Asked by: Phil Brickell (Labour - Bolton West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that UK residents with British National (Overseas) Visas are able to access pension savings held abroad.
Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are aware that individuals who have moved to the UK on the British National (Overseas) visa route are having difficulties in drawing down early their pension savings held in Hong Kong. We are committed to supporting the valued BN(O) community in the UK and are clear that discrimination against BN(O) passport holders is unacceptable. We have discussed the matter in detail with the relevant banks and we continue to raise this issue directly with the Hong Kong authorities to encourage a pragmatic solution.
Asked by: Phil Brickell (Labour - Bolton West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to improve partnerships with major humanitarian relief donors, in the context of the recent USAID funding freeze announcement.
Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are currently working to assess the implications of the US funding pause across development sectors, geographic regions and multilateral organisations. We are gathering information and working with other donor partners to share analysis of the pause before making any decisions.
Asked by: Phil Brickell (Labour - Bolton West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support women and girls in states affected by conflict.
Answered by Anneliese Dodds
Empowering women and girls is a UK Government priority. The UK will take a leading role on the global stage, building partnerships, particularly in the Global South, to promote greater gender equality that strengthens whole societies and economies. Having led on UN Security Council Resolution 1325 in 2000, the UK is resolute in its commitment to the Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) agenda, and intends to build on the ambition displayed in the UK's 5th WPS National Action Plan during this anniversary year. At the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) in March 2025, I, alongside Lord Collins, will promote women's economic empowerment, galvanise funding for the global grassroots women's rights movement, support women and girls in Afghanistan, and strengthen global action on conflict-related sexual violence.
Asked by: Phil Brickell (Labour - Bolton West)
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 his Cypriot counterpart on the use of Cyprus-based financial structures by UK (a) businesses and (b) individuals to evade VAT.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign Secretary has not had discussions with Cypriot counterparts on the use of Cyprus-based financial structures by UK businesses or individuals for tax evasion. The UK and Cypriot governments committed to share expertise and invest in capacity building to tackle illicit finance at the UK-Cyprus strategic dialogue in December 2024.
Asked by: Phil Brickell (Labour - Bolton West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an assessment of (a) the adequacy of the Cayman Islands’ new Regulations: Beneficial Ownership Transparency (legitimate interest access) regulations 2024, (b) whether those regulations meet the expectations laid out during the Joint Ministerial Council to provide the maximum possible degree of access and transparency, (c) whether Bermuda’s regulations are aligned with international standards set out in the EU’s 6th Anti-Money Laundering Directive and (d) whether (i) case-by-case applications and (ii) the introduction of fees between $30 and $100 will hinder journalists and NGOs from accessing beneficial ownership information to combat money laundering and its predicate offences.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
At the Joint Ministerial Council (JMC) in November, I confirmed the UK Government's expectation that Overseas Territories implement fully public registers of beneficial ownership. Fully public registers have already been introduced in Montserrat and Gibraltar, and commitments were made by the Falkland Islands and Saint Helena to introduce these by April 2025. Anguilla, Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands and the Turks and Caicos Islands committed to implement registers of beneficial ownership accessible to those with legitimate interest, which offer the maximum possible degree of access and transparency whilst containing the necessary safeguards to protect the right to privacy in line with respective constitutions, at the latest by June 2025.
The Bermudian consultation closed in January, but regulations have not yet been published. The Cayman regulations are a welcome step in the right direction. My officials are working directly with Cayman officials to ensure the regulations meet the JMC requirement of maximum possible degree of access and transparency and are in line with emerging international standards in the EU's 6th Anti-Money Laundering Directive.
A key focus of those discussions is to ensure that the conditions of access do not unduly deter effective proactive investigations and analysis.
Asked by: Phil Brickell (Labour - Bolton West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department has set out expected levels of transparency in line with international standards in the EU’s 6th Anti-Money Laundering Directive for legitimate interest registers of beneficial ownership in the Overseas Territories.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
At the Joint Ministerial Council (JMC) in November, I confirmed the UK Government's expectation that Overseas Territories implement fully public registers of beneficial ownership. Fully public registers have already been introduced in Montserrat and Gibraltar, and commitments were made by the Falkland Islands and Saint Helena to introduce these by April 2025. Anguilla, Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands and the Turks and Caicos Islands committed to implement registers of beneficial ownership accessible to those with legitimate interest, which offer the maximum possible degree of access and transparency whilst containing the necessary safeguards to protect the right to privacy in line with respective constitutions, at the latest by June 2025.
The Bermudian consultation closed in January, but regulations have not yet been published. The Cayman regulations are a welcome step in the right direction. My officials are working directly with Cayman officials to ensure the regulations meet the JMC requirement of maximum possible degree of access and transparency and are in line with emerging international standards in the EU's 6th Anti-Money Laundering Directive.
A key focus of those discussions is to ensure that the conditions of access do not unduly deter effective proactive investigations and analysis.
Asked by: Phil Brickell (Labour - Bolton West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to assist the Central Bank of Bangladesh in repatriating UK-based assets diverted illegally from that country.
Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is committed to assisting investigative, prosecuting and judicial authorities in combating international crime. We have robust illicit finance legislation and instruments which can be used to support asset recovery requests. We would not comment on any individual Asset Recovery cases but we are in discussions with the International Anti-Corruption Coordination Centre hosted by the UK's National Crime Agency and the International Centre for Asset Recovery on how to support the Interim Government of Bangladesh. In October 2024, the UK National Crime Agency visited Dhaka as part of the UK's effort to support Bangladesh in this area, as well as wider engagement on law enforcement issues. We will continue to support these recoveries to the extent that we can.
Asked by: Phil Brickell (Labour - Bolton West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will take steps to use UK-based assets that were expropriated by the Assad regime for (a) aid and (b) re-development projects to help the Syrian people.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
UK-based assets expropriated by the Assad regime remain frozen. As with all our sanctions, we keep our approach under review.
We do not comment on future designations as to do so lessens their potential impact.
Asked by: Phil Brickell (Labour - Bolton West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will take steps to ensure the financial stability of the British Council.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
This Government is committed to a successful British Council that is financially stable. Our funding to the British Council underlines our support. The FCDO will provide the British Council with £162.5 million Grant-in-Aid in 2024/25. Funding for 2025/26 will be announced in due course.
Asked by: Phil Brickell (Labour - Bolton West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the meeting between the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Indo-Pacific and Hong Kong’s Convenor of the Executive Council on the human rights situation in Hong Kong.
Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I met Regina Ip on 31 October. Human rights were raised as part of the discussion. The UK will continue to speak often and candidly with Hong Kong authorities across both areas of contention as well as areas for cooperation. Engagement with representatives of Hong Kong and China is pragmatic and necessary to support UK interests.