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Written Question
Dogs: Imports
Monday 13th June 2022

Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many dogs were imported under the Balai Directive in each month of (a) 2020, (b) 2021 and (c) 2022 as of 6 June 2022; and from which countries those dogs originated.

Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General

Since we left the EU, the EU import data for 2021 and 2022 was collated from the Animal and Plant Health Agency’s Post Import Management System (PIMS) and accounts for all imports into Great Britain that have been entered using IPAFFS (Import of products, animals, food and feed system).

For 2020, the data was extracted from TRACES NT through the data warehouse facility.

The information that we have provided is a true reflection of the information that we have access to. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of this data, as we can only rely on the information that has been input into IPAFFS and TRACES by traders.

From 14 April 2022 Great Britain temporarily suspended the commercial import of dogs, cats and ferrets if they originated from or have been dispatched from Belarus, Poland, Romania or Ukraine, until 9 July 2022.

Please find data below.

2020 Numbers of Dogs imported under Balai Directive

Country of Origin

Jan

Feb

Mar

April

May

June

Austria

3

Belgium

1

1

Bulgaria

32

9

20

39

Croatia

13

17

2

9

32

Cyprus

286

271

185

61

229

348

Czechia

1

3

3

19

13

Denmark

1

England

Estonia

Finland

1

1

France

1

7

17

4

Germany

6

2

1

2

5

20

Greece

22

44

22

26

42

Hungary

259

241

138

113

318

435

Iceland

Italy

1

1

4

19

Latvia

Lithuania

1

1

1

Luxembourg

Malta

1

Netherlands

5

1

1

Northern Ireland

Norway

Poland

108

102

106

80

187

279

Portugal

3

9

1

20

Republic of Ireland

694

658

467

99

309

480

Romania

1944

1705

870

529

2585

2814

Scotland

Slovakia

3

3

2

Slovenia

2

1

Spain

440

324

155

32

491

646

Sweden

3

1

Switzerland

1

Wales

UK

Isle of Man

(blank)

Grand Total

3810

3391

1987

934

4190

5202

2020 Numbers of Dogs imported under Balai Directive

Country of Origin

July

Aug

Sept

Oct

Nov

Dec

Austria

1

2

1

1

Belgium

2

3

6

Bulgaria

20

20

1

41

40

Croatia

3

14

18

8

6

31

Cyprus

575

266

595

492

414

524

Czechia

14

14

10

9

10

39

Denmark

1

England

Estonia

5

7

2

7

Finland

1

2

2

France

1

1

1

1

Germany

17

2

19

11

18

Greece

61

154

52

65

46

29

Hungary

542

395

588

649

717

670

Iceland

Italy

17

19

41

54

42

45

Latvia

1

2

2

Lithuania

2

1

3

8

42

40

Luxembourg

Malta

1

2

1

Netherlands

6

9

4

12

Northern Ireland

Norway

Poland

349

314

514

527

678

700

Portugal

44

45

63

50

74

34

Republic of Ireland

461

449

640

572

508

477

Romania

3427

3166

3454

3854

3587

4590

Scotland

Slovakia

11

14

15

24

17

17

Slovenia

1

1

Spain

752

407

810

682

716

1020

Sweden

1

9

1

Switzerland

Wales

UK

Isle of Man

(blank)

Grand Total

6309

5272

6826

7031

6944

8293

2021 Numbers of Dogs imported under Balai Directive

Country of Origin

Jan

Feb

Mar

April

May

June

Austria

14

4

Belgium

19

7

8

8

8

5

Bulgaria

35

65

113

74

116

131

Croatia

27

125

118

207

196

Cyprus

143

485

323

384

205

415

Czechia

14

14

19

17

20

Denmark

12

1

184

England

1

6

4

6

7

Estonia

16

5

Finland

1

2

1

France

6

58

40

48

17

111

Germany

2

4

4

11

17

Greece

13

31

24

116

164

79

Hungary

35

234

865

621

582

358

Iceland

1

Italy

4

29

35

26

9

33

Latvia

36

25

66

61

45

Lithuania

28

35

75

62

32

28

Luxembourg

Malta

1

Netherlands

9

4

2

5

6

3

Northern Ireland

2

Norway

1

Poland

131

318

564

587

688

566

Portugal

1

34

69

59

43

78

Republic of Ireland

96

529

717

560

654

640

Romania

558

3609

4220

4788

3696

3199

Scotland

1

Slovakia

5

32

39

27

17

22

Slovenia

1

3

1

Spain

117

269

637

702

573

590

Sweden

5

2

1

1

1

Switzerland

1

2

1

Wales

1

UK

Isle of Man

(blank)

1

Grand Total

1201

5832

7937

8305

7125

6724

2021 Numbers of Dogs imported under Balai Directive

Country of Origin

July

Aug

Sept

Oct

Nov

Dec

Austria

2

1

1

Belgium

7

6

5

3

2

Bulgaria

96

44

157

110

86

66

Croatia

282

223

132

254

246

193

Cyprus

297

396

345

325

165

275

Czechia

22

18

25

22

20

30

Denmark

58

210

43

94

117

England

20

3

8

7

9

1

Estonia

1

1

Finland

1

1

1

1

France

38

26

16

12

32

7

Germany

7

9

8

5

5

4

Greece

110

98

124

110

88

60

Hungary

322

223

402

302

277

296

Iceland

Italy

35

29

35

17

36

8

Latvia

43

28

57

55

69

27

Lithuania

81

71

82

77

55

52

Luxembourg

2

Malta

2

Netherlands

4

34

23

28

16

18

Northern Ireland

Norway

1

1

Poland

480

486

543

492

405

333

Portugal

53

22

42

46

28

25

Republic of Ireland

557

620

651

557

633

444

Romania

3328

2871

3108

3452

2825

2427

Scotland

Slovakia

23

21

32

22

33

18

Slovenia

1

1

Spain

729

316

539

490

539

408

Sweden

2

1

33

1

2

Switzerland

1

2

1

Wales

UK

Isle of Man

(blank)

Grand Total

6538

5610

6548

6463

5667

4816

2022 Numbers of Dogs imported under Balai Directive

Country of Origin

Jan

Feb

Mar

April

May

1/6/22 to 6/6/22

Austria

3

2

Belgium

10

4

5

3

Bulgaria

79

40

95

115

244

57

Croatia

145

190

358

248

239

Cyprus

335

282

275

77

253

11

Czechia

14

11

10

18

23

Denmark

1

19

67

97

32

England

1

2

7

3

Estonia

4

8

Finland

1

1

1

France

16

18

16

2

3

Germany

22

21

7

11

15

4

Greece

54

48

33

29

20

1

Hungary

164

253

224

226

271

33

Iceland

Italy

7

44

32

35

18

Latvia

56

32

54

41

38

2

Lithuania

36

63

52

31

28

9

Luxembourg

1

Malta

Netherlands

24

17

12

9

4

1

Northern Ireland

1

12

Norway

3

2

Poland

320

339

334

175

46

2

Portugal

30

36

30

24

43

9

Republic of Ireland

635

670

632

534

622

65

Romania

2529

2365

2531

1181

38

13

Scotland

Slovakia

17

13

12

17

14

1

Slovenia

1

Spain

480

529

448

415

352

65

Sweden

2

3

1

1

Switzerland

1

1

Wales

UK

1

2

Isle of Man

2

(blank)

Grand Total

4983

4999

5236

3304

2331

273


Written Question
Dogs: Imports
Tuesday 31st May 2022

Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many dogs were imported under the Balai Directive in each month of (a) 2021 and (b) 2022 to date; and from which country did these dogs originate.

Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General

Since we left the EU, the EU import data was collated from the Animal and Plant Health Agency’s (APHA) Post Import Management System and accounts for all Imports that have been entered using IPAFFS (Import of products, animals, food and feed system).

The information that we have provided is a true reflection of the information that we have access to. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of this data, as we can only rely on the information that has been input into IPAFFS by traders.

APHA only holds data on GB imports.

From 14 April 2022 Great Britain temporarily suspended the commercial import of dogs, cats and ferrets if they originated from or have been dispatched from Belarus, Poland, Romania or Ukraine, until 9 July 2022.

Please find data below.

2021 Numbers of Dogs imported under Balai Directive

Country of Origin

Jan

Feb

Mar

April

May

June

Austria

14

4

Belgium

19

7

8

8

8

5

Bulgaria

35

65

113

74

116

131

Croatia

27

125

118

207

196

Cyprus

143

485

323

384

205

415

Czechia

14

14

19

17

20

Denmark

12

1

184

England

1

6

4

6

7

Estonia

16

5

Finland

1

2

1

France

6

58

40

48

17

111

Germany

2

4

4

11

17

Greece

13

31

24

116

164

79

Hungary

35

234

865

621

582

358

Iceland

1

Italy

4

29

35

26

9

33

Latvia

36

25

66

61

45

Lithuania

28

35

75

62

32

28

Luxembourg

Malta

1

Netherlands

9

4

2

5

6

3

Northern Ireland

2

Norway

1

Poland

131

318

564

587

688

566

Portugal

1

34

69

59

43

78

Republic of Ireland

96

529

717

560

654

640

Romania

558

3609

4220

4788

3696

3199

Scotland

1

Slovakia

5

32

39

27

17

22

Slovenia

1

3

1

Spain

117

269

637

702

573

590

Sweden

5

2

1

1

1

Switzerland

1

2

1

Wales

1

UK

Isle of Man

(blank)

1

Grand Total

1201

5832

7937

8305

7125

6724

2021 Numbers of Dogs imported under Balai Directive

Country of Origin

July

Aug

Sept

Oct

Nov

Dec

Austria

2

1

1

Belgium

7

6

5

3

2

Bulgaria

96

44

157

110

86

66

Croatia

282

223

132

254

246

193

Cyprus

297

396

345

325

165

275

Czechia

22

18

25

22

20

30

Denmark

58

210

43

94

117

England

20

3

8

7

9

1

Estonia

1

1

Finland

1

1

1

1

France

38

26

16

12

32

7

Germany

7

9

8

5

5

4

Greece

110

98

124

110

88

60

Hungary

322

223

402

302

277

296

Iceland

Italy

35

29

35

17

36

8

Latvia

43

28

57

55

69

27

Lithuania

81

71

82

77

55

52

Luxembourg

2

Malta

2

Netherlands

4

34

23

28

16

18

Northern Ireland

Norway

1

1

Poland

480

486

543

492

405

333

Portugal

53

22

42

46

28

25

Republic of Ireland

557

620

651

557

633

444

Romania

3328

2871

3108

3452

2825

2427

Scotland

Slovakia

23

21

32

22

33

18

Slovenia

1

1

Spain

729

316

539

490

539

408

Sweden

2

1

33

1

2

Switzerland

1

2

1

Wales

UK

Isle of Man

(blank)

Grand Total

6538

5610

6548

6463

5667

4816

2022 Numbers of Dogs imported under Balai Directive

Country of Origin

Jan

Feb

Mar

April

1/5/22 to 23/05/22

Austria

3

2

Belgium

10

4

5

2

Bulgaria

79

40

95

115

115

Croatia

145

190

358

248

Cyprus

335

282

275

77

231

Czechia

14

11

10

18

16

Denmark

1

19

67

97

England

1

2

7

3

Estonia

4

7

Finland

1

1

1

France

16

18

16

2

1

Germany

22

21

7

11

3

Greece

54

48

33

29

16

Hungary

164

253

224

226

193

Iceland

Italy

7

44

32

35

22

Latvia

56

32

54

41

8

Lithuania

36

63

52

31

26

Luxembourg

1

Malta

Netherlands

24

17

12

9

Northern Ireland

1

Norway

3

2

Poland

320

339

334

175

42

Portugal

30

36

30

24

39

Republic of Ireland

635

670

632

534

493

Romania

2529

2365

2531

1181

18

Scotland

Slovakia

17

13

12

17

9

Slovenia

Spain

480

529

448

415

344

Sweden

2

3

1

1

Switzerland

1

1

Wales

UK

1

2

Isle of Man

2

(blank)

Grand Total

4983

4999

5236

3304

1589


Written Question
Anton Hammerl
Wednesday 9th March 2022

Asked by: Ed Davey (Liberal Democrat - Kingston and Surbiton)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether her Department is taking steps to (a) locate and (b) repatriate the remains of Anton Hammerl to his family in London.

Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary

I am saddened by the tragic circumstances in which Mr Hammerl lost his life whilst in Libya and send my sincere condolences to his family and friends. The UK condemns, and is committed to raising, violations of media freedom across the world at all levels. Journalists should be able to do their jobs without fear of retaliation or harm. We believe that those who seek to harm journalists or restrict their ability to work should be held to account.

The FCDO is only able to provide consular assistance to British nationals so cannot provide it to Mr Hammerl, as he was a dual national of Austria and South Africa. It would be incumbent on those countries to raise Mr Hammerl's case with the Libyan government.


Written Question
Anton Hammerl
Wednesday 9th March 2022

Asked by: Ed Davey (Liberal Democrat - Kingston and Surbiton)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations her has made to the Libyan authorities on the killing of photojournalist Anton Hammerl in that country in April 2011.

Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary

I am saddened by the tragic circumstances in which Mr Hammerl lost his life whilst in Libya and send my sincere condolences to his family and friends. The UK condemns, and is committed to raising, violations of media freedom across the world at all levels. Journalists should be able to do their jobs without fear of retaliation or harm. We believe that those who seek to harm journalists or restrict their ability to work should be held to account.

The FCDO is only able to provide consular assistance to British nationals so cannot provide it to Mr Hammerl, as he was a dual national of Austria and South Africa. It would be incumbent on those countries to raise Mr Hammerl's case with the Libyan government.


Written Question
Travel: Coronavirus
Friday 3rd December 2021

Asked by: Theresa Villiers (Conservative - Chipping Barnet)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 8 November 2021 to Question 67098 on Coronavirus: Vaccination, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of NHS England including records of covid-19 booster vaccinations in the NHS App in the context of the requirement by Israel and Austria of proof of a booster vaccination for specific travellers to those countries.

Answered by Maggie Throup

The NHS COVID Pass can now be used to demonstrate proof of a booster or third dose for outbound international travel and this is available through the NHS App and NHS.UK. Booster vaccinations are not required for domestic certification in England.


Written Question
Belarus: Politics and Government
Monday 15th November 2021

Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with her EU counterpart on the political and security situation in Belarus.

Answered by Wendy Morton

The ongoing political crisis in Belarus features regularly in my engagements with EU and other colleagues. Most recently, I discussed Belarus with members of the Estonian Foreign Affairs Committee and with the Austrian Ambassador ahead of Austria hosting the 22 November international conference "Towards a Prosperous and Safe Future for Belarus". The Foreign Secretary also discussed Belarus with her Baltic counterparts when they met on 11 October. The UK will continue to work alongside our international partners in support of the Belarusian people and of a lasting solution to the political crisis.


Written Question
Arts: Visas
Friday 5th November 2021

Asked by: Earl of Clancarty (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the announcement on 11 October by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport regarding "visa-free short-term touring allowed in 20 member states", how many days per year a creative professional can work for without a (1) visa, or (2) work permit, in each of these 20 countries.

Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

Many of the 20 Member States offer visa and work permit free routes for up to 90 days, including some of the biggest touring markets such as France, Germany and Italy. All 20 Member States have confirmed they offer visa and work permit free routes for at least 30 days, aside from Sweden (up to 14 days a year), Latvia (up to 14 days), Estonia (up to 5 days in a 30 day period) and the Czech Republic (up to 7 consecutive days, or 30 days over a year). Austria offers visa and work permit free routes for up to four weeks, although artists may take up several chronologically linked employments for a longer overall duration.

Durations, precise definitions and requirements can vary from Member State to Member State. Travellers should therefore check what requirements they need to fulfill with the Member State to which they are travelling. To support this, we have published general business traveller summaries for all Member States on gov.uk, and we are engaging with Member States to encourage clear and accessible guidance. We are also sharing information with the industry on an ongoing basis, and working with sector organisations to help clarify areas of uncertainty in their own guidance.


Written Question
Dogs: Imports
Wednesday 15th September 2021

Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which countries exported dogs commercially into the UK in the first eight months of 2021.

Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General

The information the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) has provided is a true reflection of the information that we have access to. APHA cannot guarantee the accuracy of this data, as we can only rely on the information that has been input into IPAFFS and PIMS by traders.

APHA can only provide data for imports entering Great Britain.

Dogs commercially imported into GB - Country of Origin.

Argentina

Egypt

Lithuania

Russian Federation

Australia

Estonia

Macao

Saudi Arabia

Austria

Ethiopia

Malaysia

Serbia

Bahamas

Finland

Malta

Singapore

Bahrain

France

Mexico

Slovakia

Barbados

Germany

Namibia

Slovenia

Belarus

Greece

Nepal

South Africa

Belgium

Hong Kong

Netherlands

South Korea

Bermuda

Hungary

New Zealand

Spain

Brazil

Iceland

Nigeria

Sweden

Bulgaria

India

Northern Ireland

Switzerland

Canada

Indonesia

Norway

Taiwan

Cayman Islands

Israel

Oman

Thailand

China

Italy

Panama

Turkey

Colombia

Jamaica

Peru

Ukraine

Costa Rica

Japan

Philippines

United Arab Emirates

Croatia

Jordan

Poland

United States of America

Cyprus

Kenya

Portugal

Zimbabwe

Czechia

Kuwait

Qatar

Denmark

Latvia

Republic of Ireland

Ecuador

Lebanon

Romania


Written Question
Arms Trade: Trade Fairs
Friday 10th September 2021

Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)

Question to the Department for International Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, which countries and territories UK Defence and Security Exports has invited to attend the Defence and Security Equipment International exhibition in London on 14 to 17 September 2021.

Answered by Graham Stuart

The following countries have received official invitations to the Defence and Security Equipment International (DSEI) 2021 from the Department for International Trade UK Defence and Security Exports Team:

Angola

Australia

Austria

Bahrain

Bangladesh

Belgium

Botswana

Brazil

Brunei

Bulgaria

Canada

Chile

Colombia

Czech Republic

Denmark

Egypt

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

India

Indonesia

Iraq

Italy

Japan

Kenya

Kuwait

Latvia

Lithuania

Malaysia

Mexico

Morocco

Mozambique

NATO

Netherlands

New Zealand

Nigeria

Norway

Oman

Peru

Philippines

Poland

Portugal

Qatar

Romania

Saudi Arabia

Singapore

Slovakia

Slovenia

South Africa

South Korea

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Taiwan

Thailand

Turkey

Ukraine

USA

Vietnam


Written Question
Armed Forces: Deployment
Thursday 22nd July 2021

Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many full-time UK armed forces personnel are currently deployed overseas, by country of deployment.

Answered by James Heappey

In addition to the 7,025 at sea in Ships and Submarines around the globe, figures for those deployed overseas on 22 Jul 2021, including in Defence Sections of Embassies, International Headquarters, permanent deployments, on UN Duties, on Operations, participating in international exercises, or in support of other Defence activity, are listed in the table below. This represents a snapshot as numbers are continuously changing. Some of these details have been withheld due to operational sensitivity, including our current presence in Afghanistan.

COUNTRY

Personnel

ALBANIA

1

ALGERIA

2

ARGENTINA

2

AUSTRALIA

200

AUSTRIA

2

BAHRAIN

193

BANGLADESH

1

BARBADOS

3

BELGIUM

280

BELIZE

67

BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

3

BRAZIL

2

BRUNEI DARUSSALAM

734

BULGARIA

1

CAMEROON

17

CANADA

295

CHAD

1

CHILE

2

CHINA

5

COLOMBIA

3

CROATIA

5

CURACAO

2

CYPRUS

3,272

CZECH REPUBLIC

18

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO

4

DENMARK

4

DIEGO GARCIA

43

DJIBOUTI

4

EGYPT

4

ESTONIA

716

ETHIOPIA

2

FALKLAND ISLANDS

843

FIJI

1

FINLAND

1

FRANCE

83

GEORGIA

34

GERMANY

585

GHANA

3

GIBRALTAR

516

GREECE

53

INDIA

8

INDONESIA

2

IRAQ

152

IRELAND

1

ISRAEL

4

ITALY

196

JAMAICA

2

JAPAN

5

JORDAN

215

KAZAKHSTAN

2

KENYA

617

KOSOVO

36

KUWAIT

84

LATVIA

19

LEBANON

4

LITHUANIA

2

MALAYSIA

7

MALI

442

MEXICO

2

MOLDOVA

1

MOROCCO

2

NEPAL

69

NETHERLANDS

116

NEW ZEALAND

6

NIGERIA

53

NORTH MACEDONIA

3

NORWAY

49

OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES

6

OMAN

235

PAKISTAN

13

POLAND

164

PORTUGAL

27

QATAR

134

ROMANIA

175

RUSSIAN FEDERATION

1

SAINT HELENA, ASCENSION AND TRISTAN DA CUNHA

23

SAUDI ARABIA

142

SENEGAL

6

SERBIA

1

SEYCHELLES

1

SIERRA LEONE

2

SINGAPORE

9

SLOVAKIA

1

SLOVENIA

11

SOMALIA

63

SOUTH AFRICA

2

SOUTH KOREA

7

SOUTH SUDAN

5

SPAIN

37

SRI LANKA

1

SWEDEN

3

THAILAND

2

TUNISIA

4

TURKEY

46

TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS

15

UGANDA

2

UKRAINE

436

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

141

UNITED STATES

1,053

UZBEKISTAN

1

VIETNAM

2

ZAMBIA

6

ZIMBABWE

1