Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had, if any, with the government of Turkey, in relation to Turkish military attacks on Sinjar.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK recognises Turkey's right to self-defence, while fully supporting Iraq's territorial integrity. We encourage restraint from activity that could lead to loss of civilian life, or damage to civilian infrastructure. It is critical that Turkey and Iraq reach a way to address security concerns that does not lead to regional instability. We welcome recent high-level engagement between both countries, including President Erdoğan's visit to Iraq on 22 April. As a close NATO ally, we regularly engage Turkey on regional stability. Most recently, the UK National Security Advisor discussed this issue with his Turkish counterpart in London on 11 April.
Asked by: Pauline Latham (Conservative - Mid Derbyshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether he has had discussions with his counterparts in (a) the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and (b) Cyprus on the potential merits of introducing direct flights from UK airports to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus in the last 12 months.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
In accordance with the rest of the international community, with the sole exception of Turkey, the UK does not recognise the self-declared "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus" as an independent state. Under the Chicago Convention, only the Republic of Cyprus may designate Cypriot airports for international flights. It has not done so for Ercan airport. As such, it is not possible to fly directly between the UK and the north of Cyprus. Ministers have not discussed this topic with the Cypriot government or Turkish Cypriot administration. The FCDO does not hold data on arrivals to Ercan airport.
Asked by: Pauline Latham (Conservative - Mid Derbyshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what data his Department holds on the number of UK nationals that entered the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus through Ercan International Airport in Northern Cyprus in each year since 2010.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
In accordance with the rest of the international community, with the sole exception of Turkey, the UK does not recognise the self-declared "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus" as an independent state. Under the Chicago Convention, only the Republic of Cyprus may designate Cypriot airports for international flights. It has not done so for Ercan airport. As such, it is not possible to fly directly between the UK and the north of Cyprus. Ministers have not discussed this topic with the Cypriot government or Turkish Cypriot administration. The FCDO does not hold data on arrivals to Ercan airport.
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: 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 he is taking to promote relations between the Kurdistan Regional Government and Turkey.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We reiterate to all parties the need for dialogue and cooperation between the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and Turkey to combat terrorism, ensure regional security, and protect civilians.
The UK recognises Turkey's right to self-defence but also fully supports the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Iraq. It is critical that Turkey and Iraq reach a way of addressing their security concerns that does not lead to greater regional instability.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will hold discussions with international partners on strengthening multilateral approaches to prevent the circumvention of sanctions against Russia through third countries.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK coordinates closely with the EU, US, G7 and other international partners to tackle circumvention via multilateral fora and strategic consultations. Senior officials attend the Sanctions Coordinators Forum in Brussels, most recently in February 2024 focusing on strengthening enforcement of Russia sanctions. With the EU, US and Japan we have agreed a list of 50 Common High Priority items; battlefield-critical components we are targeting through joint diplomatic engagement with third countries. With the US and EU we have jointly engaged with the UAE, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Georgia, Armenia, Turkey, Kyrgyzstan, and Serbia, to highlight circumvention risks and offer technical support.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)
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 new legislative package in Turkey entitled Amendments to the Code of Criminal Procedure and Various Laws and Decree-Law No. 659.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
As a close partner, we consistently encourage Turkey to uphold the rule of law and to live up to its international obligations as a founding member state of the Council of Europe. We remind Turkey to act in line with the European Convention on Human Rights, other Council of Europe conventions, and broader democratic norms.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the barriers to people in Gaza who are seeking to join their family members in the UK reaching their closest visa application centre in Egypt.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
Immediate family members of British citizens, individuals with protection status, and those settled in the UK, who wish to come and live in the UK and do not have a current UK visa, can apply under one of the existing Family visa routes.
The Home Office is working closely with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office in supporting family members of British nationals evacuated from Gaza who require a visa, signposting the necessary steps and expediting appointments at the Visa Application Centre (VAC). VACs in the region, such as Egypt, Jordan and Turkey, are open and offering a full service.
In the vast majority of circumstances, the UK requires biometrics to be taken as part of an application; this is vital so we can conduct checks on the person’s identity and suitability to come to the UK. Biometrics, in the form of fingerprints and facial images, underpin the current UK immigration system to support identity assurance and suitability checks on foreign nationals who are subject to immigration control.
Applicants who are at risk of embarking on an unsafe journey must provide evidence they need to make an urgent journey to a VAC that would be particularly unsafe for them, and they cannot delay their journey until later or use alternative routes.
When considering a pre-determination or an excusal of the requirement for an applicant to enrol their biometrics request under the Unsafe Journey’s policy, decision-makers must refer to the Biometric Enrolment and the Unsafe Journey’s guidance.
Asked by: Julian Sturdy (Conservative - York Outer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what support his Department is providing to Syria following the earthquake in that country last year.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
In 2023, the UK committed up to £43 million to support the response to the earthquakes in Northwest Syria and Turkey, including £28 million for Syria. The UK also committed up to £150 million to support Syrians at the Brussels Pledging Conference in June 2023. In financial year 2022/23 UK aid in north west Syria supported the provision of over 203,000 health consultations and nutrition support to over 27,000 women and children.
Since 2012, the UK has spent over £3.8 billion to provide lifesaving and life-sustaining assistance to those in need, both inside Syria and to refugee hosting countries.
Asked by: George Howarth (Labour - Knowsley)
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 changes in the level of violence against Christians in Turkey.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
We support the rights of all minority groups in Turkey, including Christians, and note that the right to freedom of religion and belief is clearly enshrined in the Turkish constitution. Our travel advice for Turkey notes that terrorists may target places of worship. The UK stands with Turkey against terrorism, and we welcome the Turkish authorities' swift response to security threats, such as the fatal shooting at Santa Maria Church in Istanbul on 28 January.