Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 26 November (HL11409), which government departments will be responsible for providing financial and technical assistance to the British Overseas Territories to support the introduction of public registers of beneficial ownership, as established by section 51 of the Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018.

The British Government will aim to bring expertise from a range of departments and executive agencies, including Companies House, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, the Department for International Development and the Home Office. I announced at the Overseas Territories Joint Ministerial Council the setting up of workshops between the UK and the British Overseas Territories that will be scheduled from spring next year to provide technical support to the territories. The British Government is considering what financial support is possible for the Official Development Assistance-eligible territories.