Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many dogs were imported under the Balai Directive in each month of (a) 2021 and (b) 2022 to date; and from which country did these dogs originate.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
Since we left the EU, the EU import data was collated from the Animal and Plant Health Agency’s (APHA) Post Import Management System and accounts for all Imports that have been entered using IPAFFS (Import of products, animals, food and feed system).
The information that we have provided is a true reflection of the information that we have access to. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of this data, as we can only rely on the information that has been input into IPAFFS by traders.
APHA only holds data on GB imports.
From 14 April 2022 Great Britain temporarily suspended the commercial import of dogs, cats and ferrets if they originated from or have been dispatched from Belarus, Poland, Romania or Ukraine, until 9 July 2022.
Please find data below.
2021 Numbers of Dogs imported under Balai Directive | ||||||
Country of Origin | Jan | Feb | Mar | April | May | June |
Austria |
|
| 14 |
| 4 |
|
Belgium | 19 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 5 |
Bulgaria | 35 | 65 | 113 | 74 | 116 | 131 |
Croatia |
| 27 | 125 | 118 | 207 | 196 |
Cyprus | 143 | 485 | 323 | 384 | 205 | 415 |
Czechia |
| 14 | 14 | 19 | 17 | 20 |
Denmark |
|
| 12 |
| 1 | 184 |
England | 1 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 7 |
|
Estonia |
|
|
| 16 | 5 |
|
Finland |
| 1 | 2 | 1 |
|
|
France | 6 | 58 | 40 | 48 | 17 | 111 |
Germany |
| 2 | 4 | 4 | 11 | 17 |
Greece | 13 | 31 | 24 | 116 | 164 | 79 |
Hungary | 35 | 234 | 865 | 621 | 582 | 358 |
Iceland |
|
| 1 |
|
|
|
Italy | 4 | 29 | 35 | 26 | 9 | 33 |
Latvia |
| 36 | 25 | 66 | 61 | 45 |
Lithuania | 28 | 35 | 75 | 62 | 32 | 28 |
Luxembourg |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Malta |
|
|
|
|
| 1 |
Netherlands | 9 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 6 | 3 |
Northern Ireland |
| 2 |
|
|
|
|
Norway |
|
|
| 1 |
|
|
Poland | 131 | 318 | 564 | 587 | 688 | 566 |
Portugal | 1 | 34 | 69 | 59 | 43 | 78 |
Republic of Ireland | 96 | 529 | 717 | 560 | 654 | 640 |
Romania | 558 | 3609 | 4220 | 4788 | 3696 | 3199 |
Scotland |
|
|
|
|
| 1 |
Slovakia | 5 | 32 | 39 | 27 | 17 | 22 |
Slovenia |
|
| 1 | 3 |
| 1 |
Spain | 117 | 269 | 637 | 702 | 573 | 590 |
Sweden |
| 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Switzerland |
|
| 1 | 2 | 1 |
|
Wales |
|
| 1 |
|
|
|
UK |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Isle of Man |
|
|
|
|
|
|
(blank) |
|
|
| 1 |
|
|
Grand Total | 1201 | 5832 | 7937 | 8305 | 7125 | 6724 |
2021 Numbers of Dogs imported under Balai Directive | ||||||
Country of Origin | July | Aug | Sept | Oct | Nov | Dec |
Austria |
| 2 | 1 |
| 1 |
|
Belgium | 7 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 2 |
|
Bulgaria | 96 | 44 | 157 | 110 | 86 | 66 |
Croatia | 282 | 223 | 132 | 254 | 246 | 193 |
Cyprus | 297 | 396 | 345 | 325 | 165 | 275 |
Czechia | 22 | 18 | 25 | 22 | 20 | 30 |
Denmark |
| 58 | 210 | 43 | 94 | 117 |
England | 20 | 3 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 1 |
Estonia |
| 1 | 1 |
|
|
|
Finland |
| 1 |
| 1 | 1 | 1 |
France | 38 | 26 | 16 | 12 | 32 | 7 |
Germany | 7 | 9 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 4 |
Greece | 110 | 98 | 124 | 110 | 88 | 60 |
Hungary | 322 | 223 | 402 | 302 | 277 | 296 |
Iceland |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Italy | 35 | 29 | 35 | 17 | 36 | 8 |
Latvia | 43 | 28 | 57 | 55 | 69 | 27 |
Lithuania | 81 | 71 | 82 | 77 | 55 | 52 |
Luxembourg |
|
|
|
|
| 2 |
Malta |
|
|
|
|
| 2 |
Netherlands | 4 | 34 | 23 | 28 | 16 | 18 |
Northern Ireland |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Norway |
| 1 |
|
| 1 |
|
Poland | 480 | 486 | 543 | 492 | 405 | 333 |
Portugal | 53 | 22 | 42 | 46 | 28 | 25 |
Republic of Ireland | 557 | 620 | 651 | 557 | 633 | 444 |
Romania | 3328 | 2871 | 3108 | 3452 | 2825 | 2427 |
Scotland |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Slovakia | 23 | 21 | 32 | 22 | 33 | 18 |
Slovenia | 1 |
| 1 |
|
|
|
Spain | 729 | 316 | 539 | 490 | 539 | 408 |
Sweden | 2 | 1 |
| 33 | 1 | 2 |
Switzerland | 1 | 2 | 1 |
|
|
|
Wales |
|
|
|
|
|
|
UK |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Isle of Man |
|
|
|
|
|
|
(blank) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Grand Total | 6538 | 5610 | 6548 | 6463 | 5667 | 4816 |
2022 Numbers of Dogs imported under Balai Directive | |||||
Country of Origin | Jan | Feb | Mar | April | 1/5/22 to 23/05/22 |
Austria | 3 |
|
| 2 |
|
Belgium | 10 |
| 4 | 5 | 2 |
Bulgaria | 79 | 40 | 95 | 115 | 115 |
Croatia | 145 | 190 | 358 | 248 |
|
Cyprus | 335 | 282 | 275 | 77 | 231 |
Czechia | 14 | 11 | 10 | 18 | 16 |
Denmark | 1 | 19 | 67 | 97 |
|
England |
| 1 | 2 | 7 | 3 |
Estonia |
|
| 4 |
| 7 |
Finland | 1 | 1 | 1 |
|
|
France | 16 | 18 | 16 | 2 | 1 |
Germany | 22 | 21 | 7 | 11 | 3 |
Greece | 54 | 48 | 33 | 29 | 16 |
Hungary | 164 | 253 | 224 | 226 | 193 |
Iceland |
|
|
|
|
|
Italy | 7 | 44 | 32 | 35 | 22 |
Latvia | 56 | 32 | 54 | 41 | 8 |
Lithuania | 36 | 63 | 52 | 31 | 26 |
Luxembourg |
|
| 1 |
|
|
Malta |
|
|
|
|
|
Netherlands | 24 | 17 | 12 | 9 |
|
Northern Ireland | 1 |
|
|
|
|
Norway |
| 3 |
| 2 |
|
Poland | 320 | 339 | 334 | 175 | 42 |
Portugal | 30 | 36 | 30 | 24 | 39 |
Republic of Ireland | 635 | 670 | 632 | 534 | 493 |
Romania | 2529 | 2365 | 2531 | 1181 | 18 |
Scotland |
|
|
|
|
|
Slovakia | 17 | 13 | 12 | 17 | 9 |
Slovenia |
|
|
|
|
|
Spain | 480 | 529 | 448 | 415 | 344 |
Sweden | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| 1 |
Switzerland |
| 1 |
| 1 |
|
Wales |
|
|
|
|
|
UK |
|
| 1 | 2 |
|
Isle of Man | 2 |
|
|
|
|
(blank) |
|
|
|
|
|
Grand Total | 4983 | 4999 | 5236 | 3304 | 1589 |
Asked by: Lord Roberts of Llandudno (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that the Home Office are keeping up with visa applications from those fleeing Ukraine.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
We are committed to ensuring our operational teams have the resources they need to run an efficient and effective system. We actively monitor workflows to ensure sufficient resources are in place to meet demand, including from pressures relating to Ukraine.
The Home Office has surged capacity to European countries including Czech Republic, France, Hungary, Moldova, Poland and Romania. This work has increased the total capacity of UKVI who can offer over 13,000 appointments to visa applicants across the region.
The Home Office has made it easier to make applications to the Ukraine Family Scheme and the Homes for Ukraine Scheme, as Ukrainians with valid passports no longer need to go to a Visa Application Centre to give their biometrics before they come to the UK.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress her Department has made on increasing the number of visas granted to people fleeing the war in Ukraine.
Answered by Kevin Foster
We are prioritising visa applications from Ukrainians and have surged capacity to other visa application centres (VACs) in Poland, Hungary, Romania, Czech Republic and Moldova.
Ukrainians with passports no longer need to go to a VAC to give their biometrics before they come to the UK.
This will mean that our VACs across Europe can focus their efforts on helping Ukrainians without passports, increasing the capacity at those centres to 13,000 appointments per week.
Asked by: Yvette Cooper (Labour - Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what is the average waiting time for appointments at visa application centres for those applying under the Ukraine Family Scheme.
Answered by Kevin Foster
We are committed to ensuring our operational teams have the resources they need to run an efficient and effective system. We actively monitor workflows to ensure sufficient resources are in place to meet demand, including from pressures relating to Ukraine.
The Home Office has surged capacity to European countries including Czech Republic, France, Hungary, Moldova, Poland and Romania. This work has increased the total capacity of UKVI of over 13,000 appointments being available for visa applicants across the region.
As part of the Home Office’s commitment to make it easier for applicants to apply to our schemes, since 15 March Ukrainians with passports no longer need to go to a Visa Application Centre to give their biometrics before they come to the UK.
Asked by: Yvette Cooper (Labour - Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many additional caseworkers has her Department assigned to process applications to the Ukraine Family Scheme since its introduction.
Answered by Kevin Foster
We are committed to ensuring our operational teams have the resources they need to run an efficient and effective system. We actively monitor workflows to ensure sufficient resources are in place to meet demand.
We have UKVI staff in the UK who are working seven days a week to process the Ukraine Family Scheme applications.
The Home Office has also surged capacity to European countries including Czech Republic, France, Hungary, Moldova, Poland and Romania. This work has increased the total capacity of UKVI across the region with over 13,000 appointments being available for visa applicants.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking with her international counterparts in countries bordering Ukraine to support (a) identification and (b) transportation to the UK of eligible refugees.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The UK Government is engaged in dialogue with a range of international partners to ensure our response to the situation in Ukraine is coordinated and effective. The Home Secretary is speaking regularly to her international counterparts, including countries bordering Ukraine, to understand how the UK can work together with our partners.
The Home Office has made the visa process quicker and simpler for Ukrainians to come here. Valid passport holders no longer have to attend in-person appointments to submit fingerprints or facial verification. This means Visa Application Centres across Europe can focus their efforts on helping Ukrainians without documentation. The Home Office is deploying more staff to the region to support customer queries and bring on board further capacity to facilitate more biometric appointments. This is in addition to actions we have already taken including surging capacity to countries neighbouring Ukraine including Poland, Hungary, Romania, Czech Republic and Moldova, including a new pop-up VAC in Rzeszow, Poland. We have already increased the capacity to support customer queries and to expand capacity across our Visa Application Centres to 13,000 appointments per week in Europe.
A number of European transport companies are offering free transport for people fleeing Ukraine. This includes rail, bus, ferry and air travel. The transport industry in England, Scotland and Wales has also come together to offer free rail, tram, bus and coach onward travel for Ukrainians arriving in the UK from any international port, airport or train station.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she plans to take to speed up the transit of the Ukrainian people to the UK in the context of the humanitarian crisis in Poland and neighbouring countries along the Ukrainian border.
Answered by Kevin Foster
Immigration issues cannot be tackled by one country alone; it takes an international effort. The UK Government is therefore engaged in dialogue with a range of international partners to ensure solutions to migration issues are practical and in the best interest of the Ukrainian people. The Home Secretary is speaking regularly to her international counterparts, including in countries bordering Ukraine, to understand how the UK can work together with our partners.
The Home Office has launched the Ukraine Family Scheme and the Homes for Ukraine Scheme to support Ukrainians who wish to come to the UK. We have also made the visa process quicker and simpler for Ukrainians to come here. Valid passport holders no longer have to attend in-person appointments to submit fingerprints or facial verification. This means Visa Application Centres across Europe can focus their efforts on helping Ukrainians without documentation. We have also surged capacity to countries neighbouring Ukraine including Poland, Hungary, Romania, Czech Republic and Moldova, including a new pop-up VAC in Rzeszow, Poland.
The UK is committed to supporting the growing humanitarian crisis in Ukraine and the forced displacement of people. The UK is providing £220 million of humanitarian assistance for Ukraine, which takes the UK total support to the Ukraine crisis to almost £400 million overall. We have also deployed UK humanitarian experts to support Ukraine’s neighbours, who are receiving and supporting refugees fleeing Ukraine, through providing logistics advice and analysis of needs on the ground.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will take steps to co-operate with European countries to ensure that no refugee from the Ukrainian crisis is denied access to the UK.
Answered by Kevin Foster
Immigration issues cannot be tackled by one country alone; it takes an international effort. The UK Government is therefore engaged in dialogue with a range of international partners to ensure solutions to migration issues are practical and in the best interest of the Ukrainian people. The Home Secretary is speaking regularly to her international counterparts, including in countries bordering Ukraine, to understand how the UK can work together with our partners.
The Home Office has launched the Ukraine Family Scheme and the Homes for Ukraine Scheme to support Ukrainians who wish to come to the UK. We have also made the visa process quicker and simpler for Ukrainians to come here. Valid passport holders no longer have to attend in-person appointments to submit fingerprints or facial verification. This means Visa Application Centres across Europe can focus their efforts on helping Ukrainians without documentation. We have also surged capacity to countries neighbouring Ukraine including Poland, Hungary, Romania, Czech Republic and Moldova, including a new pop-up VAC in Rzeszow, Poland.
The UK is committed to supporting the growing humanitarian crisis in Ukraine and the forced displacement of people. The UK is providing £220 million of humanitarian assistance for Ukraine, which takes the UK total support to the Ukraine crisis to almost £400 million overall. We have also deployed UK humanitarian experts to support Ukraine’s neighbours, who are receiving and supporting refugees fleeing Ukraine, through providing logistics advice and analysis of needs on the ground.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many staff in her Department are assigned to visa application centres in (a) France, (b) Poland, (c) Hungary, (d) Moldova, (e) Romania and (f) other overseas centres as of 10 March 2022; and if she will provide a breakdown of the number of staff assigned to each of those countries.
Answered by Kevin Foster
We are committed to ensuring our operational teams have the resources they need to run an efficient and effective system, and we actively monitor workflows to ensure sufficient resources are in place to meet demand, including from pressures relating to Ukraine.
The Home Office and the commercial provider operating our Visa Application Centres have surged staff across Europe to meet demand, where we can offer over 13,000 appointments to visa applicants. We review demand in individual locations regularly and flex resources to meet it as needed.
Asked by: Stephen Kinnock (Labour - Aberavon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many additional staff with relevant expertise and experience have been allocated to the UK's visa application centre in Hungary since 20 February 2022.
Answered by Kevin Foster
We are committed to ensuring our operational teams have the resources they need to run an efficient and effective system, and we actively monitor workflows to ensure sufficient resources are in place to meet demand, including from pressures relating to Ukraine.