Asked by: Ian Murray (Labour - Edinburgh South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what plans his Department has to repatriate British children trapped in north east Syria.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Foreign Secretary has made clear that the Government will seek to assist any British unaccompanied minors and orphans in Syria, who are brought to our attention, subject to national security concerns. The UK has no consular presence within Syria from which to provide assistance, but we carefully consider all requests.
Our advice to any British national abroad who needs emergency help from the British Government is to contact the nearest British Embassy or Consulate, which in this case will be outside Syria. If a minor is unable to do so, a request can be made on their behalf. British nationals can also call the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) in London 24 hours a day 7 days a week. The number is clearly advertised on FCO Syria Travel Advice pages.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham, Edgbaston)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for International Development on the repatriation of British children from north east Syria.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Foreign Secretary has discussed the repatriation of British children from north east Syria with Cabinet ministers including the Secretary of State for International Development, and these discussions are ongoing. The Foreign Secretary has made clear that the Government will seek to assist any British unaccompanied minors and orphans in Syria, who are brought to our attention, subject to national security concerns. The UK has no consular presence within Syria from which to provide assistance, but we carefully consider all requests.
Asked by: Stephen Gethins (Scottish National Party - North East Fife)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what his Department’s timetable is for the evacuation of British children and their mothers from north east Syria.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The UK has no consular presence within Syria from which to provide assistance. We will take a case-by-case approach to any requests for consular assistance.
Our advice to any British national abroad who needs emergency help from the British Government is to contact the nearest British Embassy or Consulate, which in this case will be outside Syria. If a minor is unable to do so, a request can be made on their behalf. British nationals can also call the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) in London 24 hours a day 7 days a week. The number is clearly advertised on FCO Syria Travel Advice pages.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham, Edgbaston)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what plans the Government has to evacuate British children and their mothers from north east Syria.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The UK has no consular presence within Syria from which to provide assistance. This makes it difficult to help but we will take a case-by-case approach to any requests for assistance. The Foreign Secretary has made clear that the Government will seek to assist any British unaccompanied minors and orphans in Syria, who are brought to our attention. Outside of Syria, we would of course respond to requests for consular assistance regarding British children.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham, Edgbaston)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to repatriate the mothers of British children trapped in north east Syria.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Foreign Secretary has made clear that the Government will seek to assist any British unaccompanied minors and orphans in Syria, who are brought to our attention. The UK has no consular presence within Syria from which to provide assistance. This makes it difficult to help but we will take a case-by-case approach to any requests for assistance. Outside of Syria, we would of course respond to requests for consular assistance.
Our advice to any British national abroad who needs emergency help from the British Government is to contact the nearest British Embassy or Consulate, which in this case will be outside Syria. If a minor is unable to do so, a request can be made on their behalf. British nationals can also call the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) in London 24 hours a day 7 days a week. The number is clearly advertised on FCO Syria Travel Advice pages.
Asked by: Ian Murray (Labour - Edinburgh South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to evacuate all British children trapped in north east Syria.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Foreign Secretary has made clear that the Government will seek to assist any British unaccompanied minors and orphans in Syria, who are brought to our attention. The UK has no consular presence within Syria from which to provide assistance, but we carefully consider all requests.
Our advice to any British national abroad who needs emergency help from the British Government is to contact the nearest British Embassy or Consulate, which in this case will be outside Syria. A request can be made on behalf of a minor. British nationals can also call the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) in London 24 hours a day 7 days a week. The number is clearly advertised on FCO Syria Travel Advice pages.
Asked by: Ian Murray (Labour - Edinburgh South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions his officials have had with representatives of regional authorities in north east Syria on the (a) evacuation and (b) repatriation of British children.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
Officials have discussed the evacuation and repatriation of British orphans and unaccompanied minors with representatives of the civilian de facto authorities in north east Syria on several occasions, most recently on 18 October.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to the BBC video report by journalist Fred Scott dated 13 October on three UK orphans in Syria, if she will take steps to return (a) those UK orphans and (b) other UK children in a similar position to the UK; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
We are urgently considering how we can assist UK orphans. Given the UK has no consular presence in Syria, this is extremely difficult. The Foreign Secretary has made clear that the Government will seek to assist any British unaccompanied minors and orphans in Syria, who are brought to our attention.
Our advice to any British national abroad who needs emergency help from the British Government is to contact the nearest British Embassy or Consulate, which in this case will be outside Syria. If a minor is unable to do so, a request can be made on their behalf. British nationals can also call the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) in London 24 hours a day 7 days a week. The number is clearly advertised on FCO Syria Travel Advice pages.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham, Edgbaston)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what estimate his Department has made of the number of British children trapped in north east Syria.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
We are aware that some British nationals, including children, are living in displaced persons camps in Syria but due to the circumstances on the ground we are not in a position to make an accurate estimate of the number.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Coventry (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, following the recent statement by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on 24 June, what plans they have to repatriate the children of British citizens now held in Iraq and Syria as a result of their parents' involvement with Daesh.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The situation that young children are facing in north-east Syria through no fault of their own is tragic. The UK has no consular presence within Syria from which to provide assistance to British Nationals there. This makes it difficult to help but we look at every single case where we are asked for consular assistance. We are not aware of any British children in camps in Iraq.
Our advice to any British national abroad who needs emergency help from the British Government is to contact the nearest British Embassy or Consulate, which in this case will be outside Syria. If a minor is unable to do so, those with parental responsibility can make the request on their behalf. British nationals can also call the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) in London 24 hours a day 7 days a week. The number is clearly advertised on FCO Travel Advice pages.