To match an exact phrase, use quotation marks around the search term. eg. "Parliamentary Estate". Use "OR" or "AND" as link words to form more complex queries.


View sample alert

Keep yourself up-to-date with the latest developments by exploring our subscription options to receive notifications direct to your inbox

Written Question
China: Fisheries
Thursday 28th March 2024

Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of fishing by China’s state-sponsored distant water fleet in the (a) Andaman Sea and (b) Gulf of Thailand.

Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK is committed to engaging with other countries, including China, to sustainably manage fisheries, protect ecosystems and combat Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing. We support ocean protection through appropriate funding. For example, at the G7 Leaders Summit in Cornwall, the Government pledged £500 million to create our Blue Planet Fund to help developing countries protect the ocean from pollution, overfishing and habitat loss. We also push for multilateral action internationally, including through Regional Fisheries Management Organisations, the Convention of Biological Diversity and the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation. The UK remains committed to international law and UNCLOS.

China is building a network of fishing bases in developing countries across four continents. Comprising ports, boats, and fish processing plants, the bases service China's distant-water fleet: an armada of over 4,600 vessels (potentially many more) that operates in the exclusive economic zones (EEZs) of 42 countries and accounts for 14 percent of worldwide marine catch by value.


Written Question
Thailand: Fisheries
Thursday 28th March 2024

Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)

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 potential impact of the fisheries transparency reforms introduced by Thailand's government in 2015 on fish stocks in the region.

Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

We are monitoring developments regarding proposals to reform Thailand's Fisheries Act and are engaging with relevant organisations to understand the potential impact of these reforms. The UK complies with its international obligations to maintain labour, maritime and environmental standards, and we encourage other countries to do the same.


Written Question
Thailand: Fisheries
Thursday 28th March 2024

Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will hold discussions with representatives of Thailand's government on its proposed fishing reforms.

Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

We are monitoring developments regarding proposals to reform Thailand's Fisheries Act and are engaging with relevant organisations to understand the potential impact of these reforms. The UK complies with its international obligations to maintain labour, maritime and environmental standards, and we encourage other countries to do the same.


Written Question
Fisheries: Thailand
Friday 22nd March 2024

Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate his Department has made of the value of fisheries stocks imported from Thailand in each of the last five years.

Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The nominal value of seafood goods, mainly shrimps & prawns, and skipjack tuna, imported from Thailand was £64m in 2019, £50m in 2020, £40m in 2021, £37m in 2022 and £36m last year.


Written Question
Military Attachés
Thursday 14th March 2024

Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 17 November 2023 to Question 1027 on Military Attachés, if he will publish an updated list of countries without a resident UK Defence Attache.

Answered by James Heappey

The Global Defence Network (GDN) utilises Resident and Non-Resident Defence Attachés (DA), who engage in Defence diplomacy in over three-quarters of the world’s nations. The table below has a list of countries covered on a Non-Residential Accreditations (NRA) basis, where a UK DA is not resident in country, but a DA elsewhere has the responsibility.

Country (NRA)

Location of DA

Angola

Mozambique - Maputo

Anguilla (British overseas territory)

Jamaica - Kingston

Antigua & Barbuda

Jamaica - Kingston

Armenia

Georgia – Tbilisi

Azerbaijan

Georgia – Tbilisi

Bahamas

Jamaica - Kingston

Barbados

Jamaica - Kingston

Belarus

Ukraine – Kyiv

Belize

Jamaica - Kingston

Benin

Accra - Ghana

Bermuda (British overseas territory)

USA – Washington DC

Botswana

Harare - Zimbabwe

British Virgin Islands (British overseas territory)

Jamaica - Kingston

Burkina Faso

Ghana - Accra

Burundi

Uganda – Kampala

Cambodia

(In process of transferring to) Vietnam - Hanoi

Cayman Islands (British overseas territory)

Jamaica – Kingston

Chad

Cameroon - Yaoundé

Cuba

Mexico – Mexico City

Djibouti

Ethiopia – Addis Ababa

Dominica

Jamaica - Kingston

Dominican Republic

Jamaica - Kingston

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Kampala - Uganda

Eritrea

Sana’a - Yemen (temporarily relocated to Riyadh)

Ecuador

Bogota - Colombia

Grenada

Jamaica - Kingston

Guinea

Sierra Leone – Freetown

Guyana

Jamaica - Kingston

Guatemala

Mexico – Mexico City

Guinea-Bissau

Senegal - Dakar

Haiti

Jamaica - Kingston

Hungary

Croatia - Zagreb

Iceland

Norway - Oslo

Ivory Coast

Ghana – Accra

Khartoum

Egypt - Cairo

Kosovo

Macedonia - Skopje

Kyrgyzstan

Kazakhstan – Astana

Laos

(in process of transferring to) Vietnam - Hanoi

Lesotho

South Africa - Pretoria

Liberia

Sierra Leone - Freetown

Luxembourg

Belgium - Brussels

Malawi

Zimbabwe – Harare

Mali

Senegal - Dakar

Malta

Rome - Italy

Mauritania

Morocco – Rabat

Monaco

France – Paris

Mongolia

Japan – Tokyo

Myanmar

Thailand - Bangkok

Montserrat (British overseas territory)

Jamaica - Kingston

Namibia

South Africa – Pretoria

Niger

Cameroon – Yaoundé

Papua New Guinea

Australia – Canberra

Paraguay

Argentina – Buenos Aires

Peru

Colombia - Bogota

Rwanda

Uganda – Kampala

Seychelles

Kenya - Nairobi

St Kitts & Nevis

Jamaica - Kingston

St Lucia

Jamaica - Kingston

St Vincent

Jamaica - Kingston

Slovakia

Czech Rep - Prague

Slovenia

Austria – Vienna

South Sudan

Addis Ababa – Ethiopia

Switzerland

Vienna - Austria

Syria

Lebanon - Beirut

Tajikistan

Kazakhstan – Astana

Tanzania

Kenya – Nairobi

The Gambia

Senegal - Dakar

Timor-Leste (East Timor)

Indonesia - Jakarta

Togo

Ghana – Accra

Tonga

Fiji – Suva

Trinidad & Tobago

Jamaica - Kingston

Turkmenistan

Uzbekistan - Tashkent

Turks & Caicos Islands (British overseas territory)

Jamaica - Kingston

Uruguay

Argentina - Buenos Aires

Vanuatu

Fiji – Suva

Venezuela

Bogota - Colombia

Zambia

Zimbabwe - Harare

Supported by MOD from in the UK

Cape Verdi Islands

Congo

Gabon

Panama

Puerto Rica


Written Question
Thailand: British Nationals Abroad
Friday 2nd February 2024

Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, how many UK nationals died in Thailand in (a) 2022 and (b) 2023; how many such deaths were due to (i) murder, (ii) manslaughter, (iii) accidental death, (iv) unknown or suspicious circumstances and (v) no recorded reason; and how many such deaths were while a person was in police custody.

Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) provided consular assistance in Thailand in a total of 597 new death cases in 2022 and 430 new death cases between 1 January 2023 and 16 October 2023. The data below represents the causes of death as reported to us (by the family or local authorities).

The FCDO is not responsible for determining cause of death of British Nationals overseas. Consular staff are not trained to identify nor investigate the causes of death. We do not break down numbers below five to avoid identifying individual cases. The circumstance of the death cases recorded in our case management system on the specific categories of 'accidental', 'murder or manslaughter', 'unknown' (including not recorded) and 'death in custody' are the following.

Year

Accidental

Murder or Manslaughter

Unknown / Not recorded

Death in Custody

2022

8

155

2023 (up to 16 October)

11

131


Written Question
Thailand: Refugees
Thursday 21st December 2023

Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to make representations to the government of Thailand regarding its policy of refouling of refugees from Karenni state, Myanmar, as reported by Human Rights Watch.

Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK has called on Thailand to respect its obligations under the non-Refoulement principle under customary international law. The UK actively promotes the implementation of Thailand's Act on Prevention and Suppression of Torture and Enforced Disappearance 2022, which prevents government agencies and public officials from deporting a refugee to a country where they would be in danger of torture or other ill-treatment. UK Ministers and diplomats - in coordination with likeminded partners - have previously intervened privately at senior levels with the Royal Thai Government regarding cases of alleged forced return of persons believed to be in danger of being subjected to torture or other ill treatment.


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%)


Written Question
Thailand: British Nationals Abroad
Wednesday 18th October 2023

Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 7 September 2023 to Question 196981 on Thailand: British Nationals Abroad, if she will publish raw, redacted data on unexplained deaths in Thailand in 2022 to enable analysis of the regions in which those deaths occurred.

Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

In 2022, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) provided consular assistance in 154 new cases in Thailand following a death where the circumstances were recorded as unknown in our case management system.

Our current case management system does not enable us to filter by regions within Thailand. However, in some cases the location of the incident is recorded. In 2022 of the 154 unknown deaths fewer than 5 case locations were recorded where the reason of death was unknown. Where our data refers to five cases or fewer we do not provide a breakdown so as to prevent the identification of individuals and their personal data, in this case to protect the bereaved families.

It is not mandatory for UK nationals to report incidents to the FCDO, or one of its diplomatic missions. The data we provide only cover incidents where we have offered consular assistance following initial triage. The FCDO publishes consular data where a breakdown by country and assistance case type can be found on gov.uk here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/consular-data.