Asked by: Imran Ahmad Khan (Independent - Wakefield)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 14 December 2020 to Question 126163, how many covid-19 vaccines have been distributed to each British Overseas Territory to date.
Answered by Nigel Adams
The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted all of the UK's Overseas Territories, with confirmed outbreaks in all but two of the inhabited Territories. The UK Government has been directly supplying the UK's Overseas Territories with COVID-19 vaccines as part of the UK's enduring commitment to the Territories. The UK Government's policy is to publish data on vaccinations administered. By 19 March, each Overseas Territory had administered approximately the following number of doses:
| Approximate number of doses administered by 18 March 2021 |
Anguilla | 5,500 |
Ascension | 816 |
Bermuda | 30,000 |
British Virgin Islands | 6,500 |
Cayman Islands | 38,300 |
Falkland Islands | 1,787 |
Gibraltar | 53,171 |
Montserrat | 1140 |
Pitcairn | 0 |
St Helena | 3,400 |
Tristan da Cunha | 0 |
Turks & Caicos Islands | 11,283 |
The FCDO are arranging and funding the delivery of vaccines to the Territories, which began on 5 January and are aiming to deliver enough doses to offer vaccines to every adult across the Territories. So far, there have been 27 deliveries, reaching all of the permanently inhabited Overseas Territories with airports. Further deliveries are scheduled and planning is underway to deliver vaccines to the two remaining permanently inhabited Overseas Territories without airports: Pitcairn and Tristan da Cunha. In line with the UK Government's commitment to supply the Overseas Territories with a population proportionate share of vaccines, our programme aims to provide vaccines for the entire adult populations of the Territories and is expected to be complete in a similar timescale to the UK domestic rollout.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what support his Department is providing for the establishment of the Turks and Caicos Islands Regiment.
Answered by James Heappey
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) is committed to the establishment of the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) Regiment. MOD support that has or will be provided includes:
Six places on the eight-week Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS) Commissioning Course (Short)
The provision of Short-Term Training Teams (STTTs) to deliver basic training packages for up to 150 recruits
The provision and delivery of personal clothing and equipment for each of these recruits and officers
Further STTTs focused on a 'train the trainer' approach to produce qualified instructors able to train further recruit intakes without direct UK support
Our Defence Attaché is working closely with the Regiment's Commanding Officer to provide this package of support on a timeline that suits them. This same package of support is being delivered to the Cayman Islands Regiment.
In addition, in order to assist the establishment and onward professional development of both Regiments, the UK will soon deploy a military staff instructor to the region to work directly with the Regiments' leadership on attaining self-sufficiency.
Asked by: Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the supply of COVID-19 vaccines to residents of (1) British Overseas Territories, and (2) the Crown Dependencies, is being given equal priority to the supply to UK residents.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government has procured COVID-19 vaccines on behalf of the Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories and is committed to continue to providing a proportionate supply in line with roll out of the vaccine in the UK. The governments of the Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories are responsible for the coordination of their own vaccination programmes. This includes setting their own frameworks for prioritisation based on demographics and their wider public health strategies. The Crown Dependencies have been supplied vaccine directly by Public Health England: details of their vaccination programmes, including up-to-date statistics on number of doses administered, can be found at gov.im, gov.je and gov.gg.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has been coordinating the deployment of COVID-19 vaccines to the Overseas Territories with the support of the Department of Health and Social Care, the Vaccines Taskforce, Ministry of Defence and Public Health England. Deliveries to the inhabited Overseas Territories began on 5 January and as of 15 February, the FCDO has organised 16 vaccine deliveries to 10 Overseas Territories to support their individual vaccination programmes for priority groups, with further deliveries scheduled over coming weeks in line with Territories' vaccination plans. Planning is also underway to deliver vaccines to the two outstanding inhabited Territories: Tristan da Cunha and the Pitcairn Islands.
Public Health England have been providing expert advice to the Overseas Territories on deploying the vaccines. The FCDO have provided support to the Overseas Territories throughout the pandemic, enabling seven islands to begin testing for COVID-19 for the first time, the others to continue testing, ensuring none ran out of Personal Protective Equipment, funding two military deployments and sending medical staff, ventilators and other equipment.
Asked by: Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the COVID-19 vaccination timeline for (1) British Overseas Territories, and (2) the Crown Dependencies, mirrors that planned for the UK; and if not, why not.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government has procured COVID-19 vaccines on behalf of the Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories and is committed to continue to providing a proportionate supply in line with roll out of the vaccine in the UK. The governments of the Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories are responsible for the coordination of their own vaccination programmes. This includes setting their own frameworks for prioritisation based on demographics and their wider public health strategies. The Crown Dependencies have been supplied vaccine directly by Public Health England: details of their vaccination programmes, including up-to-date statistics on number of doses administered, can be found at gov.im, gov.je and gov.gg.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has been coordinating the deployment of COVID-19 vaccines to the Overseas Territories with the support of the Department of Health and Social Care, the Vaccines Taskforce, Ministry of Defence and Public Health England. Deliveries to the inhabited Overseas Territories began on 5 January and as of 15 February, the FCDO has organised 16 vaccine deliveries to 10 Overseas Territories to support their individual vaccination programmes for priority groups, with further deliveries scheduled over coming weeks in line with Territories' vaccination plans. Planning is also underway to deliver vaccines to the two outstanding inhabited Territories: Tristan da Cunha and the Pitcairn Islands.
Public Health England have been providing expert advice to the Overseas Territories on deploying the vaccines. The FCDO have provided support to the Overseas Territories throughout the pandemic, enabling seven islands to begin testing for COVID-19 for the first time, the others to continue testing, ensuring none ran out of Personal Protective Equipment, funding two military deployments and sending medical staff, ventilators and other equipment.
Asked by: Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many doses of COVID-19 vaccine have (1) been offered, and (2) been supplied, to each of the Crown Dependencies, broken down by (a) the total number, and (b) as a percentage of total population over the age of 18.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government has procured COVID-19 vaccines on behalf of the Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories and is committed to continue to providing a proportionate supply in line with roll out of the vaccine in the UK. The governments of the Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories are responsible for the coordination of their own vaccination programmes. This includes setting their own frameworks for prioritisation based on demographics and their wider public health strategies. The Crown Dependencies have been supplied vaccine directly by Public Health England: details of their vaccination programmes, including up-to-date statistics on number of doses administered, can be found at gov.im, gov.je and gov.gg.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has been coordinating the deployment of COVID-19 vaccines to the Overseas Territories with the support of the Department of Health and Social Care, the Vaccines Taskforce, Ministry of Defence and Public Health England. Deliveries to the inhabited Overseas Territories began on 5 January and as of 15 February, the FCDO has organised 16 vaccine deliveries to 10 Overseas Territories to support their individual vaccination programmes for priority groups, with further deliveries scheduled over coming weeks in line with Territories' vaccination plans. Planning is also underway to deliver vaccines to the two outstanding inhabited Territories: Tristan da Cunha and the Pitcairn Islands.
Public Health England have been providing expert advice to the Overseas Territories on deploying the vaccines. The FCDO have provided support to the Overseas Territories throughout the pandemic, enabling seven islands to begin testing for COVID-19 for the first time, the others to continue testing, ensuring none ran out of Personal Protective Equipment, funding two military deployments and sending medical staff, ventilators and other equipment.
Asked by: Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many doses of COVID-19 vaccine have (1) been offered, and (2) been supplied, to each of the British Overseas Territories, broken down by (a) the total number, and (b) as a percentage of total population over the age of 18.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government has procured COVID-19 vaccines on behalf of the Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories and is committed to continue to providing a proportionate supply in line with roll out of the vaccine in the UK. The governments of the Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories are responsible for the coordination of their own vaccination programmes. This includes setting their own frameworks for prioritisation based on demographics and their wider public health strategies. The Crown Dependencies have been supplied vaccine directly by Public Health England: details of their vaccination programmes, including up-to-date statistics on number of doses administered, can be found at gov.im, gov.je and gov.gg.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has been coordinating the deployment of COVID-19 vaccines to the Overseas Territories with the support of the Department of Health and Social Care, the Vaccines Taskforce, Ministry of Defence and Public Health England. Deliveries to the inhabited Overseas Territories began on 5 January and as of 15 February, the FCDO has organised 16 vaccine deliveries to 10 Overseas Territories to support their individual vaccination programmes for priority groups, with further deliveries scheduled over coming weeks in line with Territories' vaccination plans. Planning is also underway to deliver vaccines to the two outstanding inhabited Territories: Tristan da Cunha and the Pitcairn Islands.
Public Health England have been providing expert advice to the Overseas Territories on deploying the vaccines. The FCDO have provided support to the Overseas Territories throughout the pandemic, enabling seven islands to begin testing for COVID-19 for the first time, the others to continue testing, ensuring none ran out of Personal Protective Equipment, funding two military deployments and sending medical staff, ventilators and other equipment.
Asked by: John Lamont (Conservative - Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how the UK is assisting the Overseas Territories and Crown dependencies with the roll-out of the covid-19 vaccine.
Answered by Nigel Adams
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, together with Public Health England, the Department of Health and Social Care, and the UK Vaccine Taskforce, are coordinating the deployment of vaccines to the Overseas Territories. Vaccines have so far been delivered to Anguilla, Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Montserrat, St Helena and the Turks and Caicos Islands. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office are currently finalising plans to deliver vaccines to the other inhabited Overseas Territories. Public Health England are coordinating the deliveries to the Crown Dependencies, the governments of which are taking forward the distribution of vaccine in their respective jurisdictions.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Melton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what support the UK Government is providing for the protection of (a) biodiversity and (b) aquatic biodiversity in the Turks and Caicos Islands.
Answered by Nigel Adams
Since 2012, the Government's Darwin Plus Programme has committed £22 million towards 122 individual projects across the Overseas Territories, supporting conservation in marine, terrestrial and freshwater environments, this has included funding for 15 projects in the Turks and Caicos Islands. In the most recent round of Darwin Plus, there were three successful projects working exclusively in the Turks and Caicos Islands, totalling over £800,000, including a project to improve the evidence base on marine and coastal assets in the Turks and Caicos Islands. The Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF) has also supported the drafting of territory specific biosecurity legislation, which has included funding for specific legal expertise.
Asked by: Imran Ahmad Khan (Independent - Wakefield)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many British armed forces personnel have been recruited from the British Overseas Territories in each of the last five years.
Answered by James Heappey
The requested information is provided in the following table:
Intake of UK Regulars, British Overseas Territory Citizens, for the last five Financial Years (FY)
FY | 2015-16 | 2016-17 | 2017-18 | 2018-19 | 2019-20 |
Intake | ~ | 10 | 10 | 10 | ~ |
Notes:
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Melton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps are being taken to protect the (a) barking gecko and (b) other species endemic to the Turks and Caicos Islands.
Answered by Wendy Morton
The UK is providing technical advice and support to the Overseas Territories, including the Turks and Caicos Islands, to increase their capacity in dealing with the very real threats posed by invasive non-native species affecting biodiversity and endemic species such as the barking gecko and Turks and Caicos rock iguana.
Through the Darwin Plus funding scheme, UK funding has been used to support a project protecting the critically endangered Turks and Caicos rock iguana. This project addresses the need for effective biosecurity plans for two offshore islands in the Turks and Caicos Islands where there is an urgent need to protect threatened native wildlife, particularly globally important reptile populations, against invasive species. One of the project's key achievements is the stabilisation of the iguana population, leading to the reptile being downlisted on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List from Critically Endangered to Endangered in 2019.