Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether he has had discussions with (a) his international counterparts and (b) regulators in (i) Germany and (ii) Romania on (A) Online Safety Act 2023 and (B) foreign interference in elections.
Answered by Feryal Clark
International collaboration is crucial in tackling the global threat of online harms. DSIT Ministers and officials meet regularly with international partners to discuss online safety, including foreign interference in elections. Tackling foreign interference is crucial to uphold our democratic values, and we are committed to promoting a free, open and secure internet. The latest list of DSIT ministerial meetings (July – September 2024) can be found here:
Asked by: Linsey Farnsworth (Labour - Amber Valley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has had discussions with his EU counterparts on streamlining the import process for flowers.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
Plant health import requirements are kept under continuous review, through the UK Plant Health Risk Group. Following such a review, most imports of cut flowers into GB from the EU no longer require an accompanying phytosanitary certificate and notification by importers.
Where phytosanitary certificates are still required, we are transitioning to digital certification via the IPPC ePhyto solution, which is a faster, safer and more cost-effective option. Defra has prioritised securing ePhyto agreements with EU countries, with arrangements now agreed for a range of plant products, including cut flowers, from: Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Sweden. Several other EU countries are due to have the capacity to export using ePhyto rolled out during 2025.
The Trade Specialised Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) measures, set up under the UK/EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement, provides a platform for information sharing and discussion on each of the Parties’ import requirements and processes. It is at this forum that the UK has discussed with the European Union the development of the UK’s IPPC ePhyto solution.
Defra is also seeking to negotiate a SPS agreement to help boost trade and deliver benefits to businesses and consumers in the UK and the EU.
The UK and EU are like-minded partners with similarly high standards. We have been clear that a SPS agreement could boost trade and deliver significant benefits on both sides. A SPS agreement could reduce trade friction and deliver significant benefits to the EU and the UK, but delivering new agreements will take time.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many full-time permanent MOD staff have worked on coordinating Operation Interflex in each year since 2002.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The table below is based on those who have been involved in co-ordinating Operation INTERFLEX for each of the six Tranches, which to date have delivered more than 51,000 trained Ukrainians. The table includes those assigned to INTERFLEX HQ, the training delivery units and the logistic support element.
Please note the UK delivers Op INTERFLEX in conjunction with our partners. Canada, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Norway, New Zealand, Lithuania, Australia, Romania, Netherlands, Kosovo, and Estonia are all supporting the training programme. Albania will also be joining from the end of February, so UK personnel numbers alone do not represent output of total personnel.
Tranche | Dates from | No of UK Personnel |
1 | Jun-22 | 1,389 |
2 | Jan-23 | 1,270 |
3 | Jul-23 | 1,270 |
4 | Jan-24 | 388 |
5 | Jul-24 | 428 |
6 | Jan-25 | 369 |
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with her international counterparts on tackling human trafficking.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Responsibility for modern slavery and human trafficking sits within the Minister for Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls' portfolio in the Home Office.
Modern slavery is a global crime and the Government is committed to working with international partners to tackle it.
In September 2024, the Minister met the (now former) US Ambassador to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons to discuss the Government's modern slavery and humans trafficking priorities. The Minister has also met senior representatives from the Council of Europe's Group of Experts on Action Against Trafficking in Human Beings during their evaluation visit in December 2024.
The UK has close relationships with Governments from other countries, including Albania, Vietnam and Romania, to address shared priorities on modern slavery. Partnerships with these countries are maintained through regular senior official engagement and deliver initiatives to prevent modern slavery, improve law enforcement cooperation and support effective reintegration of victims so they can rebuild their lives.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic steps he is taking to support the work of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe in ensuring free and fair elections in Romania.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is a strong supporter of the OSCE's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR). While ODIHR did not send an election observation mission to Romania on this occasion, the UK will continue to work closely with the OSCE to support democratic values in the region.
On 6 December the Romanian Constitutional Court annulled the results of the first round of the Presidential election. On 7 December the Foreign Secretary set out UK concerns following reports from the Romanian authorities of Russian interference in their Presidential elections and reiterated the importance of elections being decided by the Romanian people, freely and fairly, he further stated that the UK remains a resolute Ally to Romania and is confident in its democracy.
On 4 December the Foreign Secretary met Romanian FM Odobescu in the margins of NATO Foreign Ministers, and on 12 November I hosted FM Odobescu in London. In both of these meetings we reaffirmed our commitment to strengthening our bilateral relationship and our shared concerns regarding Russian hybrid threats in the region.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many National Insurance numbers were issued to (a) Bulgarian and (b) Romanian nationals resident in Great Yarmouth constituency in each year since 2016.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department publishes quarterly statistics on National Insurance number allocations to adult overseas nationals entering the UK on Stat-Xplore. The latest statistics, for January 2002 to June 2024, can be compiled by rolling year end to June and nationality down to country level, and are available by Westminster parliamentary constituency (based on the address given at time of National Insurance number registration).
Users can log in or access Stat-Xplore as a guest and, if needed, can access guidance on how to extract the information required.
Asked by: Richard Tice (Reform UK - Boston and Skegness)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many National Insurance Numbers were issued to (a) Bulgarian and (b) Romanian nationals in Boston and Skegness constituency in each year since 2021.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department publishes quarterly statistics on National Insurance number allocations to adult overseas nationals entering the UK on Stat-Xplore. The latest statistics, for January 2002 to June 2024, can be compiled by rolling year end to June and nationality down to country level, and are available by Westminster parliamentary constituency (based on the address given at time of National Insurance number registration).
Users can log in or access Stat-Xplore as a guest and, if needed, can access guidance on how to extract the information required.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people eligible for Winter Fuel Payments live overseas, broken down by country.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
For winter 2024/25, to be paid Winter Fuel Payments abroad, customers must be in scope of the Withdrawal Agreement and equivalent agreements with the EEA-European Free Trade Association (EFTA) states and Switzerland, and the 2019 Convention with Ireland. Customers must also be in receipt of a benefit equivalent to Pension Credit or another qualifying benefit and be able to show that they have a Genuine and Sufficient Link to the UK. A Genuine and Sufficient Link to the UK can include having lived or worked in the UK and having family in the UK. Statistics for winter 2024/25 do not yet have a confirmed date for release.
Annual statistics on the number of Winter Fuel Payments made to individuals and households are publicly available via GOV.UK. The latest statistics cover winter 2023 to 2024. The table below shows the number of Winter Fuel Payments paid to eligible customers living in the European Economic Area and Switzerland by country, for winter 2023 to 2024. Please note that we do not hold or publish statistics on the underlying numbers who may be eligible, only on recipients.
Country | Total payments |
Ireland | 26,226 |
Germany | 2,185 |
Italy | 1,632 |
Bulgaria | 778 |
Netherlands | 586 |
Switzerland | 497 |
Poland | 381 |
Belgium | 312 |
Austria | 309 |
Sweden | 309 |
Hungary | 191 |
Denmark | 156 |
Norway | 129 |
The Czech Republic | 123 |
Finland | 113 |
Luxembourg | 69 |
Republic of Latvia | 62 |
Romania | 52 |
Republic of Lithuania | 49 |
The Slovak Republic | 47 |
Republic of Slovenia | 36 |
Republic of Estonia | 29 |
Croatia | 25 |
Iceland | 8 |
Liechtenstein | [low] |
Total | 34,307 |
Asked by: Stephen Doughty (Labour (Co-op) - Cardiff South and Penarth)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what recent discussions he has had with (a) Romania, (b) Moldova, (c) Bulgaria, (d) Ukraine and (e) Türkiye on (i) security and (ii) maritime access in the western Black Sea region.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani
A secure Black Sea and freedom of navigation for commercial shipping is essential to regional stability and global food security. The UK has prioritised support for this region, which is why within the past year the Foreign Secretary and his predecessor have visited all the countries mentioned to discuss these very issues. The Minister for Europe discussed regional security at the Moldova-UK Strategic Dialogue on 30 April.
The UK is at the forefront of building Ukraine's future maritime security through our joint leadership of the Maritime Capability Coalition alongside Norway. This is significantly uplifting Ukraine's naval capacity and creating a greater balance of power in the Black Sea.
Asked by: Baroness Goldie (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the recent participation of the RAF in intercepting Iranian drones aimed at Israel required UK military assets to be withdrawn from any other exercise or deployment.
Answered by Earl of Minto - Shadow Minister (Defence)
We already have a significant presence in the region, but as a prudent measure a number of aircraft were temporarily moved from our NATO operations in Romania to bolster our existing presence. We coordinated with NATO and our Allies to ensure there was no impact to existing operations.