§ Mr. GapesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to encourage the return of Kosovans from the UK to Kosovo; and if he will make a statement. [136797]
§ Mrs. RocheSince the peace agreement was signed in Kosovo in June 1999, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has judged that it is safe for the majority of Kosovan Albanians to return to Kosovo.
The focus of Government policy toward those Kosovan Albanians who came to the United Kingdom either under the Humanitarian Evacuation Programme (HEP) or independently has been and continues to be to encourage and assist their voluntary return to Kosovo. To this end a permanent Kosovan voluntary assisted return programme was funded which ran from 26 July 1999 to 25 June 2000. This has been followed by a general voluntary assisted returns programme open to all nationalities including Kosovans which provides returnees with advice and a return air ticket.