Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help (a) support the economy of and (b) increase trade between the UK and Gibraltar.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The UK is committed to supporting Gibraltar, its people and its economy. We are working side-by-side with the Government of Gibraltar to conclude a UK-EU treaty which can secure the future prosperity of Gibraltar and the region. We continue to collaborate on shared prosperity goals. For example, the UK's £500 million Loan Guarantee to support Gibraltar's economy was extended in 2023 for a further three years and the implementation of the Gibraltar Authorisation Regime will facilitate financial services business between the two jurisdictions on a permanent basis.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that there is continued mobility across the border between Spain and Gibraltar during negotiations with the EU in respect of Gibraltar.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The UK, working side-by-side with the Government of Gibraltar, is committed to concluding a UK-EU treaty as soon as possible. A key objective is to ensure that people and goods can move easily between Gibraltar and the surrounding communities. Together with the Government of Gibraltar we continue to monitor the functioning of the border and raise issues with the Spanish authorities, including at Ministerial level, when required.
Asked by: Stephen Doughty (Labour (Co-op) - Cardiff South and Penarth)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, which Ambassadors and High Commissioners to (a) countries and (b) other institutions in Europe are due to be replaced in 2024.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
he FCDO publishes in the public domain announcements of changes to HM Ambassadors (HMA) and High Commissioners (HC). In 2024, we have so far announced the following changes to our posts in Europe:
Role and start date: | Individual: |
HMA Pristina (Kosovo), March 2024 | Jonathan Hargreaves |
HMA Lisbon (Portugal), January 2024 | Lisa Bandari |
Governor Gibraltar, June 2024 | Lieutenant General Sir Ben Bathurst |
HMA Brussels (Belgium), July 2024 | Anne Sherriff |
HMA Madrid (Spain), August 2024 | Alex Ellis |
HMA Helsinki (Finland), September 2024 | Laura Davies |
HMA Vilnius (Lithuania), September 2024 | Liz Boyles |
In addition, we expect a small number of additional announcements to be made, following appropriate recruitment and approval processes concluding.
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: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the decision by (a) Guernsey, (b) Jersey and (c) the Isle of Man to withdraw the commitment to allow public access to registers of company beneficial ownership.
Answered by Tom Tugendhat - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security)
A Written Ministerial Statement (WMS) on 19 December 2023 provided a comprehensive update on this issue (HCWS151).
Publicly accessible registers of beneficial ownership are an essential tool for tackling illicit finance. That is why in 2016 the UK set up our own publicly accessible register of beneficial ownership, the People with Significant Control (PSCs) register, which was the first of its kind in the world. The UK Government is still committed to publicly accessible registers becoming the global norm, including in the Crown Dependencies (CDs) and Overseas Territories (OTs). Many other countries and jurisdictions around the world have joined us. We are still working with others to achieve this aim.
Regarding the 2022 CJEU judgment and other relevant rulings, the UK is satisfied with the lawfulness of our own publicly accessible registers and continues to believe that the CDs could legally implement public registers of their own. As set out in my WMS in December, according to Transparency International, currently 14 EU Member States allow public access to their beneficial ownership registers. Gibraltar has maintained a publicly accessible beneficial ownership register since 2020 and has not noted any negative economic impacts resulting from implementation of its public register.
On 13 December 2023, the CDs issued new public commitments on providing access to their beneficial ownership registers for obliged entities and those with a legitimate interest, including media and civil society organisations. While the Home Office broadly welcomed these commitments as a very significant step forward in beneficial ownership transparency, it is not the pace the UK Government expects, and the CDs have been urged to implement them as quickly as possible this year.
On 18 January 2024, the EU published proposals on their Sixth Anti-Money Laundering Directive (6AMLD), which the CDs stated in their public commitments will help inform the development of their own definitions of legitimate interest access. With this important development, and considering the time that has elapsed since their original 2019 commitments, and the importance these improvements will bring to the security of the UK and the wider British family, the Home Office is urging the CDs to make progress as quickly as possible this year.
The UK Government position remains that the CDs should be working towards publicly accessible registers in the longer term. Nevertheless, the Home Office looks forward to seeing these commitments on legitimate interest access being adopted by the appropriate CD parliaments. Parliament will wish to consider the CDs’ commitments and will closely monitor the situation.
Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to page 120 of his Department’s Annual Report and Accounts 2022-23, HC1468, published in July 2023, for what reason there was constructive loss relating to patrol craft.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
It should be noted that write off assets are not cash losses and do not represent a cost to the Department.
This constructive loss refers to two second hand patrol craft purchased in financial year 2016-17 for the use of the Gibraltar Defence Police. The craft were procured in consultation with the Police and tested in UK waters but, when they reached Gibraltar, they were found to be too unstable for use in in the Straits of Gibraltar where high sea states are common. After due consideration, two of them were transferred to the Defence Equipment Sales Authority for disposal.
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: 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.