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Written Question
Asylum
Friday 22nd March 2024

Asked by: Andrew Percy (Conservative - Brigg and Goole)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum claims have been successfully made by citizens of (a) Israel, (b) the United States, (c) Canada, (d) New Zealand, (e) Australia, (f) Germany, (g) Spain, (h) France and (i) Italy in each of the last five years.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

The Home Office publishes data on asylum in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on asylum applications received, and the initial decisions on claims, is published in tables Asy_D01 and Asy_D02 of the ‘Asylum applications, decisions and resettlement detailed datasets’. This data includes nationality breakdowns.

Information on how to use the datasets can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of each workbook. The latest data relates to 31 December 2023. Data up to the end of March 2024 will be published on 23 May 2024.

Information on future Home Office statistical release dates can be found in the ‘Research and statistics calendar’.


Written Question
Fraud: International Cooperation
Thursday 21st March 2024

Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department is taking to collaborate with its counterparts in other countries to tackle fraud.

Answered by Tom Tugendhat - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security)

Last week the Government hosted the first ever Global Fraud Summit.

This brought together Ministers and senior representatives from the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, France, Germany, Italy, Singapore and the Republic of Korea as well as the United Nations, European Union, Financial Action Task Force and INTERPOL to emphasise the need for international collaboration to tackle fraud.

We agreed an ambitious communiqué which sets out a new international framework to better understand and address the threat and keep our citizens safe.

We will continue to build upon these commitments whilst also engaging bilaterally with key countries to build capability and strengthen their ability to tackle and disrupt fraud before it reaches the UK.


Written Question
Ukraine: Military Aid
Friday 15th March 2024

Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the value of contributions by each country is to the International Fund for Ukraine.

Answered by James Heappey

To date seven countries have contributed £896 million to the International Fund for Ukraine. These contributions are set out in the following table:

Country

Contribution in £million

Denmark

133

Iceland

3

Lithuania

5

Netherlands

110

Norway

119

Sweden

26

UK

500

Australia and New Zealand have recently announced their intention to contribute 50 million Australian dollars and 6.5 million New Zealand dollars to the International Fund for Ukraine.


Written Question
Defence
Tuesday 27th February 2024

Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, pursuant to the Answer of 19 February 2024 to Question 13286 on Defence, if he will publish a list of the non-NATO countries with which the UK has (a) bilateral and (b) multilateral (i) agreements and (ii) arrangements to consult in the event of attack.

Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)

Various bilateral and multilateral agreements and arrangements commit the UK to consulting with non-NATO countries in relation to international security matters. The precise language that triggers any consultation under these arrangements varies. The Five Power Defence Arrangements (1971) with Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand and Singapore; the UK-Sweden Security Agreement (2022); and the UK-Ukraine Security Agreement (2024) all include reference to consultation in the event of attack.

Separate agreements with Australia (2013), Japan (2023), and the Republic of Korea (2023) refer to consultation on 'threats to international peace and security' (Australia) and 'important regional and global security issues' (Japan and Republic of Korea) respectively.


Written Question
Ministers: Aviation
Monday 22nd January 2024

Asked by: Alistair Strathern (Labour - Mid Bedfordshire)

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to her Department’s publication entitled DBT ministers’ overseas travel: July to September 2023, published on 15 December 2023, how much of the (a) £14,486.53 spent on her visit to Australia and New Zealand from 13 July to 19 July 2023 and (b) £7,223.21 spent on her visit to India from 24 August to 27 August 2023 was spent on air travel.

Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

a) Of the £14,486.53, £14,074.71 was spent on air travel between 13 July and 19 July 2023.

b) Of the £7,223.21, £6,668.21 was spent on air travel between 24 August and 27 August 2023.


Written Question
Red Sea: Shipping
Friday 19th January 2024

Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the oral contribution of the Prime Minister during the oral statement on Defending the UK and Allies of 15 January 2024, Official Report, column 577, for what reason only forces from the UK and USA took part in the action in the Red Sea on 11 January 2024.

Answered by James Heappey

The UK and United States' military action on 12 January against Houthi targets was taken with support from Australia, Bahrain, Canada and the Netherlands.

Ten countries, including Germany, Denmark, New Zealand and Republic of Korea, signed a joint statement on the strikes, re-iterating to the Houthis that we will not hesitate to defend lives and protect the free flow of commerce in the face of continued threats.

This followed a 3 January joint statement from by the UK, US and ten allies, including Belgium, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands, calling for the immediate end to the Houthis' illegal activities.


Written Question
Yemen: Armed Conflict
Tuesday 16th January 2024

Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has had discussions with his counterparts in (a) Australia and (b) New Zealand on the civil war in Yemen.

Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UN-brokered truce in April 2022, which formally expired in October 2022, has continued to de facto hold. The de facto truce is the most significant opportunity for peace in Yemen in years.

We welcome the conclusion of the Saudi-Houthi talks and the formal launch of the UN-led Roadmap by the UN Special Envoy to Yemen, Hans Grundberg, on 23 December 2023. This transition to an intra-Yemeni peace process under UN auspices has been reached following years of HMG's diplomatic support. The UK conducts regular engagements with partners, including Australia and New Zealand, through our diplomatic presence for Yemen in Amman and Riyadh.

An inclusive political settlement is the only way to bring sustainable peace and long-term stability to Yemen, and to address the worsening humanitarian crisis.


Written Question
Ethiopia: Armed Conflict
Thursday 7th December 2023

Asked by: Paul Blomfield (Labour - Sheffield Central)

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 implications for his policies of the response of the Ethiopian Government to the joint statement by the UK, US, Australia, Japan and New Zealand of 11 August 2023.

Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)

Our statement called for the immediate de-escalation of violence and for the protection of civilians; we continue to monitor the situation. The Minister for Africa subsequently raised the issue in his meeting with Ethiopian National Security Adviser and the Ambassador raises the issue in all his meetings in Addis Ababa. We urge the Government of Ethiopia to find a political solution to end the violence in the country. We continue to monitor the situation, in concert with others, while maintaining life-saving humanitarian assistance, and the provision of basic services to the people in Amhara affected by conflict.


Written Question
Corporation Tax: International Cooperation
Tuesday 5th December 2023

Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department holds information on the countries that will implement the OECD Pillar 2 minimum corporation tax measures from 31 December 2023; and what discussions he has had with (a) the OECD and (b) his counterparts in other countries on the implementation of that measure.

Answered by Gareth Davies - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

Countries that have committed to apply Pillar 2 from 31 December 2023 or 1 January 2024 include: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Vietnam. Japan are implementing for 1 April 2024.

Guernsey, Isle of Man, Jersey, Hong-Kong and Singapore have committed to implement for 1 January 2025.

There are many other jurisdictions that have taken steps towards Pillar 2 implementation.

There are regular multilateral discussions at Ministerial level, including at the level of the G20, on how to ensure swift and coordinated implementation of Pillar 2, as well as the support that can be provided to developing countries in that regard.


Written Question
Ethiopia: Armed Conflict
Tuesday 5th December 2023

Asked by: Marquess of Lothian (Conservative - Life peer)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what action they are taking to encourage the government of Ethiopia to (1) pursue talks with Amhara’s armed militia in order to end the current violence in the region, and (2) set up a dialogue with the various regional factions in Ethiopia to address their disputes in order to avoid a new conflict.

Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK regularly raises the need for dialogue and political solution to all Ethiopia's conflicts. On 11 August, the British Embassy Addis Ababa coordinated a statement with US, Japan, Australia and New Zealand, condemning the violence in Amhara. Since the outbreak of conflict His Majesty's Ambassador to Ethiopia has reiterated this message to the Regional President of Amhara and senior government representatives and offered UK support for talks. The UK supports political and regional dialogue initiatives across Ethiopia, with a particular focus on the participation of women and women's organisations and the objective of contributing to a more inclusive National Dialogue process.