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.
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 much his Department has spent on healthcare for asylum seekers living on Diego Garcia in the last two years.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The FCDO provides funding to the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) Administration to help support the good governance of the Territory. This funding includes all costs associated with temporarily supporting the migrants on BIOT and supporting their departure from the territory. The information requested on the breakdown of spending can only be provided at disproportionate cost.
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 much his Department has spent on aid for asylum seekers living on Diego Garcia in each of the last 12 months.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The FCDO provides funding to the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) Administration to help support the good governance of the Territory. This funding includes all costs associated with temporarily supporting the migrants on BIOT and supporting their departure from the territory. The information requested on the breakdown of spending can only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he plans to visit Mauritius.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
It is long-standing policy not to comment on Ministerial travel. To do so could compromise the integrity of protective security arrangements and affect the safety of the individuals involved.
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 officials from his Department are stationed in Somalia.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
As of 29/02/2024, the FCDO had between 20 and 29 officials stationed in Somalia.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he plans to meet the President of Argentina within the next six weeks.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign Secretary met President Milei at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January, and spoke to Milei in November 2023. I [Minister Rutley] met Milei at his inauguration. The Foreign Secretary also met with Foreign Minister Mondino at the G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Brazil in February. Statements from these meetings are available on gov.uk. Future ministerial meetings will be announced in the usual way.
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 assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the house arrest of the leader of the Democratic Party of Albania.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
Sali Berisha, whose position as Chair of the Democratic Party is contested within the party, was charged with corruption by Albania's Special Prosecutor's Office in October 2023 and currently is under house arrest. It would be inappropriate to comment further while the legal process is underway.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has met the Ambassador of the Republic of Albania in the last six months.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
I [Minister for Europe] met Albania's new Ambassador to the UK, Dr Uran Ferizi, on Monday 26 February.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has had recent discussions with his counterpart in Bermuda on the decriminalisation of possession of cannabis in that territory.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is committed to working in partnership with Bermuda and we remain available to discuss new proposals on this legislation, to find a way forward that works for Bermuda whilst also remaining within the scope of existing international obligations.
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 he is taking to support environmental sustainability in the Falkland Islands.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government continues to offer support and expertise to the Falkland Islands Government, which is responsible for protecting the natural environment of the Falkland Islands. During his visit to the Falkland Islands from 19 to 20 February, the Foreign Secretary saw at first hand the Islanders' work to protect their unique natural environment. The UK Government is providing two new packages of UK support: £50,000 of Darwin Plus funding to tackle wildfires through enhanced Vegetation Fire Training for Preparedness, Prevention, Response and Recovery; and £30,000 from the FCDO to support the Falkland Islands Government in the restoration of native tussac grass habitats. Both of these projects will contribute to protecting and improving the resilience of peat, critical for carbon storage and sequestration. The Ministry of Defence also works with the Falkland Islands Government on shared environmental priorities, including recycling and renewable energy generation.