HC Deb 09 July 2001 vol 371 cc348-50W
Mr. George Howarth

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the average number of requests for assistance per year from UK tourists to local consular offices and their equivalents was in(a) Florida, (b) Ibiza, (c) Corfu, (d) Barcelona, (e) Benidorm, (f) Majorca, (g) Rhodes, (h) Rome, (i) Paris, (j) Venice, (k) Milan, (l) Dublin, (m) Capri, (n) Tenerife, (o) Cyprus, (p) Nice, (q) Cannes, (r) Boston, (s) Las Vegas, (t) New York, (u) Jerusalem, (v) Los Angeles, (w) Moscow, (x) St. Petersburg, (y) Berlin, (z) Dubai and (aa) Sri Lanka; and what category of assistance was requested in each case. [2108]

Mr. Bradshaw

Our records do not currently allow tourists to be isolated from the total numbers of British citizens seeking assistance at UK missions overseas. However, in the period 1998–2000, the average annual number of requests for assistance (not including simple requests for information) from British citizens to local consular offices and their equivalents was as follows:

  1. (a) Florida: 570 cases per year (cases are referred to Orlando)
  2. (b) Ibiza: 2,000 cases per year
  3. (c) Corfu: 450 cases per year
  4. (d) Barcelona: 300 cases per year
  5. (e) Benidorm: 550 cases per year (cases are referred to Malaga)
  6. (f) Majorca: Total included in (e) above (cases are referred to Malaga)
  7. (g) Rhodes: 250 cases per year
  8. (h) Rome: 900 cases per year
  9. (i) Paris: 300 cases per year
  10. (j) Venice: 50 cases per year
  11. (k) Milan: 70 cases
  12. (l) Dublin: 250 cases per year
  13. (m) Capri: 100 cases per year (cases are referred to Naples)
  14. (n) Tenerife: 4,000 cases per year
  15. (o) Cyprus: 300 cases per year (Nicosia)
  16. (p) Nice: 70 cases per year (cases are referred to Marseille)
  17. (q) Cannes: Total included in (p) above (cases are referred to Marseille)
  18. (r) Boston: 30 cases per year
  19. (s) Las Vegas: 90 cases per year
  20. (t) New York: 150 cases per year
  21. (u) Jerusalem: 30 cases per year
  22. (v) Los Angeles: 70 cases per year (cases are referred to San Francisco)
  23. (w) Moscow: 45 cases per year
  24. (x) St. Petersburg: 15 cases per year
  25. (y) Berlin: 120 cases per year
  26. (z) Dubai: 500 cases per year
  27. (aa) Sri Lanka: 30 cases per year (Colombo).

Similarly, our records do not currently allow us accurately to break down these numbers into all types of assistance sought. But the types of request we receive can range from assistance with major disasters involving ferries, aircraft, trains, buses and cars; assistance with hospitalisations, deaths, skiing accidents and welfare cases in general; helping the victims of crime including rape, child custody and abduction disputes and kidnapping incidents. We are also asked to help with repatriations and deportations, to help with searches for missing persons, to visit people detained by local authorities, to visit long-term prisoners and to arrange the deposit of funds (e.g. for prison comforts). These cases are the ones which get recorded. However, much of our work involves providing all kinds of information to help British nationals, and this is not recorded. In addition we provide notarial services where required; register marriages, births and deaths; and provide passport issuing facilities.

We are currently developing a new centralised consular database, based on one that already has a well-established track record. We hope that, in the future, this will provide a more accurate picture of the full range of tasks we undertake to assist British nationals overseas.