Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Melton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what assessment his Department has made of the implications for the regional security of the Balkans of the (a) meeting between the President of Serbia, the President of Republika Srpska and Patriarch Porifirije and (b) planned joint Easter Assembly between Serbia and Republika Srpska.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
Following the 18 March meeting between Serbian President Vucic, the President of Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik and the Patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church, President Vucic announced an Easter Assembly in Serbia on 5-6 May, with participants from Serbia and ethnic Serb communities across the region. A similar initiative was held in 2017. We are following developments closely. We encourage Serbia, and all involved, to promote good neighbourly relations across the region, and to avoid divisive and inflammatory rhetoric. The Prime Minister's Western Balkans Envoy did so most recently during his 8 April visit to Belgrade.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will hold discussions with international partners on strengthening multilateral approaches to prevent the circumvention of sanctions against Russia through third countries.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK coordinates closely with the EU, US, G7 and other international partners to tackle circumvention via multilateral fora and strategic consultations. Senior officials attend the Sanctions Coordinators Forum in Brussels, most recently in February 2024 focusing on strengthening enforcement of Russia sanctions. With the EU, US and Japan we have agreed a list of 50 Common High Priority items; battlefield-critical components we are targeting through joint diplomatic engagement with third countries. With the US and EU we have jointly engaged with the UAE, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Georgia, Armenia, Turkey, Kyrgyzstan, and Serbia, to highlight circumvention risks and offer technical support.
Asked by: David Morris (Conservative - Morecambe and Lunesdale)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the debate entitled Observation of the early parliamentary elections in Serbia at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on 22 January 2024.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The UK welcomes the 22 January debate in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) on observation of Parliamentary elections in Serbia in December 2023. The UK contributed a strong contingent to the combined international monitoring mission, alongside support for local election observation. The UK shares concerns over election irregularities and welcomes President Vucic's pledge to implement the recommendations set out in the final OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) report. The UK stands ready to support Serbia in this important work and urges meaningful progress before elections this spring.
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, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of (a) democratic and (b) civil society rights in Serbia.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The UK strongly supports the democratic rights of the people of Serbia. We share the concerns of international observers regarding the conduct of December's elections in Serbia. This includes media bias, pressure on public sector employees and misuse of public resources. Serbia should investigate swiftly and act effectively to address these issues. We encourage Serbia, as we do all Western Balkans countries, to work more closely with civil society organisations to strengthen democracy and rule of law. We were proud to support local election observers in December's elections, alongside our continuing efforts to develop the capacity of grass-root organisations.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Melton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what assessment he has made for the implications of his Department's policies of reported irregularities in the Serbian parliamentary elections held on 17 December 2023.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The UK contributed a strong contingent to the combined international mission observing last month's Serbian Parliamentary elections, alongside support for local election observation. The UK shares concerns over serious election irregularities. Serbia should investigate these swiftly and effectively, including addressing allegations of election-related violence, and implement the recommendations of the International Election Observation Mission. We hope for swift central government formation to make early progress, including on normalisation of relations with Kosovo.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, whether she had discussions with her counterpart in Serbia before laying the Gender Recognition (Approved Countries and Territories and Saving Provision) Order 2023 on the removal of that country from the list of approved countries and territories to qualify applicants for the overseas route to apply for gender recognition certificates.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
I refer back to my previous answer to UIN 5635 on 14th December.
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 |
|
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, what assessment he has made of the security situation in northern Kosovo in the context of the recent violence near the village of Banjska.
Answered by James Heappey
The UK strongly condemns the violent attack on Kosovo Police in northern Kosovo on 24 September. The attack involved a large group of organised and well-resourced gunmen. The situation is calm but fragile. The facts of the incident are being established by the Kosovan authorities. At NATO’s request the UK deployed our Strategic Reserve Force to increase KFOR’s ability to support a safe and secure environment. Our forces in country continue to monitor the situation carefully. Both Serbia and Kosovo must refrain from actions that add to current tensions. Dialogue is key for finding long term mutually acceptable solutions and protecting the gains of the last decade.
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 |