Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs on organising repatriation flights for British nationals who wish to urgently return to the UK from Northern Cyprus.
Answered by Wendy Morton - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Following the change to date for answer of this PQ, I submitted a response by email on 30 March, with the following response. The Table Office have agreed this approach.
Our teams around the world are working urgently to ensure that governments have sensible plans to enable the return of British and other travellers, and, crucially, to keep borders open for a sufficient period of time to enable returns to take place on commercial flights, wherever possible.
The administration in the north of Cyprus has introduced a total ban on entry for all foreign nationals, including the UK. This includes those holding residency, work, or student permits. Following policy changes announced by the Republic of Cyprus Government and the administration in the north, all crossing points between the Republic and the north are effectively closed to travellers. British travellers should contact their tour operator or transport provider now if they want to leave. We are working closely with the Government of Cyprus to explore options.
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he held with his Indonesian counterpart on the extent to which closed borders may potentially prevent British citizens in Bali, or wider Indonesia, from returning to the UK; and what assessment he has made of the ability of those British citizens to purchase commercial flight tickets in order to return to the UK.
Answered by Nigel Adams
As Parliament rose earlier than planned and the first day for answer of this PQ was after the Easter recess, due to the pace of developments during the COVID-19 crisis, I submitted a response by email on 9 April, with the following response. The Table Office have agreed this approach.
FCO officials are working with airlines and with the authorities of Indonesia and potential transit countries to help British travellers get home. The Foreign Secretary spoke with Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi on 1 April; she reassured him that Indonesia would keep flight routes running and would support the UK's repatriation efforts. The Foreign Secretary expressed appreciation of Indonesia's support in getting 7000 British Nationals home from Bali, including the role of national airline Garuda Indonesia. I (Minister Adams) spoke to Indonesian Deputy Foreign Minister Mahendra Siregar on 23 March. More widely, we are working urgently to ensure that governments worldwide have plans in place to enable the return of British and other travellers and to keep borders open for a sufficient period of time to enable returns to take place on commercial flights wherever possible. We are also working with airlines to ensure as many people as possible can get commercial flights home.
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he held with his Australian counterpart on the extent to which closed borders may potentially prevent British citizens in Australia from returning to the UK; and what assessment he has made of the ability of those British citizens to purchase commercial flight tickets in order to return to the UK.
Answered by Nigel Adams
Following the change to date for answer of this PQ, I submitted a response by email on 27 March, with the following response. The Table Office have agreed this approach.
We are proactively engaging commercial airlines and governments worldwide, including Australia, on keeping flight routes and transit hubs open to enable British nationals to return home. Our British High Commissioner in Canberra has written to the Australian Prime Minister and Foreign Minister on this issue. We are signposting British nationals to commercial flight options and continuing to explore new routes by which then can travel home. We have also set up an online registration tool for any British nationals in Australia who require our support. The Prime Minister last spoke to PM Morrison about the broader COVID-19 crisis on 14 March.
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Moroccan counterparts on ensuring the immediate safe return of British nationals from Moroccan airports unable to return to the UK as a result of most outbound flights from Morocco having been suspended due to the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by James Cleverly - Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
We are working intensively with the Governments of those countries that have closed their borders to people travelling to and from the UK, to enable airlines to bring back British people to the UK, if that is what they want. I spoke to the Moroccan Foreign Minister, Nasser Bourita, on 18 March to ask for additional flights to enter and leave Morocco. The British Embassy in Rabat has been working with tour operators and airlines to encourage them to offer additional flights, last week we facilitated 49 flights, taking 8,520 passengers to the UK. The welfare of British nationals remains our top priority, and we are focused on supporting those around the world who are being affected by the restrictions being put in place.
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Jordanian counterpart on arranging repatriation flights for British nationals that wish to return to the UK as a result of the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by James Cleverly - Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
We are working closely with local authorities, commercial airlines and other diplomatic missions to enable British people to get home. Our consular team is working around the clock to provide support, advice and information. British travellers should contact their tour operator or airline as soon as possible if they want to return to the UK. We are working intensively with the Governments of those countries, including Jordan, that have closed their borders to people travelling to and from the UK, to enable airlines to bring back British people to the UK, if that is what they want.
In light of the rapidly changing situation, we urge all travellers to sign up for our travel advice alert service. British nationals in Jordan should keep up to date with our travel advice for Jordan, which they can find on: https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/jordan/coronavirus.
We have also published advice for British nationals who do not have immediate departure options available to them: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/travel-advice-novel-coronavirus#if-youre-abroad-and-you-want-to-return-to-the-uk
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Peruvian counterpart on organising repatriation flights for British nationals in Peru that wish to return to the UK.
Answered by Wendy Morton - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign Secretary spoke with the Peruvian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Gustavo Meza-Cuadra, on 21 March about the impact of the ongoing State of National Emergency on UK nationals in Peru. He assured him that he would work together with the UK to make sure we could arrange flights home this week. Our Embassy is working closely with the Peruvian authorities to secure the appropriate permissions for those flights to land.
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, for what reasons (a) the British Embassy in Lima, Peru is closed and (b) remote working has not been fully implemented to protect British nationals in need of assistance in that country; and what guidance his Department has provided to British nationals in that country on communicating with the British consulate.
Answered by Wendy Morton - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Due to a State of National Emergency announced on 16 March, and the subsequently strict travel restrictions, members of our Embassy in Lima are working remotely. The Embassy is not closed and we are working round the clock to make flights available this week for British nationals who wish to leave Peru, but who are currently unable to do so on commercial flights because of the travel restrictions that have been imposed. We are aware of approximately 1160 British Nationals in Peru who have expressed interest in flights back to the UK.
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he has taken at an international level for political resolution in Kashmir; and what representations he has made to his Indian counterpart on the situation in Kashmir.
Answered by Heather Wheeler
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he has made representations to his Indian counterpart on allowing independent observers into Jammu and Kashmir since the revocation of parts of Article 370 of India's constitution.
Answered by Heather Wheeler
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.