Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many Chevening scholarships have been awarded to each country for awarded for the 2023-24 academic year.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
Chevening operates in over 160 countries and territories. For the 2023-24 academic year, our budget of £57.7 million Official Development Assistance (ODA), £1.6 million non-ODA funding, and additional income of around £13.2 million from tuition fee-waivers and external partners allowed us to offer 1440 awards of which 1383 were from ODA funding and 57 from non-ODA funding. Attached is a table indicating numbers from each eligible country. For countries where we offered fewer than five places we withhold the exact number as this would contravene one of the data protection principles. In this case, Sections 40(2) and 40 (3A)(a) of the Freedom of Information Act apply.
| ODA | Country | Awards made (incl. full/part partner funded awards) |
| ODA | AFGHANISTAN | 22 |
| ODA | ALBANIA | 11 |
| ODA | ALGERIA | 7 |
| ODA | ANGOLA / SAO TOME AND PRINCIPE | 15 |
| ODA | ARGENTINA | 15 |
| ODA | ARMENIA | 5 |
| ODA | AZERBAIJAN | 7 |
| ODA | BANGLADESH | 21 |
| ODA | BELARUS | 7 |
| ODA | BELIZE | Fewer than 5 |
| ODA | BHUTAN | 5 |
| ODA | BOLIVIA | 6 |
| ODA | BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA | 6 |
| ODA | BOTSWANA | 5 |
| ODA | BRAZIL | 46 |
| ODA | BURUNDI | Fewer than 5 |
| ODA | CAMBODIA | 14 |
| ODA | CAMEROON / CHAD / EQUATORIAL GUINEA / GABON | 8 |
| ODA | CHINA | 33 |
| ODA | COLOMBIA | 14 |
| ODA | CONGO, The Democratic Republic Of The/Central African Republic/Republic of Congo | Fewer than 5 |
| ODA | COSTA RICA / NICARAGUA | 6 |
| ODA | COTE D'IVOIRE | 7 |
| ODA | CUBA | 8 |
| ODA | DJIBOUTI | Fewer than 5 |
| ODA | DOMINICAN REPUBLIC/HAITI | 13 |
| ODA | EAST CARIBBEAN ODA (GRENADA, ST LUCIA, DOMINICA, ST VINCENT & THE GRENADINES, ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA) | 11 |
| ODA | EAST TIMOR | Fewer than 5 |
| ODA | ECUADOR | 6 |
| ODA | EGYPT | 30 |
| ODA | EL SALVADOR | Fewer than 5 |
| ODA | ERITREA | Fewer than 5 |
| ODA | Eswatini | Fewer than 5 |
| ODA | ETHIOPIA | 13 |
| ODA | GAMBIA | 5 |
| ODA | GEORGIA/South Caucasus | 14 |
| ODA | GHANA / BENIN / TOGO /BURKINA FASO | 16 |
| ODA | GUATEMALA / HONDURAS | 5 |
| ODA | GUINEA | Fewer than 5 |
| ODA | GUYANA / SURINAME | 5 |
| ODA | INDIA | 38 |
| ODA | INDONESIA | 43 |
| ODA | IRAQ | 18 |
| ODA | JAMAICA | 13 |
| ODA | JORDAN | 8 |
| ODA | KAZAKHSTAN | 9 |
| ODA | KENYA | 33 |
| ODA | KOSOVO | 8 |
| ODA | KYRGYZ REPUBLIC | Fewer than 5 |
| ODA | LAOS | 13 |
| ODA | LEBANON | 10 |
| ODA | LESOTHO | 6 |
| ODA | LIBERIA | Fewer than 5 |
| ODA | LIBYA | 10 |
| ODA | MADAGASCAR/COMOROS | 8 |
| ODA | MALAWI | 6 |
| ODA | MALAYSIA | 41 |
| ODA | MALDIVES | 7 |
| ODA | MALI | Fewer than 5 |
| ODA | MAURITANIA | 5 |
| ODA | MAURITIUS | 7 |
| ODA | MEXICO | 34 |
| ODA | MOLDOVA | 6 |
| ODA | MONGOLIA | 17 |
| ODA | MONTENEGRO | 7 |
| ODA | MOROCCO | 11 |
| ODA | MOZAMBIQUE | 15 |
| ODA | MYANMAR | 11 |
| ODA | NAMIBIA | 14 |
| ODA | NEPAL | 11 |
| ODA | NIGER | Fewer than 5 |
| ODA | NIGERIA | 39 |
| ODA | NORTH MACEDONIA | 6 |
| ODA | OVERSEAS TERRITORIES | 12 |
| ODA | PACIFIC POOL | 32 |
| ODA | PAKISTAN (DOES NOT INCLUDE FELLOWS) | 46 |
| ODA | PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES | 11 |
| ODA | PANAMA | 5 |
| ODA | PARAGUAY | 17 |
| ODA | PERU | 11 |
| ODA | PHILIPPINES | 23 |
| ODA | RWANDA | 8 |
| ODA | SAMOA + COOK ISLANDS | Fewer than 5 |
| ODA | SENEGAL / CAPE VERDE /GUINEA-BISSAU | 8 |
| ODA | SERBIA | 7 |
| ODA | SIERRA LEONE | 6 |
| ODA | SOMALIA | 17 |
| ODA | SOUTH AFRICA | 47 |
| ODA | SOUTH SUDAN | 6 |
| ODA | SRI LANKA | 10 |
| ODA | SUDAN | 14 |
| ODA | SYRIA | 15 |
| ODA | TAJIKISTAN | Fewer than 5 |
| ODA | TANZANIA | 17 |
| ODA | THAILAND | 24 |
| ODA | TUNISIA | 6 |
| ODA | TURKEY | 20 |
| ODA | TURKMENISTAN | 6 |
| ODA | UGANDA | 21 |
| ODA | UKRAINE | 37 |
| ODA | UZBEKISTAN | 7 |
| ODA | VENEZUELA | 7 |
| ODA | VIETNAM | 23 |
| ODA | YEMEN | 9 |
| ODA | ZAMBIA | 11 |
| ODA | ZIMBABWE | 7 |
| Non-ODA | AUSTRALIA | Fewer than 5 |
| Non-ODA | BAHAMAS | Fewer than 5 |
| Non-ODA | BARBADOS (+ ST KITTS AND NEVIS) | Fewer than 5 |
| Non-ODA | BRUNEI | Fewer than 5 |
| Non-ODA | CANADA | Fewer than 5 |
| Non-ODA | CHILE | Fewer than 5 |
| Non-ODA | HONG KONG | Fewer than 5 |
| Non-ODA | ICELAND | Fewer than 5 |
| Non-ODA | ISRAEL | Fewer than 5 |
| Non-ODA | JAPAN | Fewer than 5 |
| Non-ODA | NEW ZEALAND | Fewer than 5 |
| Non-ODA | SEYCHELLES | Fewer than 5 |
| Non-ODA | SINGAPORE | 5 |
| Non-ODA | SOUTH KOREA | Fewer than 5 |
| Non-ODA | TAIWAN | 5 |
| Non-ODA | TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO | Fewer than 5 |
| Non-ODA | URUGUAY | 10 |
| 1350 |
Asked by: Lyn Brown (Labour - West Ham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent estimate she has made of the number of (a) Eritrean and (b) Sudanese children waiting for the outcome of their family reunification applications to the UK.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
Information regarding processing times and nationality of applicants is not routinely published and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Lord Green of Deddington (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Statement by the Minister of State for Immigration on 8 June (HCWS837), how many asylum applications there have been since 28 June 2022 from nationals of (1) Afghanistan, (2) Eritrea, (3) Libya, (4) Syria, (5) Yemen, and (6) Sudan, together with the number of accompanying dependants of each nationality.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
The Home Office publishes data on asylum applications in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’ on GOV.UK. Data on asylum applications by nationality and applicant type are published in table Asy_D01 of the Asylum and resettlement detailed datasets: found here. Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. The latest data relates to the end of March 2023.
Information on future Home Office statistical release dates can be found in the ‘Research and statistics calendar’ on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will publish a response to Early Day Motion 1253, Eritrea and the UN Human Rights Council, tabled on 5 June 2023.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
We continue to take an active interest in the human rights situation in Eritrea and particularly press for national service reform and the end of arbitrary detentions, including for those detentions based on religion or belief. All of those who have been unfairly and unjustly incarcerated must be released. We urge implementation of the recommendations from the last Universal Periodic Review for Eritrea in 2019, and respect for the mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Eritrea. We will be making a statement to this effect at the UN Human Rights Council's 53rd Session during an Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur.
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum claimants from (a) Afghanistan, (b) Eritrea, (c) Syria, (d) Yemen and (e) Libya were asked to fill in a questionnaire to fast track their application; and how many have had their claims (i) processed and (ii) granted since the questionnaire was introduced.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The number of claimants who have been asked to fill in a questionnaire to fast track their application and how many have had their claims processed are granted since the questionnaire was introduced is not information currently held in a reportable format.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment her Department has made of the suitability of preliminary information questionnaires for potentially vulnerable asylum seekers with limited access to legal advice.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
In order to reduce the legacy asylum decision backlog, questionnaires have been sent to legacy claimants from Afghanistan, Eritrea, Libya, Syria and Yemen as part of the Streamlined Asylum Process.
Questionnaires will also be sent to legacy claimants from Iran and Iraq who make up the highest volume of claimants within the legacy backlog allowing them to provide further information about their asylum claims after their initial screening interview upon arrival.
If a claimant has returned a questionnaire, it will be used to aid the decision maker to conduct a targeted or shorter interview, in turn reducing the duration of interviews, resulting in more efficient decision-making. We will closely review the use of questionnaires.
We understand that people may want to seek legal advice in order to complete the questionnaire and all asylum seekers have access to support through Legal Aid. We consider that the questionnaire can be completed without legal advice because we will contact the claimant or invite them to a personal interview should we require further information. We will not withdraw someone’s asylum claim for failure to return the questionnaire alone.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment her Department has made of the impact of preliminary information questionnaires on the asylum decision backlog.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
In order to reduce the legacy asylum decision backlog, questionnaires have been sent to legacy claimants from Afghanistan, Eritrea, Libya, Syria and Yemen as part of the Streamlined Asylum Process.
Questionnaires will also be sent to legacy claimants from Iran and Iraq who make up the highest volume of claimants within the legacy backlog allowing them to provide further information about their asylum claims after their initial screening interview upon arrival.
If a claimant has returned a questionnaire, it will be used to aid the decision maker to conduct a targeted or shorter interview, in turn reducing the duration of interviews, resulting in more efficient decision-making. We will closely review the use of questionnaires.
We understand that people may want to seek legal advice in order to complete the questionnaire and all asylum seekers have access to support through Legal Aid. We consider that the questionnaire can be completed without legal advice because we will contact the claimant or invite them to a personal interview should we require further information. We will not withdraw someone’s asylum claim for failure to return the questionnaire alone.
Asked by: Hilary Benn (Labour - Leeds Central)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she will include Kurds from Iraq and Iran in the streamlined asylum process.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
From 23 February, legacy claims from nationals of Afghanistan, Eritrea, Libya, Syria and Yemen will be considered through the Streamlined Asylum Process.
This is on the basis of their current high-grant rate of protection status (refugee status or humanitarian protection). All these nationalities have a grant rate of over 95% and over 100 grants of protection status in the year-ending September 2022. Please see Migration statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) for more information.
Upon arrival, all asylum seekers undergo a screening interview, as well as robust security checks in which they will provide biometric information.
Separate work is ongoing to more efficiently process all other asylum claims admitted to the UK asylum system awaiting consideration. To further accelerate decision making we will further drive productivity improvements by simplifying and modernising our system. This includes measures like shortening interviews, removing unnecessary interviews, making guidance simpler and more accessible, dealing with cases more swiftly where they can be certified as manifestly unfounded (e.g. Albania) and recruiting extra decision makers.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what data her Department holds on the number of (as) refugees and (b) asylum seekers in Bermondsey and Old Southwark constituency; and if she will provide a breakdown of those who are from (i) Yemen, (ii) Eritrea, (iii) Afghanistan, (iv) Syria and (v) Libya.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The latest published Immigration Statistics detail the number of supported asylum seekers accommodated in each local authority area. These statistics can be found at : https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/asylum-and-resettlement-datasets#local-authority-data (table Asy_D11).
We do publish details of the nationality of asylum seekers at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/asylum-and-resettlement-datasets (table Asy_D01 for all asylum seekers,:Asy_D09 for asylum seekers on support), but not by location. These figures are not available in a reportable format and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Data are published on a quarterly basis, with the next quarterly figures due to be released in late May 2023.
Asked by: Lord Strasburger (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what are the legal methods for refugees who are citizens of Somalia, Syria, Iran, Iraq, Eritrea, Afghanistan, South Sudan, Myanmar or the Democratic Republic of the Congo to apply for asylum in the UK when they are (1) living in the country of their citizenship, (2) living in a safe third country, or (3) living in an unsafe third country.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
Whilst we sympathise with people in many difficult situations around the world, we are not bound to consider asylum claims from the very large numbers of people overseas who might like to come here. Asylum is for people in danger in their home country. Those who need international protection should claim asylum in the first safe country they reach – that is the fastest route to safety.
Between 2015 and December 2022, just under half a million people were offered safe and legal routes into the UK– including those from Hong Kong, Syria, Afghanistan, Ukraine as well as family members of refugees.
This includes over 28,200 refugees resettled through the government’s refugee resettlement schemes. Our family reunion policy has also reunited many refugees with their family members; we have issued over 44,659 visas under our refugee family reunion Rules since 2015. The UK is one of the largest recipients of UNHCR referred refugees globally, second only to Sweden in Europe since 2015.
The UK continues to welcome refugees and people in need through existing resettlement schemes which include the UK Resettlement Scheme (UKRS), Community Sponsorship, the Mandate Resettlement Scheme and the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS).
Further information on existing safe and legal routes is available below: