Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has had recent discussions with his counterparts in the Overseas Territories on introducing publicly accessible registers of company beneficial ownership by the end of 2023.

We discussed the timeline for implementation of Publicly Accessible Registers of Beneficial Ownership at the Joint Ministerial Council over 14 - 15 November in plenary, in the margins and in bilateral meetings. We have made progress with the majority of the inhabited OTs. Some are yet to confirm precise timelines. Intensive discussions continue with these OTs, led by Ministers. We will inform Parliament of the outcome of those discussions before recess.