To match an exact phrase, use quotation marks around the search term. eg. "Parliamentary Estate". Use "OR" or "AND" as link words to form more complex queries.


View sample alert

Keep yourself up-to-date with the latest developments by exploring our subscription options to receive notifications direct to your inbox

Written Question
Gibraltar: Spain
Monday 25th March 2024

Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that there is continued mobility across the border between Spain and Gibraltar during negotiations with the EU in respect of Gibraltar.

Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)

The UK, working side-by-side with the Government of Gibraltar, is committed to concluding a UK-EU treaty as soon as possible. A key objective is to ensure that people and goods can move easily between Gibraltar and the surrounding communities. Together with the Government of Gibraltar we continue to monitor the functioning of the border and raise issues with the Spanish authorities, including at Ministerial level, when required.


Written Question
NATO
Monday 25th March 2024

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.


Written Question
Buildings: Construction
Friday 22nd March 2024

Asked by: Lord Boateng (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask His Majesty's Government what communication they have had with the governments of (1) Italy, and (2) Spain, about the regulation of building materials used in the construction of high-rise dwellings.

Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)

Government regularly looks at construction practices in other jurisdictions, seeks to learn from any significant incidents and, where appropriate, are always willing to share our experiences with other countries and collaborate further. We should be mindful though that construction practices and methods can be quite different across different countries and so the actions and mechanisms that the UK has put in place would not necessarily be directly transferrable. Experts from the UK participate in both the CEN and ISO committees which facilitate the sharing of international standards. The UK is a member of the Inter-jurisdictional Regula-tory Collaboration Committee (IRCC) which promotes effective international collaboration concerning ‘best current practice’ building regulatory systems.


Written Question
Asylum
Friday 22nd March 2024

Asked by: Andrew Percy (Conservative - Brigg and Goole)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum claims have been successfully made by citizens of (a) Israel, (b) the United States, (c) Canada, (d) New Zealand, (e) Australia, (f) Germany, (g) Spain, (h) France and (i) Italy in each of the last five years.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

The Home Office publishes data on asylum in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on asylum applications received, and the initial decisions on claims, is published in tables Asy_D01 and Asy_D02 of the ‘Asylum applications, decisions and resettlement detailed datasets’. This data includes nationality breakdowns.

Information on how to use the datasets can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of each workbook. The latest data relates to 31 December 2023. Data up to the end of March 2024 will be published on 23 May 2024.

Information on future Home Office statistical release dates can be found in the ‘Research and statistics calendar’.


Written Question
Europe: Diplomatic Service
Thursday 21st March 2024

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, which Ambassadors and High Commissioners to (a) countries and (b) other institutions in Europe are due to be replaced in 2024.

Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

he FCDO publishes in the public domain announcements of changes to HM Ambassadors (HMA) and High Commissioners (HC). In 2024, we have so far announced the following changes to our posts in Europe:

Role and start date:

Individual:

HMA Pristina (Kosovo), March 2024

Jonathan Hargreaves

HMA Lisbon (Portugal), January 2024

Lisa Bandari

Governor Gibraltar, June 2024

Lieutenant General Sir Ben Bathurst

HMA Brussels (Belgium), July 2024

Anne Sherriff

HMA Madrid (Spain), August 2024

Alex Ellis

HMA Helsinki (Finland), September 2024

Laura Davies

HMA Vilnius (Lithuania), September 2024

Liz Boyles

In addition, we expect a small number of additional announcements to be made, following appropriate recruitment and approval processes concluding.


Written Question
Arms Trade: Israel
Thursday 21st March 2024

Asked by: Baroness Janke (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask His Majesty's Government, in the light of the recent decisions by the governments of Belgium, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands suspending the licensing of arms and military equipment to Israel, whether they will review the United Kingdom’s Strategic Export Licensing Criteria and suspend the licensing of arms and military equipment to Israel.

Answered by Lord Offord of Garvel - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The Government takes its defence export responsibilities extremely seriously and operates some of the most robust export controls in the world.

The Government continue to monitor closely the situation in Israel and Gaza, and if extant licences are found to be no longer consistent with the UK Strategic Export Licensing Criteria (the SELC), then those licences can be revoked, suspended or amended.


Written Question
Shipping: Conditions of Employment
Thursday 14th March 2024

Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Government response to the Fifth Report of the Transport Committee of Session 2022–23 on Maritime 2050: objectives, implementation and effects, published on 24 May 2023, what progress he has made on negotiations with the Spanish Government on practices concerning conditions for seafarers on board third country flagged ships operating regular shipping routes between ports in Spain and the UK.

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

On 7 July 2023, the UK and Spain signed a Memorandum of Understanding on conditions for seafarers aboard third-country flagged vessels in which we agreed to examine how we could cooperate and consider the impact of existing and new measures.


Written Question
Music: EU Countries
Wednesday 13th March 2024

Asked by: Lord Berkeley of Knighton (Crossbench - Life peer)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Treasury has made any assessment of the economic effect of post-Brexit arrangements for the music industry, including the altered ability of British artists to tour and perform in Europe.

Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

We are committed to supporting and promoting a thriving live music industry and ensuring the continued growth of this vital and vibrant sector. The music industry is one of the UK's greatest success stories, producing an extraordinary level of talent recognised and respected the world over.

Since the UK’s exit from the EU, the vast majority of Member States have clarified arrangements or introduced easements to allow visa and work permit free routes for UK performers for some short-term touring. This includes most of the UK’s biggest touring markets such as France, Germany, and the Netherlands. It also includes Spain, which changed its position following engagement from the UK Government and industry.

The Government works closely with the sector and continue to engage with the few remaining Member States to improve arrangements or clarify guidance.

The Government is committed to supporting the UK's brilliant artists to adapt to the new arrangements as part of the Creative Industries Sector Vision, that is why we announced that funding for the Music Exports Growth Scheme (MEGS) will be tripled to £3.2 million over the next two years. This will enable touring artists to break into new international markets.

The Government also provides generous support for orchestras to tour through orchestra tax relief, which currently has a rate of 50%. At Spring Budget 2024, the Government announced that orchestras will permanently receive a rate of 45% from 1 April 2025.


Written Question
Maxim Kuzminov
Thursday 7th March 2024

Asked by: Marquess of Lothian (Conservative - Life peer)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the governments of (1) Spain, and (2) Ukraine, concerning the circumstances surrounding the death of Maxim Kuzminov in Spain in February.

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

The full details of Maxim Kuzminov's death remain unclear. The UK has reached out to the Spanish authorities to offer support. At this time the UK has not made any representations to the Ukrainian government about this issue.


Written Question
Imports: EU Countries
Wednesday 28th February 2024

Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions, if any, they have held with EU countries regarding the introduction of safety and security declaration requirements for EU imports on 31 October, and what were the contents of any such discussions.

Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

Government officials engage regularly with officials from EU Member States to discuss new customs-related requirements, including safety and security declarations. This has included official visits to Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Denmark and Ireland with further engagement planned for Italy, Spain, Poland and Germany in 2024. Baroness Neville-Rolfe visited Belgium to discuss import controls with the Belgian Government and industry in early February 2024. Partners have been extremely helpful in communicating these requirements using their own stakeholder communication channels, and providing suggestions for further guidance that could be helpful. More formal communication of these changes to EU Member States took place in the Trade Specialised Committee on Customs Cooperation and Rules of Origin, the minutes of which can be found on gov.uk.