Asked by: Lord Rosser (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many charter deportation flights took place in 2021; and how many deportees were on each of those flights.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
This Government’s priority is keeping the people of this country safe, and we make no apology for seeking to remove dangerous foreign criminals. Foreign nationals who abuse our hospitality by committing crimes should be in no doubt of our determination to deport them.
Charter flight operations are an important means to return disruptive individuals or where they are limited scheduled routes, particularly during the global Coronavirus pandemic. We manage the charter programme flexibly, balancing it with the use of scheduled flights to best respond to operational needs.
In the calendar year 2021 – The Home Office operated 63 flights removing 1365 individuals.
FLIGHT DATE | DESTINATION | NUMBER OF PEOPLE REMOVED |
13/01/2021 | ROMANIA | 25 |
19/01/2021 | LITHUANIA | 23 |
26/01/2021 | POLAND | Less than 10 |
04/02/2021 | ROMANIA | 34 |
11/02/2021 | LITHUANIA | 16 |
18/02/2021 | POLAND | 16 |
25/02/2021 | HUNGARY & BULGARIA | 15 |
02/03/2021 | ROMANIA | 20 |
09/03/2021 | LITHUANIA | Less than 10 |
18/03/2021 | POLAND | 13 |
24/03/2021 | ROMANIA | 12 |
31/03/2021 | LITHUANIA | 20 |
08/04/2021 | HUNGARY & BULGARIA | 11 |
13/04/2021 | ROMANIA | 30 |
15/04/2021 | POLAND | 23 |
19/04/2021 | ALBANIA | 20 |
21/04/2021 | VIETNAM | 27 |
27/04/2021 | ROMANIA | 29 |
29/04/2021 | POLAND | 15 |
06/05/2021 | HUNGARY & BULGARIA | Less than 10 |
11/05/2021 | LITHUANIA | 22 |
13/05/2021 | ALBANIA | 30 |
18/05/2021 | POLAND | 18 |
20/05/2021 | ALBANIA | 29 |
25/05/2021 | ROMANIA | 30 |
27/05/2021 | ALBANIA | 24 |
03/06/2021 | ALBANIA | 31 |
10/06/2021 | ALBANIA | Less than 10 |
15/06/2021 | LITHUANIA | 15 |
17/06/2021 | ALBANIA | 19 |
22/06/2021 | POLAND | 18 |
24/06/2021 | ROMANIA | 20 |
01/07/2021 | ALBANIA | 37 |
06/07/2021 | SPAIN & PORTUGAL | Less than 10 |
13/07/2021 | ROMANIA & LITHUANIA | 30 |
15/07/2021 | ALBANIA | 12 |
21/07/2021 | ZIMBABWE | 14 |
28/07/2021 | VIETNAM | 20 |
03/08/2021 | POLAND | 13 |
05/08/2021 | ALBANIA | 22 |
10/08/2021 | JAMAICA | Less than 10 |
17/08/2021 | POLAND & ROMANIA | 22 |
19/08/2021 | ALBANIA | 27 |
25/08/2021 | ZIMBABWE | Less than 10 |
01/09/2021 | NIGERIA & GHANA | Less than 10 |
14/09/2021 | POLAND & ROMANIA | 33 |
16/09/2021 | ALBANIA | 34 |
28/09/2021 | LITHUANIA | 18 |
30/09/2021 | ALBANIA | 39 |
05/10/2021 | POLAND & ROMANIA | 29 |
07/10/2021 | ALBANIA | 22 |
13/10/2021 | ALBANIA | 16 |
21/10/2021 | ALBANIA | 29 |
27/10/2021 | LITHUANIA | 18 |
02/11/2021 | ROMANIA | 19 |
04/11/2021 | ALBANIA | 35 |
10/11/2021 | JAMAICA | Less than 10 |
16/11/2021 | POLAND | 14 |
18/11/2021 | ALBANIA | 13 |
30/11/2021 | ROMANIA | 30 |
02/12/2021 | LITHUANIA | 10 |
09/12/2021 | ALBANIA | 28 |
14/12/2021 | POLAND | 16 |
16/12/2021 | ALBANIA | 21 |
21/12/2021 | LITHUANIA | 16 |
The Home Office has obligations under the General Data Protection Regulation Act 2018 and in law generally to protect personal data. This exempts personal data if disclosure would contravene any of the data protection principles in Article 5(1) of the General Data Protection Regulation and section 34(1) of the Data Protection Act 2018.
Asked by: Earl of Sandwich (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what arrangements they have made with the government of Vietnam to provide for British nationals over 65 years of age in that country to receive COVID-19 injections.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government of Vietnam has confirmed that British nationals resident in Vietnam will be offered COVID-19 vaccines as part of the national vaccination programme. The programme is currently focused on priority groups, including those over 65 years of age and those with chronic diseases. Information on how British nationals aged over 18 can register for the programme is available on the FCDO's Vietnam Travel Advice pages on gov.uk.
Asked by: Earl of Sandwich (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many COVID-19 vaccines the UK has supplied to Vietnam; and what assessment they have made of (1) how they are being distributed, and (2) which age groups are receiving them.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK has provided £548m support to the COVAX Advanced Market Commitment (AMC), supporting up to 92 developing economies to access vaccines. This includes Vietnam, which has received 2,493,600 AstraZeneca doses through COVAX to date. The UK has also donated £1 million to ASEAN's Comprehensive Recovery Fund, which will be used to procure vaccine donations for ASEAN member states.
On 28 July the Foreign Secretary announced a donation of Covid-19 vaccines to Vietnam as part of the first tranche of the 100 million vaccines the Prime Minister pledged the UK would share within the next year at last month's G7 in Cornwall. We are working to deliver these vaccines as quickly as possible.
Vietnam's national vaccination programme is currently focused on priority groups, including medical workers, those over 65 years of age and those with chronic diseases.
Asked by: William Wragg (Conservative - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what support he is providing to UK citizens living in Vietnam to secure covid-19 vaccinations.
Answered by Nigel Adams
We are in close contact with the Government of Vietnam on the provision of Covid-19 vaccinations to British nationals. The Vietnamese Ministry of Health has indicated that foreign nationals resident in Vietnam will be included within their national vaccination programme, in line with their prioritisation strategy. Vietnam is currently prioritising vaccination of frontline medical staff, essential workers, and older or medically vulnerable groups. We will provide information on Vietnam's plans through the FCDO's Vietnam Travel Advice page.
Asked by: Hilary Benn (Labour - Leeds Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what plans the Government has to send surplus vaccine doses to Vietnam.
Answered by Nigel Adams
The Prime Minister has confirmed that the majority of any surplus COVID-19 vaccine doses in the UK's supply will be shared with COVAX. As the multilateral facility responsible for distributing COVID-19 vaccines to ensure global equitable access, it is right that COVAX decide how the vaccines that are provided to it can best be allocated to meet need and to ensure effectiveness and fairness.
The Right Honourable Member for Leeds South's reference to Vietnam reflects the wider importance of global equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines. This has been a central part of the government's international response to the pandemic. In addition to committing to sharing our surplus doses with COVAX, we have contributed £548m towards the COVAX Advance Market Commitment, which provides access to vaccines to the 92 most vulnerable economies. Vietnam is eligible for vaccines through the Advance Market Commitment and I [Minister Adams] am pleased to report it has been initially allocated over 4.8m doses of AstraZeneca vaccine, with a delivery target of the second quarter of this year. While the progress made by COVAX is a significant achievement, we are clear this is just a start and the Government will continue to work with our international partners to ensure a strong and effective global response.
Asked by: Brendan O'Hara (Scottish National Party - Argyll and Bute)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to the Vietnamese Government on prisoners of conscience Nguyen Bac Truyen, Nguyen Trung Ton, Nguyen Van Hoa , Bui Van Trung and Phan Van Thu in light of the risk of covid-19 to detainees in overcrowded prison.
Answered by Nigel Adams
The UK is concerned by restrictions on freedom of expression in Vietnam. We regularly raise these issues at the United Nations and in bilateral contacts with the Government of Vietnam. We are concerned by prison conditions, which are affecting many inmates, including prisoners of conscience.
We raised concerns about freedom of expression and assembly, the treatment of prisoners and the protection of civil society in Vietnam during Vietnam's Universal Periodic Review in January 2019, and again in a UN Human Rights Council Item 2 Statement in March 2019.
Bilaterally, the former Minister for Asia and the Pacific, raised the UK's concerns about human rights with the Vietnamese Vice Foreign Minister during her visit to Vietnam in January 2020.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department is (a) monitoring the temperature of, (b) distributing relevant literature to and (c) carrying out health checks on all those returning to the UK from countries with high numbers of confirmed cases of covid-19.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Public Health England (PHE) is not routinely carrying out health checks or monitoring the temperatures of passengers returning from countries with high numbers of confirmed cases of COVID-19.
PHE is working closely with airlines and airport operators to ensure they have posters and leaflets reflecting the latest advice on COVID-19 to make sure passengers know what the symptoms are and what to do if they get them. As well as English, these materials are being provided in eight additional languages from affected areas to ensure this support and advice can be given to non-English speakers at airports. These materials are available at all international airports, ports and international train stations. The Department for Transport is responsible for ensuring the visibility of these materials.
In addition, enhanced monitoring is currently in place for all direct flights from areas affected outside of Europe which includes China, including Hong Kong, Iran, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Republic of South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.
COVID-19 posters is available at the following link:
https://campaignresources.phe.gov.uk/resources/campaigns/101/resources/4992
General PHE advice on COVID-19 is updated regularly and can be viewed at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-information-for-the-public