Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 31 January 2025 to Question 24737 on British Indian Ocean Territory: Mauritius, what estimate he has made of the number of rounds of negotiations there will be between the UK and Mauritius Governments on the sovereignty of the British Indian Ocean Territory before the Government brings forward a Bill to make the necessary amendments to current legislation to implement a UK/Mauritius Treaty on this matter.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
As we and Mauritius have repeatedly said, including in joint statements on 20 December 2024 and on 13 January, both sides remain committed to concluding a deal on the future of the Chagos Archipelago. Once the Treaty is signed it will be laid before both Houses for scrutiny under the CRaG process and a Bill will be brought forward to make the necessary amendments to current legislation to implement the Treaty.
Asked by: Mark Francois (Conservative - Rayleigh and Wickford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the proposed agreement with Mauritius on the Chagos Islands contains a clause allowing other States to use the allocated electromagnetic spectrum in the British Indian Ocean Territory; and what steps his Department is taking to help prevent risks to the Automated Digital Network System 3.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Details of the Treaty agreed between the UK and Mauritius will come before Parliament for scrutiny in the usual manner following its signature. We routinely assess the range of potential threats to the operation of the joint UK-US base on Diego Garcia.
Asked by: Mark Francois (Conservative - Rayleigh and Wickford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 11 February 2025 to Question 28893 on British Indian Ocean Territory: Sovereignty, whether he has made an assessment with the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs of the value for money of the proposed Chagos Island deal.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The treaty is not finalised yet, when the deal is finalised, the Government will put it before the House.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, which groups of Chagossians he has met with; and when he met them.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
As Minister for the Overseas Territories, I have met with members of the Chagossian community on 30 September and 3 October, and officials have also been in regular contact with Chagossians on a range of issues. We recognise the importance of the British Indian Ocean Territory / Chagos Archipelago to Chagossians and have worked to ensure the sovereignty agreement reflects their interests.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 30 January 2025 to Question 25988 on British Indian Ocean Territory: Sovereignty, how much and what proportion of spend to date on the Chagos Islands negotiations will be borne by the (a) his Department and (b) the Ministry of Defence.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Costs, including those of staffing, legal counsel, travel and accommodation and other expenses arising from the negotiations have been incorporated into the budgets of those Departments involved in the negotiations. There has been no central aggregation of those costs.
To go back over costs and expenses for the last three years in different parts of FCDO, different finance systems, and data that would have to be manually checked would exceed reasonable costs.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 30 January to Question 25988 on British Indian Ocean Territory: Sovereignty, how much has been spent on the Chagos Islands negotiations by his Department.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The costs to which I referred in the Answer to Question 25988 have not been centrally aggregated between Departments or within the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. The negotiations began in 2022, and to identify the costs would incur disproportionate expense.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many meetings he has held with the incoming US administration on the terms of the Diego Garcia military base as part of the Chagos settlement.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Defence Secretary is regularly in touch with the US on a range of matters including the British Indian Ocean Territory/Chagos Archipelago. We look forward to discussing these matters with the incoming Administration in the usual way.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what (a) engagement and (b) consultation he (i) has had and (ii) plans to have with parliamentarians on the treaty with Mauritius on the British Indian Ocean Territory.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
As well as responding to numerous parliamentary and urgent questions regarding negotiations with Mauritius around the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) treaty. In December 2024 I met with the Chagos All party Parliamentary Group (APPG) where I briefed members of both houses on the deal. That month Baroness Chapman briefed Liberal Democrat Peers and Harriet Matthews, deputy chief negotiator for the BIOT treaty, briefed the Foreign Affairs Committee. In November 2024 the Foreign Secretary also appeared before the commons select committee on Foreign Affairs.
Later this month I will be briefing the Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories APPG where I will further answer questions around the treaty.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussion he has had with representatives of the United States administration on the cost to US armed forces of the leaseback of the Diego Garcia military base as part of the Chagos settlement.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Defence Secretary is in regular contact with Secretary Austin on a range of issues, including the British Indian Ocean Territory / Chagos Archipelago. The Diego Garcia military base is a joint UK-US facility and is an essential part of the UK-US defence relationship.
Asked by: Lord German (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is their assessment of the validity of the Maldives’ claim to sovereignty over the Chagos Islands.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
The negotiations on the exercise of sovereignty over the British Indian Ocean Territory/Chagos Islands were between the UK and Mauritius, following a long-standing dispute. They were bilateral negotiations between the two countries: no other states were involved. The Maldives are a valued partner and we are in regular contact with them about a range of issues.