Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will take steps to second UK police officers to the British Overseas Territories.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
Officials have been working closely with the FCDO and UK policing colleagues as well as our partners across the British Overseas Territories to identify police requirements and support. While there have been and are instances of deploying UK officers (see Annex A), all considerations are dealt with on a case-by-case basis. When UK police officers are not available or not the most appropriate response, retired officers have been contracted into operational or support roles. In addition, UK officers regularly deploy in a training capacity as part of a wider and longer-term HO Overseas Territories Police Strategy.
Annex A: Examples of UK Police Deployments
Turks and Caicos Islands – Devon and Cornwall Police (Sept 21 – Feb 22)
UK police staff seconded for six months to provide analytical support in relation to serious organised crime.
Anguilla – British Transport Police (Sept 22 – Dec 22)
UK officer seconded to establish an intelligence led policing business model and to improve crime investigation performance and capability.
Montserrat - Suffolk Police (Oct 22- Nov 23)
UK officer seconded for 12 months to develop RMPS capabilities for leadership and demand management.
British Virgin Islands – Dyfed Powys Police (Oct 22 – Apr 23)
UK officer seconded for 6 months to lead the modernisation of the BVIPF Marine Unit capabilities.
Montserrat – Hertfordshire Police (March 2023 – December 2023)
UK officer seconded for 9 months as interim Commissioner of Police. March 2023 – December 2023
Turks and Caicos Islands – South Yorkshire Police (November 2022 – Feb 2023)
UK officer seconded for 3 months to provide investigative support and assist the command team in responding to critical incidents, leadership development and management of local processes and operations.
Falkland Islands – Police Scotland (Oct 23 – Jan 24)
Two officers seconded to provide assistance with leadership stability and assist with transformational work regarding recruitment of new officers to Royal Falklands Islands Police
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government in which countries the UK does not have a permanent diplomatic presence.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has a network of 281 officially designated overseas Posts. It does not currently have a permanent diplomatic presence in the countries listed below. However, the list includes countries in which we have officially designated Posts which are temporarily suspended in country and our mission to that country operates elsewhere for political or operational reasons (Afghanistan, North Korea, Sudan, Syria, Yemen) or have diplomatic staff who are not in permanent residence (Haiti, Burundi, Gabon). Locations defined as UK territories are excluded. Information about the FCDO overseas network is available at www.gov.uk/government/publications/list-of-foreign-office-posts.
Key:
(1) Temporarily suspended
(2) Diplomats not in permanent residence
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, how many officials from his Department are stationed in the British Virgin Islands.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Governor's Office in Tortola comprises of nine staff funded by the UK Government as well as staff funded by the Government of the Virgin Islands.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps his Department is taking to help support good governance in the British Virgin Islands.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
In 2021, the UK Government supported the then Governor's decision to launch an independent Commission of Inquiry (COI) into governance in the BVI and provided £2.7 million to cover the costs of the Inquiry.
Since the publication of the COI Report in April 2022, the FCDO have been working to support the elected BVI government and the Governor as they deliver a comprehensive governance reform programme based on the Report's recommendations.
In addition to funding extra staff in the Governor's Office to support this work, we are also providing £1.2 million of support and technical assistance. I [Minister Rutley] visited BVI from 4-6 February for discussions with the Premier and others to press the need to accelerate delivery and meet agreed deadlines.
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, how much funding has been provided by Darwin Plus by country in each of the last five years.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Darwin Plus is a competitive UK Government grants scheme that provides funding for environmental projects in the UK Overseas Territories. Since 2019, UK government spending on Darwin Plus has increased year on year to a record high of £6.85m in 22/23, reflecting the rising breadth and quality of applications to our schemes. Projects are selected on their merit at application supported by the advice of independent experts currently sat on the Darwin Plus Advisory Group. Darwin Plus funding per territory over the last five years can be found below:
Overseas Territory | Grant Funding from 2019 - 2024 |
Anguilla | £2,702,538.47 |
Bermuda | £562,703.60 |
British Antarctic Territory | £935,916.75 |
British Indian Ocean Territory | £1,233,527.92 |
British Virgin Islands | £3,660,593.29 |
Cayman Islands | £2,871,387.06 |
Falkland Islands | £3,137,812.11 |
Gibraltar | £169,956.10 |
Montserrat | £2,071,315.89 |
Pitcairn, Henderson, Oeno and Ducie Islands | £423,105.00 |
St Helena, Ascension and Tristan Da Cunha | £5,918,668.62 |
South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands | £4,412,383.75 |
Sovereign Base Area of Akrotiri and Dhekelia | £1,176,523.50 |
Turks and Caicos Islands | £3,462,690.14 |
Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what recent discussions he has had with Pacific island states on climate change adaptation.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are on the frontline of climate change and Pacific Island leaders have made it clear that building climate resilience is their priority. UK support for climate adaptation sits at the heart of HMG ministerial engagement with Pacific Island counterparts. At COP28 we co-hosted the Third Climate Development Ministerial with Vanuatu. The Minister for the Indo-Pacific discussed climate change with a range of ministers at the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting in November 2023 and the former Foreign Secretary discussed it with the leaders and ministers he met during his visit to Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands in April 2023.
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: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, where each offshore patrol vessel (a) is deployed and (b) was manufactured; what the purchase cost was of each vessel; and what the annual (i) running and (ii) maintenance costs are of the Overseas Patrol Squadron.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
In answer to the hon. Member's questions I can provide the following information:
a) The offshore patrol vessels (OPVs) are currently deployed as follows:
b) HMS Mersey, HMS Severn and HMS Tyne are Batch 1 vessels, built by Vosper Thorneycroft at Southampton.
HMS Forth, HMS Medway, HMS Trent, HMS Tamar and HMS Spey are Batch 2 vessels, built at BAE Systems’ shipyards on the Clyde.
c) It is not possible to give a purchase cost for individual vessels, however the Contract value for the two Batches were:
i) The annual running costs for all OPVs for Financial Year (FY) 2022-23 was £54.122 million.
ii) The maintenance costs for all OPVs for FY 2022-23 was £51.250 million.
Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
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 transferring sovereignty over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius on the US contribution to the military balance of power in the Indo-Pacific region.
Answered by James Heappey
The UK's priority is the long term continued effective operation of the joint UK/US military base on Diego Garcia and Mauritius has made clear publicly that it supports this goal. We continue to work in lockstep with the US to this end and have their full support. The Secretary of State for Defence and Secretary Austin discussed the British Indian Ocean Territory in Washington DC on 1 December 2023.
Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of the recent military action in Yemen on the level of national security risk associated with the proposed transfer of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.
Answered by James Heappey
Our clear aim is the continued full operation of the joint UK-US military base on Diego Garcia, which plays a crucial role in national, regional and global security. Mauritius has made clear publicly that it supports this goal. The joint UK/US military facility helps to keep people around the world safe, combatting some of the most challenging threats to international peace and security.
We must look at all the risks there could be in any change of circumstances. The UK will only enter into an agreement that protects our national interests and those of our partners.