Asked by: Taiwo Owatemi (Labour - Coventry North West)
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 consequences for his policies of the recent raid on the Al-Aqsa Mosque by Israeli forces.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
As The Foreign Secretary said in his statement on 7 April, the UK condemns Israeli police violence at the Al Aqsa Mosque. When Israeli security forces conduct operations, they must ensure they are proportionate and in accordance with international law. The UK is a strong supporter of freedom of religion or belief and calls for places of worship to be respected. We continue to value Jordan's important role as custodian of the holy sites in Jerusalem. As the subsequent rocket fire from Syria, Lebanon, and Gaza shows, incidents such as those at Al Aqsa can be the trigger for a cycle of violence.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment her Department has made with Cabinet colleagues of the threat posed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to (a) the UK, (b) the UK's interests in the Middle East and (c) Iranians critical of the Iranian regime who are living in the UK.
Answered by Tom Tugendhat - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security)
We do not routinely comment on operational or intelligence matters, however the UK will always stand up to threats from foreign nations.
As I announced in my statement to the House on the 20 February, HMG have responded to 15 credible threats to kidnap or even kill UK-based individuals by the Iranian regime. We continually assess potential threats in the UK, and will continue to take the protection of individuals’ rights, freedoms, and safety in the UK very seriously.
The UK Government has been clear about its continued concerns over destabilising activity of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in the UK and overseas. This includes IRGC political, financial and military support to a number of militant and proscribed groups in the region, including Hizballah in Lebanon and Syria, militias in Iraq and the Houthis in Yemen. The UK already sanctions the IRGC in its entirety and on the 20 March, 7 further individuals were sanctioned.
In concert with partners, the Home Office is leading work on countering Iranian-state threats, making use of the full breadth and expertise of the government and our extraordinary and courageous police, security, and intelligence agencies.
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 - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
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.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment her Department has made of the threat posed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to (a) the UK and its interests in the Middle East and (b) Iranians critical of the regime in the UK.
Answered by Tom Tugendhat - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security)
We do not routinely comment on operational or intelligence matters, however the UK will always stand up to threats from foreign nations.
As I announced in my statement to the House on the 20 February, HMG have responded to 15 credible threats to kidnap or even kill UK-based individuals by the Iranian regime. We continually assess potential threats in the UK, and will continue to take the protection of individuals’ rights, freedoms, and safety in the UK very seriously.
The UK Government has been clear about its continued concerns over destabilising activity of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in the UK and overseas. This includes IRGC political, financial and military support to a number of militant and proscribed groups in the region, including Hizballah in Lebanon and Syria, militias in Iraq and the Houthis in Yemen. The UK already sanctions the IRGC in its entirety and on the 20 March, 7 further individuals were sanctioned.
In concert with partners, the Home Office is leading work on countering Iranian-state threats, making use of the full breadth and expertise of the government and our extraordinary and courageous police, security, and intelligence agencies.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Durham (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government which countries the 887 refugees who were granted resettlement through the UK Resettlement Scheme in 2022 come from.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
The Home Office publishes data on resettlement in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’ on GOV.uk. Data on refugees resettled under the UK Resettlement Scheme by nationality and host country can be found in table Asy_D02 of the ‘asylum and resettlement detailed datasets’ on GOV.uk. Information on how to use the datasets can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbooks. The latest data relate to the year ending December 2022.
The top 5 nationalities resettled under the UK Resettlement Scheme in 2022 were Syria, Sudan, Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The top 5 host countries where refugees were identified as requiring resettlement by the UNHCR in 2022 were Egypt, Lebanon, Turkey, Jordan, and Iraq.
Asked by: Margaret Ferrier (Independent - Rutherglen and Hamilton West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in receipt of a UK pension live in countries without a reciprocal social security agreement with the UK by (a) the country they live in and (b) their gender.
Answered by Laura Trott - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
This information is published on Stat-Xplore https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk and currently extends to November 2020.
The number of people in receipt of a UK State Pension living in countries without a reciprocal social security agreement with the UK is 298,294.
The breakdown by country and gender are shown in the tables below:
Country of State Pension receipt | Male | Female |
Antigua | 141 | 166 |
Albania | 8 | 7 |
Algeria | 13 | 5 |
Andorra | 91 | 74 |
Anguilla | 33 | 48 |
Antilles (Netherlands) | 20 | 19 |
Argentina | 128 | 132 |
Aruba | .. | 6 |
Ascension Island | 7 | .. |
Australia | 100,047 | 122,289 |
Bahamas | 116 | 139 |
Bahrain | 79 | 48 |
Bangladesh | 175 | 795 |
Belize | 57 | 38 |
Bolivia | 17 | 12 |
Botswana | 89 | 55 |
Brazil | 485 | 284 |
Brunei | 16 | 8 |
Burkina Faso | .. | .. |
Burma (Myanmar) | .. | .. |
Cameroon | 6 | 5 |
Cape Verde Islands | .. | 6 |
Cayman Islands | 111 | 78 |
Chile | 168 | 141 |
China People's Republic | 249 | 74 |
Colombia | 128 | 127 |
Cook Islands | 9 | .. |
Costa Rica | 65 | 38 |
Dom Commonwealth (Dominica) | 217 | 244 |
Dominican Republic | 26 | 17 |
Country of State Pension receipt | Male | Female |
Ecuador | 54 | 33 |
Egypt | 189 | 116 |
El Salvador | 8 | 5 |
Equatorial Guinea | .. | .. |
Ethiopia | 22 | 7 |
Falkland Islands & Dep | 47 | 26 |
Faroe Islands | 5 | 7 |
Fiji | 63 | 28 |
French Polynesia | .. | .. |
Gambia | 44 | 23 |
Ghana | 451 | 388 |
Greenland | .. | .. |
Grenada | 402 | 500 |
Guatemala | 7 | 5 |
Guyana | 110 | 101 |
Honduras | 6 | 8 |
Hong Kong | 1,510 | 904 |
India | 2,145 | 2,113 |
Indonesia | 314 | 42 |
Iran | 21 | 11 |
Iraq | 5 | .. |
Japan | 4,644 | 2,158 |
Jordan | 72 | 46 |
Kampuchea | 40 | .. |
Kenya | 345 | 305 |
Kuwait | 10 | 5 |
Laos | 19 | .. |
Lebanon | 73 | 49 |
Lesotho | 6 | 7 |
Macau | 7 | .. |
Country of State Pension receipt | Male | Female |
Malagasy Republic | 6 | 5 |
Malawi | 39 | 31 |
Malaysia | 1,072 | 1,159 |
Mexico | 241 | 228 |
Monaco | 246 | 143 |
Montserrat | 29 | 40 |
Morocco | 112 | 70 |
Mozambique | 9 | .. |
Namibia | 49 | 42 |
Nepal | 29 | 13 |
Nevis, St Kitts-Nevis | 131 | 148 |
New Caledonia | 8 | 10 |
Nicaragua | 15 | 6 |
Nigeria | 1,090 | 804 |
Norfolk Island | .. | .. |
Oman | 71 | 29 |
Pakistan | 1,103 | 1,579 |
Panama | 23 | 14 |
Papua New Guinea | 8 | 5 |
Paraguay | 14 | 8 |
Peru | 66 | 64 |
Qatar | 41 | 15 |
Republic of Azerbaijan | 11 | .. |
Republic of Belarus | 13 | 12 |
Republic of Georgia | 19 | .. |
Republic of Kazakhstan | 12 | .. |
Republic of Kyrgyzstan | 5 | .. |
Republic of Moldova | 5 | .. |
Republic of Yemen | 172 | 501 |
Russian Federation | 95 | 41 |
San Marino | .. | .. |
Saudi Arabia | 75 | 20 |
Senegal | .. | 8 |
Seychelles | 73 | 78 |
Sierra Leone | 18 | 27 |
Singapore | 514 | 359 |
Country of State Pension receipt | Male | Female |
Solomon Islands | .. | .. |
Somalia | 9 | 13 |
South Africa | 12,932 | 17,411 |
South Korea | 288 | 91 |
Sri Lanka | 557 | 572 |
St Helena & Deps | 56 | 48 |
St Lucia | 376 | 454 |
St Vincents & Grenadines | 221 | 229 |
Sudan | 5 | .. |
Surinam | 5 | .. |
Swaziland | 42 | 37 |
Syria | 5 | .. |
Tahiti | 7 | .. |
Taiwan | 88 | 20 |
Tanzania | 54 | 23 |
Thailand | 4,777 | 586 |
Togo | .. | .. |
Tonga | 8 | 6 |
Trinidad & Tobago | 456 | 843 |
Tunisia | 62 | 53 |
Turks & Caicos Islands | 17 | 6 |
Uganda | 47 | 26 |
Ukraine | 59 | 33 |
United Arab Emirates | 431 | 180 |
United States Minor Outlying Islands | .. | 5 |
Uruguay | 35 | 27 |
Vanuatu | 24 | 13 |
Venezuela | 24 | 16 |
Vietnam | 105 | 14 |
Virgin Islands (British) | 28 | 19 |
Western Samoa | .. | .. |
Zambia | 79 | 86 |
Zimbabwe | 311 | 546 |
Please note:
1. The ".." denotes a nil or negligible number of claimants or award amount based on a nil or negligible number of claimants.
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had discussions with his Iranian counterpart on that country's financing of Hezbollah.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government condemns Iran's financial support to militant and proscribed groups, including Hizballah which compromises the region's security and escalates already high tensions, with consequences for the international community. In 2019, the UK made its position clear by proscribing Hizballah in its entirety and put an asset freeze in place due to Hizballah's terrorist activity. We support the enforcement of UN prohibitions on Iranian weapons proliferation to non-state actors, including to Hizballah (UNSCR 1701). Our assessment remains that a sovereign Lebanon with strong institutions is the best way to tackle Hizballah's influence in Lebanon.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what estimate his Department has made of the number of refugees who have entered Lebanon as a result of conflict in Syria.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) provides authoritative assessments on displacement. It estimates there are over 6.6 million Syrian refugees worldwide, of which 5.5 million are hosted in countries near Syria, notably Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan. The Lebanese Government estimates there are 1.5 million Syrian refugees in Lebanon. The Lebanese Government instructed UNHCR to suspend the new registration of refugees at the beginning of 2015 and we have urged the Lebanese government to enable refugee registration by UNHCR to resume. Accurate registration of refugees facilitates international support and is in everyone's interest.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Southwark (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will ask the UN Human Rights Council to undertake a fact-finding mission concerning the blast at the Port of Beirut on 4 August 2020.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
From the outset, the British government called on Lebanon's leaders to urgently and transparently investigate the blast and to hold to account those responsible. We continue to lobby the Lebanese authorities on the importance of a credible and transparent investigation. There must be full accountability and those responsible for any criminal wrongdoing should face justice, and if any multilateral initiatives are brought forward we will engage constructively on them.
Asked by: Brendan O'Hara (Scottish National Party - Argyll and Bute)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he plans to increase his Department's funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are longstanding supporters of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). We recognise that UNRWA needs to be on a more secure financial footing to ensure that Palestinian refugees' basic needs are met. To that end, the UK is working with UNRWA and other donors to help ensure its sustainability. In the financial year 2022/2023, the UK provided UNRWA with £18.7 million, including £13 million for UNRWA's programme budget for spend in OPTs, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria; £2 million for work in Gaza and £3.7 million for food assistance - both under UNRWA's OPTs emergency appeal. Decisions on funding for FY 23/24 have not yet been finalised.