Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many officials from her Department with responsibility for the British Indian Ocean Territory are working a) within the British Indian Ocean Territory, b) from her Department's main building and c) from home remotely.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The British Indian Ocean Territory is constitutionally distinct and separate from the UK. It is administered by the British Indian Ocean Territory Administration (BIOTA). The Commissioner is based in the UK and is supported by around 40 staff split between the UK and the Territory. In addition, there are currently around 13 Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office staff working on all aspects of BIOT policy, all of whom are based in the UK.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of the resettlement of the British Indian Ocean Territory.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Treaty which the UK signed with Mauritius in May 2025 provides a clear path to resettlement on the Archipelago. Under the terms of the Treaty, the Government of Mauritius will be able to start a programme of resettlement on islands other than Diego Garcia, which will be available to all eligible Chagossians regardless of where they live.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the UK Small Island Developing States strategy 2026 to 2030, published 13 January 2026, what steps she is taking to protect the British Overseas Territories from economic shocks.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is committed to strengthening the economic resilience of the Overseas Territories (OTs), including the resilience of critical infrastructure.
We support the OTs to diversify their economies, strengthen their fiscal governance, and invest in the upgrade and maintenance of critical infrastructure. Major investments in recent years include completion of the Rupert's Bay port on Saint Helena and Road Bay jetty in Anguilla, support for new telecommunications infrastructure on Ascension Island, and significant progress in construction of a new hospital and solar energy farm in Montserrat.
The UK also provides targeted environmental support to the OTs through the Blue Belt Programme, including in relation to plastic pollution. We are also continuing to work closely with our partners in the High Ambition Coalition to End Plastic Pollution, and with other countries, to reach an ambitious agreement that addresses the full lifecycle of plastics.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the UK Small Island Developing States strategy 2026 to 2030, published on13 January 2026, what steps she is taking to protect the British Overseas Territories from plastic pollution.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is committed to strengthening the economic resilience of the Overseas Territories (OTs), including the resilience of critical infrastructure.
We support the OTs to diversify their economies, strengthen their fiscal governance, and invest in the upgrade and maintenance of critical infrastructure. Major investments in recent years include completion of the Rupert's Bay port on Saint Helena and Road Bay jetty in Anguilla, support for new telecommunications infrastructure on Ascension Island, and significant progress in construction of a new hospital and solar energy farm in Montserrat.
The UK also provides targeted environmental support to the OTs through the Blue Belt Programme, including in relation to plastic pollution. We are also continuing to work closely with our partners in the High Ambition Coalition to End Plastic Pollution, and with other countries, to reach an ambitious agreement that addresses the full lifecycle of plastics.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the resilience of critical infrastructure in the British Overseas Territories.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is committed to strengthening the economic resilience of the Overseas Territories (OTs), including the resilience of critical infrastructure.
We support the OTs to diversify their economies, strengthen their fiscal governance, and invest in the upgrade and maintenance of critical infrastructure. Major investments in recent years include completion of the Rupert's Bay port on Saint Helena and Road Bay jetty in Anguilla, support for new telecommunications infrastructure on Ascension Island, and significant progress in construction of a new hospital and solar energy farm in Montserrat.
The UK also provides targeted environmental support to the OTs through the Blue Belt Programme, including in relation to plastic pollution. We are also continuing to work closely with our partners in the High Ambition Coalition to End Plastic Pollution, and with other countries, to reach an ambitious agreement that addresses the full lifecycle of plastics.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
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 protect the British Indian Ocean Territory Marine Protected Area from illegal shark poaching.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The British Indian Ocean Territory is constitutionally distinct and separate from the UK, with its own laws and Administration. It is administered by the British Indian Ocean Territory Administration (BIOTA) who have responsibility for the protection of the Marine Protected Area, including issues relating to illegal unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he is taking steps to support the provision of British military training and the export of appropriate defence equipment to Libya to strengthen its capacity to police its borders with Chad, Sudan and Niger, to help prevent illegal migration into Europe.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
Defence Engagement with Libya is focused on defence capacity building. This supports UK objectives across a range of priorities, including those related to border security and irregular migration.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent steps he has taken to support victims of domestic abuse.
Answered by Catherine Atkinson
On 18 December 2025, we published our VAWG Strategy; ‘Freedom from violence and abuse: a cross-government strategy to build a safer society for women and girls’, which sets out how we will support all victims of VAWG, including domestic abuse.
Recently, the Ministry of Justice has already committed to many changes and initiatives to support victims of domestic abuse, including:
Supporting victims with the largest ever investment of £550 million in victim support services over the next three years;
Introducing a domestic abuse identifier at sentencing in criminal cases to enable police, prisons and probation to more consistently identify domestic abuse offenders. This will mean improved support for victims, whether the domestic abuse perpetrator is in the community or in prison;
Stronger perpetrator management through the national rollout of Domestic Abuse Protection Orders across all police forces in England and Wales which, will allow tough restrictions on abusers and can include behaviour change programmes, to stop the cycle of abuse from repeating; and
Considering measures to achieve better outcomes for victims in criminal courts, including considering how to expand the use of Specialist Domestic Abuse Courts.
We are also introducing measures through the Courts and Tribunals Bill to recognise the overlap between different forms of domestic abuse – such as coercive control or sexual offending. Legislation will clarify that any domestic abuse conviction can show propensity for this kind of behaviour, even if the offender has not committed the ‘same offence’ each time.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he has taken to enhance the seabed warfare capabilities of the Royal Navy.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Royal Navy (RN) continues to enhance its seabed warfare capabilities through a combination of investment in new technologies, platforms, and international partnerships.
This includes the development of advanced autonomous and remotely operated systems under the Mine Hunting Capability (MHC) programme, which consists of deployable, uncrewed systems capable of surveying, monitoring and protecting the seabed. The RN has also established dedicated capabilities within its operational structure to focus on the protection of subsea assets, including undersea cables and pipelines, working closely with other Government Departments and allies.
The Defence Investment Plan outlined several investments into seabed warfare capabilities, including an additional £330 million critical underwater infrastructure protection capabilities, including upgrades and enhancements for RFA Proteus, and a £90 million investment in the autonomous minehunting programme to procure offshore support vessels (OSVs) in conjunction with Norway.