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Written Question
British Overseas Territories: Coral Reefs
Wednesday 20th April 2022

Asked by: Lord Randall of Uxbridge (Conservative - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask Her Majesty's Government how much money they have given to each of the UK's Overseas Territories in the Caribbean to treat stony coral tissue loss disease in the last two years.

Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park

The UK Government has been working very closely with our Overseas Territories (OTs) in the Caribbean in response to Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease (SCTLD), including a Collaborative Coral Reef Working Group which has supported local and regional collaboration between Caribbean OTs. The following funding has been provided to each of the UK OTs in the Caribbean for the treatment and management of SCTLD:

Over 2020-2022, £208,608 was provided to the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI): £108,608 for disease treatment and £100,000 to pilot a collaborative working group with the Caribbean OTs. The collaborative working group includes training and equipment provisions within UK OTs for SCTLD.

In 2020/2021, the British Virgin Islands (BVI) received £75,000 for SCTLD via the Conflict, Stability and Security (CSSF) Fund.

In 2021/2022, the UK Government provided further funding across the OTs for coral reef monitoring and SCTLD management. This included £102,000 to the TCI, the BVI, and the Cayman Islands, £92,000 to Anguilla, and £91,000 to Montserrat.


Written Question
British Overseas Territories: Coral Reefs
Wednesday 20th April 2022

Asked by: Lord Randall of Uxbridge (Conservative - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with non-governmental organisations working in the UK's Overseas Territories about the treatment of stony coral tissue loss disease.

Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park

The UK Government has been working closely with our Overseas Territories (OTs) in the Caribbean in response to Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease (SCTLD).

In 2020/2021, the UK Government provided £100,000 to pilot a collaborative working group with the Caribbean OTs. This group actively welcomes input from OT government representatives, non-governmental organisation (NGOs) and other key stakeholders such as dive operators and field study centres involved in coral conservation and SCTLD treatment. This group has met at least once a month since December 2020 to discuss all aspects of SCTLD, including treatment and management options.

The funding of this group is now secured through a three year £497,000 Darwin Plus grant that started in June 2021 and ends in March 2024. Direct funding through this grant is provided to OT government partners, including NGOs, who are directly supporting the treatment efforts in-country. Notably, for this Darwin Plus grant, the Department of the Environment and Coastal Resources in the Turks and Caicos Islands are funding the Turks and Caicos Reef Fund, and the Ministry of Natural Resources in the British Virgin Islands (BVI) are partnering with the National Parks Trust of the Virgin Islands.

Over the last two years, through the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund, the UK Government has also funded NGOs to deliver work on behalf of, or alongside governments, to implement SCTLD treatment. This has included discussions on treatment. Agreements have been put in place to formalise these arrangements following discussions with OT government departments in Bermuda, BVI and Montserrat.


Written Question
British Overseas Territories: Armed Forces
Tuesday 29th March 2022

Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many people from the British Overseas Territories have served in the British Armed forces in each of the last five years, by each Overseas Territory.

Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)

The table below shows the number of personnel from the British Overseas Territories serving in the trained and untrained Regular and Reserve Armed Forces between 2017 and 2021. Nationality is recorded on the Joint Personnel Administration (JPA) system. JPA allows personnel to select British Overseas Territory Citizen (BOTC), or one of five specific territories. The vast majority of personnel select the BOTC option. It is therefore not possible to provide a breakdown of all British Overseas Territories.

Table 1: Number of British Overseas Territory1 UK Regulars2 and Future Reserves 20203 personnel serving in each calendar year4 between 2017 and 2021.

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

British Overseas Territory Citizen5

160

150

140

110

70

British Virgin Islander

~

~

~

~

~

Cayman Islander

~

~

-

-

-

Gibraltarian

~

~

~

~

~

Monserratian

~

~

~

~

~

St Helenian

10

10

10

~

~

Grand Total

170

160

150

120

80

Notes:

Nationality is as recorded on the Joint Personnel Administration database. Primary nationality has been used, so people with only a secondary nationality of a British Overseas Territory have not been included.

UK Regulars include Full-time Service personnel, including Nursing Services, but excluding FTRS personnel, Gurkhas, mobilised Reservists, MPGS, LEP and NRPS.

Future Reserves 2020 includes volunteer reserves who are mobilised, HRR and volunteer reserve personnel serving on ADC or FTRS contracts. Sponsored Reserves who provide a more cost effective solution than volunteer reserve are also included in the Army Reserve FR20. Non Regular Permanent Staff (NRPS), Expeditionary Forces Institute (EFI) and University Officer Cadets and Regular Reservists are excluded.

If a service person has been recorded as having a British Overseas Territory as a primary Nationality at least once within each year, then they have been recorded once within that year.

British Overseas Territories Citizens includes personnel from Anguila, Bermuda, British Antarctic Territory, British Indian Ocean Territory, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Montserrat, Pitcairn Islands, Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands. This could mean the populations for British Virgin Islander, Cayman Islander, Gibraltarian, Monserratian and St Helenian are under-represented.

Figures for both UK Regulars and FR20 include both trained and untrained personnel.

Figures in this publication have been rounded to the nearest 10, though numbers ending in a “5” have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent the systematic bias caused by always rounding numbers upwards. Figures 5 or less have been indicated with a "~" and where there are no personnel has been indicated by a "-".


Written Question
British Overseas Territories: Climate Change
Thursday 3rd March 2022

Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, which British Overseas Territories have fulfilled their commitment under the Joint Ministerial Council Communique 2020 to publish territory-led plans for climate adaptation and mitigation.

Answered by Amanda Milling - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

At the UK-Overseas Territories Joint Ministerial Council in November 2020, each Overseas Territory government committed to endeavour to communicate a territory-led plan for climate change adaptation and mitigation, which contributes towards global carbon emission reductions, by the time of the COP26 Summit in November 2021. Saint Helena, the Falkland Islands, Montserrat and Gibraltar produced their plans and all Overseas Territories remain committed to continuing to communicate their plans and strategies following COP26, including the recently published 'Building a Sustainable Virgin Islands' plan by the British Virgin Islands. The UK Government continue to work closely with the Overseas Territories to address climate change challenges.


Written Question
British Overseas Territories: Coronavirus
Friday 17th December 2021

Asked by: Andrew Percy (Conservative - Brigg and Goole)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that citizens in the British Overseas Territories receive booster shots of the covid-19 vaccine.

Answered by Amanda Milling - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has been supporting the Overseas Territories since the outset of the pandemic. This includes the provision of vaccines which have been provided on a population proportionate basis with the United Kingdom. The UK Overseas Territories have some of the highest vaccination rates globally and the roll out of booster vaccines began in October 2021. To date, eleven (Anguilla, Ascension Island, Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Montserrat, St Helena, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands and the Turks & Caicos Islands Overseas Territories) have received booster vaccines. Plans are in hand to deliver boosters to the remaining three Overseas Territories (Pitcairn, Tristan da Cunha and staff at the British Antarctic Territory) in early 2022.


Written Question
Montserrat: EU External Trade
Monday 26th July 2021

Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps is his Department taking to support Monserrat in discussions with the European Union on future of trade between those two parties.

Answered by Nigel Adams

We remain unwavering in our commitment to safeguarding the Overseas Territories' interests and we are providing support to Anguilla, Bermuda and Montserrat, following the UK's withdrawal from the EU. During negotiations of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement, the UK made clear to the EU from the outset that we were negotiating on behalf of the Overseas Territories. However, the European Commission refused to negotiate a future relationship that included the Overseas Territories. We sought to change the Commission's position, but the Commission declined to engage. We continue to work with all the Overseas Territories to take advantage of the opportunities available to us as an independent trading nation.


Written Question
Anguilla: EU External Trade
Monday 26th July 2021

Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps is his Department taking to assist Anguilla in discussions with the European Union on future of trade between those two parties.

Answered by Nigel Adams

We remain unwavering in our commitment to safeguarding the Overseas Territories' interests and we are providing support to Anguilla, Bermuda and Montserrat, following the UK's withdrawal from the EU. During negotiations of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement, the UK made clear to the EU from the outset that we were negotiating on behalf of the Overseas Territories. However, the European Commission refused to negotiate a future relationship that included the Overseas Territories. We sought to change the Commission's position, but the Commission declined to engage. We continue to work with all the Overseas Territories to take advantage of the opportunities available to us as an independent trading nation.


Written Question
Bermuda: EU External Trade
Monday 26th July 2021

Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps is his Department taking to support Bermuda in discussions with the European Union on future of trade between those two parties.

Answered by Nigel Adams

We remain unwavering in our commitment to safeguarding the Overseas Territories' interests and we are providing support to Anguilla, Bermuda and Montserrat, following the UK's withdrawal from the EU. During negotiations of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement, the UK made clear to the EU from the outset that we were negotiating on behalf of the Overseas Territories. However, the European Commission refused to negotiate a future relationship that included the Overseas Territories. We sought to change the Commission's position, but the Commission declined to engage. We continue to work with all the Overseas Territories to take advantage of the opportunities available to us as an independent trading nation.


Written Question
British Overseas Territories: Coronavirus
Monday 7th June 2021

Asked by: Stephen Doughty (Labour (Co-op) - Cardiff South and Penarth)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what proportion of UK Overseas Territory residents have received a (a) first dose and (b) both doses of a covid-19 vaccine, by territory.

Answered by Nigel Adams

The UK Government has committed to supply COVID-19 vaccines for the people of the Overseas Territories. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) have been arranging deliveries and vaccines have now been delivered to all 12 permanently inhabited Territories, most recently the Pitcairn Islands and Tristan da Cunha, but also to South Georgia. Further deliveries are anticipated to complete the programmes over the coming weeks. The table below represents the percentage of the adult population in each to receive first and second doses of the vaccines.

Overseas Territory

1ST DOSES As a % of adult population (as of 3 June)

2ND DOSES As a % of adult population

Anguilla

83%

51%

Ascension

98%

90%

Bermuda

71%

64%

BVI

47%

22%

Cayman Islands

82%

70%

Falklands

95%

93%

Gibraltar*

>90%

>90%

Montserrat

39%

34%

Pitcairn

82%

0%

St Helena

98%

92%

South Georgia

100%

0%

TCI

64%

50%

Tristan da Cunha

90%

0%


Written Question
British Overseas Territories: Coronavirus
Tuesday 23rd March 2021

Asked by: Imran Ahmad Khan (Independent - Wakefield)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much funding his Department has allocated to the distribution of covid-19 vaccines to British Overseas Territories.

Answered by Nigel Adams

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted all of the UK's Overseas Territories, with confirmed outbreaks in all but two of the inhabited Territories. The UK Government has been directly supplying the UK's Overseas Territories with COVID-19 vaccines as part of the UK's enduring commitment to the Territories. The UK Government's policy is to publish data on vaccinations administered. By 19 March, each Overseas Territory had administered approximately the following number of doses:

Approximate number of doses administered by 18 March 2021

Anguilla

5,500

Ascension

816

Bermuda

30,000

British Virgin Islands

6,500

Cayman Islands

38,300

Falkland Islands

1,787

Gibraltar

53,171

Montserrat

1140

Pitcairn

0

St Helena

3,400

Tristan da Cunha

0

Turks & Caicos Islands

11,283

The FCDO are arranging and funding the delivery of vaccines to the Territories, which began on 5 January and are aiming to deliver enough doses to offer vaccines to every adult across the Territories. So far, there have been 27 deliveries, reaching all of the permanently inhabited Overseas Territories with airports. Further deliveries are scheduled and planning is underway to deliver vaccines to the two remaining permanently inhabited Overseas Territories without airports: Pitcairn and Tristan da Cunha. In line with the UK Government's commitment to supply the Overseas Territories with a population proportionate share of vaccines, our programme aims to provide vaccines for the entire adult populations of the Territories and is expected to be complete in a similar timescale to the UK domestic rollout.