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: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment, if any, have they made of the number of illegal migrants who have reached the UK from or via Tunisia in each of the last 3 years.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Home Office publishes statistics on detected irregular arrivals to the UK in the ‘Irregular migration to the UK statistics’ release published on gov.uk. Data on detected irregular arrivals by nationality is published in table Irr_D01 of the ‘Irregular migration to the UK detailed datasets’ with the latest data up to the end of December 2023.
Please note these statistics do not include details of countries of transit, and nationality may differ from country of origin.
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the closure of the Ras Jedir border crossing.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Ras Jedir border crossing was closed in both Libya and Tunisia because of recent security disturbances. The UK is monitoring the situation to ensure that we are able to respond appropriately. To foster long-term stability and address the drivers of conflict in Libya, the UK is working alongside our regional and international partners in support of the UN process.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have made any representations to the government of Tunisia concerning the case of Rached Ghannouchi, the former Speaker of the Assembly of the Representatives of the People, who has been detained in Mornaguia civil prison since his arrest in April 2023.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We monitor the political and human rights situation in Tunisia closely. On 18 April 2023, I [Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon] made clear the UK's view that the wave of arrests, including of Rached Ghannouchi and restrictions on political opposition in Tunisia were eroding the space for plurality. I reiterated this message during my meeting with the Tunisian Foreign Minister on 12 October 2023. The Association Council was also an opportunity for the UK to discuss the principles and benefits of an open and democratic society, of legitimate political opposition, the separation of powers, civil society and an inclusive political process.
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 Tunisia on the imprisonment of Rached Ghannouchi and of other opposition figures.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We monitor the political and human rights situation in Tunisia closely. On 18 April 2023, I [Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon] made clear the UK's view that the wave of arrests, including of Rached Ghannouchi and restrictions on political opposition in Tunisia were eroding the space for plurality. I reiterated this message during my meeting with the Tunisian Foreign Minister on 12 October 2023. The Association Council was also an opportunity for the UK to discuss the principles and benefits of an open and democratic society, of legitimate political opposition, the separation of powers, civil society and an inclusive political process.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government on how many occasions in the past year Royal Naval and Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessels have visited Tunisian (1) ports, and (2) territorial waters.
Answered by Earl of Minto - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
No Royal Navy or Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessels have visited Tunisian ports or territorial waters during the past year.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much financial aid the United Kingdom has provided to Tunisia in each of the past five years, and on what it was spent.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK does not provide direct financial aid to Tunisia. We provide bilateral Overseas Development Aid (ODA) through Conflict Security and Stability Fund (CSSF) to support development projects in areas including economic development, gender equality, education, and marginalised regions in Tunisia. In 2023-24, the CSSF programme totalled £2 million. Over the past five years, the total cumulative ODA spend through CSSF is £32 million.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of relations between the United Kingdom and Tunisia.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK has a positive partnership with Tunisia, covering shared priorities such as trade, education, security, and tackling irregular migration, all of which featured in the UK-Tunisia Ministerial Association Council meeting on 12 October 2023 in London. The Association Council was an opportunity for the UK to discuss the principles and values of an open and democratic society, of legitimate political opposition, the separation of powers, civil society and an inclusive political process.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the role of Tunisia in preventing movement across the Mediterranean of migrants seeking to reach Europe and potentially the United Kingdom.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government of Tunisia is facing a challenging situation with regards to irregular migration flows into and from the country. More than 95,000 people crossed the Mediterranean Sea from Tunisia to Italy in 2023. Efforts to prevent crossings are improving, despite the scale of the challenge and the resources necessary to effectively do this. To support these efforts, the UK is working with the relevant authorities, and is funding an assisted voluntary returns programme in Tunisia, alongside likeminded partners, to support the safe return of migrants from Tunisia to their countries of origin.
Asked by: Lord Jackson of Peterborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment have they made of recent developments in human and civil rights in (1) Tunisia, and (2) Algeria.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Through our annual Human Rights and Democracy Report we recognise where countries make progress but also where there is a decline in human and civil rights standards. Neither Tunisia nor Algeria are human rights priority countries but we continue to engage both countries on civil and human rights issues. At the UK-Tunisia Association Council meeting on 12 October 2023, the UK emphasised the importance of political participation, democratic freedoms and human rights. With Algeria, we engage directly with government officials and through the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) universal periodic review process and follow-up recommendations. We welcome the recent visits by the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and of Association, and the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders.