Oct. 24 2023
Source Page: New way home for St Helenians in Falkland IslandsFound: New way home for St Helenians in Falkland Islands
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has made an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of the Argentine Foreign Ministry's reaction to the the Foreign Secretary’s visit to the Falkland Islands in February 2024.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK position and ongoing support for the Falkland Islanders' right of self-determination remains unchanged. As the Foreign Secretary made clear on his recent visit to the Falkland Islands and in his meeting with Argentine Foreign Minister Mondino at the G20 in February, as long as the Islanders wish to remain part of the UK family, there can be no discussions on sovereignty. At their meeting on 17 January, the Foreign Secretary and President Milei discussed how to enhance UK-Argentina relations through greater cooperation on areas of mutual interest including trade, education, culture and enhancing people to people links. On the Falkland Islands, the Foreign Secretary and President Milei said they would agree to disagree, and do so politely.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the government of Argentina on the future security of the Falkland Islands.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
As fellow G20 members, we look forward to developing a strong and constructive relationship under the Presidency of Javier Milei. When the Minister for the Americas met President Milei at his inauguration, he made clear that the UK has no doubt about our sovereignty over the Falkland Islands and surrounding maritime areas. We are committed to defending proactively the Falkland Islanders' right of self-determination; this is not something we will ever be prepared to negotiate on.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what environmental projects have been funded through Darwin Plus in the Falkland Islands since 2019.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Since 2019, Darwin Plus has funded 6 environmental projects of benefit to the British Antarctic Territory. These are listed in the table below.
Please visit the Darwin Plus website at https://darwinplus.org.uk/ for full details of funded projects.
Project reference | Project title | UK Overseas Territories involved |
DPLUS185 | Safeguarding Antarctic krill stocks for baleen whales | British Antarctic Territory |
DPL00008 | Biodiversity Survey and Environmental Management Plan in Antarctica | British Antarctic Territory (BAT) |
DPLUS146 | Red Listing can protect OT marine biodiversity | British Antarctic Territory, Falkland Islands, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands |
DPLUS166 | Improving identification of fish bycatch in the Antarctic krill fishery | British Antarctic Territory, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands |
DPLUS175 | Enhancing monitoring and prevention of invasive non-native species across UKOTs | Gibraltar, Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia (on Cyprus), South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory, St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, Turks and Caicos Islands, British Indian Ocean Territory, Bermuda, Anguilla, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands |
DPLUS174 | A cross-UKOT camera network to enhance marine predator conservation | Montserrat, St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, Gibraltar, Falkland Islands, British Antarctic Territory, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands |
Asked by: Mark Francois (Conservative - Rayleigh and Wickford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Typhoon aircraft are based in the Falkland Islands; and what tranche of Typhoon aircraft these are.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
There are four RAF Typhoon aircraft permanently stationed in the Falkland Islands. The details on Tranche are held at a higher classification.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of defence support for the Falkland Islands.
Answered by James Heappey
The Ministry of Defence undertakes regular assessments of the requirements for Defence support to the Falkland Islands. I am satisfied that the military presence in the South Atlantic is at the appropriate level to ensure the defence of the Islands.
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the proposed joint military base in Ushuaia on the security of the Falkland Islands.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
We keep our defence posture in the South Atlantic under regular review, to take account of the full range of developments. I am satisfied that the current military presence in the South Atlantic is at the appropriate level to ensure the defence of the Islands.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has had recent discussions with (a) his counterpart in the Falkland Islands government and (b) banks in the UK on the provision of banking services to people on the Falkland Islands.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government has ongoing discussions with political leadership in the Falkland Islands across a range of issues affecting the Islands, including the provision of banking services. Banking services on the Falkland Islands are regulated by the Falkland Islands Government as a self-governing UK Overseas Territory. Standard Chartered offer the only on-island retail banking option via their branch in Stanley, alongside other providers who offer other online financial services such as Square and Wise. The FCDO are working with other UK Government departments to ascertain how to ensure UK retail banking services are kept available to residents in the UK Overseas Territories.
Written Evidence Nov. 09 2023
Inquiry: The Status of the UK’s Overseas Territories in the 21 CenturyFound: SOT0029 - The Status of the UK’s Overseas Territories in the 21st Century Falkland Islands Fishing Companies
Asked by: Robert Buckland (Conservative - South Swindon)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has made an assessment of the adequacy of the air defences of the Falkland Islands in the context of the recent procurement by Argentina of F-16 jets from Denmark.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
We keep our defence posture in the South Atlantic under regular review to take account of the full range of developments. I am satisfied that the current military presence in the South Atlantic is at the appropriate level to ensure the defence of the Islands.