Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, how many requests for consular support were made to each British Embassy or Consulate in 2023; and how many of those were responded to by officials within a period of 24 hours.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Our consular staff endeavour to give appropriate and tailored assistance 24 hours a day, seven days a week and 365 days a year, to British nationals overseas and their families in the UK who need support. In 2023, in addition to long running cases, we provided support to around 22,000 British nationals, see breakdown by Post in the table below. The FCDO reports publicly on consular delivery through the FCDO Outcome Delivery Plan [https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/foreign-commonwealth-development-office-outcome-delivery-plan]. Publishing our transparency data is currently on hold while we embed a new Case Management system.
COUNTRY | 2023 |
Afghanistan | 22 |
Albania | 63 |
Algeria | 23 |
Angola | |
Argentina | 34 |
Armenia | 8 |
Australia | 414 |
Austria | 92 |
Azerbaijan | 12 |
Bahrain | 48 |
Barbados | 113 |
Belarus | 6 |
Belgium | 152 |
Bolivia | 12 |
Bosnia and Herzegovina | 12 |
Botswana | 15 |
Brazil | 88 |
Bulgaria | 166 |
Cambodia | 112 |
Cameroon | 30 |
Canada | 181 |
Chile | 21 |
China | 143 |
Colombia | 73 |
Congo (Democratic Republic) | 22 |
Costa Rica | 39 |
Croatia | 114 |
Cuba | 29 |
Cyprus | 441 |
Czechia | 141 |
Denmark | 88 |
Dominican Republic | 67 |
Ecuador | 13 |
Egypt | 383 |
Estonia | 19 |
Ethiopia | 104 |
Fiji | 21 |
Finland | 49 |
France | 1027 |
Georgia | 27 |
Germany | 662 |
Ghana | 85 |
Greece | 936 |
Guatemala | 43 |
Guinea | |
Guyana | 17 |
Hong Kong SAR | 110 |
Hungary | 131 |
Iceland | 17 |
India | 360 |
Indonesia | 196 |
Iraq | 46 |
Ireland | 104 |
Israel | 39 |
Italy | 411 |
Ivory Coast | |
Jamaica | 179 |
Japan | 167 |
Jerusalem | 61 |
Jordan | 71 |
Kazakhstan | 14 |
Kenya | 146 |
Kuwait | 30 |
Kyrgyzstan | |
Laos | 29 |
Latvia | 20 |
Lebanon | 34 |
Liberia | |
Lithuania | 23 |
Luxembourg | 10 |
Madagascar | |
Malawi | |
Malaysia | 138 |
Malta | 106 |
Mauritius | 14 |
Mexico | 207 |
Moldova | 13 |
Mongolia | 6 |
Montenegro | 33 |
Morocco | 222 |
Myanmar (Burma) | 8 |
Namibia | 9 |
Nepal | 21 |
Netherlands | 287 |
New Zealand | 127 |
Nigeria | 74 |
Norway | 149 |
Oman | 50 |
Pakistan | 376 |
Panama | 17 |
Paraguay | |
Peru | 58 |
Philippines | 283 |
Poland | 242 |
Portugal | 524 |
Qatar | 96 |
Romania | 89 |
Russia | 28 |
Rwanda | 7 |
Saudi Arabia | 166 |
Senegal | 21 |
Serbia | 29 |
Seychelles | 11 |
Sierra Leone | 15 |
Singapore | 105 |
Slovakia | 38 |
Slovenia | 17 |
South Africa | 195 |
South Korea | 40 |
Spain | 4143 |
Sri Lanka | 86 |
St Lucia | 21 |
Sudan | 34 |
Sweden | 110 |
Switzerland | 157 |
Taiwan | 22 |
Tajikistan | 6 |
Tanzania | 36 |
Thailand | 1383 |
The Gambia | 48 |
Trinidad and Tobago | 40 |
Tunisia | 75 |
Turkey | 947 |
Uganda | 52 |
Ukraine | 56 |
United Arab Emirates | 658 |
United States | 1649 |
Uruguay | 10 |
Uzbekistan | 8 |
Venezuela | |
Vietnam | 188 |
Zambia | 22 |
Zimbabwe | 26 |
NB We do not publish data where figures are 5 or below to comply with GDPR
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 |
|
Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Vere of Norbiton on 22 November (HL158), why they agreed to defer Cuba’s debt repayments in 2021, how much the UK is owed by Cuba as a member of the Group of Creditors of Cuba, and when payment is expected.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
As outlined in the answer to HL549, the Group of Creditors to Cuba (GCC), including the UK, agreed in 2021 to defer payments due under the 2015 Agreement. This was on the basis of the Republic of Cuba’s economic and financial situation and the Cuban Government’s efforts to support Cuban economic development in the context of Covid-19.
The GCC and Cuba have confirmed their willingness to preserve the 2015 Agreement and commitment to ensure its full implementation. The GCC has not published the terms of implementation.
Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Vere of Norbiton on 22 November (HL158), what was the rationale behind the decision to defer payments under the 2015 agreement; and when they expect Cuba to make payments against this debt.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
In 2021, the Group of Creditors to Cuba (GCC), including the UK, agreed to defer payments due under the 2015 Agreement. This was on the basis of the Republic of Cuba’s economic and financial situation and the Cuban Government’s efforts to support Cuban economic development in the context of Covid-19.
The GCC and Cuba have confirmed their willingness to preserve the 2015 Agreement and commitment to ensure its full implementation.
Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have carried out any analysis of the number of troops from Cuba who may be fighting for Russia against Ukraine.
Answered by Earl of Minto - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Ministry of Defence are aware of the open-source reports on networks operating in Cuba and Russia alleged to have facilitated young Cubans to join Russia’s war in Ukraine. We are concerned that these individuals have been deceived and recruited to fight for Russia.
Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what contribution they make to the Paris Club group of official creditors; how they monitor the use of any contributions to the group, and in particular whether any funds have been provided to Cuba in the last five years in funding or in debts being written off.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Paris Club is an informal group of official creditors who coordinate on providing debt treatments for debtor countries. The UK does not make any financial contributions to the Paris Club, nor does the Paris Club have a function in providing any finance directly to countries. Any debt treatments agreed by the Paris Club are implemented on a bilateral basis between the official creditor and debtor countries.
In 2015, the Group of Creditors of Cuba (GCC), including the UK, agreed a debt treatment with the Government of the Republic of Cuba to restructure USD 2.6 billion of debt in arrears, over an 18-year period. In 2021, the GCC agreed to defer payments due under the 2015 agreement.
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
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 |
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many Chevening scholarships have been awarded to each country for awarded for the 2023-24 academic year.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
Chevening operates in over 160 countries and territories. For the 2023-24 academic year, our budget of £57.7 million Official Development Assistance (ODA), £1.6 million non-ODA funding, and additional income of around £13.2 million from tuition fee-waivers and external partners allowed us to offer 1440 awards of which 1383 were from ODA funding and 57 from non-ODA funding. Attached is a table indicating numbers from each eligible country. For countries where we offered fewer than five places we withhold the exact number as this would contravene one of the data protection principles. In this case, Sections 40(2) and 40 (3A)(a) of the Freedom of Information Act apply.
ODA | Country | Awards made (incl. full/part partner funded awards) |
ODA | AFGHANISTAN | 22 |
ODA | ALBANIA | 11 |
ODA | ALGERIA | 7 |
ODA | ANGOLA / SAO TOME AND PRINCIPE | 15 |
ODA | ARGENTINA | 15 |
ODA | ARMENIA | 5 |
ODA | AZERBAIJAN | 7 |
ODA | BANGLADESH | 21 |
ODA | BELARUS | 7 |
ODA | BELIZE | Fewer than 5 |
ODA | BHUTAN | 5 |
ODA | BOLIVIA | 6 |
ODA | BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA | 6 |
ODA | BOTSWANA | 5 |
ODA | BRAZIL | 46 |
ODA | BURUNDI | Fewer than 5 |
ODA | CAMBODIA | 14 |
ODA | CAMEROON / CHAD / EQUATORIAL GUINEA / GABON | 8 |
ODA | CHINA | 33 |
ODA | COLOMBIA | 14 |
ODA | CONGO, The Democratic Republic Of The/Central African Republic/Republic of Congo | Fewer than 5 |
ODA | COSTA RICA / NICARAGUA | 6 |
ODA | COTE D'IVOIRE | 7 |
ODA | CUBA | 8 |
ODA | DJIBOUTI | Fewer than 5 |
ODA | DOMINICAN REPUBLIC/HAITI | 13 |
ODA | EAST CARIBBEAN ODA (GRENADA, ST LUCIA, DOMINICA, ST VINCENT & THE GRENADINES, ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA) | 11 |
ODA | EAST TIMOR | Fewer than 5 |
ODA | ECUADOR | 6 |
ODA | EGYPT | 30 |
ODA | EL SALVADOR | Fewer than 5 |
ODA | ERITREA | Fewer than 5 |
ODA | Eswatini | Fewer than 5 |
ODA | ETHIOPIA | 13 |
ODA | GAMBIA | 5 |
ODA | GEORGIA/South Caucasus | 14 |
ODA | GHANA / BENIN / TOGO /BURKINA FASO | 16 |
ODA | GUATEMALA / HONDURAS | 5 |
ODA | GUINEA | Fewer than 5 |
ODA | GUYANA / SURINAME | 5 |
ODA | INDIA | 38 |
ODA | INDONESIA | 43 |
ODA | IRAQ | 18 |
ODA | JAMAICA | 13 |
ODA | JORDAN | 8 |
ODA | KAZAKHSTAN | 9 |
ODA | KENYA | 33 |
ODA | KOSOVO | 8 |
ODA | KYRGYZ REPUBLIC | Fewer than 5 |
ODA | LAOS | 13 |
ODA | LEBANON | 10 |
ODA | LESOTHO | 6 |
ODA | LIBERIA | Fewer than 5 |
ODA | LIBYA | 10 |
ODA | MADAGASCAR/COMOROS | 8 |
ODA | MALAWI | 6 |
ODA | MALAYSIA | 41 |
ODA | MALDIVES | 7 |
ODA | MALI | Fewer than 5 |
ODA | MAURITANIA | 5 |
ODA | MAURITIUS | 7 |
ODA | MEXICO | 34 |
ODA | MOLDOVA | 6 |
ODA | MONGOLIA | 17 |
ODA | MONTENEGRO | 7 |
ODA | MOROCCO | 11 |
ODA | MOZAMBIQUE | 15 |
ODA | MYANMAR | 11 |
ODA | NAMIBIA | 14 |
ODA | NEPAL | 11 |
ODA | NIGER | Fewer than 5 |
ODA | NIGERIA | 39 |
ODA | NORTH MACEDONIA | 6 |
ODA | OVERSEAS TERRITORIES | 12 |
ODA | PACIFIC POOL | 32 |
ODA | PAKISTAN (DOES NOT INCLUDE FELLOWS) | 46 |
ODA | PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES | 11 |
ODA | PANAMA | 5 |
ODA | PARAGUAY | 17 |
ODA | PERU | 11 |
ODA | PHILIPPINES | 23 |
ODA | RWANDA | 8 |
ODA | SAMOA + COOK ISLANDS | Fewer than 5 |
ODA | SENEGAL / CAPE VERDE /GUINEA-BISSAU | 8 |
ODA | SERBIA | 7 |
ODA | SIERRA LEONE | 6 |
ODA | SOMALIA | 17 |
ODA | SOUTH AFRICA | 47 |
ODA | SOUTH SUDAN | 6 |
ODA | SRI LANKA | 10 |
ODA | SUDAN | 14 |
ODA | SYRIA | 15 |
ODA | TAJIKISTAN | Fewer than 5 |
ODA | TANZANIA | 17 |
ODA | THAILAND | 24 |
ODA | TUNISIA | 6 |
ODA | TURKEY | 20 |
ODA | TURKMENISTAN | 6 |
ODA | UGANDA | 21 |
ODA | UKRAINE | 37 |
ODA | UZBEKISTAN | 7 |
ODA | VENEZUELA | 7 |
ODA | VIETNAM | 23 |
ODA | YEMEN | 9 |
ODA | ZAMBIA | 11 |
ODA | ZIMBABWE | 7 |
Non-ODA | AUSTRALIA | Fewer than 5 |
Non-ODA | BAHAMAS | Fewer than 5 |
Non-ODA | BARBADOS (+ ST KITTS AND NEVIS) | Fewer than 5 |
Non-ODA | BRUNEI | Fewer than 5 |
Non-ODA | CANADA | Fewer than 5 |
Non-ODA | CHILE | Fewer than 5 |
Non-ODA | HONG KONG | Fewer than 5 |
Non-ODA | ICELAND | Fewer than 5 |
Non-ODA | ISRAEL | Fewer than 5 |
Non-ODA | JAPAN | Fewer than 5 |
Non-ODA | NEW ZEALAND | Fewer than 5 |
Non-ODA | SEYCHELLES | Fewer than 5 |
Non-ODA | SINGAPORE | 5 |
Non-ODA | SOUTH KOREA | Fewer than 5 |
Non-ODA | TAIWAN | 5 |
Non-ODA | TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO | Fewer than 5 |
Non-ODA | URUGUAY | 10 |
1350 |
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the impact on UK strategic interests in the Caribbean of the presence of Chinese military personnel in Cuba.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign Secretary's Mansion House speech earlier this year set out the UK's global approach to China. The Foreign Secretary underlined that the UK would be firm in pushing back wherever we judged Chinese actions were against British interests while engaging directly with China, bilaterally and multilaterally, to preserve and create open, constructive, and stable relations reflecting China's global importance. We continue to monitor the situation in Cuba and any potential impact on UK strategic interests.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
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 impact of allegations that Cuban nationals are undertaking military training in Belarus with the consent of the Cuban government on the UK's bilateral relations with Cuba.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We continue to monitor reports of the discussion of potential military co-operation between Belarus and Cuba, following comments made by the Belarus Deputy Defence Minister. The UK has a long standing policy of engagement with Cuba. Our relationship allows us to collaborate positively in areas of mutual interest and to talk frankly on matters where our views and interests differ.