Asked by: Stephen Doughty (Labour (Co-op) - Cardiff South and Penarth)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what recent discussions he has had with (a) Romania, (b) Moldova, (c) Bulgaria, (d) Ukraine and (e) Türkiye on (i) security and (ii) maritime access in the western Black Sea region.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
A secure Black Sea and freedom of navigation for commercial shipping is essential to regional stability and global food security. The UK has prioritised support for this region, which is why within the past year the Foreign Secretary and his predecessor have visited all the countries mentioned to discuss these very issues. The Minister for Europe discussed regional security at the Moldova-UK Strategic Dialogue on 30 April.
The UK is at the forefront of building Ukraine's future maritime security through our joint leadership of the Maritime Capability Coalition alongside Norway. This is significantly uplifting Ukraine's naval capacity and creating a greater balance of power in the Black Sea.
Asked by: Baroness Goldie (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the recent participation of the RAF in intercepting Iranian drones aimed at Israel required UK military assets to be withdrawn from any other exercise or deployment.
Answered by Earl of Minto - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
We already have a significant presence in the region, but as a prudent measure a number of aircraft were temporarily moved from our NATO operations in Romania to bolster our existing presence. We coordinated with NATO and our Allies to ensure there was no impact to existing operations.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether his Department monitors the role of external state actors in influencing electoral outcomes in the EU.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
International partners, including in the EU, could be at risk of attempts by foreign states to interfere in elections. Collaboration with international partners, including in the EU, is an essential part of countering these risks. Through the UK's Defending Democracy Ministerial Taskforce, FCDO officials have engaged with partners, including Austria, Romania, and France, to share best practice and identify opportunities for future joint work to build resilience against interference in our democratic processes. FCDO regularly updates to the Taskforce's Ministerial meetings on key risks, learnings, and responses from international elections to inform the UK's election preparations. The UK will continue to engage with international partners.
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: Stephen Doughty (Labour (Co-op) - Cardiff South and Penarth)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has had recent discussions with his international partners on taking steps to enhance resilience to hostile state threats to elections taking place in 2024.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The UK Government is committed to working with international partners to build our collective electoral resilience, including from hostile state actors. The Deputy Prime Minister, Oliver Dowden, discussed election resilience with international partners at the Summit for Democracy in Seoul on 18-20 March. At the Munich Security Conference attended by the Foreign Secretary in February, we issued a joint statement with Canada and the US to increase international coordination efforts to counter foreign state information manipulation that seeks to undermine our democracies. FCDO officials have engaged with 5EYES, G7 and European partners, including Austria, Romania, and Moldova to share best practice and identify opportunities for future collaboration on election resilience.
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: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department holds information on the countries that will implement the OECD Pillar 2 minimum corporation tax measures from 31 December 2023; and what discussions he has had with (a) the OECD and (b) his counterparts in other countries on the implementation of that measure.
Answered by Gareth Davies - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Countries that have committed to apply Pillar 2 from 31 December 2023 or 1 January 2024 include: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Vietnam. Japan are implementing for 1 April 2024.
Guernsey, Isle of Man, Jersey, Hong-Kong and Singapore have committed to implement for 1 January 2025.
There are many other jurisdictions that have taken steps towards Pillar 2 implementation.
There are regular multilateral discussions at Ministerial level, including at the level of the G20, on how to ensure swift and coordinated implementation of Pillar 2, as well as the support that can be provided to developing countries in that regard.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, in which countries UK personnel are deployed with NATO; on which (a) NATO and (b) domestic bases are they stationed; and at what levels.
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, with personnel deployed over twenty-one countries.
The number of UK personnel posted to NATO Peacetime Establishment locations (Table 1) and those deployed to NATO affiliated exercises and operations (Table 2) can be found below.
Table 1 – UK personnel deployed within the Peacetime Establishment in NATO as of June 2023.
Country | Organisation | Number of UK posts | Rank range |
Belgium | NATO HQ (Brussels) | 47 | OR4 – OF8 |
Belgium | SHAPE (Mons) | 169 | OR4 – OF9 |
Bulgaria | NFIU Bulgaria (Sofia) | 1 | OF3 |
Czech Republic | HQ ARRC (Vyskov) | 1 | OF4 |
Estonia | NFIU Estonia (Tallin) | 1 | OF4 |
France | NRDC HQ (Lille) | 10 | OR8 – OF6 |
Germany | NAEW&C FC (Geilenkirchen) | 9 | OR6 – OF6 |
Germany | 1 DEU NLD (Munster) | 6 | OR9 – OF5 |
Germany | NATO School (Oberammergau) | 3 | OR6 – OF4 |
Germany | AIRCOM (Ramstein) | 76 | OR4 – OF5 |
Germany | CAOCUE (Uedem) | 17 | OR4 – OF5 |
Germany | JSEC (Ulm) | 16 | OR4 – OF7 |
Germany | 1 NSB Wesel (Wesel) | 28 | OR3 – OF3 |
Greece | NRDC Greece (Thessaloniki) | 1 | OF3 |
Italy | NHRFI (Milan) | 17 | OR6 - OF7 |
Italy | JFCNP (Naples) | 124 | OR2 – OF7 |
Italy | DACCC (Poggio) | 26 | OR2 – OF5 |
Italy | NAGSF (Sigonella) | 6 | OR4 – OF3 |
Latvia | MND NE (Riga) | 4 | OF2 – OF5 |
Lithuania | NFIU Lithuania (Vilnius) | 1 | OF3 |
Netherlands | JFC Brunssum (Brunssum) | 109 | OR4 – OF7 |
Norway | JWC (Stavanger) | 32 | OR6 – OF5 |
Poland | JFTC (Bydgoszcz) | 3 | OF4 |
Poland | NFIU Poland (Bydgoszcz) | 1 | OF3 |
Poland | MND NE (Elblag) | 2 | OR7 – OF4 |
Poland | MNC NE (Szczecin) | 2 | OF3 – OF4 |
Portugal | STRIKFORNATO (Lisbon) | 14 | OR4 – OF7 |
Portugal | NCISS LATINA (Oiera) | 5 | OR7 – OR9 |
Romania | NFIU Romania (Bucharest) | 1 | OF3 |
Romania | MND SE (Bucharest) | 2 | OF3 - OF4 |
Slovakia | NFIU Slovakia (Bratislava) | 1 | OR6 |
Spain | CAOCTJ (Torrejon) | 15 | OR7 – OF4 |
Spain | NRDC Spain (Valencia) | 2 | OF3 – OF6 |
Türkiye | NRDC Turkiye (Istanbul) | 5 | OF4 – OF5 |
Türkiye | LANDCOM (Izmir) | 34 | OR6 – OF5 |
UK | 1NSB (Blandford) | 46 | OR3 – OF3 |
UK | CTC / NIFC (Molesworth) | 9 | OR7 – OF5 |
UK | MARCOM (Northwood) | 70 | OR4 – OF5 |
UK | JEWCS (Yeovilton) | 2 | OR2 – OR6 |
USA | SACT HQ (Norfolk, Virginia) | 51 | OR4 – OF8 |
USA | SHAPE Tampa (Tampa, Florida) | 1 | OF4 |
| Total | 969 | OR2 – OF9 |
Table 2 – NATO affiliated operations and exercises with UK troops deployed as of June 2023.
Ser | Activity | Outline | Location | Numbers Deployed |
1 | Op CABRIT Estonia | UK Contribution to NATO Forward Land Forces. (inclusive of Forward Land Forces, HQ CABRIT and Divisional Advisory Team). | Tapa and Tallinn, Estonia | 831 |
2 | Op CABRIT Poland Squadron | A UK Light Cavalry Squadron integrated with the US Forward Land Forces, including National Support Element. | Bemowo Piskie, Poland | 133 |
4 | Op ELGIN Bosnia | Staff Officers embedded in NATO HQ Sarajevo. | NATO HQ Sarajevo, Bosnia | 3 |
5 | Ex ARRCADE LEDGER | HQ ARRC and 7th Light Mechanised Brigade Combat Team Exercise. | NATO Forward Holding Base, Sennelager, Germany | 676 of which 43 are civilian contractors deployed through the Land Warfare Centre (LWC). |
5 | Ex JOINT COOPERATION | German sponsored NATO exercise. | Nirenburg, Germany | 2 |
|
|
| TOTAL | 1,678 |
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has had recent discussions with representatives of the Romanian community on the rights of access to (a) schools and (b) after-school clubs for the children of Romanian parents; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department has had no discussions with representatives of the Romanian community on either of these matters. Every child resident in this country has a right to an education and a school place, irrespective of their national origins.
In addition, the Government is making £289 million available for a new childcare ‘pathfinder’ scheme. This will support Local Authorities to work with primary schools and private providers to set up and deliver wraparound childcare before and after school.