Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, how many UK-based staff from his Department worked in (a) HM Embassy or the High Commission and (b) Consulates General, Consulates or Deputy High Commissions in (i) China, (ii) South Korea, (iii) Vietnam, (iv) the Philippines, (v) India and (vi) the Asia Pacific region in 2023.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Mar24 UKB Data | |||
Location | A | B | |
(v) | India | 30-39 | 10-19 |
(iv) | Philippines | 10-19 | No UKB Staff |
(ii) | South Korea | 10-19 | No UKB Staff |
(iii) | Vietnam | 10-19 | Fewer than 10 |
(vi) | Asia Pacific Region | 180-199 | Fewer than 10 |
Scope | |
British Embassy | A |
British High Commission | A |
British Consulate | B |
British Consulate General | B |
British Deputy High Commission | B |
Countries in Scope of Asia Pacific Region |
Australia |
Brunei |
Cambodia |
Fiji |
Indonesia |
South Korea |
Laos |
Malaysia |
Myanmar |
New Zealand |
Papua New Guinea |
Philippines |
Samoa |
Singapore |
Solomon Islands |
Thailand |
Tonga |
Vanuatu |
Vietnam |
Staff in scope: UKB | |
Headcount data is presented as at: Mar24 | |
Locations:China (Withheld), India, Philippines, South Korea, Vietnam (Part (i) to (v), see list for (Part (vi). | |
Staff out of scope: Contingent Labour, Unpaid Liabilities, Ministers / NeDs / SpAds etc, third party suppliers, Staff working for other government departments, CB staff. | |
Headcounts are banded for release in line with advice from FCDO Information and Cyber Security Unit. |
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether representatives of (a) India, (b) the Philippines, (c) Indonesia, (d) Nigeria, (e) Ghana and (f) South Africa were invited to the Global Fraud Summit held at Lancaster House from 11-12 March 2024.
Answered by Tom Tugendhat - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security)
The Home Secretary convened the first ever Global Fraud Summit, featuring Ministers and representatives from across 11 countries as well as international institutions to agree a co-ordinated action plan to dismantle international fraud networks. With over 70% of the UK fraud threat having an overseas element, strengthening international collaboration is critical.
The countries included in the summit were those with a similar pattern of victimisation, aiming to develop joint working and share best practice. We are also working bilaterally with a number of countries, including some of the ones listed in the question and have already agreed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Nigerian Government which includes a strategic dialogue on online fraud.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ratify the Agreement on Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdictions; when they expect to be able to ratify the Agreement; and what discussions they have had with international partners to encourage other countries to ratify it.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Work is in hand on the legislation and other measures needed to translate the detailed and complex provisions of the Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction (the BBNJ Agreement) into UK law before we can ratify the Agreement. Legislation will be taken forward when parliamentary time allows.
The UK continues to be proactive in supporting other, particularly developing, countries to implement and ratify the BBNJ Agreement. This includes contributing to the BBNJ Voluntary Trust Fund to enable participation by developing countries in UN discussions on preparatory work, and supporting the BBNJ Informal Dialogues, discussions that bring together participants from a wide range of countries online to discuss implementation. The UK also co-funded and organised a workshop for Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries to share best practice and support the implementation and ratification of the BBNJ Agreement in the Philippines in November 2023. The UK is supporting a Commonwealth Secretariat project to provide technical assistance on implementation and ratification to smaller Commonwealth countries.
Asked by: Sarah Jones (Labour - Croydon Central)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many Prison Transfer Agreements were in place in each year since 2010.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The removal of Foreign National Offenders is a Government priority and my department continues to work closely with the Home Office to maximise the number of deportations.
The total number of voluntary and compulsory Prisoner Transfer Agreements agreed since 2010 is set out below. For PTAs, the receiving country and their judiciary needs to consider and accept each individual transfer case.
Year: | Total PTA agreements |
2010 | 99 |
2011 | 99 |
2012 | 100 |
2013 | 100 |
2014 | 101 |
2015 | 102 |
2016 | 103 |
2017 | 103 |
2018 | 104 |
2019 | 106 |
2020 | 106 |
2021 | 107 |
2022 | 108 |
2023 | 110 |
2024 | 110 |
We are looking to negotiate new Prisoner Transfer Agreements with key EU Member States and wider-world countries. We signed a Prisoner Transfer Agreement with the Philippines in October 2023, and made a new arrangement with Albania in May 2023 to increase the number of transfers under the agreement signed in May 2022.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is their assessment of the tactics deployed by Chinese vessels against the Philippines on 9 and 10 December in the South China Sea.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK condemns the unsafe and escalatory tactics taken by Chinese vessels against the Philippines on 9 and 10 December in the South China Sea. The UK opposes any action which raises tensions, including harassment, unsafe conduct and intimidation tactics which increase the risk of miscalculation and threaten regional peace and stability. The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) sets out the legal framework that governs all activities in the ocean and seas. We oppose any claims that are not founded in UNCLOS. Both China and the Philippines must adhere to the findings of the 2016 Arbitral Award proceedings, which are legally binding on both parties. This position is reflected in an FCDO Spokesperson statement of 11 December, which was issued in response to the latest incidents. The UK will continue to support regional partners through an enhanced programme of maritime capacity building in Southeast Asia which provides training and funding to strengthen regional capacity on maritime law and security.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the violations against the human right to freedom of religion or belief in the Philippines following the attack on a Catholic mass at Mindanao State University on 3 December.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK condemns the attack at Mindanao State University. We extend our condolences to the families of the victims and support efforts to bring the perpetrators to justice.
The UK is a long-standing supporter of the peace process in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindano (BARMM) through our Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF) programme work, and we remain committed to securing long lasting peace, security and inclusivity for all of the region's communities.
Asked by: Chris Grayling (Conservative - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will list the organisations that received (a) Darwin and (b) Darwin Extra funding and are also represented on the Darwin expert panel in each of the last three years.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Darwin Initiative website details successful grants applications and names its Expert Committee members, alongside their associated organisations.
Darwin Expert Committee members have declared an interest in 13 of the 107 organisations awarded Darwin Initiative grants in the past 3 years. Committee members must recuse themselves from the assessment of any application in which they have declared an interest.
The 13 organisations are: Bangor University, Botanic Gardens Conservation International, C3 Philippines, Fauna and Flora International, International Institute for Environment and Development, Royal Botanical Gardens Edinburgh, Royal Botanical Gardens Kew, The Nature Conservancy, United Nations Environment Programme, University of Oxford, Wildlife Conservation Society, World Wide Fund for Nature UK and the Zoological Society of London.
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: Lord Wasserman (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Viscount Younger of Leckie on 26 October (HL10597), in how many countries there is a legal requirement to uprate the UK State Pensions paid to those UK pensioners who live there; and which countries they are.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The UK State Pension is payable worldwide to those who meet the qualifying conditions, without regard to nationality, and the amount is based on an individual’s National Insurance record. UK State Pensions are up-rated overseas only where there is a legal requirement to do so. The Government has no plans to change this policy.
People who live outside the UK will not receive an increase in their State Pension unless they live in:
- an EEA country or Switzerland; or
- a country with which DWP have a reciprocal agreement that allows for it. These countries are:
*Following the break-up of Yugoslavia, the UK agreement with former Yugoslavia now covers Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to his Oral Statement of 16 October 2023 on Prison Capacity, Official Report, column 61, which countries his Department has had discussions with on prisoner transfer deals.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The removal of Foreign National Offenders is a Government priority. The Ministry of Justice continues to work closely with the Home Office to maximise the number of deportations.
The UK, alongside 71 other countries, has ratified the Council of Europe Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons. The full list of countries who have ratified can be found on the Council of Europe website: Full list - Treaty Office (coe.int)
To develop bilateral Prisoner Transfer Agreements, we engage with key countries in the European Union and the rest of the world.
We signed a Prisoner Transfer Agreement with the Philippines in October 2023, and made a new arrangement with Albania in May 2023 to increase the number of transfers under the agreement signed in May 2022.