Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, how many requests for consular support were made to each British Embassy or Consulate in 2023; and how many of those were responded to by officials within a period of 24 hours.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Our consular staff endeavour to give appropriate and tailored assistance 24 hours a day, seven days a week and 365 days a year, to British nationals overseas and their families in the UK who need support. In 2023, in addition to long running cases, we provided support to around 22,000 British nationals, see breakdown by Post in the table below. The FCDO reports publicly on consular delivery through the FCDO Outcome Delivery Plan [https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/foreign-commonwealth-development-office-outcome-delivery-plan]. Publishing our transparency data is currently on hold while we embed a new Case Management system.
COUNTRY | 2023 |
Afghanistan | 22 |
Albania | 63 |
Algeria | 23 |
Angola | |
Argentina | 34 |
Armenia | 8 |
Australia | 414 |
Austria | 92 |
Azerbaijan | 12 |
Bahrain | 48 |
Barbados | 113 |
Belarus | 6 |
Belgium | 152 |
Bolivia | 12 |
Bosnia and Herzegovina | 12 |
Botswana | 15 |
Brazil | 88 |
Bulgaria | 166 |
Cambodia | 112 |
Cameroon | 30 |
Canada | 181 |
Chile | 21 |
China | 143 |
Colombia | 73 |
Congo (Democratic Republic) | 22 |
Costa Rica | 39 |
Croatia | 114 |
Cuba | 29 |
Cyprus | 441 |
Czechia | 141 |
Denmark | 88 |
Dominican Republic | 67 |
Ecuador | 13 |
Egypt | 383 |
Estonia | 19 |
Ethiopia | 104 |
Fiji | 21 |
Finland | 49 |
France | 1027 |
Georgia | 27 |
Germany | 662 |
Ghana | 85 |
Greece | 936 |
Guatemala | 43 |
Guinea | |
Guyana | 17 |
Hong Kong SAR | 110 |
Hungary | 131 |
Iceland | 17 |
India | 360 |
Indonesia | 196 |
Iraq | 46 |
Ireland | 104 |
Israel | 39 |
Italy | 411 |
Ivory Coast | |
Jamaica | 179 |
Japan | 167 |
Jerusalem | 61 |
Jordan | 71 |
Kazakhstan | 14 |
Kenya | 146 |
Kuwait | 30 |
Kyrgyzstan | |
Laos | 29 |
Latvia | 20 |
Lebanon | 34 |
Liberia | |
Lithuania | 23 |
Luxembourg | 10 |
Madagascar | |
Malawi | |
Malaysia | 138 |
Malta | 106 |
Mauritius | 14 |
Mexico | 207 |
Moldova | 13 |
Mongolia | 6 |
Montenegro | 33 |
Morocco | 222 |
Myanmar (Burma) | 8 |
Namibia | 9 |
Nepal | 21 |
Netherlands | 287 |
New Zealand | 127 |
Nigeria | 74 |
Norway | 149 |
Oman | 50 |
Pakistan | 376 |
Panama | 17 |
Paraguay | |
Peru | 58 |
Philippines | 283 |
Poland | 242 |
Portugal | 524 |
Qatar | 96 |
Romania | 89 |
Russia | 28 |
Rwanda | 7 |
Saudi Arabia | 166 |
Senegal | 21 |
Serbia | 29 |
Seychelles | 11 |
Sierra Leone | 15 |
Singapore | 105 |
Slovakia | 38 |
Slovenia | 17 |
South Africa | 195 |
South Korea | 40 |
Spain | 4143 |
Sri Lanka | 86 |
St Lucia | 21 |
Sudan | 34 |
Sweden | 110 |
Switzerland | 157 |
Taiwan | 22 |
Tajikistan | 6 |
Tanzania | 36 |
Thailand | 1383 |
The Gambia | 48 |
Trinidad and Tobago | 40 |
Tunisia | 75 |
Turkey | 947 |
Uganda | 52 |
Ukraine | 56 |
United Arab Emirates | 658 |
United States | 1649 |
Uruguay | 10 |
Uzbekistan | 8 |
Venezuela | |
Vietnam | 188 |
Zambia | 22 |
Zimbabwe | 26 |
NB We do not publish data where figures are 5 or below to comply with GDPR
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the (a) location is of and (b) deployment levels are at each NATO (i) owned and (ii) operated sites.
Answered by James Heappey
The UK is one of the largest contributors of personnel to NATO, underlining our commitment to deterrence and defence of the Euro-Atlantic Area.
The table below shows the number of UK personnel posted to NATO Peacetime Establishment locations, with personnel in 39 NATO locations in 19 countries all over Europe and the Continental US, and the UK has proportional workforce equity at all locations.
Country | Location | UK Fill |
| Country | Location | UK Fill |
Belgium | Brussels | 50 |
| Netherlands | Brunssum | 110 |
Mons | 170 |
| Norway | Stavanger | 30 | |
Bulgaria | Sofia | ~ |
| Poland | Bydgoszcz | ~ |
Estonia | Tallin | ~ |
| Elblag | ~ | |
France | Lille | 10 |
| Szczecin | ~ | |
Germany | Geilenkirchen | 10 |
| Portugal | Lisbon | 10 |
Munster | 10 |
| Oeiras | ~ | ||
Oberammergau | ~ |
| Romania | Bucharest | ~ | |
Ramstein | 70 |
| Slovakia | Bratislava | ~ | |
Uedem | 20 |
| Spain | Torrejon | 20 | |
Ulm | 20 |
| Valencia | ~ | ||
Wesel | 30 |
| Türkiye | Istanbul | 10 | |
Greece | Thessaloniki | ~ |
| Izmir | 30 | |
Italy | Milan | 20 |
| UK | Blandford | 50 |
Naples | 120 |
| Molesworth | 10 | ||
Poggio | 20 |
| Northwood | 60 | ||
Sigonella | ~ |
| Yeovilton | ~ | ||
Latvia | Adazi | ~ |
| USA | Norfolk | 50 |
| Riga | ~ |
| Tampa | ~ |
"~" denotes a number less than or equal to 5.
Data have been rounded to 10 and therefore totals may not always equal the sum of the parts.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 7 December 2023 to Question 5069 on Prison and Probation Service: Staff, whether senior grade staff in HM Prisons and Probation Service have visited Estonia on official duties in the last 12 months.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Four senior grade HMPPS staff have travelled to Estonia over the last 12 months as part of a delegation on justice cooperation.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many foreign national offenders were removed from the country through a prison transfer agreement each year since 2010; and if he will list which countries were they removed to.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Any foreign national who is convicted of a crime and given a prison sentence is considered for deportation at the earliest opportunity. Where appropriate, the Government will also seek to permanently remove foreign criminals from the UK via the Early Removal Scheme once they have served the minimum required of their sentence. This is our best performing removal scheme with 5,262 Foreign National Offenders (FNOs) having been removed between January 2019 and June 2022.
The Home Office removed 16,676 foreign national offenders since January 2019 to September 2023. Published figures show that FNO returns have increased in the latest 12-month period (ending September 2023) by 19% when compared to previous 12-month period.
Our new Prisoner Transfer Agreement with Albania entered into force in May 2023 and we have signed a new Prisoner Transfer Agreement with the Philippines. We are looking to negotiate new Prisoner Transfer Agreements with key EU Member States and wider-world countries
Foreign national offender removals via Prisoner Transfer Agreements since 2010:
Year: | Removals: |
2010 | 46 |
2011 | 33 |
2012 | 41 |
2013 | 44 |
2014 | 34 |
2015 | 57 |
2016 | 99 |
2017 | 107 |
2018 | 111 |
2019 | 136 |
2020 | 81 |
2021 | 73 |
2022 | 50 |
2023 | 33 |
Countries or Territories we have removed foreign national offenders to via Prisoner Transfer Agreements since 2010:
Albania | Denmark | Latvia | Slovakia |
Austria | Ecuador | Lithuania | Slovenia |
Belgium | Estonia | Macedonia | Spain |
Bermuda | France | Malta | Sri Lanka |
Bolivia | Germany | Montenegro | St Helena |
Brazil | Ghana | Netherlands | Sweden |
Bulgaria | Gibraltar | Nigeria | Switzerland |
Canada | Greece | Norway | Turkey |
Cayman | Hungary | Pakistan | Ukraine |
Chile | India | Poland | Vietnam |
Croatia | Ireland | Portugal | Iraq |
Cyprus | Israel | Romania |
|
Czech Republic | Italy | Saudi |
|
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 are (a) stationed and (b) deployed in Estonia.
Answered by James Heappey
There are currently 10 Service personnel stationed in Estonia; and 834 Service personnel deployed to Estonia, predominantly as part of the UK’s enhanced Forward Presence. The enhanced Forward Presence is a rotational deployment, therefore the precise number of personnel deployed will vary at any one time and will rise substantially during peak training periods.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether staff below senior grade in HM Prisons and Probation Service have visited Estonia on official duties in the last 12 months.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
No junior HMPPS officials have visited Estonia in the last 12 months. As part of wider judicial cooperation HMPPS staff have visited several countries in the last 12 months to engage on a range of criminal justice priorities.
Asked by: Mark Logan (Conservative - Bolton North East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps is Department is taking to support (a) industry and (b) academia to engage in the Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by James Heappey
The UK is a strong supporter of the Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic (DIANA). The European Regional Office is hosted at the Imperial College Innovation Hub at White City (twinned with a hub in Tallinn, Estonia). The pilot DIANA ‘Challenge Programmes’ were actively promoted to the UK industry and academic communities via UK Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA) networks, and over 200 UK-based entities applied. The successful participants are expected to be announced later in October, and the Department will continue to support UK industry and academia to engage with the DIANA pilot programmes, when they begin in early 2024.
Asked by: Mark Logan (Conservative - Bolton North East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many British armed forces personnel are currently located in Estonia; and how many will be based in that country in (a) 2024 and (b) 2025 and (c) 2026.
Answered by James Heappey
There are currently 982 UK Service personnel deployed to Estonia as part of the UK's enhanced Forward Presence (eFP). A baseline deployment of around 1,000 troops is planned to be deployed in 2024, 2025 and 2026. The eFP is a rotational deployment, the precise number of personnel deployed will vary at any one time and will rise substantially during peak training periods.
Asked by: Mark Logan (Conservative - Bolton North East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent discussions he has had with his Estonian counterpart on increasing the number of British troops in that country as part of NATO's Enhanced Forward Presence.
Answered by James Heappey
The Secretary of State for Defence held a bilateral meeting with the Estonian Defence Minister during NATO Defence Ministers in October, during which they discussed and agreed the UK's enduring commitment to the eFP. During this meeting the ministers also signed a Defence Cooperation Arrangement, which reaffirms the UK's previous commitments to Estonia and outlines future defence cooperation opportunities that the UK and Estonia will explore. Estonia continues to support the UK's approach to the eFP and the current Defence footprint in country.
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with members of the Nordic Council in regards to (1) achieving peace in Ukraine, and (2) preventing the spread of any hostilities to (a) Scandinavian, or (b) Baltic, countries.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Nordic and Baltic states are key UK partners in regional security, working closely through NATO and the Joint Expeditionary Force, and together in support of Ukraine. We welcome Nordic countries' support for the G7 Joint Declaration agreeing long-term bilateral security commitments for Ukraine.
In support of regional security and protecting NATO's Eastern Flank, the UK has deployed a significant military presence to Estonia as part of NATO's enhanced Forward Presence. The UK has been committed to Finland and Sweden joining NATO, which will strengthen Euro-Atlantic security. We welcome Finland's membership and are supporting Sweden's swift accession to the Alliance.