Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the role of the Government would be in the event of a large-scale category three oil spill in the Falklands Islands.

All hydrocarbon activities on the continental shelf of the Falkland Islands are regulated by Falkland Islands legislation, in strict accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. The Falkland Islands Government is responsible for the development of mineral resources in the Falkland Islands and would be responsible in the event of a large-scale category three oil spill. As with all Overseas Territories the UK Government is committed to assist the Falkland Islands in the event of a major disaster.