Written question asked by Lord Ahmed (Non-affiliated) on Wednesday, 27 April 2016, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 12 May 2016. It was answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns (Conservative) on Monday, 9 May 2016 on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

USA: Visas

Question: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they keep statistics regarding how many British parliamentarians have visited (1) Sudan, (2) Syria, (3) Iran, and (4) Iraq, in the last five years; and if so, what assessment they have made of how many may be discouraged from visiting those countries in the future due to the implementation of HR158 under the Visa Waiver Programme Improvement and Terrorist Prevention Act 2015 by US authorities.

Answer: Figures for the number of British parliamentarians who have visited (1) Sudan, (2) Syria, (3) Iran, and (4) Iraq, in the last five years are not held centrally, and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. As Parliamentarians are not obliged to inform the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) of their travel commitments, any figures held by overseas posts may not be accurate. The FCO has not made any assessment of the impact of the implementation of HR158 under the Visa Waiver Programme Improvement and Terrorist Prevention Act 2015 by US authorities on travel by parliamentarians to these countries

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: HL8039
Session: 2015-16
Subjects: British nationals abroad Iraq Members Peers Visas USA Sudan Iran Syria Visits abroad
Contains statistics: Yes
Link: View this Written question on www.parliament.uk