Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what (a) technical and (b) financial support the Government has (i) provided and (ii) offered to the Overseas Territories to enable them to introduce publicly accessible beneficial ownership registers by 2023.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office is providing all reasonable assistance to enable each of the Territories' governments to establish a publicly accessible register of the beneficial ownership of companies registered in their jurisdictions.

In July last year the UK Government ran a series of workshops for Territory governments drawing on expertise from a range of UK departments and executive agencies, including Companies House, BEIS and the Home Office, and from the Crown Dependencies. Last November, together with Open Ownership - an organisation which supports countries to introduce beneficial ownership registers - the UK ran webinars for the Territories to scope out individual needs. All Territories now have access to direct, individualised assistance from Open Ownership.

The level of financial support offered to Territories depends upon their individual circumstances. Many Overseas Territories are fiscally constrained and their economies have been hit hard by COVID-19. For those Territories most in need, the UK Government will provide financial support.

The Government recently welcomed announcements made by Territories' governments committing to the introduction of publicly accessible registers.