§ LORD O'HAGANasked Her Majesty's Government:
What responsibilities it recognises that it has towards British citizens abroad; what criteria are used to judge whether assistance such as repatriation to the United Kingdom, is appropriate; how much was spent on British subjects stranded abroad in each of the last ten years; how many British citizens were repatriated at the Government's expense in the same period.
§ THE PARLIAMENTARY UNDER-SECRETARY OF STATE, FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH OFFICE (THE MARQUESS OF LOTHIAN)Her Majesty's Government recognises responsibility in that it is the duty of consular officers to give consular help and advice to United Kingdom nationals and to safeguard the interests of United Kingdom nationals within their districts. The criteria used to judge whether assistance, such as repatriation to the United Kingdom, is appropriate are destitution and need for protection.
In each of the last ten financial years, Her Majesty's Government's expenditure on cases of repatriation to the United Kingdom was as follows:
820WA
Expenditure Number of cases £ 1960–61 … … 55,141 2,112 1961–62 … … 58,600 2,536 1962–63 … … 65,650 2,812 1963–64 … … 72,600 3,267 1964–65 … … 78,500 3,110 1965–66 … … 107,198 2,486 1966–67 … … 90,261 2,463 1967–68 … … 258,638 4,273 1968–69 … … 158,305 3,028 1969–70 … … 147,600 3,233 A married couple, or a family, is counted as a single unit; figures showing the exact number of persons involved are not readily available. The figures for 1965–66 and 1967–68 include expenditure incurred on approximately 1,796 cases of emergency evacuations from war-affected areas.
All repatriations are carried out against an undertaking to repay on the part of the person assisted.