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 her Department plans to publish the 2025 Joint Ministerial Council Communiqué.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The communique from the 2025 Joint Ministerial Council has been published on gov.uk. The link is at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-and-overseas-territories-joint-ministerial-council-2025-communique.
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 her Department is taking to help ensure that businesses in Georgia are not used for third-country evasion of sanctions against Russia.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
On 27 June 2025, the Government issued new UK sanctions guidance for non-UK businesses in several countries, including Georgia, to support compliance with UK sanctions and raise awareness of relevant national laws. This built on the extensive diplomatic engagement and technical assistance we have provided in priority jurisdictions to address circumvention risks.
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 assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of recent reports that the Government of Georgia is fostering closer ties with the Government of Iran.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 21 July 2025 to Question 66922.
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 diplomatic steps she is taking to support (a) civil society and (b) a free press in Georgia.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 21 July 2025 to Question 66922.
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 assessment her Department has made of the merits of sanctioning additional Georgian elites accused of corruption with significant financial holdings in the UK.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 21 July 2025 to Question 66922.
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 assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of recent reports of the harassment of civil society leaders in Georgia.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 21 July 2025 to Question 66922.
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 recent discussions her Department has had with international counterparts on democracy in Georgia.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 21 July 2025 to Question 66922.
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, when the international Summit on Countering Illicit Finance Summit will take place.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon. Member to the written statement made to the House on 22 July 2025 (UIN HCWS877).
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 plans his Department has to provide (a) urgent aid and (b) longer-term climate adaptation support to Pakistan following recent floods.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK was among the first countries to respond to the floods in Pakistan, approving £2.53 million in emergency funding to date across the seven most affected districts reaching over 400,000 people with search and rescue, emergency medical care, food, water, hygiene, and household items. Additionally, the UK has contributed to the Start Ready Disaster Risk Financing system in Pakistan. £500,000 has been released, reaching 20,000 people across Punjab, Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to anticipate and mitigate humanitarian impacts from future flooding.
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 provide assurances that there will be no further delays by (a) Anguilla, (b) Bermuda, (c) the British Virgin Islands and (d) Turks and Caicos Islands to implement Legitimate Interest Access Registers of Beneficial Ownership, following commitments made at the 2024 UK and Overseas Joint Ministerial Council.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Please refer to my Written Ministerial Statement of 3 July which provides an update and details of next steps.
We have made very clear to our partners in the remaining Overseas Territories the importance of delivering on the previously committed to deadlines, and have offered technical support to achieve this. We have communicated that we expect rapid and robust action to be taken, given the crucial importance of tackling illicit finance and increasing transparency. We have set out that we expect access to be granted to a wide range of legitimate users, that registers should enable proactive investigations and should act as a deterrent to those seeking to conceal illicit gains.
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office officials have conducted an in-house assessment of the latest policies and proposals from these Overseas Territories against the discussions at the Joint Ministerial Council in November 2024. In addition, we have reviewed feedback from a range of external stakeholders including expert NGOs and parliamentarians. We have also considered emerging international modalities which cover legitimate interest access registers.