Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of trends in the level of gold purchased by the Chinese government on the risk of a conflict in Taiwan.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We do not comment on speculation. More generally, our position on the Taiwan Strait has not changed - the UK has a clear interest in peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait. We consider the Taiwan issue one to be settled peacefully by the people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait through constructive dialogue, without the threat or use of force or coercion. We do not support any unilateral attempts to change the status quo.
Asked by: Lord Balfe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the compatibility of the Convention on International Civil Aviation with direct flights from London to Taipei, and in this respect why the UK does not permit flights to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The UK recognises only one Cypriot state – the Republic of Cyprus – and only one government as the sole legitimate government. Under the Chicago Convention, only the Republic of Cyprus may designate Ercan (in the north of Cyprus) as an international customs airport and grant permission for flights to operate from within its territory. Which it has not done so. This means that no direct air services between the north of Cyprus and the UK can take place.
With regards to direct flights being permitted between London and Taipei, the situation is different in that the Chinese authorities have designated a number of airports in Taiwan as international customs airports which therefore permit airlines to operate between the UK and Taiwan.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking with allies to secure semiconductor supply chains in the context of heightened tensions in the Taiwan Strait.
Answered by Saqib Bhatti - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Safeguarding the UK against supply chain disruptions is a key pillar of the UK National Semiconductor Strategy, and international collaboration is crucial to achieving this. The UK Government works closely with international partners, including through semiconductor partnerships with Japan and the Republic of Korea. These partnerships explore shared approaches and solutions to improve global supply chain resilience and aim to establish areas of collaboration for mutual strategic advantage. Multilaterally, the UK Government is engaging with the G7 and the OECD Semiconductor Informal Exchange Network to strengthen understanding and coordination of global supply chain risks.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether she has had recent discussions with her counterpart in the Republic of China (Taiwan).
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The UK and Taiwan already share a deep, £11bn trade and investment relationship.
Trade Talks with Taiwan are longstanding and held annually to boost trade and support economic growth. To build on this the UK and Taiwan are developing an Enhanced Trade Partnership (ETP) to further increase trade and investment. This will promote co-operation and support British businesses to take advantage of opportunities, initially in investment, digital trade, and energy and net-zero.
Minister Huddleston hosted the 26th UK Taiwan Trade Talks in London on 8 November 2023, and I met with Taiwan’s Minister Deng in February at the WTO’s 13th Ministerial Conference in Abu Dhabi.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps she is taking to improve trade links with the Republic of China (Taiwan).
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The UK and Taiwan already share a deep, £11bn trade and investment relationship.
Trade Talks with Taiwan are longstanding and held annually to boost trade and support economic growth. To build on this the UK and Taiwan are developing an Enhanced Trade Partnership (ETP) to further increase trade and investment. This will promote co-operation and support British businesses to take advantage of opportunities, initially in investment, digital trade, and energy and net-zero.
Minister Huddleston hosted the 26th UK Taiwan Trade Talks in London on 8 November 2023, and I met with Taiwan’s Minister Deng in February at the WTO’s 13th Ministerial Conference in Abu Dhabi.
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: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what support his Department offered to Taiwan after the recent earthquake.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Following the earthquake, the Foreign Secretary issued a statement offering condolences to the people of Taiwan and stating that the UK stood ready to support. The UK's International Search and Rescue team made contact with the relevant Taiwanese authorities. No request for assistance was made by Taiwan.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has had discussions with his counterpart in Taiwan on the use of e-gates for Taiwanese nationals at UK airports.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
Whilst we regularly review eGate eligibility for different passport holders, we operate the UK border, including eGate eligibility, solely in the UK interest, recognising the need to balance both passenger flow and border security.
The Government has set out an ambitious vision to create an effective and secure border system. As part of this vision, we intend to investigate options to increase the use of automation and eGates by those passport holders currently ineligible to use them.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of the People's Republic of China, including in discussions between the Foreign Secretary and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the Munich Security Conference, regarding that country's behaviour towards Taiwan, including its adjustment of flight routes in the Taiwan Strait.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We do not support any unilateral attempts to change the status quo in the Taiwan Strait and have underscored the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait alongside partners in previous G7 Foreign and Development Ministers' and Leaders' communiques.
The UK's longstanding policy on Taiwan has not changed. We consider the Taiwan issue one to be settled peacefully by the people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait through constructive dialogue, without the threat or use of force or coercion.
The UK has regular discussions within International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) regarding the importance of communication and coordination in the protection of air safety, especially when it comes to changes to airspace such as this.
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 impact on aviation safety and regional stability of the decision on 30 January of the Civil Aviation Administration of China to adjust the M503, W122 and W123 flight routes near the Taiwan Strait median line.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK has regular discussions within the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) regarding the importance of communication and coordination in the protection of air safety, especially when it comes to changes to airspace such as this.
We do not support any unilateral attempts to change the status quo in the Taiwan Strait and have underscored the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait alongside partners in previous G7 Foreign and Development Ministers' and Leaders' communiques.
The UK's longstanding policy on Taiwan has not changed. We consider the Taiwan issue one to be settled peacefully by the people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait through constructive dialogue, without the threat or use of force or coercion.