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
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, how many UK-based staff from his Department worked in (a) HM Embassy or the High Commission and (b) Consulates General, Consulates or Deputy High Commissions in (i) China, (ii) South Korea, (iii) Vietnam, (iv) the Philippines, (v) India and (vi) the Asia Pacific region in 2023.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Mar24 UKB Data | |||
Location | A | B | |
(v) | India | 30-39 | 10-19 |
(iv) | Philippines | 10-19 | No UKB Staff |
(ii) | South Korea | 10-19 | No UKB Staff |
(iii) | Vietnam | 10-19 | Fewer than 10 |
(vi) | Asia Pacific Region | 180-199 | Fewer than 10 |
Scope | |
British Embassy | A |
British High Commission | A |
British Consulate | B |
British Consulate General | B |
British Deputy High Commission | B |
Countries in Scope of Asia Pacific Region |
Australia |
Brunei |
Cambodia |
Fiji |
Indonesia |
South Korea |
Laos |
Malaysia |
Myanmar |
New Zealand |
Papua New Guinea |
Philippines |
Samoa |
Singapore |
Solomon Islands |
Thailand |
Tonga |
Vanuatu |
Vietnam |
Staff in scope: UKB | |
Headcount data is presented as at: Mar24 | |
Locations:China (Withheld), India, Philippines, South Korea, Vietnam (Part (i) to (v), see list for (Part (vi). | |
Staff out of scope: Contingent Labour, Unpaid Liabilities, Ministers / NeDs / SpAds etc, third party suppliers, Staff working for other government departments, CB staff. | |
Headcounts are banded for release in line with advice from FCDO Information and Cyber Security Unit. |
Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department is taking to collaborate with its counterparts in other countries to tackle fraud.
Answered by Tom Tugendhat - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security)
Last week the Government hosted the first ever Global Fraud Summit.
This brought together Ministers and senior representatives from the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, France, Germany, Italy, Singapore and the Republic of Korea as well as the United Nations, European Union, Financial Action Task Force and INTERPOL to emphasise the need for international collaboration to tackle fraud.
We agreed an ambitious communiqué which sets out a new international framework to better understand and address the threat and keep our citizens safe.
We will continue to build upon these commitments whilst also engaging bilaterally with key countries to build capability and strengthen their ability to tackle and disrupt fraud before it reaches the UK.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will (a) make an assessment of the effectiveness of clinical research practices in Singapore and (b) use that assessment to improve clinical research in the UK.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
As leaders in research, science and innovation, the United Kingdom works closely with Singapore across priorities that will drive economic growth and positive societal impact. Our Prime Ministers issued a Joint Declaration on the Singapore-United Kingdom Strategic Partnership in September 2023, which includes research, science, innovation, and technology as one of five priority pillars for the partnership. We will continue to identify opportunities to learn from countries around the world, including Singapore.
We are focussed on improving clinical research in the UK based on barriers and enablers that have been identified through multiple fora and stakeholders. The vision for the Future of Clinical Research Delivery and the Government response to the O’Shaughnessy review set out our plans to speed up clinical trials, and make it easier for revolutionary healthcare treatments to get to National Health Service patients through research.
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many UK Armed Forces Personnel have been deployed in Singapore in each year since 2010.
Answered by James Heappey
Number of UK Armed Forces Service personnel deployed in Singapore since 2010:
2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
0 | ~ | 0 | 80 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ~ | 10 | 0 | ~ | ~ | ~ |
The UK also has military personnel stationed in Singapore in the British High Commission as part of its Defence Section and the British Defence Staff Southeast Asia, as well as part of the British Defence Singapore Support Unit. Full details are in the table below.
Number of UK Regulars stationed in Singapore as at 1 January since 2010:
2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
10 | 10 | 10 | ~ | ~ | ~ | ~ | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | ~ | 10 |
Deployed personnel are defined here as military personnel who are deployed on operations. Navy personnel who have been deployed on a ship are not included in deployment figures for countries even if the operation that they are deployed on includes duties in the country or countries mentioned in the above figures. Deployment data are derived from the Joint Personnel Administration (JPA) `Move and Track` system, which records all personnel who enter a deployment theatre for over 24hrs. Figures of 5 or fewer are represented by ‘~’.
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many times UK ships have visited Singapore in each year since 2010.
Answered by James Heappey
The number of ships that have visited Singapore in each year since 2010 are shown in the table below:
| 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
Number of Ships | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 3 |
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, pursuant to the Answer of 19 February 2024 to Question 13286 on Defence, if he will publish a list of the non-NATO countries with which the UK has (a) bilateral and (b) multilateral (i) agreements and (ii) arrangements to consult in the event of attack.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
Various bilateral and multilateral agreements and arrangements commit the UK to consulting with non-NATO countries in relation to international security matters. The precise language that triggers any consultation under these arrangements varies. The Five Power Defence Arrangements (1971) with Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand and Singapore; the UK-Sweden Security Agreement (2022); and the UK-Ukraine Security Agreement (2024) all include reference to consultation in the event of attack.
Separate agreements with Australia (2013), Japan (2023), and the Republic of Korea (2023) refer to consultation on 'threats to international peace and security' (Australia) and 'important regional and global security issues' (Japan and Republic of Korea) respectively.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps her Department has taken to help increase exports to Singapore since 2022.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The UK-Singapore Strategic Partnership launched last September and encompasses our milestone UK-Singapore Digital Economy Agreement, the first-of-its-kind for the UK. Businesses are already benefitting from its world-class provisions on duty-free movement of data, data non-localisation and source code protection that make it easier for UK companies to trade digitally with Singapore.
In March 2023, the UK-Singapore Green Economy Framework was agreed, a hybrid climate-trade agreement and another first-of-its-kind for the UK, which will support decarbonisation in both economies, enabling green growth and job creation.
The UK’s upcoming accession to CPTPP, ratified by Singapore in January, will only further strengthen our strong trading relationship.
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 Singapore 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: 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.