Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the restrictions placed on independent trade union activity in Zimbabwe.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The British Embassy in Harare regularly engages with a wide range of stakeholders to improve our understanding of political and economic issues in Zimbabwe. The UK does not fund trade unions or involve itself in industrial disputes between the Government and civil servants. However, as the periodic review of human rights in Zimbabwe shows, we are concerned by restrictions on freedom of assembly and the harassment of opposition supporters and civil society, and that the draft Private Voluntary Organization (PVO) amendment bill could be used to restrict civic space if passed into law.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the Government plans to send election observers to Zimbabwe for the upcoming general election in that country.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK is working alongside international partners to prepare support for domestic and international election observation missions. However, in line with Zimbabwe's constitution and standard practice, invitations for observation missions will not be issued by the Government of Zimbabwe until the election date is announced. Alongside a small British Embassy Harare electoral monitoring mission, we hope to see larger electoral missions from the African Union, Southern African Development Community, EU, Commonwealth, US and international and domestic NGOs.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether members of His Majesty’s government have met President Mnangagwa of Zimbabwe since 1 May.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
I [Minister of State for Development and Africa, Andrew Mitchell] met President Mnangagwa on 5 May. We discussed a range of issues including the importance of peaceful, credible and inclusive elections in Zimbabwe later this year.
Asked by: Rob Roberts (Independent - Delyn)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average amount of state pension paid to individuals who live outside the UK is; and if he will provide a breakdown of the average state pension payment in each country in which recipients reside.
Answered by Laura Trott - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
In November 2020, the average (mean) amount of State Pension paid to individuals who live outside the UK was £70.61 per week.
Table 1. Average Amount of State Pension paid to individuals who live outside the UK, November 2020
Residency | Mean Weekly State Pension Amount |
Outside United Kingdom | £ 70.61 |
Source: Stat-Xplore - Home (dwp.gov.uk)
Below is a table of the average (mean) amount of State Pension paid to individuals who live outside the UK, broken down by country of residence, in November 2020.
Table 2. Average Amount of State Pension by Country of Residence, November 2020
Country of Residence | Mean Weekly State Pension Amount |
Abroad - Not known | £ 112.62 |
Albania | £ 110.57 |
Alderney | £ 126.99 |
Algeria | £ 62.41 |
Andorra | £ 94.96 |
Anguilla | £ 64.93 |
Antigua | £ 74.02 |
Argentina | £ 65.18 |
Aruba | £ 60.29 |
Ascension Island | £ 91.68 |
Australia | £ 50.09 |
Austria | £ 49.24 |
Azerbaijan | £ 166.77 |
Bahamas | £ 66.64 |
Bahrain | £ 97.27 |
Bangladesh | £ 39.49 |
Barbados | £ 116.97 |
Belarus | £ 111.17 |
Belgium | £ 63.62 |
Belize | £ 85.01 |
Bermuda | £ 81.36 |
Bolivia | £ 106.19 |
Bosnia and Herzegovina | £ 73.12 |
Botswana | £ 75.98 |
Brazil | £ 81.20 |
Brunei | £ 121.78 |
Bulgaria | £ 122.47 |
Burkina Faso | £ 54.09 |
Cambodia | £ 119.76 |
Cameroon | £ 58.81 |
Canada | £ 46.34 |
Cape Verde | £ 52.18 |
Cayman Islands | £ 89.42 |
Chile | £ 72.13 |
China | £ 96.39 |
Colombia | £ 89.09 |
Cook Islands | £ 57.92 |
Costa Rica | £ 81.75 |
Cyprus | £ 122.54 |
Denmark | £ 58.40 |
Dom Commonwealth (Dominica) | £ 77.73 |
Dominican Republic | £ 107.52 |
Dutch Caribbean | £ 67.76 |
Ecuador | £ 85.95 |
Egypt | £ 78.64 |
El Salvador | £ 80.36 |
Equatorial Guinea | £ 142.11 |
Ethiopia | £ 88.34 |
Falkland Islands and Dependencies | £ 85.64 |
Faroe Islands | £ 33.01 |
Fiji | £ 73.66 |
Finland | £ 58.89 |
France | £ 113.52 |
French Overseas Departments | £ 84.34 |
French Polynesia | £ 55.84 |
Gambia | £ 91.46 |
Germany | £ 46.48 |
Ghana | £ 56.69 |
Gibraltar | £ 100.77 |
Greece | £ 109.44 |
Greenland | £ 23.21 |
Grenada | £ 77.33 |
Guam | £ 83.49 |
Guatemala | £ 77.73 |
Guernsey | £ 84.86 |
Guyana | £ 60.60 |
Honduras | £ 79.02 |
Hong Kong | £ 85.42 |
Hungary | £ 102.32 |
Iceland | £ 71.68 |
India | £ 50.10 |
Indonesia | £ 106.53 |
Iran | £ 70.85 |
Iraq | £ 64.11 |
Ireland | £ 66.41 |
Isle of Man | £ 127.85 |
Israel | £ 101.27 |
Italy | £ 56.79 |
Jamaica | £ 116.05 |
Japan | £ 46.97 |
Jersey | £ 70.02 |
Jordan | £ 67.90 |
Kazakhstan | £ 124.13 |
Kenya | £ 79.34 |
Kuwait | £ 103.54 |
Kyrgyzstan | £ 76.07 |
Laos | £ 100.66 |
Lebanon | £ 88.20 |
Lesotho | £ 59.64 |
Liechtenstein | £ 28.62 |
Luxembourg | £ 83.34 |
Macau | £ 77.52 |
Madagascar | £ 62.23 |
Malawi | £ 71.90 |
Malaysia | £ 77.87 |
Malta | £ 104.22 |
Mauritius | £ 108.25 |
Mexico | £ 74.98 |
Moldova | £ 124.94 |
Monaco | £ 111.96 |
Montserrat | £ 65.67 |
Morocco | £ 75.51 |
Mozambique | £ 74.56 |
Myanmar | £ 84.84 |
Namibia | £ 70.17 |
Nepal | £ 63.99 |
Netherlands | £ 55.81 |
Nevis, St Kitts-Nevis | £ 75.56 |
New Caledonia | £ 79.61 |
New Zealand | £ 46.44 |
Nicaragua | £ 79.72 |
Nigeria | £ 27.65 |
Norfolk Island | £ 55.18 |
North Macedonia | £ 24.20 |
Norway | £ 58.24 |
Oman | £ 89.53 |
Pakistan | £ 48.74 |
Panama | £ 96.96 |
Papua New Guinea | £ 75.49 |
Paraguay | £ 68.41 |
Peru | £ 88.02 |
Philippines | £ 138.86 |
Poland | £ 59.39 |
Portugal | £ 119.47 |
Puerto Rico | £ 77.32 |
Qatar | £ 113.55 |
Republic of Croatia | £ 62.10 |
Republic of Estonia | £ 78.98 |
Republic of Georgia | £ 129.54 |
Republic of Latvia | £ 68.34 |
Republic of Lithuania | £ 42.71 |
Republic of Slovenia | £ 60.38 |
Romania | £ 99.40 |
Russia | £ 85.51 |
Saint Helena & Dependencies | £ 89.27 |
San Marino | £ 29.33 |
Sark | £ 117.68 |
Saudi Arabia | £ 86.88 |
Senegal | £ 74.13 |
Serbia | £ 123.58 |
Seychelles | £ 79.10 |
Sierra Leone | £ 52.66 |
Singapore | £ 89.20 |
Solomon Islands | £ 79.08 |
Somalia | £ 44.20 |
South Africa | £ 56.52 |
South Korea | £ 41.69 |
Spain | £ 120.61 |
Sri Lanka | £ 59.98 |
St Lucia | £ 76.63 |
St Vincent & Grenadines | £ 80.10 |
State Union of Serbia and Montenegro | £ 53.44 |
Sudan | £ 71.27 |
Suriname | £ 151.95 |
Swaziland | £ 79.26 |
Sweden | £ 57.52 |
Switzerland | £ 51.98 |
Syria | £ 63.61 |
Tahiti | £ 77.00 |
Taiwan | £ 105.85 |
Tanzania | £ 87.61 |
Thailand | £ 119.10 |
The Czech Republic | £ 92.30 |
The Slovak Republic | £ 49.82 |
Togo | £ 50.10 |
Tonga | £ 73.36 |
Tours (Individuals on Tour) | £ 133.34 |
Trinidad & Tobago | £ 55.37 |
Tunisia | £ 88.16 |
Turkey | £ 132.24 |
Turks and Caicos Islands | £ 118.32 |
Uganda | £ 88.33 |
Ukraine | £ 115.86 |
United Arab Emirates | £ 107.46 |
United States | £ 74.19 |
United States Minor Outlying Islands | £ 75.89 |
Uruguay | £ 77.74 |
Vanuatu | £ 85.86 |
Venezuela | £ 67.62 |
Vietnam | £ 125.09 |
Virgin Islands (British) | £ 91.77 |
Virgin Islands (USA) | £ 72.74 |
Western Samoa | £ 34.12 |
Yemen | £ 42.90 |
Zambia | £ 75.67 |
Zimbabwe | £ 48.98 |
Source: Stat-Xplore - Home (dwp.gov.uk)
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, when he plans to reply to the urgent letter of 24 April 2023 from the hon. Member for Stockport on behalf of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Zimbabwe.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
We have received the correspondence of 24 April and response has been sent on 4 May.
Asked by: Lord Oates (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether British citizen Uebert Angel should retain diplomatic status as Zimbabwe’s Ambassador at Large.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
We are aware of an Al Jazeera documentary investigating cases of alleged smuggling and fraud involving Uebert Angel, a dual British-Zimbabwean national and Presidential Envoy and Ambassador At Large for the country of Zimbabwe to Europe and the Americas. Whilst Mr Angel holds a diplomatic passport he is not diplomatically accredited to the UK - countries are free to determine for themselves who they grant these passports to, but the passport itself does not confer any diplomatic status on the holder. We cannot comment further on specific cases at this stage. The UK sees corruption as an important barrier to economic reform and inclusive growth in Zimbabwe. We engage with the Government of Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission, civil society and other actors in the fight against corruption in Zimbabwe.
Asked by: Hilary Benn (Labour - Leeds Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the extent of Government corruption in Zimbabwe.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK sees corruption as an important barrier to economic reform and inclusive growth in Zimbabwe. We engage with the Government of Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission, civil society and other actors in the fight against corruption in Zimbabwe. In 2022 we sanctioned a Zimbabwean businessman for serious corruption. No UK aid is channelled directly through Government of Zimbabwe systems, instead, we work primarily through multilateral organisations, notably United Nations agencies, international Non-Governmental Organisations and the private sector to deliver our programmes.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent progress Zimbabwe has made in its application to re-join the Commonwealth; and what requirements will need to be met by the Zimbabwean government to progress that application.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The decision on whether Zimbabwe re-joins the Commonwealth is for all Commonwealth members. We recognise the value of having Zimbabwe back in the Commonwealth, but any re-entry would need to be on the basis that Zimbabwe was meeting admission requirements and able to uphold the values and principles set out in the Commonwealth Charter. Zimbabwe's General Elections this year present a clear opportunity for the Government to demonstrate progress against the principles of the Charter, namely respect for human rights and freedom for the political opposition, civil society and media to operate.
Asked by: Lyn Brown (Labour - West Ham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to support the Governments of (a) Malawi, (b) Mozambique, (c) Madagascar and (d) Zimbabwe with the impact of Cyclone Freddy.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK is working closely with the Governments of Malawi, Mozambique, Madagascar and Zimbabwe to respond to Cyclone Freddy. In Malawi, we are supporting the Emergency Operations Centre established in Blantyre and looking at options for further UK support, including to help those still stranded, to help manage trauma cases and to extend our support to tackle the ongoing cholera outbreak. In Mozambique, we are providing shelter and dignity kits for up to 30,000 people and providing extra funding to reduce the cholera risk. The UK-supported START Fund provided £700,000 of additional funding to partner organisations in Madagascar and up to £144,0000 in Zimbabwe in response to Cyclone Freddy. Support includes strengthening shelters, cash distributions and assistance on healthcare.
Asked by: David Linden (Scottish National Party - Glasgow East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many UK pensioners living overseas had their pensions stopped incorrectly in 2022 broken down by nation.
Answered by Laura Trott - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
Where payments are stopped and then reinstated, this is due to late return or non-return of a life certificate rather than from anything incorrect on the part of DWP. The number of payments stopped as a result of late return or non-return are:
Albania | 7 |
Andorra | 51 |
Anguilla | 74 |
Antigua | 88 |
Antilles (Netherlands) | 8 |
Armenia | 1 |
Bahamas | 211 |
Bangladesh | 429 |
Barbados | 796 |
Benin | 2 |
Bermuda | 90 |
Brazil | 737 |
Bulgaria | 348 |
Burkina Faso | 1 |
Canada | 19,061 |
Cayman Islands | 42 |
Central African Republic | 1 |
Costa Rica | 55 |
Croatia | 105 |
Cyprus | 1,831 |
Czech Republic | 126 |
Denmark | 525 |
Djibouti | 1 |
Dominican Republic | 38 |
Egypt | 224 |
Estonia | 18 |
Falkland Islands | 11 |
Fiji | 60 |
France | 1,690 |
Gambia | 50 |
Georgia | 12 |
Greenland | 0 |
Grenada | 217 |
Guam | 0 |
Guyana | 86 |
Hong Kong | 527 |
Hungary | 146 |
India | 1,934 |
Indonesia | 246 |
Israel | 426 |
Jamaica | 2,847 |
Jordan | 67 |
Kenya | 234 |
Kuwait | 17 |
Kyrgyzstan | 5 |
Liberia | 2 |
Luxembourg | 85 |
Malawi | 33 |
Malaysia | 74 |
Maldive Islands | 0 |
Mexico | 454 |
Monaco | 92 |
Montserrat | 27 |
Morocco | 7 |
North Korea | 0 |
Panama | 28 |
Philippines | 1,564 |
Puerto Rico | 4 |
Republic of the Congo | 2 |
Russia | 5 |
Saudi Arabia | 3 |
Serbia & Montenegro | 77 |
Seychelles | 2 |
Singapore | 191 |
Slovakia | 8 |
Sri Lanka | 30 |
St Lucia | 457 |
St Vincent/Grenadines | 190 |
Sudan | 5 |
Swaziland | 2 |
Switzerland | 105 |
Syria | 6 |
Taiwan | 17 |
Tanzania | 34 |
Trinidad & Tobago | 264 |
Turks & Caicos Islands | 4 |
Uganda | 49 |
United Arab Emirates | 50 |
Uruguay | 22 |
Vietnam | 88 |
Virgin Islands (British) | 29 |
Virgin Islands (USA) | 15 |
Zimbabwe | 47 |
The Management Information used has been taken from the same operational source data systems as our published administrative data. However, as this Management Information is not a recognised National or Official Statistic, it has not been subjected to the same level of Quality Assurance. As a result, these figures should be treat with caution.