Asked by: Margaret Hodge (Labour - Barking)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of when (a) the Bailiwick of Jersey, (b) the Bailiwick of Guernsey and (c) the Isle of Man will implement a publicly accessible register of beneficial ownership.
Answered by Tom Tugendhat - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security)
In 2019, the Bailiwick of Jersey, Bailiwick of Guernsey and Isle of Man (the Crown Dependencies) committed to implement publicly accessible registers of beneficial ownership in line with principles adopted by the European Union.
In December 2022, following the ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), the Crown Dependencies issued a statement announcing that they were pausing work on their public commitments while they sought legal advice.
Currently 14 EU Member States allow public access to their beneficial ownership registers. Gibraltar has maintained a publicly accessible beneficial ownership register since 2020 and has not noted any negative economic impacts resulting from implementation of its public register.
The UK and the Crown Dependencies have differing legal views on implementing publicly accessible registers in light of the CJEU ruling. The UK is satisfied with the lawfulness of our own publicly accessible registers and continues to believe that the CDs could legally implement public registers of their own.
The Home Office is actively engaging the Crown Dependencies to understand their position. We will keep Parliament updated in the weeks ahead.
Asked by: Lord Wasserman (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Viscount Younger of Leckie on 26 October (HL10597), in how many countries there is a legal requirement to uprate the UK State Pensions paid to those UK pensioners who live there; and which countries they are.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The UK State Pension is payable worldwide to those who meet the qualifying conditions, without regard to nationality, and the amount is based on an individual’s National Insurance record. UK State Pensions are up-rated overseas only where there is a legal requirement to do so. The Government has no plans to change this policy.
People who live outside the UK will not receive an increase in their State Pension unless they live in:
- an EEA country or Switzerland; or
- a country with which DWP have a reciprocal agreement that allows for it. These countries are:
*Following the break-up of Yugoslavia, the UK agreement with former Yugoslavia now covers Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia.
Asked by: James Daly (Conservative - Bury North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with which (a) foreign countries and (b) administrative regions of foreign countries that issue their own driving licences his Department has an agreement for mutual recognition of documents; and whether his Department is taking steps to reach such agreement with other countries and regions.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
The UK continues to exchange and recognise licences originating from all European Economic Area (EEA) countries. Arrangements are in place with all EEA countries for the recognition and exchange of the vast majority of GB licences.
Outside of the EEA, mutual driving licence exchange agreements are in place with the following designated countries:
Andorra | Gibraltar | South Africa |
Australia | Hong Kong | Switzerland |
Barbados | Japan | Taiwan |
British Virgin Islands | Monaco | Ukraine |
Canada | New Zealand | United Arab Emirates |
Cayman Islands | Republic of Korea | Zimbabwe |
Falkland Islands | Republic of North Macedonia |
|
Faroe Islands | Singapore |
|
Work is currently progressing on arrangements with a further seven countries:
Albania | Moldova | Sri Lanka |
Kosovo | San Marino |
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Malaysia | Serbia |
|
I also recently met with an official delegation from Kenya to discuss existing arrangements with them as well.
Asked by: Mark Logan (Conservative - Bolton North East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many times his Department has recorded the incursion of (a) Spanish and (b) civilian and other vessels in Gibraltarian waters in 2023 to date.
Answered by James Heappey
Between 1 January and 16 October 2023, there were 382 incursions by Spanish Government Agency vessels into British Gibraltar Territorial Waters (BGTW), breaching the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) Article 19. There were no incursions into BGTW by non-Spanish Government Agency vessels in this period. Entries into BGTW by civilian or commercial vessels are not subject to UNCLOS within BGTW, and are therefore not defined as incursions.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
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 the Chief Minister of Gibraltar on the recent earthquake in Morocco; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign Secretary has not had discussions with the Chief Minister of Gibraltar regarding the recent earthquake. The British Embassy in Rabat has relayed the Government of Gibraltar's offer of support and assistance to the Moroccan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates for its consideration.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, on how many occasions his Department has recorded the presence of a Spanish naval vessel in Gibraltarian territorial waters in each of the past six months.
Answered by James Heappey
The Ministry of Defence has recorded the presence of 11 Spanish naval vessels in Gibraltarian territorial waters in the last six months. This is broken down by month as follows:
Month | Innocent Passage | Surface Incursion | Total |
Apr | 1 | 1 | 2 |
May | 2 | 0 | 2 |
Jun | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Jul | 0 | 2 | 2 |
Aug | 0 | 2 | 2 |
Sep | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of allowing people to use Gibraltan identity cards at eGates.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
To be eligible for entry via an e-gate at present, a traveller must hold a machine-readable biometric passport. Cards are not compatible.
The Government has an ambitious vision for the future UK border, in which most people crossing the border will experience an e-gate style arrival, using automation as their only point of contact.
We continue to look at options for expanding the use of e-gates to cohorts of passenger not currently able to use them.
Asked by: David Lammy (Labour - Tottenham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his counterparts in (a) Gibraltar, (b) Spain and (c) the EU on the border between Gibraltar and Spain, in the context of Spanish elections in July 2023.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The UK is steadfast in its support for Gibraltar. Working side-by-side with the Government of Gibraltar, we are committed to concluding a UK-EU treaty in respect of Gibraltar as soon as possible. A treaty that ensures the fluid movement of people between Gibraltar and the EU can secure future prosperity for the whole region. We will not agree to anything which compromises sovereignty and continue to support the Government of Gibraltar in contingency planning for no negotiated outcome. The Foreign Secretary and I are in regular contact with our counterparts in Gibraltar, the European Commission, and Spain. I [Minister Docherty] met with the Deputy Chief Minister on 17 July to discuss negotiations and no negotiated outcome contingency planning.
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make it his policy to grant an exemption to siblings of UK nationals living in Europe and studying at UK universities prior to 1 January 2028 to allow them to qualify for (a) home fee status for university tuition and (b) student finance for courses starting after 1 January 2028.
Answered by Robert Halfon
The Education (Student Support) Regulations 2011 define a family member of a UK national as either the person's spouse or civil partner, direct descendants of the person, or the person's spouse or civil partner who are either under the age of 21, or dependants. There are no plans to amend this definition to include siblings.
UK nationals and their family members who were living in the European Economic Area (EEA) (excluding the UK and Gibraltar) or Switzerland on 31 December 2020, or who returned to live in the UK on or after 1 January 2018 following a period of ordinary residence in the EEA or Switzerland, continue to be eligible for home fee status, tuition fee loans and maintenance support for courses commencing before 1 January 2028. This measure was introduced so as to ensure a substantial transition period for those UK nationals who had moved to the EEA or Switzerland prior to the end of the transition period. The department has no plans to extend this period further.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she is taking steps to improve the student visa application process for students from British Overseas Territories.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
For students residing in the following British Overseas Territories local biometric enrolment services are available to enable customers to complete a UK visa application: the Cayman Islands, the Falkland Islands, Gibraltar and St Helena. Customers in the sovereign base areas of Akrotiri or Dhekelia are able to submit applications at the Visa Application Centre in Nicosia.
In view of the small volumes of customers in other British Overseas Territories it is not viable to operate a Visa Application Centre or temporary biometric enrolment service. Customers in these locations are advised to submit their application at the nearest or most convenient location where such a service if offered. Full details are set on our website: https://www.gov.uk/find-a-visa-application-centre
UKVI encourages all customers to apply in good time ahead of intended travel dates. Customers can also opt for one of our priority visa services, for an additional fee, where available in that location, which includes Cayman Islands and Nicosia South.
UKVI considers applications in line with published service standards, and this includes factors relating to logistics timescales for the customer receiving the vignette and their returned passport.