Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the importance of the sustainability of the British Overseas Territories.

The sustainability of the UK’s Overseas Territories is a priority for my Department and for the whole of Government. The UK Government has a fundamental responsibility and objective to ensure the security and good governance of the Territories and their peoples and to ensure the good stewardship of their natural environments. On the latter point, the government has worked closely with the Territories to mainstream environmental policy and to help them understand how their unique natural heritage can bring them positive benefits. The Government is contributing some £2 million per annum to the Darwin Fund which supports environmental management in the Territories.

The Government set out its vision and strategy for the Overseas Territories in the 2012 White Paper - The Overseas Territories: Security, Success and Sustainability. I recognise the valuable work of the Hon member for Romford as the chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on the Overseas Territories.”