Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether his Department has had recent discussions with the Commonwealth Secretariat on the potential merits of including the (a) British Overseas Territories and (b) Crown Dependencies as independent members of the Commonwealth of Nations.

The Commonwealth is a voluntary association of independent and equal sovereign states. The British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies are represented through the UK's membership of the Commonwealth and are able to participate in many aspects of the Commonwealth, including the Commonwealth Games. The UK supports closer links between the British Overseas Territories and the Commonwealth and is committed to working together to examine options for the greater participation of the Territory Governments and peoples in its organisations.