Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands' implementation of publicly accessible registers of company beneficial ownership in line with the Draft Order in Council prepared by the Secretary of State to comply with the requirement under section 51 of the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018; whether that Territory has (a) introduced and (b) passed the legislation required for the creation of a publicly accessible register of company beneficial ownership; whether the register will be (i) open and (ii) free at point of access; and when the register will be (A) live and (B) operational.

The Government of the Pitcairn Islands (PG) has committed to introduce a publicly accessible register of beneficial ownership (PARBO).

PG is identifying the necessary modifications to its legislative regime to enable the creation of a PARBO that would comply with the standards set out in a written ministerial statement (HCWS369) of 14 December 2020. How the Pitcairn Islands seeks to recoup the costs of operating their PARBO will be a matter for the Territory Government.

PG is assessing its timeline for implementation in light of ongoing constraints on capacity and expertise. The UK Government is providing technical assistance. We will confirm the timeline with Pitcairn and other Overseas Territories at the Joint Ministerial Council scheduled for 14-15 November.