Asked by: Chris Philp (Conservative - Croydon South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the Answer of 16 December 2024 to Question 18968 on Asylum: Sri Lanka, what accommodation is available on St Helena to house migrants; what the maximum capacity is of this accommodation; how much funding will be provided for this accommodation; whether people with granted applications will remain on the island; whether his Department made an assessment of the views of local people; and if he will publish an Impact Assessment.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government of St Helena is responsible for determining what accommodation should be provided to any migrants transferred, and is currently exploring options. We understand that initially they plan to use an existing facility as temporary accommodation while more suitable longer-term housing is matched to the make-up of any migrant cohort. Funding requirements have not yet been determined.
Immigration is the responsibility of the St Helena Government, which will be responsible for processing any applications for protection or settlement. The Government of St Helena is also responsible for any local consultation and impact assessments. The UK Government continues to work in partnership with the Government of St Helena and as agreed in the MOU between both parties the UK will continue to provide the additional training, expertise and funding required to ensure the Government of St Helena is able to respond if any migrants do arrive on BIOT.
Asked by: Baroness Pidgeon (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the use of state subsidies in the production of (1) e-bikes, and (2) bicycles, made by (a) EU nations, (b) North American nations, (c) China, and (d) the rest of the world.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch
The Trade Remedies Authority is the UK’s independent investigatory body that exists to defend the UK against unfair international trade practices, including assessing harm from subsidies. Where UK economic interests are being damaged by such unfair practices, action will be taken. The UK has in place an anti-subsidy and an anti-dumping measure on e-bikes from China, and one anti-dumping measure on bikes/bike parts from Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka and Tunisia. The Trade Remedies Authority is currently reviewing all three measures.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to authorise the transfer of any remaining Sri Lankan nationals on Diego Garcia to the UK before the eventual handover to Mauritius.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
All migrants temporarily relocated to the UK from Diego Garcia have undergone the required security checks in line with the appropriate immigration rules.
Migrants with criminal convictions, charges, or subject to ongoing investigations were not in scope for that relocation. We do not comment on individual cases.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information she obtained from the Sri Lankan government on the (a) criminal records of and (b) allegations of criminal behaviour made about the Sri Lankan nationals on Diego Garcia.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
All migrants temporarily relocated to the UK from Diego Garcia have undergone the required security checks in line with the appropriate immigration rules.
Migrants with criminal convictions, charges, or subject to ongoing investigations were not in scope for that relocation. We do not comment on individual cases.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Sri Lankan nationals on Diego Garcia were excluded from transfer to the UK due to them having (a) criminal convictions and (b) allegations of criminal behaviour.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
All migrants temporarily relocated to the UK from Diego Garcia have undergone the required security checks in line with the appropriate immigration rules.
Migrants with criminal convictions, charges, or subject to ongoing investigations were not in scope for that relocation. We do not comment on individual cases.
Asked by: Chris Philp (Conservative - Croydon South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of allowing Sri Lankans based on Diego Garcia to the UK on the number of people who will begin to attempt to reach the UK via Diego Garcia; and whether any of the 60 Tamil migrants recently arrived have made applications for family to join them.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Diego Garcia has never been a suitable long-term location for the migrants who have arrived there and this Government has worked hard to find a solution that protects both their welfare and the integrity of British territorial borders.
We have now closed down any risk of opening a new route, with any future arrivals to Diego Garcia to be relocated to St Helena until Mauritius takes responsibility for the island. Following this, we have temporarily relocated a small number of migrants, including children and their families, to the UK due to their acute welfare needs, and the lack of any suitable amenities on the island, including healthcare, to address those needs.
In line with normal practice, we will not comment further on those individual cases.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many of the Sri Lankan asylum seekers on Diego Garcia have been transferred to the UK.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
55 migrants have been relocated to the UK.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether any of the Sri Lankan asylum seekers on Diego Garcia have been excluded from travel to the UK on the grounds of (a) their criminal convictions and (b) ongoing criminal investigations.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Migrants with criminal convictions, charges, or subject to ongoing investigations were not in scope for the recent transfer. We do not comment on individual cases.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 11 November 2024 to Question 12545 on Asylum: Sri Lanka, what the serious welfare and safeguarding concerns for (a) children and (b) other people were on Diego Garcia.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Diego Garcia has never been a suitable location for migrants, including children and their families, given the logistical challenges of providing care in such a remote place without housing, medical care or other significant civilian infrastructure.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has provided information to UK police forces on the Sri Lankan asylum seekers in Diego Garcia transferred to the UK.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The local UK police force in the area where the migrants have been located have been informed of their arrival in the UK.