North Macedonia - Written Answers

Written Question

Visas: British Nationals Abroad

Thursday 9th February 2023

Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)

To ask His Majesty's Government which countries the UK has visa free travel arrangements with for British citizens.

Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth

FCDO, who have responsibility for this information, have said that the information this question is requesting can be found in public domain https://visaguide.world/visa-free-countries/uk-passport/

We have included the list for ease:

Albania

American Samoa

Andorra

Anguilla

Antigua and Barbuda

Argentina

Armenia

Aruba

Australia

Austria

Bahamas

Barbados

Belarus

Belgium

Belize

Bermuda

Bolivia

Caribbean Netherlands

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Botswana

Brazil

British Virgin Islands

Brunei

Bulgaria

Canada

Cabo Verde

Cayman Islands

Chile

Colombia

Cook Islands

Costa Rica

Croatia

Curaçao

Cyprus

Czechia

Denmark

Dominica

Dominican Republic

Ecuador

El Salvador

Estonia

Falkland Islands

Faroe Islands

Fiji

Finland

France

French Guiana

French Polynesia

French West Indies

Georgia

Germany

Gibraltar

Greece

Greenland

Grenada

Guam

Guatemala

Guyana

Haiti

Honduras

Hong Kong

Hungary

Iceland

Indonesia

Iraq

Ireland

Israel

Italy

Jamaica

Kazakhstan

Kiribati

Kosovo

Kyrgyzstan

Latvia

Lesotho

Liechtenstein

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Macau

Malaysia

Malta

Marshall Islands

Mauritius

Mayotte

Mexico

Micronesia

Moldova

Monaco

Mongolia

Montenegro

Montserrat

Morocco

Namibia

Netherlands

New Caledonia

New Zealand

Nicaragua

Niue

North Macedonia

Northern Mariana Islands

Norway

Oman

Pakistan

Palestine

Panama

Paraguay

Peru

Philippines

Poland

Portugal

Puerto Rico

Qatar

Réunion

Romania

San Marino

São Tomé and Príncipe

Senegal

Serbia

Singapore

Slovakia

Slovenia

South Africa

South Korea

Spain

Sri Lanka

Saint Kitts and Nevis

Saint Lucia

Saint Martin

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Sweden

Switzerland

Taiwan

Thailand

Gambia

Trinidad and Tobago

Tunisia

Turks and Caicos Islands

Türkiye

United States Virgin Islands

Ukraine

United States

Uruguay

Uzbekistan

Vanuatu

Vatican City

Venezuela

Vietnam

Zambia

Eswatin

Written Question

Dogs: Imports

Tuesday 8th November 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, pursuant to the Answer of 29 September to Question 48499 on Dogs: Imports, if his Department will publish the number of dogs imported into the UK from each country outlined in that Answer in (a) 2020, (b) 2021 and (c) 2022.

Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Below are tables to show the countries of origin of commercial dog imports. The data for 2020 is for UK, and the data for 2021 and 2022 (up to the 31/08/2022) is Great Britain only. We do not hold data for Northern Ireland for 2021 and 2022.

This information is drawn from external TRACES and IPAFFs systems, which are not directly controlled by the department.

EU imports	2020	Rest of World Imports	2020
Country Of Origin	Dogs	Country Of Origin	Dogs
Austria	6	Antigua and Barbuda	1
Belgium	13	Argentina	30
Bulgaria	222	Australia	118
Croatia	153	Bahrain	95
Cyprus	4246	Barbados	8
Czech Republic	135	Belarus	50
Denmark	2	Bermuda	4
Estonia	21	Bosnia and Herzegovina	1636
Finland	7	Brazil	120
France	33	Canada	76
Germany	103	Cayman Islands	6
Greece	563	Colombia	12
Hungary	5065	Costa Rica	9
Ireland (Rep. of)	5814	Egypt	26
Italy	243	Ethiopia	3
Latvia	5	French Polynesia	1
Lithuania	99	Hong Kong	69
Malta	5	India	29
Netherlands	38	Indonesia	2
Poland	3945	Israel	13
Portugal	343	Japan	8
Romania	32525	Jordan	3
Slovakia	106	Kenya	26
Slovenia	5	Korea (South)	29
Spain	6475	Kuwait	12
Sweden	15	Lebanon	10
Switzerland	1	Macao	2
Total	60188	Malawi	1
		Malaysia	25
		Mauritius	85
		Mexico	51
		Namibia	3
		New Zealand	40
		North Macedonia	566
		Nigeria	3
		Oman	8
		Peru	5
		Philippines	1
		Qatar	43
		Russia	713
		Saudi Arabia	9
		Serbia	40
		Singapore	58
		South Africa	519
		Sri Lanka	2
		Taiwan	7
		Tajikistan	1
		Thailand	18
		Turkey	375
		Turks and Caicos	1
		UAE	164
		Uganda	2
		Ukraine	3
		Uruguay	5
		USA	1592
		Viet Nam	15
		Zimbabwe	11
		Total	6764

EU Imports	2021	Rest of World Imports	2021
Country	Dogs	Country of origin	Dogs
Austria	22	Argentina	17
Belgium	78	Australia	345
Bulgaria	1093	Bahamas	1
Croatia	2003	Bahrain	55
Cyprus	3758	Barbados	22
Czechia	221	Belarus	1
Denmark	719	Bermuda	12
England	72	Brazil	125
Estonia	23	Canada	167
Finland	8	Cayman Islands	15
France	411	China	174
Germany	76	Colombia	12
Greece	1017	Costa Rica	13
Hungary	4517	Ecuador	2
Iceland	1	Egypt	41
Italy	296	Ethiopia	4
Latvia	512	Guam	3
Lithuania	678	Hong Kong	161
Luxembourg	2	India	96
Malta	3	Indonesia	2
Netherlands	152	Israel	12
Northern Ireland	2	Jamaica	2
Norway	3	Japan	12
Poland	5593	Jordan	13
Portugal	500	Kenya	43
Republic of Ireland	6658	Kuwait	30
Romania	38081	Lebanon	36
Scotland	1	Macao	1
Slovakia	291	Malawi	2
Slovenia	7	Malaysia	71
Spain	5909	Mauritius	3
Sweden	49	Mexico	11
Switzerland	8	Mozambique	2
Wales	1	Namibia	3
(blank)	1	Nepal	1
Grand Total	72766	New Zealand	92
		Nigeria	2
		Oman	14
		Panama	2
		Peru	25
		Philippines	1
		Qatar	179
		Russian Federation	261
		Saudi Arabia	27
		Serbia	2
		Singapore	141
		South Africa	1522
		South Korea	60
		Taiwan	4
		Thailand	48
		Turkey	148
		Ukraine	6
		United Arab Emirates	499
		United States of America	966
		Vietnam	2
		Zimbabwe	22
		Grand Total	5533

EU Imports to 31/08/2022	2022	Rest of World Imports to 31/08/2022	2022
Country Of Origin	Dogs	Country Of Origin	Dogs
Austria	5	Albania	1
Belgium	25	Algeria	1
Bulgaria	1248	Australia	295
Croatia	1742	Bahrain	84
Cyprus	1982	Barbados	13
Czech Republic	108	Bermuda	10
Denmark	216	Brazil	65
England?	35	Brunei	2
Estonia	13	Canada	90
Finland	5	Cayman Islands	11
France	68	Chile	5
Germany	90	China	101
Greece	254	Colombia	7
Hungary	1766	Costa Rica	5
Isle of Man	2	Dominican Republic	1
Ireland (Rep. of)	4528	Ecuador	1
Italy	184	Egypt	13
Latvia	309	Fiji	1
Lithuania	297	Hong Kong	25
Luxembourg	1	India	108
Malta	0	Indonesia	1
Netherlands	84	Israel	5
Northern Ireland	13	Japan	6
Norway	7	Jordan	4
Poland	1242	Kenya	24
Portugal	237	Korea (South)	44
Romania	8698	Kuwait	10
Slovakia	127	Lebanon	16
Slovenia	1	Malaysia	32
Spain	3348	Mauritius	13
Sweden	10	Mexico	16
Switzerland	2	Namibia	2
UK	4	New Zealand	82
Total	26651	Nigeria	1
		Oman	1
		Panama	2
		Peru	4
		Philippines	7
		Qatar	56
		Russia	21
		Saint Lucia	1
		Saudi Arabia	17
		Singapore	66
		South Africa	557
		Sri Lanka	3
		Taiwan	1
		Thailand	30
		Turkey	57
		UAE	233
		Uganda	5
		Ukraine	2
		USA	416
		Vietnam	1
		Zimbabwe	9
		Total	2584

Written Question

Cats: Imports

Monday 31st October 2022

Asked by: Lord Black of Brentwood (Conservative - Life peer)

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

To ask His Majesty's Government how many cats have been imported this year under the Balai Directive; and from which countries those cats originated.

Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Since we left the EU, the EU import data for 2021 and 2022 was collated from PIMS which is APHA’s Post Import Management System and accounts for all Imports into the United Kingdom that have been entered using IPAFFS (Import of products, animals, food and feed system).

This information is drawn from the external IPAFF’s system not directly controlled by the department.

From 14th April 2022 the United Kingdom 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 29th October 2022.

January-September 2022
Country Of Origin	Total
Austria	1
Belgium	15
Bulgaria	115
Croatia	32
Cyprus	392
Czech Republic	22
Denmark	5
England	3
Estonia	3
France	17
Germany	28
Greece	42
Hungary	94
Ireland (Rep. of)	1
Italy	18
Latvia	155
Lithuania	107
Netherlands	11
Poland	208
Portugal	32
Romania	705
Slovakia	17
Spain	339
Sweden	2
Switzerland	3
Antigua and Barbuda	6
Argentina	7
Australia	140
Bahamas	4
Barbados	1
Bahrain	124
Bermuda	6
Brazil	59
Brunei	3
Canada	81
Cayman Islands	12
Chile	3
China	31
Colombia	12
Costa Rica	2
Egypt	357
Georgia	1
Ghana	2
Hong Kong	29
India	46
Indonesia	5
Israel	2
Japan	8
Jordan	2
Kenya	9
Korea (South)	18
Kuwait	22
Lebanon	8
Malaysia	33
Mauritius	6
Mexico	12
Myanmar	2
Namibia	2
New Zealand	85
North Macedonia	9
Oman	5
Pakistan	2
Peru	1
Philippines	2
Qatar	106
Russia	48
Saint Lucia	1
Saudi Arabia	67
Seychelles	1
Singapore	39
South Africa	348
Taiwan	2
Thailand	43
Turkey	15
UAE	1043
Uganda	1
USA	256
Vietnam	4
Zimbabwe	18
Total	5518

Written Question

Dogs: Imports

Thursday 29th September 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, pursuant to the Answer of 5 September 2022 to Question 40929 on Dogs: Imports, if he will publish a breakdown of the countries of origin of the dogs commercially imported into the UK from abroad in (a) 2020, (b) 2021 and (c) 2022.

Answered by Scott Mann - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

Below are tables to show the countries of origin of commercial dog imports. The data for 2020 is for the UK, while the data for 2021 and 2022 (up to 31 August 2022) is for Great Britain only. We do not hold data for Northern Ireland for 2021 and 2022.

This information is drawn from external TRACES and IPAFF systems not directly controlled by the department.

Country Of Origin from EU 2020	Country Of Origin from Rest of World 2020
Austria	Antigua and Barbuda
Belgium	Argentina
Bulgaria	Australia
Croatia	Bahrain
Cyprus	Barbados
Czech Republic	Belarus
Denmark	Bermuda
Estonia	Bosnia and Herzegovina
Finland	Brazil
France	Canada
Germany	Cayman Islands
Greece	Colombia
Hungary	Costa Rica
Ireland (Rep. of)	Egypt
Italy	Ethiopia
Latvia	French Polynesia
Lithuania	Hong Kong
Malta	India
Netherlands	Indonesia
Poland	Israel
Portugal	Japan
Romania	Jordan
Slovakia	Kenya
Slovenia	Korea (South)
Spain	Kuwait
Sweden	Lebanon
Switzerland	Macao

	Malawi
	Malaysia
	Mauritius
	Mexico
	Namibia
	New Zealand
	Nigeria
	North Macedonia
	Oman
	Peru
	Philippines
	Qatar
	Russia
	Saudi Arabia
	Serbia
	Singapore
	South Africa
	Sri Lanka
	Taiwan
	Tajikistan
	Thailand
	Turkey
	Turks and Caicos
	UAE
	Uganda
	Ukraine
	Uruguay
	USA
	Vietnam
	Zimbabwe

Country Of Origin from EU 2021	Country Of Origin from Rest of World 2021
Austria	Argentina
Belgium	Australia
Bulgaria	Bahamas
Croatia	Bahrain
Cyprus	Barbados
Czechia	Belarus
Denmark	Bermuda
Estonia	Brazil
Finland	Canada
France	Cayman Islands
Germany	China
Greece	Colombia
Hungary	Costa Rica
Iceland	Ecuador
Italy	Egypt
Latvia	Ethiopia
Lithuania	Guam
Luxembourg	Hong Kong
Malta	India
Netherlands	Indonesia
Northern Ireland	Israel
Norway	Jamaica
Poland	Japan
Portugal	Jordan
Republic of Ireland	Kenya
Romania	Kuwait
Slovakia	Lebanon
Slovenia	Macao
Spain	Malawi
Sweden	Malaysia
Switzerland	Mauritius
	Mexico
	Mozambique
	Namibia
	Nepal
	New Zealand
	Nigeria
	Oman
	Panama
	Peru
	Philippines
	Qatar
	Russian Federation
	Saudi Arabia
	Serbia
	Singapore
	South Africa
	South Korea
	Taiwan
	Thailand
	Turkey
	Ukraine
	United Arab Emirates
	United States of America
	Viet Nam
	Zimbabwe

Country Of Origin from EU 2022	Country Of Origin from Rest of World 2022
Austria	Albania
Belgium	Algeria
Bulgaria	Australia
Croatia	Bahrain
Cyprus	Barbados
Czech Republic	Bermuda
Denmark	Brazil
Estonia	Brunei
Finland	Canada
France	Cayman Islands
Germany	Chile
Greece	China
Hungary	Colombia
Isle of Man	Costa Rica
Ireland (Rep. of)	Dominican Republic
Italy	Ecuador
Latvia	Egypt
Lithuania	Fiji
Luxembourg	Hong Kong
Netherlands	India
Northern Ireland	Indonesia
Norway	Israel
Poland	Japan
Portugal	Jordan
Romania	Kenya
Slovakia	Korea (South)
Slovenia	Kuwait
Spain	Lebanon
Sweden	Malaysia
Switzerland	Mauritius
	Mexico
	Namibia
	New Zealand
	Nigeria
	Oman
	Panama
	Peru
	Philippines
	Qatar
	Russia
	Saint Lucia
	Saudi Arabia
	Singapore
	South Africa
	Sri Lanka
	Taiwan
	Thailand
	Turkey
	UAE
	Uganda
	Ukraine
	USA
	Vietnam
	Zimbabwe

Written Question

Visas: Applications

Tuesday 26th July 2022

Asked by: Baroness Helic (Conservative - Life peer)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the average waiting time for (1) all visa applications, and (2) visa applications from (a) Albania, (b) Bosnia and Herzegovina, (c) Kosovo, (d) Montenegro, (e) North Macedonia, and (f) Serbia.

Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)

Average waiting times are not published for a) Albania, (b) Bosnia and Herzegovina, (c) Kosovo, (d) Montenegro, (e) North Macedonia, and (f) Serbia. To capture the requested data would incur a disproportionate cost.

The processing times for visas can be found on the GOV.uk webpage:

The Home Office’s performance against its service standard by nationality can be found in our transparency data, which is attached and at the following link: Visas and Citizenship data: Q1 2022 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Written Question

State Retirement Pensions: British Nationals Abroad

Wednesday 15th June 2022

Asked by: Peter Bottomley (Conservative - Worthing West)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, to list for each overseas country when resident UK pensioners do not receive yearly increases what the lowest current payment to a pensioner is who was entitled at retirement to a full basic UK state pension, stating the year the pension was frozen.

Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The UK State Pension is payable worldwide and is up-rated in countries where there is a legal requirement to do so. This is a longstanding policy which has been supported by successive post-war governments for over 70 years.

Up-rating is paid to State Pension recipients in the UK, European Union, European Economic Area, Barbados, Bermuda, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Israel, Jamaica, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Mauritius, Montenegro, Serbia, Switzerland, The Philippines, Turkey, and the United States.

Information on the lowest full basic State Pension in payment, in each country where up-rating is not paid, is not readily available and to provide it would incur a disproportionate cost.

Written Question

State Retirement Pensions

Wednesday 15th June 2022

Asked by: Peter Bottomley (Conservative - Worthing West)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, which countries the UK has (a) bilateral or (b) reciprocal agreements on provision of the State Pension; when each of those agreements was made, whether UK pensioners resident in those countries receive yearly increases; and how many UK pensioners there were in each country as of 9 June 2022.

Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The UK State Pension is payable worldwide and is up-rated annually in countries where there is a legal requirement to do so. This is a longstanding policy which has been supported by successive governments for over 70 years.

As of November 2020, 473,842 State Pension recipients residing in the European Union or countries which are members of the European Free Trade Association (Switzerland, Iceland, Norway, Lichtenstein) receive annual up-rating under various EU-Exit related agreements, including the UK-EU Withdrawal Agreement, which entered into force in 2020 and the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement, which entered into force in 2021.

Other countries with which the UK has a reciprocal agreement also allowing for State Pension up-rating, the date in which the particular agreement was made, and the number of State Pension recipients residing in these countries (as of November 2020) are:

Barbados (1992) – 3,849 recipients.
Bermuda (1969) – 718 recipients.
Bosnia-Herzegovina* (1958) – 31 recipients.
Israel (1957) – 5,077 recipients.
Jamaica (1997) – 10,807 recipients.
Kosovo* (1958) – no data.
Mauritius (1981) – 1,007 recipients.
Montenegro* (1958) – 0 recipients.
North Macedonia* (1958) – 121 recipients.
Serbia* (1958) – 9 recipients.
Philippines (1989) – 3,144 recipients.
Turkey (1961) – 1,870 recipients.
USA (1984) – 126,977 recipients.

*Following the break-up of Yugoslavia, the UK agreement with former Yugoslavia now covers Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia. Croatia and Slovenia are EU Member States covered by the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement.

The UK also has reciprocal social security agreements with New Zealand (1983) and Canada (1995) covering provisions for State Pension, but these agreements do not provide for annual up-rating. As of November 2020, 63,930 State Pension recipients reside in New Zealand and 126,426 recipients reside in Canada.

Source:

State Pension statistics by country of residence are currently available to November 2020 and these are available on Stat-Xplore here: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk

Guidance for users is available at:

https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/index.html

Written Question

Armed Forces: Deployment

Thursday 9th June 2022

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

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many of his Department's personnel are deployed around the world; and in which locations those people are stationed.

Answered by James Heappey

The following table details the number of personnel deployed overseas on operations and their location. The numbers change depending on operational requirements, but are accurate at the time of answering the hon. Member's question.

Location	Number of UK military deployed	Number of civilians deployed	Total number of military and civilians deployed
Egypt	2	0	2
HMS Montrose	180	2	182
HMS Penzance	41	0	41
HMS Chiddingfold	45	0	45
RFACardigan Bay	0	0	0
HMS Middleton	45	0	45
HMS Bangor	36	0	36
HMS Trent	61	0	61
HMS Spey	46	0	46
HMS Tamar	75	0	75
AbuDhabi (British Embassy)	1	0	1
Bahrain	188	2	190
Cyprus	214	6	220
Oman	18	0	18
Qatar	132	0	132
UAE	110	0	110
USA	23	1	24
Baghdad(British Embassy)	1	0	1
Iraq	189	3	192
Jordan	12	0	12
Kuwait	51	3	54
TelAviv(British Embassy)	1	0	1
Saudi Arabia	24	0
Azerbaijan	0	0	0
Pakistan(British High Commission)	3	0	3
Pakistan	1	0	1
Gibraltar	3	0	3
Mali	464	5	469
Democratic Republic of Congo	1	0	1
Kenya	10	0	10
Somalia	69	0	69
Djibouti	5	0	5
Tunisia(British Embassy)	1	0	1
Chad	3	0	3
Nigeria	27	0	27
South Sudan	3	0	3
Estonia	1,372	14	1,386
Germany	81	2	83
Latvia	2	0	2
Lithuania	89	0	89
Poland	414	3	417
Bosnia	2	0	2
Kosovo	41	0	41
Ukraine	97	0	97
Romania	197	1	198
Bulgaria	2	0	2
North Macedonia	2	0	2
Slovakia	43	0	43
Finland	1	0	1
Sweden	2	0	2
Japan	1	0	1
Indonesia	8	0	8
Kuala Lumpur	1	0	1
Lebanon (British Embassy)	7	0	7
Ghana	25	0	25

Written Question

Gynaecological Cancer: Preventive Medicine

Friday 27th May 2022

Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Sunderland West)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what comparative assessment he has made of the UK's record of preventing gynaecological cancers in comparison to other European countries, including (a) North Macedonia, (b) France and (c) Germany.

Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)

No such assessment has been made by the Department.

Written Question

Preferential Tariffs

Thursday 10th March 2022

Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)

Question to the Department for International Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what the Preference Utilisation Rates are in total for UK trade with (a) Mexico, (b) Morocco, (c) North Macedonia, (d) Palestinian Authority, (e) Serbia and (f) Singapore for each of the last five years; and if she will make a statement.

Answered by Ranil Jayawardena

Data up to the end of January 2020 is publicly available, but no comparable data is available for after this period.

Exports analysis 2017-19: https://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/html/159047.htm

Imports analysis 2017-19: https://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/html/159046.htm

Eurostat preference utilisation data for all periods 2000 to end January 2020: Easy Comext, Adjusted extra-EU imports since 2000 by tariff regime (DS-059281).

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