Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many countries have visa-free travel to the UK; and whether visa-free travel to those countries is reciprocated for British passports holders.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The UK visa system, including the Visa National List, is kept under regular review to ensure to works in the UK national interest. Decisions on which countries are ’non-visa national’ and are not required to apply for a visit visa and can instead apply for an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA), are taken on the basis of a range of factors. These vary globally, but often include security, compliance, returns arrangements and prosperity.
The countries and territories whose nationals are eligible to apply for an ETA prior to travelling to the UK are listed at Appendix ETA National List in the Immigration Rules. Currently, there are 85 locations where nationals can travel to the UK with an ETA rather than a visitor visa. Irish nationals do not require a visitor visa or an ETA to enter the UK. Visitors can usually stay in the UK for up to six months.
Any decision on whether a foreign country requires British passport holders to apply for a visa prior to travel is a sovereign matter for the country concerned. The UK no longer enters into reciprocal agreements with international partners concerning the requirement to obtain a visitor visa or ETA before travel.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what action they are taking to increase the number of countries that offer visa-free travel for British passport holders.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The UK visa system, including the Visa National List, is kept under regular review to ensure to works in the UK national interest. Decisions on which countries are ’non-visa national’ and are not required to apply for a visit visa and can instead apply for an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA), are taken on the basis of a range of factors. These vary globally, but often include security, compliance, returns arrangements and prosperity.
The countries and territories whose nationals are eligible to apply for an ETA prior to travelling to the UK are listed at Appendix ETA National List in the Immigration Rules. Currently, there are 85 locations where nationals can travel to the UK with an ETA rather than a visitor visa. Irish nationals do not require a visitor visa or an ETA to enter the UK. Visitors can usually stay in the UK for up to six months.
Any decision on whether a foreign country requires British passport holders to apply for a visa prior to travel is a sovereign matter for the country concerned. The UK no longer enters into reciprocal agreements with international partners concerning the requirement to obtain a visitor visa or ETA before travel.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to review the effectiveness of the Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act 2022.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act 2022 introduced emergency legislation to crack down on Russian dirty money including measures to move faster and harder when imposing sanctions, the creation of a Register of Overseas Entities to help crack down on foreign criminals using UK property to launder money and measures to strengthen the UK’s Unexplained Wealth Order regime to better support law enforcement investigations on property owned by overseas entities.
Government is required to conduct post-legislative scrutiny on legislation within five years. A review and assessment of the effectiveness of this Act will be made within five years of its commencement.
In the interim, Government publishes a report on the number of Unexplained Wealth Orders applied for and obtained annually. This contains a commentary section on the operation of the powers: Unexplained wealth orders: 2022 to 2023 annual report - GOV.UK. The United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER) have also written a review on the impact of the measures introducing a Register of Overseas Entities: UNU-WIDER : Working Paper : The end of Londongrad? The impact of beneficial ownership transparency on offshore investment in UK property.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many countries' citizens are allowed to travel to the UK without a visa.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
There are currently 88 nationalities which do not require a visa to enter the UK for visits of up to six months, but will be required to obtain an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) in advance of travel from 2025. British and Irish nationals do not require a visa or ETA to enter the UK. Individuals who are free, or exempt, from immigration control (of any nationality), are also able to travel to the UK without a visa, which is in line with our international obligations.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government with how many countries the UK has visa-free travel arrangements for UK citizens.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
UK passport holders can travel visa free to 153 countries and territories. Information on entry requirements for each country can be found at Foreign travel advice - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what recent estimate they have made of the amount of organised plant theft in England; and what steps they are taking in response.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Shadow Minister (Business and Trade)
This Government is committed to driving down rural crime. We are on target to recruit 20,000 additional officers by March 2023. This is unprecedented and reflects the biggest recruitment drive in decades, and will help ensure the public is better protected, including in rural communities.
To help prevent the theft of agricultural machinery the Government is supporting the Equipment Theft (Prevention) Bill which will require immobilisers and forensic marking to be fitted as standard to all new All-Terrain Vehicles and quad bikes. We are intending to consult on extending the legislation to other agricultural machinery.
The Home Office collects and publishes information on the number of theft offences recorded by the police in England and Wales. However, information on what is stolen is not routinely collected by the Home Office. All data collections are reviewed each year by the Policing Data Requirement Group (PDRG) to ensure that data requested from the police is proportionate to the need for the data and that forces have the technical capabilities to provide the data requested.
The Home Office has not made an estimate of the of the loss to the UK economy from rural crime or heritage crime. However, the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) estimates that in 2021 rural theft cost the UK £40.5m, based on their insurance claim statistics.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what recent estimate they have made of the loss to the UK economy from heritage crime.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Shadow Minister (Business and Trade)
This Government is committed to driving down rural crime. We are on target to recruit 20,000 additional officers by March 2023. This is unprecedented and reflects the biggest recruitment drive in decades, and will help ensure the public is better protected, including in rural communities.
To help prevent the theft of agricultural machinery the Government is supporting the Equipment Theft (Prevention) Bill which will require immobilisers and forensic marking to be fitted as standard to all new All-Terrain Vehicles and quad bikes. We are intending to consult on extending the legislation to other agricultural machinery.
The Home Office collects and publishes information on the number of theft offences recorded by the police in England and Wales. However, information on what is stolen is not routinely collected by the Home Office. All data collections are reviewed each year by the Policing Data Requirement Group (PDRG) to ensure that data requested from the police is proportionate to the need for the data and that forces have the technical capabilities to provide the data requested.
The Home Office has not made an estimate of the of the loss to the UK economy from rural crime or heritage crime. However, the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) estimates that in 2021 rural theft cost the UK £40.5m, based on their insurance claim statistics.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the cost to the UK economy of rural crime.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Shadow Minister (Business and Trade)
This Government is committed to driving down rural crime. We are on target to recruit 20,000 additional officers by March 2023. This is unprecedented and reflects the biggest recruitment drive in decades, and will help ensure the public is better protected, including in rural communities.
To help prevent the theft of agricultural machinery the Government is supporting the Equipment Theft (Prevention) Bill which will require immobilisers and forensic marking to be fitted as standard to all new All-Terrain Vehicles and quad bikes. We are intending to consult on extending the legislation to other agricultural machinery.
The Home Office collects and publishes information on the number of theft offences recorded by the police in England and Wales. However, information on what is stolen is not routinely collected by the Home Office. All data collections are reviewed each year by the Policing Data Requirement Group (PDRG) to ensure that data requested from the police is proportionate to the need for the data and that forces have the technical capabilities to provide the data requested.
The Home Office has not made an estimate of the of the loss to the UK economy from rural crime or heritage crime. However, the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) estimates that in 2021 rural theft cost the UK £40.5m, based on their insurance claim statistics.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government which countries the UK has visa free travel arrangements with for British citizens.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
FCDO, who have responsibility for this information, have said that the information this question is requesting can be found in public domain https://visaguide.world/visa-free-countries/uk-passport/
We have included the list for ease:
Albania
American Samoa
Andorra
Anguilla
Antigua and Barbuda
Argentina
Armenia
Aruba
Australia
Austria
Bahamas
Barbados
Belarus
Belgium
Belize
Bermuda
Bolivia
Caribbean Netherlands
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Botswana
Brazil
British Virgin Islands
Brunei
Bulgaria
Canada
Cabo Verde
Cayman Islands
Chile
Colombia
Cook Islands
Costa Rica
Croatia
Curaçao
Cyprus
Czechia
Denmark
Dominica
Dominican Republic
Ecuador
El Salvador
Estonia
Falkland Islands
Faroe Islands
Fiji
Finland
France
French Guiana
French Polynesia
French West Indies
Georgia
Germany
Gibraltar
Greece
Greenland
Grenada
Guam
Guatemala
Guyana
Haiti
Honduras
Hong Kong
Hungary
Iceland
Indonesia
Iraq
Ireland
Israel
Italy
Jamaica
Kazakhstan
Kiribati
Kosovo
Kyrgyzstan
Latvia
Lesotho
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Macau
Malaysia
Malta
Marshall Islands
Mauritius
Mayotte
Mexico
Micronesia
Moldova
Monaco
Mongolia
Montenegro
Montserrat
Morocco
Namibia
Netherlands
New Caledonia
New Zealand
Nicaragua
Niue
North Macedonia
Northern Mariana Islands
Norway
Oman
Pakistan
Palestine
Panama
Paraguay
Peru
Philippines
Poland
Portugal
Puerto Rico
Qatar
Réunion
Romania
San Marino
São Tomé and Príncipe
Senegal
Serbia
Singapore
Slovakia
Slovenia
South Africa
South Korea
Spain
Sri Lanka
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia
Saint Martin
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Sweden
Switzerland
Taiwan
Thailand
Gambia
Trinidad and Tobago
Tunisia
Turks and Caicos Islands
Türkiye
United States Virgin Islands
Ukraine
United States
Uruguay
Uzbekistan
Vanuatu
Vatican City
Venezuela
Vietnam
Zambia
Eswatin
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 in driving slavery out of supply chains.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Shadow Minister (Business and Trade)
Section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 requires businesses with a turnover of £36 million or more to report annually on the steps they have taken to prevent modern slavery in their operations and supply chains.
The landmark ‘Transparency in Supply Chains’ provisions in the Modern Slavery Act have driven a change in business culture, spotlighting modern slavery risks on boardroom agendas and within the international human rights community. We recognise, however, there is more to do to keep businesses focused on this important issue.
Compliance with section 54 is high. In 2019, the Home Office contracted the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre (BHRRC) to undertake an audit of compliance with section 54. The audit was concluded in January 2020 with data accurate up to this point. The high-level findings of this audit were published on 17 September 2020 in the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner’s annual report available here at Gov.UK.
In addition, in March 2021, the Government launched the modern slavery statement registry to radically enhance transparency by bringing together modern slavery statements on a single platform. The registry will provide a key tool for Government and others to monitor and drive compliance with section 54 . We have been encouraged by use of the registry. Since launch, over 9,300 modern slavery statements covering over 31,200 organisations have been submitted on a voluntary basis.