Oral Evidence Mar. 18 2024
Inquiry: The UK and the Antarctic EnvironmentFound: like, with British geopolitical interests because, quite plainly, climate change will affect these islands
Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether his Department has had discussions with the Falkland Islands Government on the awarding of a contract to Harland & Wolff to support delivery of a port facility.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government is proud of the expertise offered by British companies such as Harland and Wolff.
As a self-governing UK Overseas Territory, any potential redevelopment of the port facility in Stanley is a matter for the Falkland Islands Government. The awarding of contracts for the redevelopment of the port is a commercial matter between the Falkland Islands Government and the companies involved.
Mentions:
1: Sheryll Murray (Con - South East Cornwall) What steps he is taking to uphold the Falkland Islanders’ right of self-determination. - Speech Link
2: Louie French (Con - Old Bexley and Sidcup) What steps he is taking to uphold the Falkland Islanders’ right of self-determination. - Speech Link
3: David Rutley (Con - Macclesfield) The modern, diverse, economically prosperous Falkland Islands of today is testimony to the islanders’ - Speech Link
4: Alicia Kearns (Con - Rutland and Melton) Haiti is on the edge of collapse, and only 100 nautical miles away are the Turks and Caicos islands, - Speech Link
Mar. 11 2024
Source Page: Teachers’ pension employer contribution grant 2024 for schools, high needs settings and local authorities: 2024 to 2025Found: these schools, please contact us via the Customer Help Portal: • Aldgate School URN 100000 • Five Islands
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what environmental projects have been funded through Darwin Plus in South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands since 2019.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Since 2019, Darwin Plus has funded 21 environmental projects of benefit to South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands. These are listed in the table below.
Please visit the Darwin Plus website at https://darwinplus.org.uk/ for full details of funded projects.
Project reference | Project title | UK Overseas Territories involved |
DPLUS146 | Red Listing can protect OT marine biodiversity | British Antarctic Territory, Falkland Islands, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands |
DPLUS166 | Improving identification of fish bycatch in the Antarctic krill fishery | British Antarctic Territory, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands |
DPLUS092 | Seabird sentinels: mapping potential bycatch risk using bird-borne radar | Falkland Islands, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands |
DPLUS175 | Enhancing monitoring and prevention of invasive non-native species across UKOTs | Gibraltar, Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia (on Cyprus), South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory, St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, Turks and Caicos Islands, British Indian Ocean Territory, Bermuda, Anguilla, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands |
DPLUS174 | A cross-UKOT camera network to enhance marine predator conservation | Montserrat, St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, Gibraltar, Falkland Islands, British Antarctic Territory, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands |
DPLUS089 | Integrating genetic approaches into sub-Antarctic deep sea research and management | South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands |
DPLUS093 | HOT: Hadal zones of our Overseas Territories | South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands |
DPLUS109 | Initiating monitoring support for the SGSSI-MPA Research and Monitoring Plan | South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands |
DPLUS120 | Spatial segregation and bycatch risk of seabirds at South Georgia | South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands |
DPLUS122 | Biodiversity discovery and the future of South Georgia’s seaweed habitats | South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands |
DPLUS143 | What goes thump at night: managing bird-strike in South Georgia | South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands |
DPLUS144 | Protecting South Georgia’s terrestrial communities from climate change-invasion synergies | South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands |
DPLUS149 | Resolving ecosystem effects of the South Georgia winter krill fishery | South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands |
DPLUS179 | Characterising pelagic biodiversity at South Georgia through novel sampling methods | South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands |
DPLUS186 | Evidence-based conservation of biodiversity in the South Sandwich Islands | South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands |
DPLUS187 | Using satellite technology to monitor seabird populations at South Georgia | South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands |
DPLUS188 | Hungry humpbacks: measuring seasonal foraging intensity at South Georgia | South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands |
DPLUS189 | Evaluating climate change risks to Patagonian and Antarctic toothfish | South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands |
DPL00019 | Mapping South Georgia's Plant Biodiversity | South Georgia and The South Sandwich Islands (SGSSI) |
DPL00039 | Assessing Terrestrial Climate Change Impacts on a sub-Antarctic Archipelago | South Georgia and The South Sandwich Islands (SGSSI) |
DPLUS132 | Monitoring albatrosses using very high resolution satellites and citizen science | St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands |
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what environmental projects have been funded through Darwin Plus in Antartica since 2019.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Since 2019, Darwin Plus has funded 22 environmental projects of benefit to the Falkland Islands. These are listed in the table below.
Please visit the Darwin Plus website at https://darwinplus.org.uk/ for full details of funded projects.
Project reference | Project title | UK Overseas Territories involved |
DPLUS146 | Red Listing can protect OT marine biodiversity | British Antarctic Territory, Falkland Islands, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands |
DPLUS110 | Recognise, protect, restore: driving sound stewardship of Falklands peat wetlands | Falkland Islands |
DPLUS115 | Unlocking Falkland Islands Marine Management: Key Biodiversity Areas for seabirds | Falkland Islands |
DPLUS116 | Falklands wetlands and aquatic habitats: baselines for monitoring future change | Falkland Islands |
DPLUS126 | Advancing Falklands and region-scale management of globally important whale populations | Falkland Islands |
DPLUS139 | Improving Falklands marine management effectiveness for marine higher predators | Falkland Islands |
DPLUS148 | Climate change resilience in Falkland Islands fisheries and marine ecosystems | Falkland Islands |
DPLUS167 | Pathogens as a threat to seabirds in the Falkland Islands | Falkland Islands |
DPLUS168 | Understanding increased FI seal bycatch to inform bycatch Action Plan | Falkland Islands |
DPLUS169 | New Island: completing preparatory steps for restoration against invasive mammals | Falkland Islands |
DPLUS182 | Habitat restoration and species re-introductions on four Falklands island reserves | Falkland Islands |
DPL00047 | Increasing environmental monitoring capacity on FI: a Thermal Imaging UAV | Falkland Islands |
DPL00058 | Fire Contingency Planning for Offshore Islands | Falkland Islands |
CV19RR02 | Establishing wildlife health and disease monitoring in the Falkland Islands | Falkland Islands |
DPL00002 | Restoring native tussac grassland habitat | Falkland Islands |
DPL00006 | Restoring peat soils and tussac grass habitat in the Falklands | Falkland Islands |
DPL00020 | Data driven solutions to land management and climate change adaptation | Falkland Islands |
DPL00025 | Building farm biodiversity planning and monitoring capacity for sustainable management | Falkland Islands |
DPLUS092 | Seabird sentinels: mapping potential bycatch risk using bird-borne radar | Falkland Islands, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands |
DPLUS094 | Developing Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) tools for Turks and Caicos | Falkland Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands |
DPLUS175 | Enhancing monitoring and prevention of invasive non-native species across UKOTs | Gibraltar, Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia (on Cyprus), South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory, St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, Turks and Caicos Islands, British Indian Ocean Territory, Bermuda, Anguilla, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands |
DPLUS174 | A cross-UKOT camera network to enhance marine predator conservation | Montserrat, St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, Gibraltar, Falkland Islands, British Antarctic Territory, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands |
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what environmental projects have been funded through Darwin Plus in the Falkland Islands since 2019.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Since 2019, Darwin Plus has funded 6 environmental projects of benefit to the British Antarctic Territory. These are listed in the table below.
Please visit the Darwin Plus website at https://darwinplus.org.uk/ for full details of funded projects.
Project reference | Project title | UK Overseas Territories involved |
DPLUS185 | Safeguarding Antarctic krill stocks for baleen whales | British Antarctic Territory |
DPL00008 | Biodiversity Survey and Environmental Management Plan in Antarctica | British Antarctic Territory (BAT) |
DPLUS146 | Red Listing can protect OT marine biodiversity | British Antarctic Territory, Falkland Islands, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands |
DPLUS166 | Improving identification of fish bycatch in the Antarctic krill fishery | British Antarctic Territory, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands |
DPLUS175 | Enhancing monitoring and prevention of invasive non-native species across UKOTs | Gibraltar, Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia (on Cyprus), South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory, St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, Turks and Caicos Islands, British Indian Ocean Territory, Bermuda, Anguilla, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands |
DPLUS174 | A cross-UKOT camera network to enhance marine predator conservation | Montserrat, St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, Gibraltar, Falkland Islands, British Antarctic Territory, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands |
Mentions:
1: Baroness Smith of Newnham (LD - Life peer) fourth area because I know that the Foreign Secretary has just been down to the South Atlantic and the Falkland - Speech Link
2: Lord Hain (Lab - Life peer) The West Bank—small islands of which are nominally administered by Fatah but in practice controlled by - Speech Link
3: Lord Naseby (Con - Life peer) I declare an interest: I have family in the Cayman Islands. It is pretty devastating when it hits. - Speech Link
Asked by: Lord Kempsell (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of recent comments by the President and government of Argentina regarding the future status of the Falkland Islands.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is committed to upholding the Falkland Islanders' right of self-determination: only they can decide their own future. As the Foreign Secretary made clear on his recent visit to the Falkland Islands, as long as the Islanders wish to remain part of the UK family, there can be no discussions on sovereignty. The UK looks forward to developing a strong and constructive relationship with Argentina where we can agree to disagree politely on the issue of the Falkland Islands, but restart mutually beneficial co-operation on areas of shared interest.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has hired Graham Potter to give a speech to service people in the Falkland Islands in the last 12 months.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Ministry of Defence has not hired Graham Potter to provide a speech to Service personnel in the Falkland Islands over the last 12 months.