Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Sixth Special Report (HC911), Tackling corruption overseas: Government Response to the Fourth Report from the International Development Committee, Session 2016-17, whether it remains the Government's policy to persuade the UK's Crown Dependencies to adopt public registers of beneficial ownership.

It remains the Governments ambition for public registers to become the global standard. Our priority is to implement the new bilateral arrangements concluded with the Crown Dependencies in 2016. Under the arrangements, the Crown Dependencies have committed to establish, where they have not already done so, central registers of beneficial ownership information or similarly effective systems, and to give UK law enforcement and tax authorities near real-time access to beneficial ownership information on corporate and legal entities incorporated in these jurisdictions. The Crown Dependencies have also committed to systematic exchange of beneficial ownership information as part of a wider international initiative.

These measures represent a significant step forward in our ability to investigate bribery and corruption, money laundering and tax evasion, and put the Crown Dependencies well ahead of several other jurisdictions. Should public central registries become the global standard we would expect the Crown Dependencies to follow suit.