Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 5 February to Question 29154 on British Indian Ocean Territory: Sovereignty, what index the annual payments will be linked to.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Once an agreement is signed further details of the Treaty will be put before both Houses for scrutiny and treaty ratification in the usual way. This will include costs.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, for what reason his Department resumed negotiations with Mauritius on the future sovereignty of the Chagos Islands.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Negotiations were started by the previous Conservative Government. This Government inherited a situation where the effective operation of the military base remained under threat and that is why negotiations resumed. The deal is rooted in a rational and hard-headed determination to protect UK national security. This deal will protect the base on Diego Garcia and cement UK and US presence in the Indo Pacific for generations to come.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 5 February 2025 to Question 29154 on British Indian Ocean Territory: Sovereignty, whether any conditions will be placed on how the package of financial support can be spent.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Once an agreement is signed further details of the Treaty will be put before both Houses for scrutiny and treaty ratification in the usual way.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, for what reasons the Government started negotiations with Mauritius on the future sovereignty of the Chagos Islands.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Negotiations were started by the previous Conservative Government.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether financial payments made as part of the proposed agreement between the UK and Mauritius agreement on the British Indian Ocean Territory would be subject to an inflationary escalator.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
As made clear in the 3 October joint political declaration, the UK will make an indexed annual payment to Mauritius as part of its package of financial support.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many and what proportion of items of correspondence from Parliamentarians received by (a) his Department, (b) himself and (c) his ministerial team have not yet received a substantive response in each month since August 2024.
Answered by Catherine West
The total number and proportion of parliamentarian correspondence received by the FCDO (including the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and the ministerial team) each month since August 2024 that has not yet received a substantive response:
FCDO Ministerial Correspondence from Parliamentarians | Aug-24 | Sep-24 | Oct-24 | Nov-24 | Dec-24 | Jan-25 |
Total Volume Received | 381 | 691 | 796 | 468 | 465 | 501 |
Total Volume Not Yet responded to | 0 | 4 | 10 | 27 | 69 | *256 |
% of Total Not Yet Responded To | 0% | 1% | 1% | 6% | 15% | *51% |
**Please note that January total includes correspondence received up to and including 31st January 2025 |
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with the United States Department of State on the British Indian Ocean Territory.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign Secretary and the US Secretary of State had a phone call on 27 January where they discussed a range of shared UK/US priorities, including the long-term protection of the base on Diego Garcia.