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Written Question
Military Attachés
Thursday 14th March 2024

Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 17 November 2023 to Question 1027 on Military Attachés, if he will publish an updated list of countries without a resident UK Defence Attache.

Answered by James Heappey

The Global Defence Network (GDN) utilises Resident and Non-Resident Defence Attachés (DA), who engage in Defence diplomacy in over three-quarters of the world’s nations. The table below has a list of countries covered on a Non-Residential Accreditations (NRA) basis, where a UK DA is not resident in country, but a DA elsewhere has the responsibility.

Country (NRA)

Location of DA

Angola

Mozambique - Maputo

Anguilla (British overseas territory)

Jamaica - Kingston

Antigua & Barbuda

Jamaica - Kingston

Armenia

Georgia – Tbilisi

Azerbaijan

Georgia – Tbilisi

Bahamas

Jamaica - Kingston

Barbados

Jamaica - Kingston

Belarus

Ukraine – Kyiv

Belize

Jamaica - Kingston

Benin

Accra - Ghana

Bermuda (British overseas territory)

USA – Washington DC

Botswana

Harare - Zimbabwe

British Virgin Islands (British overseas territory)

Jamaica - Kingston

Burkina Faso

Ghana - Accra

Burundi

Uganda – Kampala

Cambodia

(In process of transferring to) Vietnam - Hanoi

Cayman Islands (British overseas territory)

Jamaica – Kingston

Chad

Cameroon - Yaoundé

Cuba

Mexico – Mexico City

Djibouti

Ethiopia – Addis Ababa

Dominica

Jamaica - Kingston

Dominican Republic

Jamaica - Kingston

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Kampala - Uganda

Eritrea

Sana’a - Yemen (temporarily relocated to Riyadh)

Ecuador

Bogota - Colombia

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

Laos

(in process of transferring to) Vietnam - Hanoi

Lesotho

South Africa - Pretoria

Liberia

Sierra Leone - Freetown

Luxembourg

Belgium - Brussels

Malawi

Zimbabwe – Harare

Mali

Senegal - Dakar

Malta

Rome - Italy

Mauritania

Morocco – Rabat

Monaco

France – Paris

Mongolia

Japan – Tokyo

Myanmar

Thailand - Bangkok

Montserrat (British overseas territory)

Jamaica - Kingston

Namibia

South Africa – Pretoria

Niger

Cameroon – Yaoundé

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 - Beirut

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 (British overseas territory)

Jamaica - Kingston

Uruguay

Argentina - Buenos Aires

Vanuatu

Fiji – Suva

Venezuela

Bogota - Colombia

Zambia

Zimbabwe - Harare

Supported by MOD from in the UK

Cape Verdi Islands

Congo

Gabon

Panama

Puerto Rica


Written Question
Darwin Initiative: South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
Monday 11th March 2024

Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what environmental projects have been funded through Darwin Plus in South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands since 2019.

Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Since 2019, Darwin Plus has funded 21 environmental projects of benefit to South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands. These are listed in the table below.

Please visit the Darwin Plus website at https://darwinplus.org.uk/ for full details of funded projects.

Project reference

Project title

UK Overseas Territories involved

DPLUS146

Red Listing can protect OT marine biodiversity

British Antarctic Territory, Falkland Islands, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands

DPLUS166

Improving identification of fish bycatch in the Antarctic krill fishery

British Antarctic Territory, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands

DPLUS092

Seabird sentinels: mapping potential bycatch risk using bird-borne radar

Falkland Islands, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands

DPLUS175

Enhancing monitoring and prevention of invasive non-native species across UKOTs

Gibraltar, Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia (on Cyprus), South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory, St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, Turks and Caicos Islands, British Indian Ocean Territory, Bermuda, Anguilla, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands

DPLUS174

A cross-UKOT camera network to enhance marine predator conservation

Montserrat, St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, Gibraltar, Falkland Islands, British Antarctic Territory, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands

DPLUS089

Integrating genetic approaches into sub-Antarctic deep sea research and management

South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands

DPLUS093

HOT: Hadal zones of our Overseas Territories

South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands

DPLUS109

Initiating monitoring support for the SGSSI-MPA Research and Monitoring Plan

South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands

DPLUS120

Spatial segregation and bycatch risk of seabirds at South Georgia

South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands

DPLUS122

Biodiversity discovery and the future of South Georgia’s seaweed habitats

South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands

DPLUS143

What goes thump at night: managing bird-strike in South Georgia

South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands

DPLUS144

Protecting South Georgia’s terrestrial communities from climate change-invasion synergies

South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands

DPLUS149

Resolving ecosystem effects of the South Georgia winter krill fishery

South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands

DPLUS179

Characterising pelagic biodiversity at South Georgia through novel sampling methods

South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands

DPLUS186

Evidence-based conservation of biodiversity in the South Sandwich Islands

South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands

DPLUS187

Using satellite technology to monitor seabird populations at South Georgia

South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands

DPLUS188

Hungry humpbacks: measuring seasonal foraging intensity at South Georgia

South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands

DPLUS189

Evaluating climate change risks to Patagonian and Antarctic toothfish

South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands

DPL00019

Mapping South Georgia's Plant Biodiversity

South Georgia and The South Sandwich Islands (SGSSI)

DPL00039

Assessing Terrestrial Climate Change Impacts on a sub-Antarctic Archipelago

South Georgia and The South Sandwich Islands (SGSSI)

DPLUS132

Monitoring albatrosses using very high resolution satellites and citizen science

St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands


Written Question
Darwin Initiative: Antarctic
Friday 8th March 2024

Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what environmental projects have been funded through Darwin Plus in Antartica since 2019.

Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Since 2019, Darwin Plus has funded 22 environmental projects of benefit to the Falkland Islands. These are listed in the table below.

Please visit the Darwin Plus website at https://darwinplus.org.uk/ for full details of funded projects.

Project reference

Project title

UK Overseas Territories involved

DPLUS146

Red Listing can protect OT marine biodiversity

British Antarctic Territory, Falkland Islands, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands

DPLUS110

Recognise, protect, restore: driving sound stewardship of Falklands peat wetlands

Falkland Islands

DPLUS115

Unlocking Falkland Islands Marine Management: Key Biodiversity Areas for seabirds

Falkland Islands

DPLUS116

Falklands wetlands and aquatic habitats: baselines for monitoring future change

Falkland Islands

DPLUS126

Advancing Falklands and region-scale management of globally important whale populations

Falkland Islands

DPLUS139

Improving Falklands marine management effectiveness for marine higher predators

Falkland Islands

DPLUS148

Climate change resilience in Falkland Islands fisheries and marine ecosystems

Falkland Islands

DPLUS167

Pathogens as a threat to seabirds in the Falkland Islands

Falkland Islands

DPLUS168

Understanding increased FI seal bycatch to inform bycatch Action Plan

Falkland Islands

DPLUS169

New Island: completing preparatory steps for restoration against invasive mammals

Falkland Islands

DPLUS182

Habitat restoration and species re-introductions on four Falklands island reserves

Falkland Islands

DPL00047

Increasing environmental monitoring capacity on FI: a Thermal Imaging UAV

Falkland Islands

DPL00058

Fire Contingency Planning for Offshore Islands

Falkland Islands

CV19RR02

Establishing wildlife health and disease monitoring in the Falkland Islands

Falkland Islands

DPL00002

Restoring native tussac grassland habitat

Falkland Islands

DPL00006

Restoring peat soils and tussac grass habitat in the Falklands

Falkland Islands

DPL00020

Data driven solutions to land management and climate change adaptation

Falkland Islands

DPL00025

Building farm biodiversity planning and monitoring capacity for sustainable management

Falkland Islands

DPLUS092

Seabird sentinels: mapping potential bycatch risk using bird-borne radar

Falkland Islands, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands

DPLUS094

Developing Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) tools for Turks and Caicos

Falkland Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands

DPLUS175

Enhancing monitoring and prevention of invasive non-native species across UKOTs

Gibraltar, Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia (on Cyprus), South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory, St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, Turks and Caicos Islands, British Indian Ocean Territory, Bermuda, Anguilla, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands

DPLUS174

A cross-UKOT camera network to enhance marine predator conservation

Montserrat, St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, Gibraltar, Falkland Islands, British Antarctic Territory, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands


Written Question
Darwin Initiative: Falkland Islands
Friday 8th March 2024

Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what environmental projects have been funded through Darwin Plus in the Falkland Islands since 2019.

Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Since 2019, Darwin Plus has funded 6 environmental projects of benefit to the British Antarctic Territory. These are listed in the table below.

Please visit the Darwin Plus website at https://darwinplus.org.uk/ for full details of funded projects.

Project reference

Project title

UK Overseas Territories involved

DPLUS185

Safeguarding Antarctic krill stocks for baleen whales

British Antarctic Territory

DPL00008

Biodiversity Survey and Environmental Management Plan in Antarctica

British Antarctic Territory (BAT)

DPLUS146

Red Listing can protect OT marine biodiversity

British Antarctic Territory, Falkland Islands, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands

DPLUS166

Improving identification of fish bycatch in the Antarctic krill fishery

British Antarctic Territory, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands

DPLUS175

Enhancing monitoring and prevention of invasive non-native species across UKOTs

Gibraltar, Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia (on Cyprus), South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory, St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, Turks and Caicos Islands, British Indian Ocean Territory, Bermuda, Anguilla, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands

DPLUS174

A cross-UKOT camera network to enhance marine predator conservation

Montserrat, St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, Gibraltar, Falkland Islands, British Antarctic Territory, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands


Written Question
Bermuda: Cannabis
Tuesday 5th March 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 recent discussions with his counterpart in Bermuda on the decriminalisation of possession of cannabis in that territory.

Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK is committed to working in partnership with Bermuda and we remain available to discuss new proposals on this legislation, to find a way forward that works for Bermuda whilst also remaining within the scope of existing international obligations.


Written Question
Darwin Initiative
Friday 9th February 2024

Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much funding has been provided by Darwin Plus by country in each of the last five years.

Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Darwin Plus is a competitive UK Government grants scheme that provides funding for environmental projects in the UK Overseas Territories. Since 2019, UK government spending on Darwin Plus has increased year on year to a record high of £6.85m in 22/23, reflecting the rising breadth and quality of applications to our schemes. Projects are selected on their merit at application supported by the advice of independent experts currently sat on the Darwin Plus Advisory Group. Darwin Plus funding per territory over the last five years can be found below:

Overseas Territory

Grant Funding from 2019 - 2024

Anguilla

£2,702,538.47

Bermuda

£562,703.60

British Antarctic Territory

£935,916.75

British Indian Ocean Territory

£1,233,527.92

British Virgin Islands

£3,660,593.29

Cayman Islands

£2,871,387.06

Falkland Islands

£3,137,812.11

Gibraltar

£169,956.10

Montserrat

£2,071,315.89

Pitcairn, Henderson, Oeno and Ducie Islands

£423,105.00

St Helena, Ascension and Tristan Da Cunha

£5,918,668.62

South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands

£4,412,383.75

Sovereign Base Area of Akrotiri and Dhekelia

£1,176,523.50

Turks and Caicos Islands

£3,462,690.14


Written Question
Prisoners: Repatriation
Tuesday 19th December 2023

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


Written Question
MS Norbay
Monday 18th December 2023

Asked by: Mick Whitley (Labour - Birkenhead)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has had discussions with Irish Ferries on the (a) welfare and (b) employment conditions of seafarers employed on the ferry Norbay.

Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Irish Ferries currently operates on an international route and under international law the requirements for the welfare and employment conditions rest with the flag state, which is currently Bermuda. We would expect Irish Ferries to comply with all international requirements as required by Bermuda.


Written Question
MS Norbay
Monday 18th December 2023

Asked by: Mick Whitley (Labour - Birkenhead)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when the ferry Norbay was last inspected in a UK port for compliance with the Maritime Labour Convention by surveyors from the Bermudan Ship Register.

Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The last renewal inspection for compliance with the requirements of the Maritime Labour Convention was carried out on board NORBAY in Dublin on 5 September 2022 by Inspectors from the Bermuda Shipping and Maritime Authority (BSMA). One Observation was made during this inspection and the vessel was issued with a Maritime Labour Convention Certificate which is valid until 27 February 2027. NORBAY is surveyed annually for issuance of a Passenger Ship Safety Certificate, and this was last completed in Liverpool by Surveyors from the BSMA on 5 January 2023.


Written Question
Bermuda Shipping and Maritime Authority
Monday 18th December 2023

Asked by: Mick Whitley (Labour - Birkenhead)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the Bermudan Ship Register's compliance with core international maritime and labour conventions.

Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Bermuda Shipping and Maritime Authority (BSMA) were audited by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) in July 2023 to assess compliance with the mandatory International Maritime Organization (IMO) Instruments Implementation Code and UK Secretary of State for Transport's general superintendency over all British shipping matters. These are routine and regular audits. BSMA had areas of ongoing minor actions in the context of continuous improvement but were found to be satisfactorily discharging their obligations under international maritime conventions including the Maritime Labour Convention.