Parliamentary Search

Written question asked by David Reed (Conservative) on Wednesday, 8 July 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 15 July 2026 (named day). It was answered by Hamish Falconer (Labour) on Wednesday, 15 July 2026 on behalf of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

Diplomatic Service: British Nationals Abroad

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of its consular surge capacity to support British nationals in the event of a large-scale overseas crisis.

Answer

Consular and crisis support is available 24/7 through the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's (FCDO) contact centre and global network. When a crisis results in increased consular assistance requests, the FCDO may send a Rapid Deployment Team (RDT) to the affected region to support British nationals. A rotating roster ensures that a team can always be deployed at short notice.

In 2024-25, the last full financial year for which data is available, the FCDO answered over 400,000 requests for consular support from British nationals overseas, and provided detailed consular assistance in over 22,000 cases, including giving support to families of more than 6,000 British nationals who had died abroad, and 3,500 who had been hospitalised. In 2024-25, 85% of service users were satisfied with the service received. Extensive further information about consular services is published on GOV.UK and in the FCDO's annual report.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
17245
Session
2026-27
Related items
Registered interest declared
Yes
Grouped for answer
Yes
Subjects
British nationals abroad Diplomatic service
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk