Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether his Department has been in contact with staff at the British Antarctic Survey since the removal of staff at the Halley Base.

The Director of the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) contacted the Foreign and Commonwealth Office ahead of the announcement that they would be withdrawing personnel from Halley station for the 2017 Austral winter. The Director confirmed this was a precautionary decision taken in the interests of safety as a result of the growth of a new crack in the ice shelf, the effects of which BAS scientists are currently unable to predict with certainty. The Director confirmed that BAS remained committed to operating Halley Station. BAS personnel currently remain on station and will do so until March, returning to the station in November for the start of the next Austral Summer.

The Government remain firmly committed to our responsibilities under the Antarctic Treaty and to our sovereignty over the British Antarctic Territory.