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Written Question
Cuba: USA
Monday 24th February 2025

Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made recent representations to his US counterparts on the case for an end to the economic blockade of Cuba.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The Foreign Secretary had a call with his recently appointed US counterpart, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, on 27 January. The readout is available on gov.uk.


Written Question
Cuba: USA
Monday 24th February 2025

Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made recent representations to his US counterpart on removing Cuba from the State Sponsors of Terrorism list.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The Foreign Secretary had a call with his recently appointed US counterpart, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, on 27 January. The readout is available on gov.uk.


Written Question
Chevening Scholarships Programme
Monday 10th February 2025

Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will publish a breakdown of the (a) cost to the public purse and (b) recipients by nationality of the Chevening Scholarship in each of the last five years.

Answered by Anneliese Dodds

Chevening Scholarships provide fully-funded postgraduate masters awards at UK universities for future global leaders from approximately 140 eligible countries and territories.

Chevening Programme Expenditure

Financial year

Total programme expenditure

2019 - 2020

£57,744,779.51

2020 - 2021

£50,397,000.00

2021 - 2022

£59,233,000.00

2022 - 2023

£58,994,000.00

2023 - 2024

£59,330,000.00

Annual costs for Chevening Scholarships can be found in the FCDO Annual Reports and Accounts on GOV.UK. The cost for each Chevening scholar varies between individuals, depending on factors including the cost of tuition fees, accommodation and flights.

Breakdown of recipients by nationality of the Chevening Scholarship for the last 5 years:

Country/Territory

Awards made in 2019 (incl. full/part partner funded awards)

Awards made in 2020 (incl. full/part partner funded awards)

Awards made in 2021 (incl. full/part partner funded awards)

Awards made in 2022 (incl. full/part partner funded awards)

Awards made in 2023 (incl. full/part partner funded awards)

Awards made in 2024 (incl. full/part partner funded awards)

Afghanistan

15

23

29

18

21

13

Albania

16

6

14

11

11

10

Algeria

8

9

9

8

7

7

Angola

9

4

7

8

8

7

Anguilla

2

2

3

5

6

5

Antigua and Barbuda

2

3

3

0

1

2

Argentina

25

19

24

21

15

30

Armenia

9

3

9

7

4

4

Australia

3

3

0

2

3

4

Azerbaijan

9

8

11

9

6

5

Bahamas

2

1

1

1

4

5

Bangladesh

13

14

20

15

21

22

Barbados

3

2

2

1

2

1

Belize

5

3

4

5

5

5

Benin

1

1

1

1

0

0

Bermuda

0

1

0

0

0

0

Bhutan

3

4

5

5

5

6

Bolivia

7

5

9

8

4

6

Bosnia and Herzegovina

13

5

9

8

4

5

Botswana

9

5

7

4

4

6

Brazil

57

46

53

47

46

36

Brunei Darussalam

1

1

0

1

1

3

Burkina Faso

2

Burundi

5

5

5

4

4

5

Cambodia

17

9

13

11

12

9

Cameroon

15

12

10

5

8

8

Canada

2

1

4

1

2

3

Cape Verde

0

4

0

1

0

1

Cayman Islands

1

0

0

0

0

0

Chad

0

2

1

1

0

1

Chile

7

2

5

4

4

4

China

60

37

41

33

30

17

Colombia

25

14

16

14

14

14

Congo, Republic of

0

0

1

1

0

0

Congo, The Democratic Republic Of The

7

8

9

2

4

8

Costa Rica

5

3

9

4

5

6

Côte d’Ivoire

6

7

6

8

4

8

Cuba

12

11

11

6

8

8

Djibouti

3

2

2

4

0

1

Dominica

0

1

1

2

1

3

Dominican Republic

11

10

14

11

10

8

Ecuador

9

4

5

6

4

6

Egypt

45

33

39

32

31

29

El Salvador

6

2

3

2

2

3

Equatorial Guinea

0

0

1

1

0

0

Eritrea

1

1

0

0

0

2

Ethiopia

16

24

21

13

18

17

Falkland Islands

0

0

1

0

0

0

Fiji

2

4

5

6

6

7

Gabon

0

0

0

0

0

0

Georgia

13

9

15

15

13

10

Ghana

22

21

19

16

17

14

Greece

2

1

1

0

0

0

Grenada

0

1

1

2

4

3

Guatemala

4

3

5

3

4

1

Guinea

1

6

6

1

4

4

Guyana

10

6

5

5

4

4

Haiti

4

2

1

2

1

4

Honduras

3

3

3

3

2

2

Hong Kong

2

2

2

1

2

2

Iceland

2

1

1

0

1

0

India

47

38

41

46

38

36

Indonesia

60

50

58

45

42

39

Iraq

22

21

26

22

19

18

Israel

2

1

2

1

1

0

Jamaica

18

14

17

16

14

13

Japan

1

1

0

1

2

3

Jordan

15

12

16

11

7

10

Kazakhstan

8

8

8

6

9

12

Kenya

33

39

38

37

36

30

Kingdom of Eswatini

9

6

4

3

3

4

Kiribati

1

0

0

0

0

1

Kosovo

5

11

10

9

5

6

Kyrgyzstan

6

4

5

2

4

6

Lao People's Democratic Republic

8

7

9

8

8

8

Lebanon

9

6

11

9

10

10

Lesotho

5

3

5

3

6

6

Liberia

6

3

3

1

4

6

Libya

18

15

17

18

12

11

Madagascar

11

8

3

9

5

6

Malawi

13

8

9

8

6

7

Malaysia

38

37

40

38

34

31

Maldives

4

5

6

6

7

8

Mali

0

2

0

1

2

4

Mauritania

1

3

4

4

4

5

Mauritius

9

8

7

6

6

5

Mexico

53

39

40

39

37

33

Moldova, Republic Of

7

6

5

7

6

5

Mongolia

7

12

8

11

13

16

Montenegro

9

6

8

7

4

5

Montserrat

4

1

2

1

1

3

Morocco

11

11

13

9

10

10

Mozambique

8

8

11

11

9

9

Myanmar

12

9

16

8

10

10

Namibia

9

14

15

11

13

11

Nauru

0

0

0

1

0

1

Nepal

11

12

17

10

12

13

New Zealand

3

1

1

1

2

3

Nicaragua

4

3

5

4

2

1

Niger

0

2

0

0

2

4

Nigeria

56

46

46

44

44

30

North Macedonia

7

7

7

7

6

6

Oman

1

1

1

0

0

0

Pakistan

49

34

51

47

46

43

Palestinian Territory, Occupied

26

20

23

14

13

10

Panama

7

4

11

5

5

5

Papua New Guinea

3

2

3

5

8

3

Paraguay

15

13

13

14

16

16

Peru

18

7

15

12

9

10

Philippines

28

16

34

23

22

21

Republic of Korea

24

21

13

12

18

12

Rwanda

19

10

9

8

5

5

Saint Helena

0

1

0

0

0

1

Saint Kitts and Nevis

0

0

1

1

0

0

Saint Lucia

3

1

5

4

4

3

Saint Vincent and The Grenadines

2

1

2

4

3

3

Samoa

2

2

1

3

3

4

Sao Tome And Principe

0

0

0

0

2

0

Senegal

8

5

6

5

4

6

Serbia

15

10

10

6

7

10

Seychelles

3

2

3

2

2

3

Sierra Leone

6

5

4

6

5

6

Singapore

4

2

4

3

5

3

Solomon Islands

4

0

3

6

3

7

Somalia

11

10

11

11

14

16

South Africa

44

33

46

35

42

28

South Caucasus

3

2

4

3

0

2

South Sudan

6

5

5

6

5

6

Sri Lanka

6

7

13

8

9

10

Sudan

16

17

18

17

17

16

Suriname

2

1

0

0

0

2

Syrian Arab Republic

22

21

24

22

20

19

Taiwan (Republic of China)

4

6

3

4

5

5

Tajikistan

4

3

3

4

3

5

Tanzania

18

15

15

16

17

9

Thailand

24

15

22

17

22

21

The Gambia

10

9

8

5

5

6

Timor-Leste

4

2

0

2

2

2

Tonga

2

0

1

2

3

4

Trinidad and Tobago

3

1

2

2

2

2

Tunisia

14

11

11

8

6

7

Turkey

24

21

23

18

22

23

Turkmenistan

4

1

0

6

2

1

Turks and Caicos Islands

1

0

3

1

2

4

Tuvalu

1

0

1

0

1

0

Uganda

16

16

24

18

24

17

Ukraine

21

20

19

42

26

23

Uruguay

9

7

9

8

10

9

Uzbekistan

9

8

8

5

6

15

Vanuatu

0

0

0

3

1

2

Venezuela

10

7

9

7

7

6

Vietnam

24

19

25

19

23

22

Virgin Islands (British)

0

1

0

2

2

0

Yemen

9

6

14

8

5

9

Zambia

23

14

14

12

13

12

Zimbabwe

30

10

12

7

6

8

We are withholding some country specific information under Section 38 (Health and Safety) exemption (1) (a) and (b) of the Freedom of Information Act, which provides that information is exempt if disclosure would or would be likely to endanger the physical or mental health of any individual or endanger the safety of any individual.


Written Question
Cuba: Development Aid
Monday 27th January 2025

Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool Wavertree)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what plans he has to provide development support to Cuba in the context of that country's removal from the US state sponsor of terrorism list.

Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The decision to remove Cuba from the US State Sponsor of Terrorism List has now been reversed by the new administration in Washington. The UK has contributed to the response to humanitarian crises in Cuba, including most recently through the United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) following the hurricanes which affected Cuba in October and November 2024. The UK is one of the largest overall donor countries to CERF and has supported the agency's work since its creation.


Written Question
USA: Cuba
Thursday 5th September 2024

Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool Wavertree)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the US economic embargo on Cuba on (a) the economy of Cuba and (b) trade between the UK and Cuba.

Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK has consistently voted in support of the annual United Nations General Assembly Resolution calling for an end to the US embargo against Cuba. The embargo impedes the economic development of the country. Titles III and IV of the Helms Burton Act prevent and restrict British companies (among others) from conducting legitimate and lawful business in Cuba.


Written Question
Cuba: Development Aid
Friday 24th May 2024

Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, how much official development assistance the UK has provided (a) bilaterally and (b) multilaterally to Cuba since 2010.

Answered by David Rutley

The table below shows (in £ thousands) UK's total bilateral Official Development Assistance (ODA) provided for Cuba from 2010-2022 (the latest year for which data has been published). The UK publishes further details of programme funding on DevTracker. The UK also spends ODA in the form of unearmarked contributions to multilateral organisations and there is bilateral spend to programmes which benefit multiple countries or regions. Some of this may benefit Cuba but it is not possible to provide a specific breakdown.

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 differ.

Year

Total UK Bilateral ODA to Cuba (£ thousand)

2010

250

2011

166

2012

1,449

2013

1,096

2014

3,957

2015

1,329

2016

2,688

2017

4,351

2018

4,650

2019

2,090

2020

1,837

2021

1,476

2022

561

Source: Statistics for International Development


Written Question
Diplomatic Service
Friday 19th April 2024

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

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


Written Question
Military Attachés
Thursday 14th March 2024

Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Liverpool Garston)

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
Debts: Cuba
Thursday 7th December 2023

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

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.


Written Question
Debts: Cuba
Wednesday 6th December 2023

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

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.