Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how much funding from the UK Overseas Territories Blue Belt programme was transferred directly to each of the Overseas Territory governments to spend on their local marine conservation priorities in (i) 2016-17 and (ii) 2017-18.

​The Overseas Territory Governments which received direct funding from the Blue Belt Programme were the Ascension Island Government (£300,000 in both 2016-17 and 2017-18), British Indian Ocean Territory Administration (£725,000 in 2017-18 to part fund a maritime patrol vessel), St Helena Government (£39,500 in 2017-18), Tristan Da Cunha Government (£140,000 in 2017-18) and the Government of South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands (£52,500 in 2017-18). In both periods, up to £500,000 per year was available to all Territories through the Overseas Territories Environment and Climate Fund (also known as Darwin Plus) for bespoke marine projects.