Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what the annual cost to the public purse is of maintaining the Chagos Marine Protected Area.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) provides money for the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) Administration for the good governance of the territory, including environmental protection. The FCDO does not itself spend money for maintaining the BIOT Marine Protected Area, outside of the Blue Belt programme. The Blue Belt Programme, which is funded by the FCDO, has provided £1,230,562 since 1 April 2022 to support BIOT manage its Marine Protected Area.