Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the UK’s right to extend the 99-year lease on the Chagos Islands was renegotiated with the government of Mauritius in the period between his Oral Statement of 7 October 2024 on British Indian Ocean Territory: Negotiations, Official Report, column 45, and the Answer of 30 January 2025 to Question 25391 on Diego Garcia: Military Bases.
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 and on 13 January, both sides remain committed to concluding a deal on the future of the Chagos Archipelago which protects the long-term effective operation of the joint UK-US base on Diego Garcia. The Treaty will last for an initial 99 years and may be extended for a further 40 years (and beyond) by agreement between the UK and Mauritius - after 99 years, the UK will also have the right to first refusal on the use of Diego Garcia which, if exercised, would prevent the use of the base by any other party. We continue to engage with Mauritius and are not going to provide a running commentary on the details.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 14 February 2025 to Question 30375 on Undocumented Migrants: Organised Crime, how he plans to enforce the new irregular migration sanctions regime.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The new Irregular Migration sanctions regime will be enforced by the UK sanctions enforcement architecture. A range of Departments have responsibility for the enforcement of UK sanctions, including the Home Office, Department for Business and Trade, Department for Transport and HM Treasury. I launched a cross-Government review of sanctions at the first Small Ministerial Group on enforcement in October 2024. The review is examining whether we have the right powers, approach, capacity and resourcing on policy, implementation and enforcement, with an urgent focus on strengthening the latter. It is being led by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office in collaboration with key sanctions Departments.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 14 February 2025 to Question 30375 on Undocumented Migrants: Organised Crime, when the new irregular migration sanctions regime will come into effect.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government is required to lay secondary legislation before Parliament to introduce a new sanctions regime, which is expected to come into force within the year.
Given that the proposed regime will be the first of its kind, it is vital that we take the time to make sure the legislation that underpins it is lawful and operates effectively to disrupt the gangs' business model.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the Prime Minister's Oral Statement of 25 February 2025 on Defence and Security, Official Report, from which financial year will the proposed cuts to official development assistance be implemented.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Prime Minister announced in Parliament on 25 February that he is bringing forward the UK commitment to reach 2.5 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on defence spending by 2027. On top of the 2.5 per cent, an extra 0.1 per cent in security services support, taking the total to 2.6 per cent.
Doing so demands the difficult but necessary decision to reduce our Official Development Assistance (ODA) spending from 0.5 per cent of Gross National Income (GNI) to 0.3 per cent of GNI by 2027 to respond to pressing security challenges.
Detailed decisions on ODA spending will be worked through as part of the ongoing Spending Review.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the Prime Minister's Oral Statement of 25 February 2025 on Defence and Security, Official Report, how the proposed cut in official development assistance will be split across countries that receive aid from the UK.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Official Development Assistance (ODA) allocations for future years are being worked through given the Prime Minister's announcement on 25 February 2025 regarding a reduction in UK ODA.
This Government remains fully committed to a globally significant role on development. Our mission remains to help create a world free from poverty on a liveable planet.
We report all ODA spending on a calendar year basis in the Statistics on International Development publication.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 14 February 2025 to Question 30375 on Undocumented Migrants: Organised Crime, what the the new irregular migration sanctions regime will consist of.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Our new sanctions regime will target the gangs profiting from the vile trade in people smuggling, human trafficking and organised immigration crime. It will boost our ability to prevent, combat, deter and disrupt dangerous irregular migration and hold the perpetrators accountable. This will be a global regime - expanding our reach so we can target individuals and entities that enable and facilitate these dangerous journeys.
The regime will enable us to impose asset freezes and travel bans on individuals and entities, preventing any UK citizen, or any business in the UK, from dealing with any funds or economic resources which are owned, held or controlled by the designated person, and refusing the designated person leave to enter or to remain in the United Kingdom, providing the individual is an excluded person under the Immigration Act.
We use sanctions when they complement other tools as part of a wider strategy. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) will continue to work closely with the Home Office, Border Security Command and National Crime Agency to support law enforcement operations to counter and disrupt organised immigration crime threats.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether Mauritius has the right to define an Economic Exclusion Zone around the British Indian Ocean Territory.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
After the agreement enters into force Mauritius will be able to declare an Economic Exclusion Zone but will need to implement security arrangements under the agreement. The deal ensures that we will retain full control over Diego Garcia with robust provisions to keep adversaries out. These include unrestricted access to and use of the base for the UK and US; a buffer zone around Diego Garcia; a comprehensive mechanism to ensure no activity in the other islands threatens base operations; and a ban on the presence of any foreign security forces. The UK will also assist Mauritius in implementing a new Mauritian Marine Protected Area in the Archipelago.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what security measures his Department has put in place to prevent incursions by hostile states into the proposed buffer zone around Diego Garcia.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
There will be robust security provisions to protect the base, including full UK control over Diego Garcia, control over the electromagnetic spectrum and unrestricted access to and use of the base by the UK and US; a buffer zone around Diego Garcia in which nothing can be built or put in place without UK consent; a robust mechanism and review process to ensure no activity in the other islands can impinge upon base operations; and a prohibition on the presence of foreign security forces on the outer islands, either civilian or military.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department is taking steps to safeguard British claims in Antarctica from foreign state actors.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
British sovereignty over the area of Antarctica now called British Antarctic Territory (BAT) dates back to 1908. This is the oldest claim to Antarctica. The UK has maintained a permanent presence in Antarctica since 1944. The UK has no doubt about its sovereignty over the British Antarctic Territory. Our overarching objective is to support the security and the good governance of the Territory. UK presence is provided by the British Antarctic Survey, who operate three scientific stations, the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust, who manage the historical base at Port Lockroy, and the Royal Navy's Ice Patrol Ship HMS Protector. Article IV of the Antarctic Treaty 1959 effectively places in abeyance all territorial sovereignty claims to Antarctica, recognition, and non-recognition of claims, and precludes any activity to assert any new claim or enlarge any existing claim to territorial sovereignty in Antarctica. The UK remains a foremost advocate of the Antarctic Treaty and its essential principles of peace and scientific exploration.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what the current level of Government funding is for all British activity in Antarctica.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK's investment for British activity in Antarctica comprises a) British Antarctic Survey activity (BAS) which is funded by DSIT; b) deployment of HMS Protector which is funded by the MOD. Across the past three financial years, Navy Command has spent an average of £17.871million to operate Protector in Antarctic (or nearby) waters; c) small grant funding from the FCDO to the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust and British Antarctic Territory which this year amounted to £150,000.
Additionally, the Government has invested significantly into the UK's infrastructure in Antarctica over the past decade, the largest package of funding since the 1980s. The Antarctic Infrastructure Modernisation Programme (AIMP) is a multi-year programme to 2031 to upgrade the UK's facilities at Rothera Research Station. Amounting to approximately £48m per year under the current spending framework, the AIMP includes the ongoing construction of the Discovery Building, a new science and operations centre for Rothera. £40m has also been invested in refurbishing the wharf at Rothera, completed in 2020. In 2014, the then Chancellor announced that the Government would provide £200m to build BAS's state of the art vessel, the RRS Sir David Attenborough (the SDA), one of the biggest commercial shipbuilding contracts undertaken in the UK in decades. The SDA departed for her maiden voyage in November 2021 and has already transformed the way UK research is conducted in the polar regions. She is expected to operate for at least 25 years, providing a modern platform for future generations of UK polar researchers.