Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 9 April 2025 to Question 43796, what the dates were of the two meetings with Greenland’s Foreign Minister.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I met Greenlandic Foreign Minister Motzfeldt at the Arctic Circle Assembly on 18 October 2024 in Iceland, and on 13 January 2025 in London. We discussed a range of bilateral and Arctic issues. We do not publish the minutes of diplomatic meetings.
As per my response to Parliamentary Question 43796, the Foreign Secretary and I have been clear that Greenland is part of the Kingdom of Denmark, and the future of their constitutional arrangements is a matter for the people and Government of Greenland, and the Kingdom of Denmark.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 9 April 2025 to Question 43796, whether the topic of US interest in claiming Greenland was discussed.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I met Greenlandic Foreign Minister Motzfeldt at the Arctic Circle Assembly on 18 October 2024 in Iceland, and on 13 January 2025 in London. We discussed a range of bilateral and Arctic issues. We do not publish the minutes of diplomatic meetings.
As per my response to Parliamentary Question 43796, the Foreign Secretary and I have been clear that Greenland is part of the Kingdom of Denmark, and the future of their constitutional arrangements is a matter for the people and Government of Greenland, and the Kingdom of Denmark.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the UK's commitment to enhanced NATO air policing patrols.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The UK remains fully committed to NATO air policing. The RAF has deployed to Poland, Estonia, Iceland, Lithuania and Romania, securing Allied airspace and playing a key role in NATO’s deterrence and defence.
Along with other European Allies, the UK provides our P8 maritime reconnaissance aircraft and Rivet Joint surveillance aircraft to NATO’s BALTIC SENTRY maritime operation throughout the Baltic Sea. The objective of this to detect and understand sabotage against undersea infrastructure, as well play a critical part in deterrence.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the annual quota for each of the Youth Mobility Scheme partner countries (a) was in 2024 and (b) is in 2025.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Quotas for the UK’s Youth Mobility Scheme visa route are published in Appendix Youth Mobility Scheme: eligible nationals of the Immigration Rules. The quotas for the upcoming year were set out in Statement of changes to the Immigration Rules HC 733 on 12 March and will be implemented in the Immigration Rules on 9 April. Quota information from previous years is also published online in the archived Immigration Rules.
For 2024, we allocated the following quotas for each of our partner countries:
- Andorra – 100 places
- Australia – 45,000 places
- Canada – 8,000 places
- Hong Kong – 1,000 places
- Iceland – 1,000 places
- India – 3,000 places
- Japan – 6,000 places
- Monaco – 1,000 places
- New Zealand – 8,500 places
- Republic of Korea - 5,000 places
- San Marino – 1,000 places
- Taiwan – 1,000 places
- Uruguay – 500 places.
For 2025, we have allocated the following quotas for each of our partner countries:
- Andorra – 100 places
- Australia – 42,000 places
- Canada – 10,000 places
- Hong Kong – 1,000 places
- Iceland – 1,000 places
- India – 3,000 places
- Japan – 6,000 places
- Monaco – 1,000 places
- New Zealand – 9,500 places
- Republic of Korea - 5,000 places
- San Marino – 1,000 places
- Taiwan – 1,000 places
- Uruguay – 500 places.
Asked by: Lord Wallace of Saltaire (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many individuals entered the UK under the Youth Mobility Scheme in each of the past five years from (1) Andorra, (2) Iceland, (3) Japan, (4) Monaco, (5) San Marino, and (6) Uruguay; and how many UK citizens entered each of those states under that scheme in the same period.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office publishes data on entry clearance visas, including Youth Mobility Scheme visas, by nationality in the 'Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release'.
[https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/immigration-statistics-quarterly-release]
Data on grants of visa applications are published in table 'Vis_D02' of the detailed entry clearance visas dataset.
[https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/immigration-system-statistics-data-tables#entry-clearance-visas-granted-outside-the-uk]
Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the 'Notes' page of the workbook.
The below data is found in the latest Immigration System Statistics release, published on 27 February, for data up to December 2024.
Youth Mobility Scheme visas granted by year and nationality
|
Information on future Home Office statistical release dates can be found in the 'Research and statistics calendar'.
[https://www.gov.uk/search/research-and-statistics?keywords=immigration&content_store_document_type=upcoming_statistics&organisations%5B%5D=home-office&order=relevance]
Information on UK citizens entering other countries on youth mobility schemes is either not centrally held or currently available from the published statistics, and could only be collected and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Lord Wallace of Saltaire (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many individuals entered the UK under the Youth Mobility Scheme in each of the past five years from (1) Australia, (2) Canada, (3) New Zealand, and (4) South Korea; and how many UK citizens entered each of those countries under that scheme in the same period.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office publishes data on entry clearance visas, including Youth Mobility Scheme visas, by nationality in the 'Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release'.
[https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/immigration-statistics-quarterly-release]
Data on grants of visa applications are published in table 'Vis_D02' of the detailed entry clearance visas dataset.
[https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/immigration-system-statistics-data-tables#entry-clearance-visas-granted-outside-the-uk]
Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the 'Notes' page of the workbook.
The below data is found in the latest Immigration System Statistics release, published on 27 February, for data up to December 2024.
Youth Mobility Scheme visas granted by year and nationality
|
Information on future Home Office statistical release dates can be found in the 'Research and statistics calendar'.
[https://www.gov.uk/search/research-and-statistics?keywords=immigration&content_store_document_type=upcoming_statistics&organisations%5B%5D=home-office&order=relevance]
Information on UK citizens entering other countries on youth mobility schemes is either not centrally held or currently available from the published statistics, and could only be collected and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Lord Wallace of Saltaire (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many individuals entered the UK under the Youth Mobility Scheme in each of the past five years from (1) Hong Kong, and (2) Taiwan; and how many UK citizens entered each of those countries under that scheme in the same period.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office publishes data on entry clearance visas, including Youth Mobility Scheme visas, by nationality in the 'Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release'.
[https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/immigration-statistics-quarterly-release]
Data on grants of visa applications are published in table 'Vis_D02' of the detailed entry clearance visas dataset.
[https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/immigration-system-statistics-data-tables#entry-clearance-visas-granted-outside-the-uk]
Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the 'Notes' page of the workbook.
The below data is found in the latest Immigration System Statistics release, published on 27 February, for data up to December 2024.
Youth Mobility Scheme visas granted by year and nationality
|
Information on future Home Office statistical release dates can be found in the 'Research and statistics calendar'.
[https://www.gov.uk/search/research-and-statistics?keywords=immigration&content_store_document_type=upcoming_statistics&organisations%5B%5D=home-office&order=relevance]
Information on UK citizens entering other countries on youth mobility schemes is either not centrally held or currently available from the published statistics, and could only be collected and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Lord Wallace of Saltaire (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many individuals entered the UK under the India Young Professionals Scheme in each of the past five years, or since the implementation of the scheme; and how many UK citizens entered India under that scheme in the same period.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office publishes data on entry clearance visas, including Youth Mobility Scheme visas, by nationality in the 'Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release'.
[https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/immigration-statistics-quarterly-release]
Data on grants of visa applications are published in table 'Vis_D02' of the detailed entry clearance visas dataset.
[https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/immigration-system-statistics-data-tables#entry-clearance-visas-granted-outside-the-uk]
Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the 'Notes' page of the workbook.
The below data is found in the latest Immigration System Statistics release, published on 27 February, for data up to December 2024.
Youth Mobility Scheme visas granted by year and nationality
|
Information on future Home Office statistical release dates can be found in the 'Research and statistics calendar'.
[https://www.gov.uk/search/research-and-statistics?keywords=immigration&content_store_document_type=upcoming_statistics&organisations%5B%5D=home-office&order=relevance]
Information on UK citizens entering other countries on youth mobility schemes is either not centrally held or currently available from the published statistics, and could only be collected and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Lord Berkeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have made an assessment of the reasons why the European Union has provided European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service services to non-EU countries, including Iceland and Serbia, at no cost; and what steps they are taking to ensure that the UK receives fair and equitable treatment in its access to the service.
Answered by Lord Vallance of Balham - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government has not made an assessment of the EU's reasons for providing European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS) services to Iceland and Serbia, and respects the EU's decision-making independence on whether to grant EGNOS working agreements to non-EU countries. UK businesses and organisations are able to use the freely available "open" EGNOS signal. The Government is considering options for future UK access to a Satellite Based Augmentation System such as EGNOS, and no decision has been taken.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will ensure that (a) UK legal services and (b) the use of English law are promoted overseas as part of an integrated trade policy.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Secretary of State for Scotland
The UK has a reputation for the rule of law and as a global centre for legal services excellence. To date, the government has ensured the inclusion of commitments which facilitate the provision of legal advisory services in UK and international law by UK lawyers in its Free Trade Agreements with the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, Australia and New Zealand.
Furthermore, the government will seek to support UK service suppliers, including those from the legal sector, via the future Trade Strategy which will reflect the government's ambition to improve UK's trade and investment with international partners.