Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has had recent discussions with his US counterpart on training for police officers in (a) Turks and Caicos Islands, (b) Bermuda and (c) Cayman Islands.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
While the UK works closely with US partners on a number of areas of cooperation, the Secretary of State has not had any conversations with his US counterpart relating to the training of police officers within the Turks and Caicos, Bermuda or Cayman Islands.
The Home Office, through the International Police Assistance Service (IPAS), are currently delivering training to Overseas Territories’ Police in line with identified requirements and funded by the International Security Fund (ISF).
Asked by: Carol Monaghan (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what recent progress his Department has made on the introduction of public registers of ownership by British overseas territories.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
In March, the UK and Overseas Territories discussed their commitments and timelines to implement public registers, either accessible to all members of the public or with access predicated on 'legitimate interest'. I [Minister Rutley] re-stated the UK's expectation that where public access is predicated on 'legitimate interest' this will include media and civil society, among others, and is an interim step to access for all members of the public. The FCDO is funding expert NGO, Open Ownership, to provide technical assistance to expedite implementation; they are providing advice to the governments of Anguilla, British Virgin Islands, Cayman, Montserrat, St. Helena, and Turks and Caicos. Officials are conducting a stocktake of progress.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, how many terrorism incidents have been declared in (a) the Turks and Caicos Islands, (b) Bermuda and (c) the Cayman Islands in each of the last five years.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
There have been no reported terrorist incidents in (a) the Turks and Caicos Islands, (b) Bermuda or (c) the Cayman Islands in each of the last five years. We are working with the authorities to increase local capacity to respond to threats to security.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether he has had recent discussions with his Jamaican counterpart on the subject of the Cayman Islands.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We have not had discussions with Jamaica regarding the Cayman Islands.
Asked by: Thérèse Coffey (Conservative - Suffolk Coastal)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 18 April 2024 to Question 21017 on Darwin Plus, if he will provide a breakdown of Darwin Plus fund projects funded since 2019.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Pursuant to the Answer of 18 April to Question 21017, a summary of Darwin Plus projects funded since 2019, broken down by Territory, can be found below. These figures include the latest awards from Rounds 12 of Darwin Plus Main and Fellowships, Round 1 of Darwin Plus Strategic, and Round 3 of Darwin Plus Local.
Overseas Territory | Grant Funding from 2019 - 2024 |
Anguilla | £4,818,639.72 |
Bermuda | £961,876.60 |
British Antarctic Territory | £1,368,375.75 |
British Indian Ocean Territory | £1,695,969.14 |
British Virgin Islands | £4,652,346.29 |
Cayman Islands | £4,152,086.03 |
Falkland Islands | £3,789,195.36 |
Gibraltar | £319,343.10 |
Montserrat | £2,842,585.69 |
Pitcairn, Henderson, Oeno and Ducie Islands | £423,105.00 |
St Helena, Ascension and Tristan Da Cunha | £6,486,241.84 |
South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands | £5,278,964.75 |
Sovereign Base Area of Akrotiri and Dhekelia | £1,883,252.50 |
Turks and Caicos Islands | £4,120,137.14 |
Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 17 November 2023 to Question 1027 on Military Attachés, if he will publish an updated list of countries without a resident UK Defence Attache.
Answered by James Heappey
The Global Defence Network (GDN) utilises Resident and Non-Resident Defence Attachés (DA), who engage in Defence diplomacy in over three-quarters of the world’s nations. The table below has a list of countries covered on a Non-Residential Accreditations (NRA) basis, where a UK DA is not resident in country, but a DA elsewhere has the responsibility.
Country (NRA) | Location of DA |
Angola | Mozambique - Maputo |
Anguilla (British overseas territory) | Jamaica - Kingston |
Antigua & Barbuda | Jamaica - Kingston |
Armenia | Georgia – Tbilisi |
Azerbaijan | Georgia – Tbilisi |
Bahamas | Jamaica - Kingston |
Barbados | Jamaica - Kingston |
Belarus | Ukraine – Kyiv |
Belize | Jamaica - Kingston |
Benin | Accra - Ghana |
Bermuda (British overseas territory) | USA – Washington DC |
Botswana | Harare - Zimbabwe |
British Virgin Islands (British overseas territory) | Jamaica - Kingston |
Burkina Faso | Ghana - Accra |
Burundi | Uganda – Kampala |
Cambodia | (In process of transferring to) Vietnam - Hanoi |
Cayman Islands (British overseas territory) | Jamaica – Kingston |
Chad | Cameroon - Yaoundé |
Cuba | Mexico – Mexico City |
Djibouti | Ethiopia – Addis Ababa |
Dominica | Jamaica - Kingston |
Dominican Republic | Jamaica - Kingston |
Democratic Republic of the Congo | Kampala - Uganda |
Eritrea | Sana’a - Yemen (temporarily relocated to Riyadh) |
Ecuador | Bogota - Colombia |
Grenada | Jamaica - Kingston |
Guinea | Sierra Leone – Freetown |
Guyana | Jamaica - Kingston |
Guatemala | Mexico – Mexico City |
Guinea-Bissau | Senegal - Dakar |
Haiti | Jamaica - Kingston |
Hungary | Croatia - Zagreb |
Iceland | Norway - Oslo |
Ivory Coast | Ghana – Accra |
Khartoum | Egypt - Cairo |
Kosovo | Macedonia - Skopje |
Kyrgyzstan | Kazakhstan – Astana |
Laos | (in process of transferring to) Vietnam - Hanoi |
Lesotho | South Africa - Pretoria |
Liberia | Sierra Leone - Freetown |
Luxembourg | Belgium - Brussels |
Malawi | Zimbabwe – Harare |
Mali | Senegal - Dakar |
Malta | Rome - Italy |
Mauritania | Morocco – Rabat |
Monaco | France – Paris |
Mongolia | Japan – Tokyo |
Myanmar | Thailand - Bangkok |
Montserrat (British overseas territory) | Jamaica - Kingston |
Namibia | South Africa – Pretoria |
Niger | Cameroon – Yaoundé |
Papua New Guinea | Australia – Canberra |
Paraguay | Argentina – Buenos Aires |
Peru | Colombia - Bogota |
Rwanda | Uganda – Kampala |
Seychelles | Kenya - Nairobi |
St Kitts & Nevis | Jamaica - Kingston |
St Lucia | Jamaica - Kingston |
St Vincent | Jamaica - Kingston |
Slovakia | Czech Rep - Prague |
Slovenia | Austria – Vienna |
South Sudan | Addis Ababa – Ethiopia |
Switzerland | Vienna - Austria |
Syria | Lebanon - Beirut |
Tajikistan | Kazakhstan – Astana |
Tanzania | Kenya – Nairobi |
The Gambia | Senegal - Dakar |
Timor-Leste (East Timor) | Indonesia - Jakarta |
Togo | Ghana – Accra |
Tonga | Fiji – Suva |
Trinidad & Tobago | Jamaica - Kingston |
Turkmenistan | Uzbekistan - Tashkent |
Turks & Caicos Islands (British overseas territory) | Jamaica - Kingston |
Uruguay | Argentina - Buenos Aires |
Vanuatu | Fiji – Suva |
Venezuela | Bogota - Colombia |
Zambia | Zimbabwe - Harare |
Supported by MOD from in the UK |
|
Cape Verdi Islands |
|
Congo |
|
Gabon |
|
Panama |
|
Puerto Rica |
|
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 |
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 |