Asked by: Baroness Young of Hornsey (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what forms of consultation and engagement with ancestral, descendant, and diaspora communities on St Helena and beyond have been carried out since the ancestral human remains there were exhumed in 2008.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The St Helena Government was responsible for the reburial of the remains and set up a Liberated African Advisory Committee to create a master plan for their respectful reinternment and to create a memorial and interpretation centre to honour those who died. The Committee consulted the island's community, National Trust and custodians of international enslavement sites around the world. The UK Government provided support for the reburial which took place on 21 August 2022 with the extensive involvement of the local community.
Written Evidence Nov. 29 2023
Inquiry: The Status of the UK’s Overseas Territories in the 21 CenturyFound: SOT0081 - The Status of the UK’s Overseas Territories in the 21st Century St Helena Chamber of Commerce
Written Evidence Nov. 09 2023
Inquiry: The Status of the UK’s Overseas Territories in the 21 CenturyFound: SOT0026 - The Status of the UK’s Overseas Territories in the 21st Century St Helena Independent Ltd Written
Written Evidence Nov. 14 2023
Inquiry: The Status of the UK’s Overseas Territories in the 21 CenturyFound: SOT0053 - The Status of the UK’s Overseas Territories in the 21st Century St Helena Equality & Human
Written Evidence Oct. 17 2023
Inquiry: The procedure of the House of Commons and the territorial constitutionFound: TTC0039 - The procedure of the House of Commons and the territorial constitution St Helena Equality &
Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with airlines on the potential merits of direct flights between the UK and Saint Helena.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Secretary of State has not had any recent discussions with airlines on the merits of direct flights to St Helena. Discussions on air services are led by the St Helena Government. A weekly air service currently operates from South Africa to St Helena and will increase to twice weekly in the forthcoming peak tourism season. St Helena has an "open skies" policy and there is no limit on the St Helena Government's ability to procure additional air services.
The UK Government has regular discussions with St Helena Government on maximising the benefits of St Helena Airport.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of providing a multi-year aid funding settlement to Saint Helena.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government is providing multi-year funding of up to £30 million between 2019-2026 for long-term infrastructure development on St Helena. Up to a further £33.06 million of financial aid will be provided in 2023/24 to support the delivery of public services and access to the island. This is an increase of 4 per cent on the previous year. The level and structure of financial aid settlements are set following detailed annual discussions with St Helena Ministers and officials; and take into consideration the potential merits of providing a multi-year aid funding settlement.
Asked by: Margaret Hodge (Labour - Barking)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha's implementation of publicly accessible registers of company beneficial ownership in line with the Draft Order in Council prepared by the Secretary of State to comply with the requirement under section 51 of the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018; whether the Territory has (a) introduced and (b) passed the legislation required for the creation of a publicly accessible register of company beneficial ownership; whether the register will be (i) open and (ii) free at point of access; and when the register will be (A) live and (B) operational.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government of St. Helena (SHG) has committed to introduce a publicly accessible register of beneficial ownership (PARBO).
SHG is preparing a draft Bill to enable the creation of a PARBO that would comply with the standards set out in a written ministerial statement (HCWS369) of 14 December 2020. How St. Helena seeks to recoup the costs of operating their PARBO will be a matter for the Territory Government.
SHG is assessing its timeline for implementation in light of ongoing constraints on capacity and expertise. The UK Government is providing technical assistance, most recently at the UK-OT Beneficial Ownership Transparency Technical Working Group on 10 October. We will confirm the timeline with St. Helena and other Overseas Territories at the Joint Ministerial Council scheduled for 14-15 November.
Written Evidence May. 20 2024
Inquiry: The UK Government’s support of education for Overseas Territories studentsFound: We have collectively authored this submission as 2024 prospective university students from St Helena
Jul. 17 2023
Source Page: UK–St Helena development partnership summaryFound: UK–St Helena development partnership summary