Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many UK parents have applied for the return of their child from another country under the 1980 Hague Convention in each of the last five years.

We take every case of international parental child abduction very seriously and the Government works with other countries to help resolve cases in the best interests of the children involved as quickly as possible.

The table below shows the number of applications for return received from parents by the Central Authorities for England and Wales, Northern Ireland, and Scotland in each of the last five years. The Central Authorities do not record the nationality of the applicant. Figures for 2014 have not yet been finalised.

The Central Authorities are the International Child Abduction and Contact Unit for England and Wales, the Central Business Unit of the Northern Ireland Courts and Tribunals Service for Northern Ireland, and the Scottish Government for Scotland.