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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 - 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


Written Question
Energy Charter Treaty
Thursday 18th April 2024

Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to the Written Statement of 22 February 2024 on UK withdrawal from the Energy Charter Treaty, HCWS279, what her planned timetable is for withdrawal from the Energy Charter Treaty.

Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The UK has initiated the process to withdraw from the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) and will provide notification to the ECT depository in Portugal as soon as possible.


Written Question
NATO
Monday 25th March 2024

Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the (a) location is of and (b) deployment levels are at each NATO (i) owned and (ii) operated sites.

Answered by James Heappey

The UK is one of the largest contributors of personnel to NATO, underlining our commitment to deterrence and defence of the Euro-Atlantic Area.

The table below shows the number of UK personnel posted to NATO Peacetime Establishment locations, with personnel in 39 NATO locations in 19 countries all over Europe and the Continental US, and the UK has proportional workforce equity at all locations.

Country

Location

UK Fill

Country

Location

UK Fill

Belgium

Brussels

50

Netherlands

Brunssum

110

Mons

170

Norway

Stavanger

30

Bulgaria

Sofia

~

Poland

Bydgoszcz

~

Estonia

Tallin

~

Elblag

~

France

Lille

10

Szczecin

~

Germany

Geilenkirchen

10

Portugal

Lisbon

10

Munster

10

Oeiras

~

Oberammergau

~

Romania

Bucharest

~

Ramstein

70

Slovakia

Bratislava

~

Uedem

20

Spain

Torrejon

20

Ulm

20

Valencia

~

Wesel

30

Türkiye

Istanbul

10

Greece

Thessaloniki

~

Izmir

30

Italy

Milan

20

UK

Blandford

50

Naples

120

Molesworth

10

Poggio

20

Northwood

60

Sigonella

~

Yeovilton

~

Latvia

Adazi

~

USA

Norfolk

50

Riga

~

Tampa

~

"~" denotes a number less than or equal to 5.

Data have been rounded to 10 and therefore totals may not always equal the sum of the parts.


Written Question
Europe: Diplomatic Service
Thursday 21st March 2024

Asked by: Stephen Doughty (Labour (Co-op) - Cardiff South and Penarth)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, which Ambassadors and High Commissioners to (a) countries and (b) other institutions in Europe are due to be replaced in 2024.

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

he FCDO publishes in the public domain announcements of changes to HM Ambassadors (HMA) and High Commissioners (HC). In 2024, we have so far announced the following changes to our posts in Europe:

Role and start date:

Individual:

HMA Pristina (Kosovo), March 2024

Jonathan Hargreaves

HMA Lisbon (Portugal), January 2024

Lisa Bandari

Governor Gibraltar, June 2024

Lieutenant General Sir Ben Bathurst

HMA Brussels (Belgium), July 2024

Anne Sherriff

HMA Madrid (Spain), August 2024

Alex Ellis

HMA Helsinki (Finland), September 2024

Laura Davies

HMA Vilnius (Lithuania), September 2024

Liz Boyles

In addition, we expect a small number of additional announcements to be made, following appropriate recruitment and approval processes concluding.


Written Question
EU Nationals: Voting Rights
Monday 26th February 2024

Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he is seeking to secure additional bilateral voting rights agreements with EU states to ensure EU citizens who arrived in the UK from 2021 onwards can continue voting in local elections after May 2024.

Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)

In December 2018, the UK wrote to all 27 EU Member States signalling our willingness to enter into bilateral agreements to ensure continuity of local election voting and candidacy rights for each other's citizens. Since 2018, we have entered into five bilateral agreements, these are: Spain, Portugal, Luxembourg, Poland and very recently Denmark, which is subject to Parliamentary ratification. The existence of constitutional barriers in some Member States has prevented the UK from entering into agreements with certain Member States. However, the UK remains open to negotiating fully reciprocal bilateral agreements where EU Member States are interested in doing so.


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
Shipping: Exhaust Emissions
Monday 11th December 2023

Asked by: Geraint Davies (Independent - Swansea West)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of establishing emission control areas in the European Atlantic from Portugal to Ireland, around the UK to Iceland and Norway for sulphur dioxide and oxides of nitrogen for shipping.

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

As set out in the Clean Maritime Plan published in 2019, we have committed to consulting on options for extending the North Sea Emissions Control Area.


Written Question
Corporation Tax: International Cooperation
Tuesday 5th December 2023

Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department holds information on the countries that will implement the OECD Pillar 2 minimum corporation tax measures from 31 December 2023; and what discussions he has had with (a) the OECD and (b) his counterparts in other countries on the implementation of that measure.

Answered by Gareth Davies - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

Countries that have committed to apply Pillar 2 from 31 December 2023 or 1 January 2024 include: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Vietnam. Japan are implementing for 1 April 2024.

Guernsey, Isle of Man, Jersey, Hong-Kong and Singapore have committed to implement for 1 January 2025.

There are many other jurisdictions that have taken steps towards Pillar 2 implementation.

There are regular multilateral discussions at Ministerial level, including at the level of the G20, on how to ensure swift and coordinated implementation of Pillar 2, as well as the support that can be provided to developing countries in that regard.


Written Question
Trade Fairs
Wednesday 29th November 2023

Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will publish a list of global trade shows which her Department has encouraged businesses to attend in each of the last two years.

Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

Over the last two financial years (including 2023-24), the Department for Business and Trade has organised international activations for UK export-ready small and medium sized enterprises at over 90 international trade shows listed below.

2022-23

Trade show

Country

Cannes Lion

France

Aero India

India

Arab Health

UAE

BETT Asia

Malaysia

Bio Convention - San Diego

USA

Chemspec Europe

Germany

DSEI Japan

Japan

ExpoNaval

Chile

Fruit Attraction

Spain

Gulfood (February 2023)

UAE

IACP

USA

IDEX

UAE

Indo Defence

Indonesia

Indo Pacific

Australia

Innotrans

Germany

International Atomic Energy Agency General Conf

Austria

Intersec

UAE

Investing in Africa Mining, Indaba

South Africa

JP Morgan Healthcare conf

USA

Kidscreen

USA

Medica

Germany

Middle East Beauty

France

Mobile World Congress (MWC)

Spain

Money 2020

USA

International Defence Industry Exhibition MSPO

Poland

Pitti Uomo

Italy

Posidonia 2022

Greece

Sial

France

Singapore Fintech Week

Singapore

SMM Hamburg

Germany

SOFIC

USA

South By South West (SXSW)

USA

Web Summit 2022

Portugal

2023-24

Trade show

Country

AAHAR

India

Agritechnica

Germany

Anuga

Germany

Arab Health

UAE

Asia Pacific Maritime

Singapore

Australia Space Policy Forum

Australia

Bengalaru Tech Summit

India

BETT Asia

Malaysia

Big 5 Construction

UAE

BIO International

USA

Cannes Lions

France

Chemspec

Germany

CPHI

Spain

Defense & Security

Thailand

DIMDEX

Qatar

Dubai Airshow

UAE

DUPHAT

UAE

FoodEx

Japan

GCC Beauty World ME

Dubai

Global Health Expo

Saudi Arabia

Global Space & Technology Convention

Singapore

GULFOOD 2024

UAE

IACP

USA

Indo Pacific

Australia

InFlavour

Saudi Arabia

Intersec

UAE

Investing in Africa Mining Indaba

South Africa

International Defence Industry Exhibition (MSPO)

Poland

International Defence Industry Fair (IDEF)

Turkey

Intersec

UAE

Intersec KSA

Saudi Arabia

JP Morgan Health Tech

USA

Kidscreen 2024

USA

Kormarine

ROK

Medica

Germany

METSTRADE

Netherlands

Middle East Rail

UAE

Mobile World Congress

Spain

Money 2020

USA

NorShipping

Norway

Paris Air Show

France

PCHI (Personal Care and Homecare Ingredients)

China

Photonics West

USA

Pitti Uomo

Italy

Prowein

Germany

ReBuild Ukraine

Poland

Seafood Expo

USA

Singapore Fintech Week

Singapore

Singapore Maritime Week

Singapore

SOF Week

USA

Space Tech Expo

Germany

SXSW

USA

Web Summit

Portugal

Wind Europe

Denmark

Wind Europe 2024

Spain

World Defense Show

Saudi Arabia

World New Energy Vehicle Congress

China

World Nuclear Exhibition

Paris


Written Question
Waste: Exports
Monday 23rd October 2023

Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will list the quantities of waste exported in (a) 2020, (b) 2021 and (c) 2022, broken down by receiving country.

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

The top ten waste types exported from the UK in 2020, 2021 and 2022, alongside the top ten destinations for those waste types, are represented in the three tables below. The information requested is not held centrally and to obtain it in full would incur disproportionate costs.

This dataset has been obtained from information provided by exporters to His Majesty's Revenue and Customs. This data is publicly available at https://www.uktradeinfo.com/ .

2020

Rank

Waste type

Waste exported (KT)

Top destination country (in parentheses: quantity of waste exported in KT; proportion of total waste type exported from the UK as %)

1

Iron & steel waste and scrap

6,826

Turkey (2,394KT; 35.1%); Pakistan (997KT; 14.6%); Egypt (742KT; 10.9%); Bangladesh (205KT; 3.0%); Saudi Arabia (173KT; 2.5%)

2

Paper and paperboard waste

3,780

India (979KT; 22.8%); Thailand (561KT; 13.0%); Turkey (491KT; 11.4%); Netherlands (474KT; 11.0%); Malaysia (401KT; 9.3%)

3

Plastic waste and scrap

537

Turkey (210KT; 39.0%); Malaysia (65KT; 12.2%); Poland (38KT; 7.0%); Netherlands (38KT; 7.0%); Spain (31KT; 5.8%)

4

Aluminium waste and scrap

436

India (122KT;27.8%); China (76KT; 17.4%); Thailand (18KT; 4.1%); Republic of Korea (34KT; 7.8KT); Italy (30KT; 6.9%)

5

Glass cullet waste

298

Portugal (83KT; 27.2%); Belgium (83KT; 27.2%); Netherlands (16KT; 5.3%); Spain (15KT; 5.2%); confidential country (13KT; 4.2%)

6

Worn clothing and textiles

281

Ghana (57KT; 20.4%); Pakistan (42KT; 15.1%); United Arab Emirates (34KT; 12.1%); Ukraine (26KT; 9.2%); Poland (24KT; 8.5%)

7

Residual products of the chemical or allied industries

181

Norway (151KT; 83.5%); Netherlands (22KT; 12.0%); Germany (8KT; 4.4%); New Caledonia (0.04KT; 0.02%); Canada (0.02KT; 0.01%)

8

Rubber waste

138

India (113KT; 81.6%); Pakistan (11KT; 7.6%); Japan (8KT; 6.0%); Netherlands (2KT;1.6%); France (1KT; 0.6%)

9

Animal waste

108

Ireland (36KT; 33.5%); France (23KT; 21.0%); Netherlands (17KT; 15.4%); Germany (13KT; 11.7%); Bulgaria (9KT; 8.1%)

10

Residues of starch manufacture and similar

76

Ireland (62KT; 81.9%); Denmark (8KT; 10.8%); Spain (4KT; 4.7%); Netherlands (2KT; 2.1%); Philippines (0.3KT; 0.4%)

11

Residues from food industry (vegetable waste)

26

Ireland (26KT; 98.5%); Qatar (0.1KT; 0.3%); Netherlands (0.1KT; 0.3%); Norway (0.1KT; 0.2%); France (0.02KT; 0.1%)

2021

Rank

Waste type

Waste exported (KT)

Top destination country (in parentheses: quantity of waste exported in KT; proportion of total waste type exported from the UK as %)

1

Iron & steel waste and scrap

8,595

Turkey (2,345KT; 27.3%); Egypt (1,491KT; 17.3%); Bangladesh (675KT; 7.9%); Italy (496KT; 5.8%); United States of America (285KT; 3.3%)

2

Paper and paperboard waste

4,298

India (979KT; 22.8%); Thailand (561KT; 13.0%); Turkey (491KT; 11.4%); Netherlands (474KT; 11.0%); Malaysia (401KT; 9.3%)

3

Residual products of the chemical or allied industries

1,497

Sweden (617KT; 41.2%); Netherlands (346KT; 23.1%); Germany (106KT; 7.1%); Cyprus (104KT; 7.0%); Norway (99KT; 6.6%)

4

Aluminium waste and scrap

560

India (174KT; 31.2%); Hong Kong (43KT; 7.6%); Thailand (32KT; 5.8%); Republic of Korea (30KT; 5.4%); Switzerland (28KT; 5.0%)

5

Plastic scrap and waste

468

Turkey (123KT; 26.2%); Netherlands (101KT; 21.6%); Poland (52KT; 11.1%); Spain (37KT; 7.9%); Italy (18KT; 3.9%)

6

Glass cullet waste

367

Portugal (185KT; 50.4%); Belgium (72KT; 19.6%); Netherlands (48KT; 13.2%); Spain (33KT; 8.9%); Germany (11KT; 2.9%)

7

Worn clothing and textiles

358

Ghana (63KT; 17.7%); Pakistan (49KT; 13.7%); Ukraine (46KT; 12.9%); United Arab Emirates (42KT; 11.7%); Poland (41KT; 11.6%)

8

Rubber waste

296

India (194KT; 65.4%); Turkey (61KT; 20.4%); Portugal (13KT; 4.3%); Pakistan (10KT; 3.2%); Morocco (5KT; 1.7%)

9

Slag, ash and residues containing metals (excl. those from the manufacture of iron or steel)

99

Belgium (32KT; 32.1%); Norway (22KT; 22.1%); Netherlands (21KT; 21.4%); Germany (12KT; 12.2%); Canada (8KT; 8.0%)

10

Mineral fuels

86

Denmark (58KT; 67.6%); Greece (8KT; 9.2%); France (7KT; 8.3%); Belgium (6KT; 6.8%); Ireland (3KT; 3.4%)

2022

Rank

Waste type

Waste exported (KT)

Top destination country (in parentheses: quantity of waste exported in KT; proportion of total waste type exported from the UK as %)

1

Iron & steel waste and scrap

8,241

Turkey (1,840KT; 22.3%); Egypt (1,396KT; 16.9%); India (1,241KT; 15.1%); Bangladesh (730KT; 8.9%); Italy (290KT; 3.5%)

2

Paper and paperboard waste

4,087

India (1,124KT; 27.5%); Vietnam (525KT; 12.8%); Netherlands (454KT; 11.1%); Turkey (376KT; 9.2%); Malaysia (363KT; 8.9%)

3

Residual products of the chemical or allied industries

1,569

Sweden (709KT; 45.2%); Netherlands (365KT; 23.3%); Norway (101KT; 6.4%); Denmark (89KT; 5.7%); Cyprus (36KT; 2.3%)

4

Aluminium waste and scrap

632

India (213KT; 33.6%); Hong Kong (98KT; 15.5%); Germany (54KT; 8.5%); Thailand (41KT; 6.4%); Pakistan (20KT; 3.1%)

5

Plastic waste and scrap

483

Netherlands (120KT; 24.8KT); Turkey (88KT; 18.3%); Belgum (38KT; 7.9%); Poland (31KT; 6.4%); Spain (23KT; 4.7%)

6

Glass cullet waste

418

Portugal (222KT; 53%); Netherlands (67KT; 15.9%); Belgium (59KT; 14.0%); Spain (25KT; 5.9%); Italy (19KT; 4.5%)

7

Worn clothing and textiles

418

United Arab Emirates (75KT; 18.1%); Ghana (53KT; 12.6%); Pakistan (52KT; 12.4%); Poland (51KT; 12.3%); Ukraine (37KT; 8.8%)

8

Rubber waste

395

India (297KT; 75.2%); Turkey (43KT; 10.9%); Pakistan (10KT; 2.6%); Portugal (8KT; 1.9%); Denmark (6KT; 1.4%)

9

Copper waste and scrap

253

China (62KT; 24.5%); India (38KT; 14.9%); Germany (35KT; 13.9%); Japan (11KT; 4.2%); France (11KT; 4.2%)

10

Mineral fuels

118

Denmark (94KT; 79.6%); Finland (7KT; 5.6%); France (7KT; 5.6%); Ireland (4KT; 3.4%); Ireland (4KT; 3.4%); Belgium (4KT; 3.0%)