Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential impact on the UK of the imposition by the United States of tariffs on EU countries: and what effect they may have on trade in Northern Ireland.

Answered by Baroness Gustafsson - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The Department for Business and Trade continues to engage closely with the UK industries affected by the US’ imposition of tariffs on the EU. We will always act in the best interests of all UK businesses which of course includes those in Northern Ireland.

Northern Ireland is part of the customs territory of the United Kingdom and internal market. This is confirmed by Article 4 of the Windsor Framework. Accordingly, Northern Irish goods have the same access to the US market, and face the same tariffs, as goods from elsewhere in the UK.

Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether it remains their intention that the Northern Ireland Assembly and Northern Ireland local government elections will be held on the same day in 2027.

Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The dates on which Northern Ireland local elections and Northern Ireland Assembly elections are to be held are set out in legislation. The Government does not intend to change the date of the 2027 elections.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the application for a new site for the embassy of China.

Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

I refer the noble Lord to the answer I gave on 11 March 2025 to question HL5338.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what criteria they use to determine the number of diplomatic staff for a country that are permitted to work in the United Kingdom.

Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)

Appointments to diplomatic missions are governed by the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations 1961, which states that States may freely appoint members of staff to their missions, and, in the absence of specific agreement, the receiving state may require that the size of a mission be kept within limits. His Majesty's Government does not set objective criteria for limiting the number of diplomatic staff for a country in the UK, but, as set out in the 1985 Government Report on the Review of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961, His Majesty's Government may limit the size of a mission in cases where there are issues relating to the nature of the mission's activities or to take account of the size of UK missions in the country concerned. Such considerations are made on a case-by-case basis.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many tourists from China have visited the United Kingdom in each of the past five years.

Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

From a peak of 883,000 visitors from China in 2019, the number of tourists from China visiting the United Kingdom over the past five years is as follows: 130,000 estimated visitors in 2020, 15,000 visitors in 2021, 47,000 in 2022, 368,000 in 2023 and the estimated forecast for 2024 is 573,000.

From a peak of 199,000 visitors from Russia in 2019, the number of tourists from Russia visiting the United Kingdom over the past five years is as follows: 61,000 estimated visitors in 2020, 23,000 visitors in 2021, 44,000 in 2022, 36,000 in 2023 and the estimated forecast for 2024 is 51,000.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many tourists from Russia have visited the United Kingdom in each of the past five years.

Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

From a peak of 883,000 visitors from China in 2019, the number of tourists from China visiting the United Kingdom over the past five years is as follows: 130,000 estimated visitors in 2020, 15,000 visitors in 2021, 47,000 in 2022, 368,000 in 2023 and the estimated forecast for 2024 is 573,000.

From a peak of 199,000 visitors from Russia in 2019, the number of tourists from Russia visiting the United Kingdom over the past five years is as follows: 61,000 estimated visitors in 2020, 23,000 visitors in 2021, 44,000 in 2022, 36,000 in 2023 and the estimated forecast for 2024 is 51,000.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many citizens of China are resident in the United Kingdom.

Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

Please see the letter attached from the National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority.

Professor Sir Ian Diamond | National Statistician

The Lord Empey Kt OBE

House of Lords

London

SW1A 0AA

1 May 2025

Dear Lord Empey,

As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am responding to your Parliamentary Questions asking how many citizens of Russia are resident in the United Kingdom (HL6884), and how many citizens of China are resident in the United Kingdom (HL6885).

Census 2021 country of birth data is currently our best estimate of the population of England and Wales by citizenship. At the time of Census 2021, there were 56,053 usual residents in England and Wales that were born in Russia and 182,376 usual residents in England and Wales that were born in China.

In the longer term, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) aims to develop high-quality outputs using DPM (Demographic Population Model) stocks. It should deliver, in due course, a coherent stock estimate alongside population flows, enhancing the quality and reliability of population statistics.

Country of birth[1] is the country in which a person was born. This is different to nationality which is the country or countries where a person can have a legal status, although they may not reside in that country.

Country of birth does not change, except due to an international boundary change. As a person's country of birth typically does not change, it is sometimes preferable to use when analysing the UK resident population. As it remains constant across time it is a consistent measure of long-term migration and is not affected by rates of successful British citizenship applications. Statistics by country of birth are useful in understanding the longer-term contribution of international migration to the UK, including people who have moved to the UK and since changed their nationality.

While this source provides the best picture of society at a moment in time, we acknowledge that there is a need for more timely and frequent statistics at a consistent level of quality. Provisional estimates for the year ending June 2022, produced by rolling forward Census 2021 estimates and accounting for population change, were published in International migration research, progress update: November 2022[2].

The ONS will also look at the feasibility of using the Annual Population Survey (APS) for this kind of output going forward. The findings will be included in a research report to be published in May 2025. If the proposed solutions are deemed suitable by both the ONS and its users, a UK-wide population estimate will be added to the publication suite in November 2025.

The data provided in this response is for England and Wales. Northern Ireland and Scotland conduct their own censuses. Equivalent data can be obtained from the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency[3] and the National Records of Scotland[4] respectively.

Yours sincerely,

Professor Sir Ian Diamond

[1]https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/internationalmigration/methodologies/guidanceonusingcountryofbirthnationalityandpassportshelddata#country-of-birth

[2]https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/internationalmigration/articles/internationalmigrationresearchprogressupdate/november2022

[3]https://www.nisra.gov.uk/contact

[4]https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/contact-us/

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many citizens of Russia are resident in the United Kingdom.

Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

Please see the letter attached from the National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority.

Professor Sir Ian Diamond | National Statistician

The Lord Empey Kt OBE

House of Lords

London

SW1A 0AA

1 May 2025

Dear Lord Empey,

As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am responding to your Parliamentary Questions asking how many citizens of Russia are resident in the United Kingdom (HL6884), and how many citizens of China are resident in the United Kingdom (HL6885).

Census 2021 country of birth data is currently our best estimate of the population of England and Wales by citizenship. At the time of Census 2021, there were 56,053 usual residents in England and Wales that were born in Russia and 182,376 usual residents in England and Wales that were born in China.

In the longer term, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) aims to develop high-quality outputs using DPM (Demographic Population Model) stocks. It should deliver, in due course, a coherent stock estimate alongside population flows, enhancing the quality and reliability of population statistics.

Country of birth[1] is the country in which a person was born. This is different to nationality which is the country or countries where a person can have a legal status, although they may not reside in that country.

Country of birth does not change, except due to an international boundary change. As a person's country of birth typically does not change, it is sometimes preferable to use when analysing the UK resident population. As it remains constant across time it is a consistent measure of long-term migration and is not affected by rates of successful British citizenship applications. Statistics by country of birth are useful in understanding the longer-term contribution of international migration to the UK, including people who have moved to the UK and since changed their nationality.

While this source provides the best picture of society at a moment in time, we acknowledge that there is a need for more timely and frequent statistics at a consistent level of quality. Provisional estimates for the year ending June 2022, produced by rolling forward Census 2021 estimates and accounting for population change, were published in International migration research, progress update: November 2022[2].

The ONS will also look at the feasibility of using the Annual Population Survey (APS) for this kind of output going forward. The findings will be included in a research report to be published in May 2025. If the proposed solutions are deemed suitable by both the ONS and its users, a UK-wide population estimate will be added to the publication suite in November 2025.

The data provided in this response is for England and Wales. Northern Ireland and Scotland conduct their own censuses. Equivalent data can be obtained from the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency[3] and the National Records of Scotland[4] respectively.

Yours sincerely,

Professor Sir Ian Diamond

[1]https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/internationalmigration/methodologies/guidanceonusingcountryofbirthnationalityandpassportshelddata#country-of-birth

[2]https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/internationalmigration/articles/internationalmigrationresearchprogressupdate/november2022

[3]https://www.nisra.gov.uk/contact

[4]https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/contact-us/

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effect the proposed trade deal with India will have on the prawn industry in (1) the United Kingdom, and (2) Northern Ireland.

Answered by Baroness Gustafsson - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

A trade deal with India will deliver on this Government’s core mission of economic growth and unlock new opportunities for businesses in every corner of the UK, including in Northern Ireland, increasing bilateral trade by £25.5bn, UK GDP by £4.8bn, and wages by £2.2bn each and every year in the long run.

We will set out further information on the sectoral impacts of this agreement in our impact assessment.

Found: 2025 10.45 am Watch the meeting Members present: Lord Lexden (The Chair); Lord Dodds of Duncairn; Lord Empey

Found: Q32 Lord Empey: It is lovely to see you both here.

Found: Letter from Baroness Taylor to Lord Empey, Baroness Scott and Lord Jamieson regarding an inconsistency