Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions officials in his Department have had with their French counterparts on homeless refugees and migrants at the UK-French border in Calais; and what steps he is taking to help ensure that those people have access to (i) accommodation, (ii) food, (iii) water and sanitation facilities and (iv) medical attention during the covid-19 pandemic.

We are in regular contact with French authorities on our joint response to COVID 19, which includes discussions to prevent the spread of the virus amongst the migrant population in the Calais region. We are continuing to monitor developments in the Calais region and the actions taken by French authorities in response to this pandemic, which include working with individuals to relocate them to accommodation centres in order to receive the necessary support, and providing appropriate medical care to migrants with COVID-19, including hospitalisation where necessary.