Asked by: Julian Sturdy (Conservative - York Outer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department has plans to authorise direct flights to North Cyprus.
Answered by Wendy Morton - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
In line with the rest of the international community, with the sole exception of Turkey, the UK does not recognise the self-declared "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus" as an independent state, and Ercan airport in the north of Cyprus is not recognised by the International Civil Aviation Organisation as an international airport. As a result, we cannot negotiate an Air Services Agreement with the administration in the north of Cyprus, so there are no direct flights. The UK Court of Appeal has also confirmed that direct flights between the UK and the north of Cyprus would breach the UK's international obligations under the 1944 Chicago Convention on Civil Aviation. The UK Government remains convinced that a comprehensive settlement is the best chance of resolving these complex issues.
Asked by: Julian Sturdy (Conservative - York Outer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what support his Department is offering to Trinidad and Tobago to manage the outbreak of covid-19 in that country.
Answered by Nigel Adams
The UK is committed to rapid equitable access to safe and effective vaccines. We are among the largest donors to the COVAX Advance Market Commitment (AMC), committing £548 million which leveraged through match funding $1 billion from other donors in 2020. This support to COVAX has been critical to it supplying COVID-19 vaccines to over 120 countries and economies. We have also committed to share the majority of our supply of any surplus vaccine doses with COVAX. Trinidad and Tobago are a self-financing participant of COVAX and have received 67,200 AstraZeneca doses to date out of an initial order of 100,800 doses.
Asked by: Julian Sturdy (Conservative - York Outer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support Commonwealth countries with their covid-19 vaccine rollout.
Answered by Wendy Morton - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is committed to rapid, equitable access to safe and effective vaccines, treatments, and tests globally. The UK has committed £548 million to the COVAX Advance Market Commitment (AMC) to support access to COVID-19 vaccines for up to 92 developing countries, approximately one third of which are in the Commonwealth. I am pleased to note that 31 Commonwealth countries across four regions will be receiving COVID-19 vaccines as part of the first set of COVAX AMC deliveries, of which 29 have already received their first batches. The UK is encouraging all countries to continue working with COVAX and partners to roll out vaccines, and prepare for future deliveries, which have reached over 127 countries overall so far.
On 2 June, the UK Government launched the G7 Global Vaccine Confidence Campaign, which aims to share best practice, establish partnerships, and build a platform for increasing vaccine confidence internationally. Any Commonwealth country will be able to access the best practice material shared on this platform to increase vaccine confidence.
Asked by: Julian Sturdy (Conservative - York Outer)
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 negotiate a bilateral agreement with Spain to allow UK nationals to have the same right to travel there visa-free for 180 days..
Answered by Wendy Morton - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
During negotiations with the EU, the Government discussed arrangements for British Citizens travelling to the Schengen Area. Regrettably, the EU consistently maintained that British Citizens will be treated as Third Country Nationals under the Schengen Borders Code from 1 January 2021. This means that British Citizens are able to travel visa-free for short stays for up to 90 days in a rolling 180-day period. This is the standard length of stay that the EU offers to nationals of eligible third countries, in line with existing EU legislation. British Citizens who are planning to stay longer than 90 days in a rolling 180-day period will need permission from the relevant Member State. This may require applying for a visa and/or permit.
The UK's Trade and Cooperation Agreement with the EU notes that both the UK and EU currently provide for visa-free travel for short-term visits for each other's nationals in accordance with their respective laws. The detail of those arrangements is set by domestic law, reflecting the UK's position as a non-EU Member State. The Government does not typically enter into bilateral agreements on visa-free travel.
Asked by: Julian Sturdy (Conservative - York Outer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the Government's progress towards the Prime Minister’s G7 commitment in February 2021 to collaborate globally on cutting the development time for new vaccines by two-thirds within 100 days.
Answered by Wendy Morton - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The rapid development of vaccines for COVID-19 has demonstrated the power of science, collaboration, and innovation across the public and private sectors. On 20 April, the UK Government launched a new Pandemic Preparedness Partnership (PPP), chaired by the Government's Chief Scientific Adviser Sir Patrick Vallance, which will advise the UK G7 Presidency on how to meet the Prime Minister's ambition to slash the time for developing and deploying high quality vaccines from 300 to 100 days. The PPP is bringing together industry, international organisations, and leading experts, and met for the first time on 20 and 21 April for a two-day virtual Pandemic Preparedness Partnership Conference. The Partnership will report to leaders at June's G7 Summit in Cornwall, with a roadmap outlining the steps the G7 could take to protect people against future pandemics, including on this ambitious target for vaccine development.
This is backed by additional funding from the UK Government to support CEPI's work on global vaccine supply. The £16 million investment will fund global vaccine manufacturing capacity, and critical research and development to rapidly respond to the threat of new strains, supporting the development of new variant-specific vaccines. CEPI's work to coordinate research, development, and manufacturing of vaccines will aid efforts to have millions of vaccines available for emergency use within 100 days of a variant of concern being identified.
Asked by: Julian Sturdy (Conservative - York Outer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment the Government has made of the potential merits of allocating additional funding to COVAX and other international coronavirus programmes to increase the pace of global vaccination and help tackle new overseas virus variants before they arrive in the UK.
Answered by Wendy Morton - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is committed to rapid equitable access to safe and effective vaccines. We are among the largest bilateral contributors to the COVAX Advance Market Commitment (AMC), committing £548 million in 2020. Our contribution included a match-funding pledge that helped encourage $1 billion of commitments from other donors. The UK's support and contribution to COVAX has helped it reach the milestone of supplying vaccines to over 100 countries and economies.
We recognise the need to improve global coverage, and address new variants to end the acute phase of the pandemic. This is why on Thursday 15 April, I spoke at the AMC Investment Opportunity Launch, supporting the COVAX Advance Market Commitment 2021 investment case to secure a further $2 billion from donors. This aims to procure 500 million more doses to increase vaccine coverage from 20% to 30% in developing countries in 2021. The UK is championing global access through our Presidency of the G7, and we have committed to share the majority of our surplus vaccine doses with COVAX.
Asked by: Julian Sturdy (Conservative - York Outer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 5 November to Question 109332, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of making bilateral agreements with EU member states to allow UK nationals to travel visa-free in the EU beyond the 90/180 day period set out in the Schengen Borders Code for third-country nationals, if the EU continues to maintain that UK nationals will be treated as Third Country Nationals under the Schengen Borders Code from January 2021.
Answered by Wendy Morton - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government has discussed arrangements with the EU for UK nationals travelling to the Schengen Area. UK nationals will only be able to travel visa-free for short stays for up to 90 days in a rolling 180-day period. This is the standard length of stay that the EU offers to nationals of eligible third countries that offer visa-free travel for EU citizens, in line with existing EU legislation. The provisions on visa-free short-term visits that will apply from 1 January 2021 reflect the UK and EU's respective border and immigration rules. They are existing provisions that are already applied to nationals of eligible third countries. From 1 January, free movement of people between the UK and EU will come to an end and we will have full control of our immigration system. The UK keeps its visa system under regular review to ensure that visit visas remain an effective tool in reducing immigration, tackling organised crime, and protecting national security.
Asked by: Julian Sturdy (Conservative - York Outer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of making bilateral agreements with EU member states to allow UK nationals to travel visa-free in the EU beyond the 90/180 day period set out in the Schengen Borders Code for third-country nationals.
Answered by Wendy Morton - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government has discussed arrangements for UK nationals travelling to the Schengen Area and understands concerns about the impact of these arrangements on UK nationals who travel for extended periods of time. Regrettably, the EU has consistently maintained that UK nationals will be treated as Third Country Nationals under the Schengen Borders Code from January 2021. They will only be able to travel visa-free for short stays for up to 90 days in a rolling 180-day period. UK nationals planning to stay longer will need permission from the relevant Member State. This may require applying for a visa and/or permit. Information about travel to Europe after the transition period is available on gov.uk: https://www.gov.uk/visit-europe-1-january-2021