Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to his oral contribution of 20 November 2023, Official Report, column 3, where the additional 600 UK troops deployed in the Middle East are stationed.
Answered by James Heappey
The uplift of UK Service personnel in the wider region is principally associated with the Royal Navy taskforce in the Eastern Mediterranean and additional personnel forward deployed in the Sovereign Base Area in Cyprus. These personnel have been deployed to contribute to regional stability, deliver humanitarian aid and support UK interests.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether his Department has made a recent estimate of the number of people that migrated from Turkey to the occupied region of Northern Cyprus since 1983.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
In accordance with the rest of the international community, with the sole exception of Turkey, the UK does not recognise the self-declared "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus" as an independent state. The FCDO does not hold any information about the number of people that emigrated from Turkey to Cyprus since 1983.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what information his Department holds on the number of British citizens who are not able to travel directly to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus; and whether he has had recent discussions with his Turkish Cypriot counterpart on this matter.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
In accordance with the rest of the international community, with the sole exception of Turkey, the UK does not recognise the self-declared "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus" as an independent state. Under the Chicago Convention, only the Republic of Cyprus may designate an airport for international flights. It has not done so for Ercan airport. As such, it is not possible to fly directly between the UK and the north of Cyprus. Ministers have not discussed this topic with the Turkish Cypriot administration and the FCDO does not hold information about how many British citizens are unable to travel directly to the north of Cyprus.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has had recent discussions with the President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus on proposals to establish a new Sovereign Base Area under a two-state solution in Cyprus.
Answered by James Heappey
In accordance with the rest of the international community, with the sole exception of Turkey, the UK does not recognise the self-declared "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus" as an independent state. The Secretary of State for Defence has not had any discussions with the Turkish Cypriot leader about UK basing or the Sovereign Base Areas on the island of Cyprus.
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many troops have been moved to UK military bases in (a) Cyprus and (b) Oman since 7 October 2023.
Answered by James Heappey
Since 7 October 2023, there has been an increase of approximately 1,000 Service personnel deployed to the Sovereign Base Areas on the island of Cyprus and the Eastern Mediterranean to support contingency planning and humanitarian objectives across the region. This figure remains under review.
No additional military personnel have been deployed to Oman, beyond those taking part in planned activity.
Asked by: Giles Watling (Conservative - Clacton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had recent discussions with (a) his French counterpart on France's defence cooperation agreement with Southern Cyprus and use of the Evangelos Florakis Naval Base and (b) President Tatar of Northern Cyprus on a potential defence agreement between the UK and Northern Cyprus.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
While our bilateral military cooperation is strong, the Foreign Secretary has not recently discussed France's defence cooperation agreement with Cyprus with his French counterpart. In accordance with the rest of the international community, with the sole exception of Turkey, the UK does not recognise the self-declared "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus" as an independent state. The UK recognises the Republic of Cyprus as the sovereign authority of Cyprus and has no intention of discussing a potential defence agreement with the Turkish Cypriot administration.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether there are Israeli military personnel deployed on the British Sovereign Base Areas on Cyprus.
Answered by James Heappey
No.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to tackle the reported threat of the hybrid of an existing feline coronavirus arriving in the UK.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We are aware of this case of Feline Infectious Peritonitis (FIP) in an imported kitten from Cyprus and the subsequent diagnostic testing and sequencing carried out at Edinburgh University and the Roslin Institute.
Feline Infectious Peritonitis is caused by a mutation in a common feline coronavirus (FeC). This strain of virus is unrelated to those which cause SARS, SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19 in humans) or MERS. Most infections with feline coronavirus cause a mild diarrhoea but sometimes, if the virus mutates within the cat, it can cause a severe infection and in vulnerable kittens can cause high mortality. FeC is often found in multiple cat households, cat shelters and feral cat colonies, as is the case in Cyprus where many cats have died of FIP.
At present, we understand this is an isolated case and there has been no transmission to other cats in contact with the kitten, but we are following the work closely through APHA’s Small Animal Expert Group to understand whether this has the potential to become an issue for the UK cat population. FeC is not a notifiable or reportable pathogen in the UK and there are no trade rules or quarantine rules for cat imports relating to FeC or FIP.
There are guidelines provided by the British Small Animal Veterinary Association for how to deal with outbreaks in cat shelters, where spread can happen quickly and with certain highly pathogenic strains, can lead to high fatality rates.
Asked by: Lord Hannan of Kingsclere (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government on what grounds direct flights between the UK and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) are currently prohibited whilst flights to Taiwan are permitted; and what plans they have, if any, to review these in order to facilitate direct flights from the UK to the TRNC.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government recognises the inconvenience caused to passengers by the situation regarding air travel from the north of Cyprus to the UK. Under the Chicago Convention, only the Republic of Cyprus may designate Ercan airport as an international customs airport and grant permission for flights to operate from within its territory. It has not done so. As such, those travelling from Ercan airport to Turkey and then onwards to the UK do so on two distinctly separate flights. To do otherwise would be contrary to the UK’s obligations under the Chicago Convention.
This means that no direct air services between the north of Cyprus and the UK can take place. Ultimately, a just and lasting settlement on the island is the best chance of resolving these complex issues. The UK’s commitment to helping the sides achieve this remains unwavering.
It is not relevant to compare Taiwan and the north of Cyprus given that the Chinese authorities have designated a number of airports in Taiwan as international customs airports.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether the Government provides funding tor historical sites significant to British history in (a) France, (b) Malta and (c) Cyprus.
Answered by John Whittingdale
HM Government does not routinely provide funding for historical sites outside the UK or the Overseas Territories.
In some cases, particularly with reference to war memorials, HM Government can contribute towards funding together with the host country. This was the case with the British Normandy Memorial at Ver-sur-Mer, Normandy, inaugurated in 2019.
Historical sites in other countries – including France, Malta and Cyprus – are the responsibility of that country to maintain.