Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, how many UK nationals have requested consular assistance in Zimbabwe in each of the last three years.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
Following initial triage of inquiries, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) provided consular assistance to the following number of British nationals in Zimbabwe:
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether he plans to expand the consular mission in Harare.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
There are no plans to increase the number of consular staff in Harare. Staffing levels are regularly reviewed and a regional resilience model is in place to support surges in demand.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, with reference to the policy paper entitled UK–St Helena development partnership summary, published in July 2023, whether he has taken recent steps to support tourism in St Helena.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government works closely with St Helena's leadership to support tourism development and funded the construction of St Helena Airport to improve access to the Island. The UK Government provides significant financial aid to St Helena (up to £34.06 million in 2024/25). This includes support for the delivery of public services, the airport and £500,000 of ringfenced funding for tourism development, with the same level of tourism support also provided in 2023/24. In addition, up to £30 million is being provided between 2019-28 for long-term capital infrastructure development.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what plans he has to celebrate the 120th anniversary of the signing of the Entente Cordiale.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
On 8 April, the UK and France celebrated the 120th anniversary of the Entente Cordiale with joint changing of the guard ceremonies at Buckingham Palace and the Élysée Palace. Throughout this anniversary year, our respective embassies are organising events reflecting the breadth of the UK-France relationship, showcasing our longstanding cooperation on issues including climate change, science, sport, culture, defence, education, and trade. In meetings last week, I reflected on this anniversary and positive state of the relationship with my French counterpart and with the French Ambassador to the United Kingdom.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will publish a summary of the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs' recent meeting with Benny Gantz.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The Foreign Secretary issued a statement on 6 March, following his meeting with Israeli Minister Benny Gantz. The Foreign Secretary made clear the steps Israel must take to increase aid into Gaza, and the UK's deep concern about the prospect of a military offensive in Rafah.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps his Department has taken to help support persecuted Christians in South Sudan.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK is committed to defending freedom of religion or belief for all. We condemn the persecution of any individual or group based on their religion of belief. South Sudan is an FCDO Human Rights priority country, and we continue to call on the Government of South Sudan - including through the UN Human Rights Council - to end impunity for human rights violations and abuses, and establish the necessary justice and accountability mechanisms.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps his Department is taking to help support persecuted Christians in Uganda.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
We have no evidence of state persecution of Christians based on religious belief in Uganda. However, Uganda faces a terrorist threat, including from the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), or Islamic State DRC, which does target Christians, and has carried out attacks against civilians in Uganda in recent years, notably an attack on a school in Mpondwe on 16 June 2023, killing more than 40 people. I condemned this abhorrent attack in the strongest possible terms at the time. The British High Commission remains in close contact with Ugandan security services, who continue to conduct operations against the ADF.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, how many crimes have been reported on the British Indian Ocean Territory in each of the last five years.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) is constitutionally distinct and separate from the UK and is administered by the BIOT Administration. The FCDO does not hold a record of how many crimes have been reported on the BIOT in each of the last five years.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, how many people have requested asylum on the British Indian Ocean Territory by nationality in each of the last two years.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
As an uninhabited territory, the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) does not have an asylum system as the 1951 Refugee Convention has not been extended to the territory. Where migrants have claimed that they are unable to return safely to their country of origin, their cases are considered by the Commissioner for BIOT in line with BIOT law and international legal obligations. We do not comment publicly on individual claims for protection.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, how many asylum seekers are registered as living on Diego Garcia.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
As an uninhabited territory, the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) does not have an asylum system as the 1951 Refugee Convention has not been extended to the territory. Where migrants have claimed that they are unable to return safely to their country of origin, their cases are considered by the Commissioner for BIOT in line with BIOT law and international legal obligations. We do not comment publicly on individual claims for protection.