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, how much funding has been provided by Darwin Plus by country in each of the last five years.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Darwin Plus is a competitive UK Government grants scheme that provides funding for environmental projects in the UK Overseas Territories. Since 2019, UK government spending on Darwin Plus has increased year on year to a record high of £6.85m in 22/23, reflecting the rising breadth and quality of applications to our schemes. Projects are selected on their merit at application supported by the advice of independent experts currently sat on the Darwin Plus Advisory Group. Darwin Plus funding per territory over the last five years can be found below:
Overseas Territory | Grant Funding from 2019 - 2024 |
Anguilla | £2,702,538.47 |
Bermuda | £562,703.60 |
British Antarctic Territory | £935,916.75 |
British Indian Ocean Territory | £1,233,527.92 |
British Virgin Islands | £3,660,593.29 |
Cayman Islands | £2,871,387.06 |
Falkland Islands | £3,137,812.11 |
Gibraltar | £169,956.10 |
Montserrat | £2,071,315.89 |
Pitcairn, Henderson, Oeno and Ducie Islands | £423,105.00 |
St Helena, Ascension and Tristan Da Cunha | £5,918,668.62 |
South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands | £4,412,383.75 |
Sovereign Base Area of Akrotiri and Dhekelia | £1,176,523.50 |
Turks and Caicos Islands | £3,462,690.14 |
Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what recent discussions he has had with Pacific island states on climate change adaptation.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are on the frontline of climate change and Pacific Island leaders have made it clear that building climate resilience is their priority. UK support for climate adaptation sits at the heart of HMG ministerial engagement with Pacific Island counterparts. At COP28 we co-hosted the Third Climate Development Ministerial with Vanuatu. The Minister for the Indo-Pacific discussed climate change with a range of ministers at the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting in November 2023 and the former Foreign Secretary discussed it with the leaders and ministers he met during his visit to Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands in April 2023.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the government of Argentina on the future security of the Falkland Islands.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
As fellow G20 members, we look forward to developing a strong and constructive relationship under the Presidency of Javier Milei. When the Minister for the Americas met President Milei at his inauguration, he made clear that the UK has no doubt about our sovereignty over the Falkland Islands and surrounding maritime areas. We are committed to defending proactively the Falkland Islanders' right of self-determination; this is not something we will ever be prepared to negotiate on.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, where each offshore patrol vessel (a) is deployed and (b) was manufactured; what the purchase cost was of each vessel; and what the annual (i) running and (ii) maintenance costs are of the Overseas Patrol Squadron.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
In answer to the hon. Member's questions I can provide the following information:
a) The offshore patrol vessels (OPVs) are currently deployed as follows:
b) HMS Mersey, HMS Severn and HMS Tyne are Batch 1 vessels, built by Vosper Thorneycroft at Southampton.
HMS Forth, HMS Medway, HMS Trent, HMS Tamar and HMS Spey are Batch 2 vessels, built at BAE Systems’ shipyards on the Clyde.
c) It is not possible to give a purchase cost for individual vessels, however the Contract value for the two Batches were:
i) The annual running costs for all OPVs for Financial Year (FY) 2022-23 was £54.122 million.
ii) The maintenance costs for all OPVs for FY 2022-23 was £51.250 million.
Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of transferring sovereignty over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius on the US contribution to the military balance of power in the Indo-Pacific region.
Answered by James Heappey
The UK's priority is the long term continued effective operation of the joint UK/US military base on Diego Garcia and Mauritius has made clear publicly that it supports this goal. We continue to work in lockstep with the US to this end and have their full support. The Secretary of State for Defence and Secretary Austin discussed the British Indian Ocean Territory in Washington DC on 1 December 2023.
Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of the recent military action in Yemen on the level of national security risk associated with the proposed transfer of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.
Answered by James Heappey
Our clear aim is the continued full operation of the joint UK-US military base on Diego Garcia, which plays a crucial role in national, regional and global security. Mauritius has made clear publicly that it supports this goal. The joint UK/US military facility helps to keep people around the world safe, combatting some of the most challenging threats to international peace and security.
We must look at all the risks there could be in any change of circumstances. The UK will only enter into an agreement that protects our national interests and those of our partners.
Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he plans to pause discussions with Mauritius on the proposed transfer of the Chagos Islands to that country in the context of the military action taken in Yemen in response to maritime piracy.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Our clear aim is the continued full operation of the joint UK-US military base on Diego Garcia, which plays a crucial role in national, regional and global security. Mauritius has made clear publicly that it supports this goal. The joint UK/US military facility helps to keep people around the world safe, combatting some of the most challenging threats to international peace and security.
We must look at all the risks there could be in any change of circumstances. The UK will only enter into an agreement that protects our national interests and those of our partners.
Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment his Department has made of the potential risks to national security of the proposed transfer of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.
Answered by James Heappey
The joint UK/US military base on Diego Garcia plays a crucial role in combating some of the most challenging threats to regional and international security.
The UK and Mauritius have conducted several rounds of negotiations on the exercise of sovereignty over the British Indian Ocean Territory/Chagos Archipelago. The UK and Mauritius have reiterated that any agreement between our two countries will ensure the continued effective operation of joint UK/US military base on Diego Garcia.
Asked by: Bill Wiggin (Conservative - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidance her Department provides on whether British citizens residing in the Cayman Islands would be eligible for home fee status if they enter the UK (a) before 1 September, (b) on 1 September and (c) on the commencement date of their academic course later in September.
Answered by Robert Halfon
Students coming to the UK from specified British Overseas Territories will be eligible for home fee status in England if they have settled status on the first day of the first academic year of the course. Higher education providers in England are autonomous bodies, and they assess a student’s fee status in accordance with the Education (Fees and Awards) (England) Regulations. Where a student does not meet the criteria for home fee status, a provider has the discretion to waive or reduce the fees where they consider it appropriate.
Asked by: Bill Wiggin (Conservative - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidance her Department provides on whether the date of entry into England or Wales can determine whether a British citizen ordinarily residing in the Cayman Islands qualifies for home fee status.
Answered by Robert Halfon
Students coming to the UK from specified British Overseas Territories will be eligible for home fee status in England if they have settled status on the first day of the first academic year of the course. Higher education providers in England are autonomous bodies, and they assess a student’s fee status in accordance with the Education (Fees and Awards) (England) Regulations. Where a student does not meet the criteria for home fee status, a provider has the discretion to waive or reduce the fees where they consider it appropriate.