Asked by: Feryal Clark (Labour - Enfield North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what information his Department holds on the number of civilian deaths from Turkish air strikes in northern Syria.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
As a close NATO ally, we regularly engage with Turkey on regional stability, including in Syria. The UK recognises Turkey's legitimate security interests in Syria but also the need to protect civilian lives and infrastructure, and to avoid destabilising activity. Stability in the region is essential to prevent worsening of the already serious humanitarian situation in northern Syria and enable the Global Coalition to continue the fight against Daesh. We continue to monitor the situation. The UK continues to deliver aid to those in need in northern Syria.
Asked by: Feryal Clark (Labour - Enfield North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what discussions he has had with his Turkish counterpart on Turkey’s airstrikes in northern Syria.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
As a close NATO ally, we regularly engage with Turkey on regional stability, including in Syria. The UK recognises Turkey's legitimate security interests in Syria but also the need to protect civilian lives and infrastructure, and to avoid destabilising activity. Stability in the region is essential to prevent worsening of the already serious humanitarian situation in northern Syria and enable the Global Coalition to continue the fight against Daesh. We continue to monitor the situation. The UK continues to deliver aid to those in need in northern Syria.
Asked by: Jonathan Gullis (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions he had with his counterparts in (a) Turkey and (b) India on tackling illegal migration from those countries.
Answered by Michael Tomlinson - Minister of State (Minister for Illegal Migration)
Tackling illegal migration is a top priority for this government and we continue to engage with all partners on this issue.
We have a close partnership with the government of Turkey when it comes to combatting this shared problem and discuss a number of challenges with them, including how we can continue to work together to effectively tackle Organised Immigration Crime.
We also have a close and continuous relationship with the government of India on this matter and on 13 November, the Home Secretary met the Indian External Affairs Minister to discuss joint working to tackle Illegal Migration, as well as the secondary legislation currently going through parliament to designate India as a safe country, to strengthen the immigration system and help prevent abuse, including by people making unfounded protection claims.
Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of the cooperation proposal by the President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus entitled De-mining the Island of Cyprus, dated 1 July 2022; and what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Republic of Cyprus’s rejection of that proposal.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
In accordance with the rest of the international community, with the sole exception of Turkey, the UK does not recognise the self-declared "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus" as an independent state. The UK is unequivocal in its support for a mine-free Cyprus and, in line with the UN Security Council, continues to urge the leaders of both communities to agree a plan to achieve this. It remains for the leaders to determine the details of this cooperation.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many foreign national offenders were removed from the country through a prison transfer agreement each year since 2010; and if he will list which countries were they removed to.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Any foreign national who is convicted of a crime and given a prison sentence is considered for deportation at the earliest opportunity. Where appropriate, the Government will also seek to permanently remove foreign criminals from the UK via the Early Removal Scheme once they have served the minimum required of their sentence. This is our best performing removal scheme with 5,262 Foreign National Offenders (FNOs) having been removed between January 2019 and June 2022.
The Home Office removed 16,676 foreign national offenders since January 2019 to September 2023. Published figures show that FNO returns have increased in the latest 12-month period (ending September 2023) by 19% when compared to previous 12-month period.
Our new Prisoner Transfer Agreement with Albania entered into force in May 2023 and we have signed a new Prisoner Transfer Agreement with the Philippines. We are looking to negotiate new Prisoner Transfer Agreements with key EU Member States and wider-world countries
Foreign national offender removals via Prisoner Transfer Agreements since 2010:
Year: | Removals: |
2010 | 46 |
2011 | 33 |
2012 | 41 |
2013 | 44 |
2014 | 34 |
2015 | 57 |
2016 | 99 |
2017 | 107 |
2018 | 111 |
2019 | 136 |
2020 | 81 |
2021 | 73 |
2022 | 50 |
2023 | 33 |
Countries or Territories we have removed foreign national offenders to via Prisoner Transfer Agreements since 2010:
Albania | Denmark | Latvia | Slovakia |
Austria | Ecuador | Lithuania | Slovenia |
Belgium | Estonia | Macedonia | Spain |
Bermuda | France | Malta | Sri Lanka |
Bolivia | Germany | Montenegro | St Helena |
Brazil | Ghana | Netherlands | Sweden |
Bulgaria | Gibraltar | Nigeria | Switzerland |
Canada | Greece | Norway | Turkey |
Cayman | Hungary | Pakistan | Ukraine |
Chile | India | Poland | Vietnam |
Croatia | Ireland | Portugal | Iraq |
Cyprus | Israel | Romania |
|
Czech Republic | Italy | Saudi |
|
Asked by: Kate Osamor (Labour (Co-op) - Edmonton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what discussions he has had with his Turkish counterpart on the attacks in north-east Syria.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
As a close NATO ally, we regularly engage the Turkish Government on regional stability, including in Syria. The former Foreign Secretary and I (Minister for Europe) discussed this issue with Turkish counterparts during visits to Ankara in September and November respectively. The UK recognises Turkey's legitimate security interests in the region but encourages restraint from activity that could lead to further destabilisation or civilian loss of life. Security and stability in the region are necessary to prevent worsening of the already serious humanitarian situation in northern Syria and enable the Global Coalition and its partners to continue the fight against Daesh.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester, Gorton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what recent assessment he has made of the adherence by Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots to the 1960 Treaty of Guarantee.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The Treaty of Guarantee was signed by the Republic of Cyprus, the UK, Greece and Turkey in 1960. We do not make an assessment of the adherence by the Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot communities to the Treaty. As one of the signatories, the UK's support for the independence, territorial integrity and security of the Republic of Cyprus remains unwavering. We recognise that the status quo creates serious challenges for all Cypriots and continue to support the UN-led process to resolve these through a just and lasting Settlement, in line with UN Security Council Resolutions. We continue to engage all sides on this, including the leaders of the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities.
Asked by: Naz Shah (Labour - Bradford West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps he is taking to help ensure direct, tariff-free trade with Northern Cyprus.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
In accordance with the rest of the international community, with the sole exception of Turkey, the UK does not recognise the self-declared "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus" as an independent state. Several UN Security Council Resolutions and other multilateral agreements also limit links between UK and the north. However, within these constraints we support measures to reduce the isolation of the Turkish Cypriot community, including through regular engagement with the Turkish Cypriot Chamber of Commerce. Last month, HM Trade Commissioner visited Cyprus to discuss trade issues further. We continue to believe that a just and lasting settlement in Cyprus is the best means of resolving the difficulties caused by the division of the island.
Asked by: Naz Shah (Labour - Bradford West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has made an assessment of the potential contribution of Turkish Cypriot Muslims in Northern Cyprus to the UK’s strategic position in the eastern Mediterranean.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
In accordance with the rest of the international community, with the sole exception of Turkey, the UK does not recognise the self-declared "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus" as an independent state. We do however engage with all parties, including Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriot communities, as well as faith communities, as part of the UK's commitment to stability and security in the region.
Asked by: Naz Shah (Labour - Bradford West)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if her Department will take steps to help ensure that (a) athletes, (b) footballers and (c) teams from Northern Cyprus can participate in international sporting events.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
In accordance with the rest of the international community, with the sole exception of Turkey, the UK does not recognise the self-declared “Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus” as an independent state.