Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what progress NATO is making on expanding its membership since the joining of North Macedonia.
Answered by James Heappey
NATO membership is open to any European country that is able to undertake the commitments and obligations of membership of the Alliance, and contribute to security in the Euro-Atlantic area. This "open door policy" is based upon Article 10 of the Washington Treaty.
Since the accession to NATO of the Republic of North Macedonia in March 2020, three NATO partner countries have continued to undertake domestic reforms which will help them to pursue their Euro-Atlantic aspirations: Bosnia-Herzegovina, Georgia and Ukraine. NATO's engagement with each of these continues through bespoke means: with Georgia through the NATO-Georgia Council; with Ukraine through the NATO-Ukraine Council; and with Bosnia-Herzegovina through the Membership Action Plan, which has been in place since 2010. As a means of improving their interoperability with NATO, Georgia and Ukraine also enjoy "Enhanced Opportunities Partner" status with the Alliance.
Asked by: Lord Grocott (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answers by Lord Grimstone of Boscobel on 22 February (HL13173) and 9 March (HL13586), to list in the body of their answer which specific countries they have secured continuity trade agreements with since the UK’s departure from the EU.
Answered by Lord Grimstone of Boscobel
In addition to our deal with the EU, we have secured trade agreements with 66 non-EU countries, covering £890 billion of trade in total (2019 data). These are:
Albania;
Antigua and Barbuda;
Barbados;
The Bahamas;
Belize;
Botswana;
Cameroon;
Canada;
Colombia;
Côte d’Ivoire (The Ivory Coast);
Costa Rica;
Chile;
Dominica;
The Dominican Republic;
Ecuador;
Egypt;
El Salvador;
Eswatini (Swaziland);
The Faroe Islands;
Fiji;
Ghana;
Grenada;
Guyana;
Guatemala;
Georgia;
Honduras;
Iceland;
Israel;
Japan;
Jordan;
Jamaica;
Kenya;
Kosovo;
Lebanon;
Lesotho;
Liechtenstein;
Mexico;
Morocco;
Moldova;
Mozambique;
Mauritius;
Nicaragua;
Norway;
North Macedonia;
Namibia;
Peru;
Panama;
Papua New Guinea;
The Palestinian Authority;
Saint Lucia;
St. Vincent and the Grenadines;
Samoa;
The Solomon Islands;
St. Kitts and Nevis;
The Seychelles;
South Africa;
Switzerland;
Singapore;
South Korea;
Suriname;
Trinidad and Tobago;
Tunisia;
Turkey;
Ukraine;
Vietnam; and
Zimbabwe.
Asked by: Baroness Helic (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many (1) UK national, and (2) locally engaged, staff were employed in the British embassies in (a) Slovenia, (b) Croatia, (c) Bosnia-Herzegovina, (d) Serbia, (e) Montenegro, (f) North Macedonia, (g) Kosovo, and (h) Albania, in the (i) 2015/16, (ii) 2016/17, (iii) 2017/18, (iv) 2018/19, (v) 2019/20, and (vi) 2020/21, financial years.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
As at 31 March 2020, the FCDO UK based headcount band for each Embassy requested is set out in the table below.
| (i) 31st March 2016 | (ii) 31st March 2017 | (iii) 31st March 2018 | (iv) 31st March 2019 | (v) 31st March 2020 | 31st December 2020 | ||||||
Country and Embassy (PQ HL12645) | FCDO UKB staff- Band | FCDO CBS- Band | FCDO UKB staff- Band | FCDO CBS- Band | FCDO UKB staff- Band | FCDO CBS- Band | FCDO UKB staff- Band | FCDO CBS- Band | FCDO UKB staff- Band | FCDO CBS- Band | FCDO UKB staff- Band | FCDO CBS- Band |
a) Slovenia | fewer than 10 | 10-19 | fewer than 10 | fewer than 10 | fewer than 10 | fewer than 10 | fewer than 10 | 10-19 | fewer than 10 | 10-19 | fewer than 10 | 10-19 |
b) Croatia | fewer than 10 | 20-29 | fewer than 10 | 20-29 | fewer than 10 | 20-29 | fewer than 10 | 20-29 | fewer than 10 | 20-29 | fewer than 10 | 20-29 |
c) Bosnia and Herzegovina | fewer than 10 | 20-29 | fewer than 10 | 10-19 | fewer than 10 | 20-29 | fewer than 10 | 20-29 | fewer than 10 | 20-29 | fewer than 10 | 20-29 |
d) Serbia | fewer than 10 | 50-59 | fewer than 10 | 50-59 | 10-19 | 50-59 | 10-19 | 50-59 | 10-19 | 50-59 | 10-19 | 50-59 |
e) Montenegro | fewer than 10 | 10-19 | fewer than 10 | 10-19 | fewer than 10 | 10-19 | fewer than 10 | 10-19 | fewer than 10 | 10-19 | fewer than 10 | 10-19 |
f) North Macedonia | fewer than 10 | 20-29 | fewer than 10 | 10-19 | fewer than 10 | 10-19 | fewer than 10 | 10-19 | fewer than 10 | 10-19 | fewer than 10 | 10-19 |
g) Kosovo | fewer than 10 | 30-39 | fewer than 10 | 30-39 | fewer than 10 | 30-39 | fewer than 10 | 30-39 | fewer than 10 | 30-39 | fewer than 10 | 30-39 |
h) Albania | fewer than 10 | 20-29 | fewer than 10 | 20-29 | fewer than 10 | 20-29 | fewer than 10 | 20-29 | fewer than 10 | 20-29 | fewer than 10 | 20-29 |
UKB – UK Based Staff
CBS – Country Based Staff
Asked by: Baroness Helic (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many (1) UK national, and (2) locally engaged, staff are employed in the British embassies in (a) Slovenia, (b) Croatia, (c) Bosnia-Herzegovina, (d) Serbia, (e) Montenegro, (f) North Macedonia, (g) Kosovo, and (h) Albania.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
As at 31st December 2020, the FCDO UK based headcount band for each Country requested is set out in the table below.
Country and Embassy (PQ HL12645) | FCDO UK Based staff- Band | FCDO Country Based Staff- Band |
a) Slovenia | Fewer than 10 | 10-19 |
b) Croatia | Fewer than 10 | 20-29 |
c) Bosnia and Herzegovina | Fewer than 10 | 20-29 |
d) Serbia | 10-19 | 50-59 |
e) Montenegro | Fewer than 10 | 10-19 |
f) North Macedonia | Fewer than 10 | 10-19 |
g) Kosovo | Fewer than 10 | 30-39 |
h) Albania | Fewer than 10 | 20-29 |
Asked by: Baroness Helic (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans, if any, they have to change the number of (1) UK national, and (2) locally engaged, staff employed in the British embassies in (a) Slovenia, (b) Croatia, (c) Bosnia-Herzegovina, (d) Serbia, (e) Montenegro, (f) North Macedonia, (g) Kosovo, and (h) Albania.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The future size and shape of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office is yet to be established. This, and any prioritisation process, will be determined in coming months through the ongoing organisational design work, and the spending review and the integrated review.
Asked by: Lord Hylton (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they intend to have with the government of (1) Albania, and (2) North Macedonia, about the repatriation of (a) Albanian, (b) North Macedonian, and (c) British, citizens held in camps in north-east Syria.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We regularly discuss countering violent extremism (CVE) with National CVE Coordinators and other officials in Albania and North Macedonia, including through our embassies in the region. We have no plans to discuss repatriation of British citizens from camps in north east Syria with Albania or North Macedonia but will continue to cooperate closely with both countries on a range of security-related issues.
Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 14 December 2020 to Question 126854 on Embassies: Staff, how many UK-based staff there are in each UK embassy in each EU Member State, by headcount band.
Answered by Nigel Adams
For security reasons, the FCDO provides headcount detail in bands. The FCDO was formed on 2nd September 20, with Legacy Departments continuing to use legacy systems for recording staff locations in the interim. People in former DFID roles are recorded at Country level with no ability to report at Post level currently available. Therefore the data provided is at Country level only.
As at 31st October 2020, the UK based headcount band for each Country in Europe is set out in the table below.
Data does not include Posts where there is no UKB presence, or Posts in Eastern Europe.
Country/Territory | FCDO Headcount at 31st October 2020 |
Albania | Fewer than 10 |
Austria | Fewer than 10 |
Belgium | 10 to 19 |
Bosnia and Herzegovina | Fewer than 10 |
Bulgaria | Fewer than 10 |
Croatia | Fewer than 10 |
Cyprus | 10 to 19 |
Czech Republic | Fewer than 10 |
Denmark | Fewer than 10 |
Estonia | Fewer than 10 |
Finland | Fewer than 10 |
France | 30-39 |
Germany | 20-29 |
Greece | Fewer than 10 |
Holy See | Fewer than 10 |
Hungary | Fewer than 10 |
Iceland | Fewer than 10 |
Ireland | 10 to 19 |
Italy | 10 to 19 |
Kosovo | Fewer than 10 |
Latvia | 10 to 19 |
Lithuania | Fewer than 10 |
Luxembourg | Fewer than 10 |
Malta | Fewer than 10 |
Montenegro | Fewer than 10 |
Netherlands | 10 to 19 |
North Macedonia | Fewer than 10 |
Norway | Fewer than 10 |
Poland | 10 to 19 |
Portugal | Fewer than 10 |
Romania | Fewer than 10 |
Serbia | 10 to 19 |
Slovakia | Fewer than 10 |
Slovenia | Fewer than 10 |
Spain | 10 to 19 |
Sweden | 10 to 19 |
Switzerland | 10 to 19 |
Turkey | 20-29 |
Turkey | 10 to 19 |
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, when she plans to lay before Parliament the texts of the Continuity Trade Agreements signed with (a) North Macedonia on 3 December 2020, (b) Egypt on 5 December 2020, (c) Kenya, Norway and Iceland on 8 December 2020, (d) Canada on 9 December 2020, (e) Singapore on 10 December 2020 and (f) Vietnam on 11 December 2020; and what the reason is for the time period between signing each of those agreements and publication to Parliament.
Answered by Ranil Jayawardena
The Rt Hon. Lady is right to draw the attention of the House to the number of trade agreements that HM Government has concluded. As of 15th December, we have reached agreements with 58 countries, covering trade worth £198 billion.
Agreements with Canada and North Macedonia were laid in Parliament on Thursday 10th November. We will lay all remaining continuity agreements in Parliament shortly.
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many countries have become new members of the Equal Rights Coalition since the UK was announced as co-chair of the Coalition on 10 December 2018; and on what dates those countries joined.
Answered by Nigel Adams
The Equal Rights Coalition (ERC) was created to address the limited number of mechanisms or structures through which governments could coordinate their diplomatic efforts, share information, and work together at the international level to help achieve LGBT equality. As ERC co-chair, we shall soon deliver the ERC's first Five Year Strategy that seeks to guide and shape the Coalition's work to help it realise its considerable potential. Ireland and North Macedonia joined the ERC in June 2019 and we are seeking to expand the 42-strong membership to any country seeking to work within the Coalition to promote and protect the human rights of LGBT people around the world.
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, on how many occasions since July 2019, and with representatives of which countries, he has held discussions on potential membership of the Equal Rights Coalition.
Answered by Nigel Adams
The Equal Rights Coalition (ERC) was created to address the limited number of mechanisms or structures through which governments could coordinate their diplomatic efforts, share information, and work together at the international level to help achieve LGBT equality. As ERC co-chair, we shall soon deliver the ERC's first Five Year Strategy that seeks to guide and shape the Coalition's work to help it realise its considerable potential. Ireland and North Macedonia joined the ERC in June 2019 and we are seeking to expand the 42-strong membership to any country seeking to work within the Coalition to promote and protect the human rights of LGBT people around the world.