Foreign and Commonwealth Office Questions and Answers in relation to the UAE during February and March 2017

The following is a summary of Foreign and Commonwealth office questions and answers in regards to the UAE, during the months of February and March 2017. The questions cover the following topics: the UK-UAE Year of Culture; British Detainees.

The UK-UAE Year of Culture:

On 27 February 2017, the British MP Tom Brake  (Carshalton and Wallington) asked Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Mr Tobias Ellwood, how the issue of respect for human rights is reflected in the programme for the UK-UAE Year of Culture.

Mr Tobias Ellwood answered that the British Council aims to make the UK-UAE Year of Culture programme accessible to all sectors of society, including those with special needs, the elderly and disabled.
The Next Generation theme focuses on capacity building for the UAE youth to enable them to participate fully in society, he said.

British Detainees: 

On 2 March 2017, MP Martyn Day asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, about the number of Scottish detainnes in the United Arab Emirates.

According to our latest statistics as of November 2016, we are currently providing consular assistance to 47 British nationals who have been detained in the United Arab Emirates, Mr Tobias Ellwood answered.
 British nationals are not obliged to report their detention to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) if they do not wish to. The FCO does not record information about where in the UK they originated from, he added.