Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effect of the recent increase in migrants from Haiti to the Turks and Caicos Islands on local resources on those islands.

While the number of arrivals of illegal migrants to the Turks and Caicos Islands has decreased over the last two years, each occurrence continues to place a strain on local government resources and increases the risk for loss of life particularly for those arriving in overcrowded boats. Our Embassy in Haiti is pressing the Haitian government to finalise a Memorandum of Understanding to establish agreed arrangements for repatriations and better communication on migration issues.