Asked by: Margaret Hodge (Labour - Barking)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to section 51 of the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018, what discussions he has had with the governments of the Overseas Territories on support required to introduce publicly accessible beneficial ownership registers.
Answered by Alan Duncan
The Prime Minister and Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, the Minister for the Commonwealth and UN, held a conference call with leaders of Overseas Territories with financial centres on 24 May to discuss the issue, and a further discussion was held at the Joint Ministerial Council in June. Shortly after the passage of this legislation Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon visited Anguilla, the Cayman Islands and Montserrat, where he held discussions on this topic. Similarly, in late July, Lord Ahmad visited the British Virgin Islands (BVI) and met with representatives of the financial services industry and government of BVI. Montserrat and Gibraltar have already committed to establishing a public register of company beneficial ownership.
Asked by: Margaret Hodge (Labour - Barking)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to section 51 of the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018, what steps he is taking to assist the governments of the Overseas Territories to introduce publicly accessible beneficial ownership registers.
Answered by Alan Duncan
The Government has assured the Overseas Territories of our commitment to working collaboratively with them on the introduction of publicly registers. Minister of State Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon has already proposed the establishment of a UK- Overseas Territories technical working group to meet early 2019 and will discuss more formally the implementation timetable and any initial requests for support at the Overseas Territories Joint Ministerial Council later this year.
Asked by: Margaret Hodge (Labour - Barking)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether the Government plans to change the constitutional arrangements between the UK and the British Overseas Territories.
Answered by Alan Duncan
As the 2012 White Paper lays out, we believe that the fundamental structure of our constitutional relationship is the right one. Should any Overseas Territory seek to change its constitution, we would consider it on a case by case basis.