montenegro

£ 53.44

Sudan

£ 71.27

Suriname

£ 151.95

Swaziland

£ 79.26

Sweden

£ 57.52

Switzerland

£ 51.98

Syria

£ 63.61

Tahiti

£ 77.00

Taiwan

£ 105.85

Tanzania

£ 87.61

Thailand

£ 119.10

The Czech Republic

£ 92.30

The Slovak Republic

£ 49.82

Togo

£ 50.10

Tonga

£ 73.36

Tours (Individuals on Tour)

£ 133.34

Trinidad & Tobago

£ 55.37

Tunisia

£ 88.16

Turkey

£ 132.24

Turks and Caicos Islands

£ 118.32

Uganda

£ 88.33

Ukraine

£ 115.86

United Arab Emirates

£ 107.46

United States

£ 74.19

United States Minor Outlying Islands

£ 75.89

Uruguay

£ 77.74

Vanuatu

£ 85.86

Venezuela

£ 67.62

Vietnam

£ 125.09

Virgin Islands (British)

£ 91.77

Virgin Islands (USA)

£ 72.74

Western Samoa

£ 34.12

Yemen

£ 42.90

Zambia

£ 75.67

Zimbabwe

£ 48.98

Source: Stat-Xplore - Home (dwp.gov.uk)


Written Question
Sweden: NATO Enlargement
Wednesday 10th May 2023

Asked by: Stephen Doughty (Labour (Co-op) - Cardiff South and Penarth)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the (a) Government of Türkiye, (b) Government of Hungary and (c) governments of other NATO member states on the potential accession of Sweden to NATO.

Answered by Leo Docherty

The UK Government remains fully committed to supporting Sweden's NATO accession. Their membership will make all Allies safer, NATO stronger and the Euro-Atlantic more secure. It remains our objective to meet together as an Alliance of 32 States in Vilnius. The Foreign Secretary regularly engages with Sweden, Hungary, Turkey and other Allies on this issue, including most recently at the NATO Foreign Ministerial, where he pushed for progress on Sweden's accession without delay.


Written Question
Europe: Refugees
Tuesday 2nd May 2023

Asked by: Lord Hylton (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports from Médecins Sans Frontières that nearly 500 refugees suffered serious personal injury on the borders of Serbia with Hungary, and of Bulgaria with Turkey; and what representations they will make to the states concerned.

Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park

The UK Government consistently urges all states to uphold international law and international human rights standards and to avoid any action that may endanger human life. We have made no specific assessment on these reported instances of injuries incurred on borders within Europe, but we regularly discuss migration and treatment of refugees with partners, including through our Embassies and we remain committed to supporting them manage this effectively.


Written Question
NATO
Tuesday 2nd May 2023

Asked by: Paul Holmes (Conservative - Hamble Valley)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent diplomatic steps he has taken to help strengthen NATO unity.

Answered by Leo Docherty

The Foreign Secretary regularly engages with NATO Allies, including most recently at the NATO Foreign Ministers’ Meeting on 3-4 April, where Finland acceded to NATO and Allies demonstrated our continued solidarity with Ukraine. The Foreign Secretary and I [Minister Docherty] will continue engaging extensively with Turkey, Hungary and Allies to ensure swift ratification of Sweden so we can meet at the Vilnius Summit at 32.


Written Question
State Retirement Pensions: British Nationals Abroad
Thursday 30th March 2023

Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many UK pensioners living overseas had their pensions suspended in (a) 2019, (b) 2020, (c) 2021 due to (i) non-return and (ii) late return of life certificates, broken down by country of residence.

Answered by Laura Trott - Shadow Secretary of State for Education

DWP holds data relating to the late and non-return of a Life Certificate for the 2019 period, which resulted in the temporary suspension of a customer’s State Pension payments. In 2019, 26,206 claims were temporarily suspended, which is broken down by country as shown in the following table: -

Country

Number of State Pension claims temporarily suspended in 2019 due to the late or non-return of a completed Life Certificate

India

1,280

Uganda

65

Iceland

11

Costa Rica

24

Ukraine

21

Gambia

37

Jamaica

2,269

Nigeria

1,265

Venezuela

39

Sierra Leone

35

Dominican Republic

30

Ecuador

52

Greece

539

Bulgaria

256

Poland

116

Netherlands

624

Hong Kong

124

Fiji

4

Anguilla

9

Jordan

13

Montserrat

14

Malawi

4

Canada

15,798

Cook Islands

0

Norfolk Islands

3

Papua New Guinea

11

Western Samoa

2

Ascension Island

1

Lesotho

8

Dominica

277

South Korea

52

Oman

55

Lebanon

35

Romania

69

Peru

33

Serbia

63

Namibia

26

Libya

3

Tonga

4

Cape Verde Islands

5

Belarus

2

Bangladesh

473

Mauritius

125

Azerbaijan

4

Kazakhstan

2

Vietnam

74

Virgin Islands (British)

25

Estonia

10

Taiwan

19

Panama

36

Uruguay

19

Kuwait

28

Liechtenstein

6

Antilles (Netherlands)

11

St Kitts & Nevis

76

Switzerland

1,529

Brazil

164

Vanuatu

11

Bolivia

30

Cambodia

37

Nepal

26

Brunei

9

Bosnia Herzegovina

7

Ethiopia

14

Iran

14

Hungary

127

Swaziland

29

Russia

23

As a result of the outbreak of COVID in 2020, DWP suspended the Life Certificate exercise in March 2020, to ensure that our customers were not negatively impacted by any postal service issues which could have resulted in their State Pension payments being temporarily suspended. Therefore, DWP does not hold any data for this period.

DWP reintroduced the Life Certificate exercise in November 2021. Therefore, DWP does not hold any data for 2021, as any potential suspensions would be applied after 16 weeks of issue of the Life Certificate, which would mean that the suspension occurred in 2022.

The Management Information used has been taken from the same operational source data systems as our published administrative data. However, as this Management Information is not a recognised National or Official Statistic, it has not been subjected to the same level of Quality Assurance. As a result, these figures should be treated with caution.


Written Question
State Retirement Pensions: British Nationals Abroad
Thursday 23rd March 2023

Asked by: David Linden (Scottish National Party - Glasgow East)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many UK pensioners living overseas had their pensions stopped incorrectly in 2022 broken down by nation.

Answered by Laura Trott - Shadow Secretary of State for Education

Where payments are stopped and then reinstated, this is due to late return or non-return of a life certificate rather than from anything incorrect on the part of DWP. The number of payments stopped as a result of late return or non-return are:

Albania

7

Andorra

51

Anguilla

74

Antigua

88

Antilles (Netherlands)

8

Armenia

1

Bahamas

211

Bangladesh

429

Barbados

796

Benin

2

Bermuda

90

Brazil

737

Bulgaria

348

Burkina Faso

1

Canada

19,061

Cayman Islands

42

Central African Republic

1

Costa Rica

55

Croatia

105

Cyprus

1,831

Czech Republic

126

Denmark

525

Djibouti

1

Dominican Republic

38

Egypt

224

Estonia

18

Falkland Islands

11

Fiji

60

France

1,690

Gambia

50

Georgia

12

Greenland

0

Grenada

217

Guam

0

Guyana

86

Hong Kong

527

Hungary

146

India

1,934

Indonesia

246

Israel

426

Jamaica

2,847

Jordan

67

Kenya

234

Kuwait

17

Kyrgyzstan

5

Liberia

2

Luxembourg

85

Malawi

33

Malaysia

74

Maldive Islands

0

Mexico

454

Monaco

92

Montserrat

27

Morocco

7

North Korea

0

Panama

28

Philippines

1,564

Puerto Rico

4

Republic of the Congo

2

Russia

5

Saudi Arabia

3

Serbia & Montenegro

77

Seychelles

2

Singapore

191

Slovakia

8

Sri Lanka

30

St Lucia

457

St Vincent/Grenadines

190

Sudan

5

Swaziland

2

Switzerland

105

Syria

6

Taiwan

17

Tanzania

34

Trinidad & Tobago

264

Turks & Caicos Islands

4

Uganda

49

United Arab Emirates

50

Uruguay

22

Vietnam

88

Virgin Islands (British)

29

Virgin Islands (USA)

15

Zimbabwe

47

The Management Information used has been taken from the same operational source data systems as our published administrative data. However, as this Management Information is not a recognised National or Official Statistic, it has not been subjected to the same level of Quality Assurance. As a result, these figures should be treat with caution.


Written Question
State Retirement Pensions: British Nationals Abroad
Thursday 23rd March 2023

Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many UK pensioners living overseas had their pensions stopped in 2022 because of life certificate forms and postal issues, broken down by country.

Answered by Laura Trott - Shadow Secretary of State for Education

DWP allows 16 weeks for the completed Life Certificate to be returned under normal circumstances. In 2022, DWP was notified of the postal issues effecting deliveries in Canada. In light of this, we reinstated the State Pension of those effected and extended the normal 16-week time limit by another 48 weeks for the completed Life Certificates to be returned.

DWP does not maintain data regarding the temporary suspension of International State Pensions owing to postal issues, as this is not something the Department is able to determine. However, DWP does hold data for the temporary suspensions due to the non/late return of a Life Certificate in 2022.

The number of UK State Pension customers whose payments were temporarily suspended due to the non/late return of Life Certificates issued in 2022 was 37,517; this is broken down by country as follows: -

Albania

7

Andorra

51

Anguilla

74

Antigua

88

Antilles (Netherlands)

8

Armenia

1

Bahamas

211

Bangladesh

429

Barbados

796

Benin

2

Bermuda

90

Brazil

737

Bulgaria

348

Burkina Faso

1

Canada

19,061

Cayman Islands

42

Central African Republic

1

Costa Rica

55

Croatia

105

Cyprus

1,831

Czech Republic

126

Denmark

525

Djibouti

1

Dominican Republic

38

Egypt

224

Estonia

18

Falkland Islands

11

Fiji

60

France

1,690

Gambia

50

Georgia

12

Greenland

0

Grenada

217

Guam

0

Guyana

86

Hong Kong

527

Hungary

146

India

1,934

Indonesia

246

Israel

426

Jamaica

2,847

Jordan

67

Kenya

234

Kuwait

17

Kyrgyzstan

5

Liberia

2

Luxembourg

85

Malawi

33

Malaysia

74

Maldive Islands

0

Mexico

454

Monaco

92

Montserrat

27

Morocco

7

North Korea

0

Panama

28

Philippines

1,564

Puerto Rico

4

Republic of the Congo

2

Russia

5

Saudi Arabia

3

Serbia & Montenegro

77

Seychelles

2

Singapore

191

Slovakia

8

Sri Lanka

30

St Lucia

457

St Vincent/Grenadines

190

Sudan

5

Swaziland

2

Switzerland

105

Syria

6

Taiwan

17

Tanzania

34

Trinidad & Tobago

264

Turks & Caicos Islands

4

Uganda

49

United Arab Emirates

50

Uruguay

22

Vietnam

88

Virgin Islands (British)

29

Virgin Islands (USA)

15

Zimbabwe

47

The Management Information used has been taken from the same operational source data systems as our published administrative data. However, as this Management Information is not a recognised National or Official Statistic, it has not been subjected to the same level of Quality Assurance. As a result, these figures should be treat with caution.