Written statement made by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Conservative) on Wednesday, 11 October 2017 in the House of Lords, on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
Debts owed by Diplomatic Missions and International Organisations in the United Kingdom: 2016
My right Honourable Friend, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Boris Johnson), has made the following written Ministerial statement:
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has held meetings with a number of missions about outstanding parking fine debt, outstanding National Non-Domestic Rates payments and unpaid Congestion Charge debt. The Director of Protocol raises the issue in his introductory meetings with all new Ambassadors and High Commissioners whose missions are in debt to the relevant authorities. FCO officials also press diplomatic missions and international organisations to pay outstanding fines and debts. In April this year, Protocol Directorate wrote to diplomatic missions and international organisations concerned giving them the opportunity to either pay their outstanding debts, or appeal against specific fines if they considered that they had been issued incorrectly.
Parking fines: in 2016, 4,311 parking fines incurred by diplomatic missions and international organisations in London were brought to our attention by local councils, Transport for London and the City of London. These totalled at least(a) £430,126.
Subsequent payments (including amounts waived by the above authorities) totalled £102,164. There remains a total of £327,962 in unpaid fines for 2016.
The table below details those Diplomatic Missions and International Organisations that have outstanding fines from 2016 totalling £1,000 or more, as of 28 June 2017.
|
Diplomatic Mission/International Organisation 2016 |
Amount of Outstanding Fines (excluding congestion charge) £ |
Embassy of the Republic of South Sudan |
£83,215 |
High Commission for the Federal Republic of Nigeria |
£30,024 |
Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia |
£19,202 |
Embassy of the Republic of the Sudan |
£17,985 |
High Commission for the Republic of Zambia |
£11,220 |
Embassy of the Republic of Uzbekistan |
£10,610 |
High Commission for Malaysia |
£7,740 |
Embassy of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire |
£7,040 |
Embassy of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia |
£6,440 |
Embassy of the Sultanate of Oman |
£4,650 |
Embassy of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea |
£4,565 |
High Commission for the Islamic Republic of Pakistan |
£4,050 |
Embassy of France |
£4,035 |
Embassy of the United Arab Emirates |
£3,850 |
Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan |
£3,770 |
Embassy of the Republic of Liberia |
£3,375 |
Embassy of the State of Qatar |
£2,985 |
Embassy of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam |
£2,665 |
Embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan |
£2,580 |
Embassy of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan |
£2,520 |
High Commission for the United Republic of Tanzania |
£2,055 |
Embassy of Libya |
£1,935 |
Embassy of the Republic of Angola |
£1,895 |
High Commission for Sierra Leone |
£1,820 |
Embassy of the Republic of Yemen |
£1,815 |
High Commission for the Republic of Ghana |
£1,780 |
Embassy of the Republic of Iraq |
£1,575 |
People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria |
£1,435 |
Embassy of the People's Republic of China |
£1,365 |
Embassy of the Republic of Kosovo |
£1,235 |
Embassy of the State of Kuwait |
£1,225 |
High Commission for the Republic of South Africa |
£1,195 |
Embassy of Georgia |
£1,065 |
(a) The figure of £430,126 excludes the value of parking fines issued by Barnet Council in 2016, because Barnet Council failed to provide the FCO on request with the value of the fines they had issued.
National Non-Domestic Rates (NNDR): the majority of diplomatic missions in the United Kingdom pay the NNDR due from them. Diplomatic missions are obliged to pay only 6% of the total NNDR value of their offices. This represents payment for specific services received such as street cleaning and street lighting.
As at 8 June 2017, the total amount of outstanding NNDR payments, due before 31 December 2016, owed by foreign diplomatic missions as advised by the Valuation Office Agency is £1,049,999, an increase of 16% over the 2015 figure, as reported in the 2016 WMS (£907,976). However, £51,573 of this outstanding debt is owed by Syria – which is not currently represented in the UK and we have therefore been unable to pursue this debt. Four missions are responsible for just over a third of the remainder. We shall continue to urge those with NNDR debt to pay their dues.
The table below details those Diplomatic Missions that, as of 8 June 2017, owed over £10,000 in respect of NNDR due before 31 December 2016.
Embassy of the Republic of the Sudan |
£109,599 |
High Commission for the People’s Republic of Bangladesh |
£107,427 |
Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran |
£104,688 |
Embassy of the Republic of Zimbabwe |
£79,852 |
High Commission for the Republic of Zambia |
£39,081 |
Uganda High Commission |
£36,885 |
Embassy of the Republic of Angola |
£32,273 |
Embassy of the Republic of Liberia |
£29,559 |
Embassy of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia |
£28,652 |
Embassy of Libya |
£26,186 |
Embassy of the State of Qatar |
£25,890 |
High Commission for the Republic of Cameroon |
£25,126 |
Embassy of the Republic of Albania |
£24,165 |
High Commission for the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka |
£23,846 |
Embassy of the Arab Republic of Egypt |
£23,120 |
Embassy of Ukraine |
£15,675 |
High Commission for Sierra Leone |
£14,641 |
Embassy of the United Arab Emirates |
£13,866 |
Embassy of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire |
£13,098 |
Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania |
£12,359 |
London Congestion Charge: the value of unpaid Congestion Charge debt incurred by diplomatic missions and international organisations in London since its introduction in February 2003 until 31 December 2016 as advised by Transport for London (TfL) was £105,419,835. The table below shows those diplomatic missions and international organisations with outstanding fines of £100,000 or more.
COUNTRY |
NUMBER OF FINES |
TOTAL OUTSTANDING |
Embassy of the United States of America |
96,274 |
£ 11,544,455 |
Embassy of Japan |
63,869 |
£ 7,629,370 |
High Commission for the Federal Republic of Nigeria |
54,237 |
£ 6,481,620 |
Embassy of the Russian Federation |
47,760 |
£ 5,603,320 |
Office of the High Commissioner for India |
40,929 |
£ 4,991,125 |
Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany |
36,258 |
£ 4,221,590 |
Embassy of the Republic of Poland |
31,780 |
£ 3,854,130 |
Embassy of the People’s Republic of China |
30,317 |
£ 3,805,465 |
Office of the High Commissioner for Ghana |
28,630 |
£ 3,465,960 |
Embassy of the Republic of Sudan |
26,161 |
£ 3,048,475 |
Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan |
24,032 |
£ 2,947,595 |
High Commission for Kenya |
20,844 |
£ 2,453,305 |
Embassy of France |
17,570 |
£ 2,090,815 |
High Commission for the United Republic of Tanzania |
16,183 |
£ 1,893,325 |
High Commission for the Islamic Republic of Pakistan |
15,979 |
£ 1, 971,105 |
Embassy of Spain |
15,855 |
£ 1,893,420 |
Embassy of the Republic of Korea |
14,777 |
£ 1,805,150 |
Embassy of Romania |
13,069 |
£ 1,547,415 |
High Commission for the Republic of South Africa |
12,963 |
£ 1,503,195 |
Embassy of the Republic of Cuba |
12,744 |
£ 1,557,555 |
Embassy of Algeria |
12,694 |
£ 1,495,660 |
High Commission for Sierra Leone |
12,038 |
£ 1,404,675 |
Embassy of Greece |
12,028 |
£ 1,419,575 |
Embassy of Ukraine |
11,759 |
£ 1,380,430 |
Embassy of Hungary |
9,157 |
£ 1,097,580 |
High Commission for the Republic of Cyprus |
8,588 |
£ 1,030,060 |
High Commission for the Republic of Zambia |
7,481 |
£ 882,040 |
Embassy of the Republic of Yemen |
7,475 |
£ 889,990 |
Embassy of the Republic of Bulgaria |
6,853 |
£ 797,035 |
High Commission for the Republic of Cameroon |
5,923 |
£ 692,170 |
Embassy of the Republic of Belarus |
5,796 |
£ 680,595 |
High Commission for the Republic of Malawi |
5,576 |
£ 663,380 |
High Commission for Botswana |
5,515 |
£ 667,605 |
Embassy of the Slovak Republic |
5,493 |
£ 641,215 |
Embassy of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia |
5,243 |
£ 608,795 |
High Commission for the Republic of Namibia |
5,186 |
£ 602,145 |
High Commission for the Republic of Mozambique |
5,182 |
£ 611,340 |
Embassy of the Republic of Zimbabwe |
5,120 |
£ 575,910 |
High Commission for Kingdom of Swaziland |
5,008 |
£ 581,510 |
Embassy of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire |
4,673 |
£ 553,865 |
High Commission for Malta |
4,533 |
£ 546,420 |
Embassy of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea |
4,428 |
£ 519,215 |
Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania |
4,353 |
£ 521,270 |
Embassy of the Republic of Turkey |
4,344 |
£ 530,465 |
Embassy of Austria |
4,290 |
£ 513,005 |
High Commission for Mauritius |
4,223 |
£ 494,495 |
High Commission for the Kingdom of Lesotho |
3,993 |
£ 467,055 |
High Commission for Uganda |
3,872 |
£ 464,420 |
Embassy of the Republic of Liberia |
3,772 |
£ 457,905 |
Embassy of Belgium |
3,597 |
£ 430,060 |
Embassy of the Czech Republic |
3,529 |
£ 407,600 |
Embassy of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam |
3,350 |
£ 395,400 |
Embassy of the Republic of Guinea |
3,314 |
£ 385,265 |
Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan |
3,213 |
£ 386,600 |
Embassy of Denmark |
2,981 |
£ 356,010 |
High Commission for Jamaica |
2,909 |
£ 345,545 |
Embassy of the Democratic Republic of the Congo |
2,727 |
£ 338,580 |
Embassy of the Kingdom of Morocco |
2,713 |
£ 344,840 |
Embassy of the Republic of South Sudan |
2,612 |
£ 333,520 |
High Commission for the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka |
2,505 |
£ 315,670 |
Embassy of Tunisia |
2,353 |
£ 288,890 |
Embassy of the Arab Republic of Egypt |
2,290 |
£ 241,725 |
Embassy of Portugal |
2,263 |
£ 278,035 |
Embassy of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea |
2,221 |
£ 255,675 |
Embassy of the Republic of Latvia |
2,196 |
£ 265,155 |
Embassy of Finland |
2,160 |
£ 258,490 |
Embassy of Luxembourg |
2,018 |
£ 243,470 |
Embassy of the Republic of Iraq |
1,971 |
£ 248,535 |
High Commission for Antigua & Barbuda |
1,966 |
£ 232,570 |
Embassy of the Republic of Slovenia |
1,958 |
£ 239,025 |
Embassy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia |
1,808 |
£ 197,875 |
High Commission for Belize |
1,670 |
£ 206,635 |
Embassy of Estonia |
1,437 |
£ 177,645 |
Embassy of the Dominican Republic |
1,221 |
£ 146,260 |
Embassy of the State of Eritrea |
1,209 |
£ 142,925 |
High Commission for Guyana |
1,102 |
£ 129,105 |
The Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the International Maritime Organisation |
1,021 |
£ 126,795 |
Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania |
982 |
£ 103,590 |
High Commission for the Republic of the Maldives |
961 |
£ 116,325 |
High Commission for Seychelles |
908 |
£ 111,365 |
Figures for previous years are available in the Secretary for State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs’ written statement to the House on 21 July 2016, Official Report, column 47WS (HCWS100).
Secondary information
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- Written statement
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- Session
- 2017-19
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- Subjects
- Diplomatic service Greater London International organisations Business rates Parking offences Roads Tolls Embassies Unpaid fines Unpaid taxes
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