Diplomats: Non-domestic Rates

Lord Hammond of Runnymede Excerpts

Thursday 16th July 2015 Written Statements

[The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Mr Philip Hammond)]

The majority of diplomatic missions in the United Kingdom pay the national non-domestic rates (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.

Representations by the protocol directorate of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to missions in 2015 led to the settlement of outstanding debts by a number of missions.

As at 14 July 2015, the total amount of outstanding NNDR payments, due before 31 December 2014, owed by foreign diplomatic missions as advised by the Valuation Office Agency is £743,858, an increase of 2.5% over the 2013 figure, as reported in the 2014 WMS (£726,076). However, £99,683 of this outstanding debt is owed by Iran, which is in the process of reopening its embassy in the UK, and Syria—which is not currently represented in the UK. We have therefore been unable to pursue these debts. Three missions are responsible for just under a third of the remainder. We shall continue to urge those with NNDR debt to pay their dues.

Missions listed below owed over £10,000 in respect of NNDR.