§ Mr. RosindellTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent communications he has had with the governments of the(a) overseas territories and (b) crown dependencies. [150424]
§ Mr. RammellMy right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary addressed and exchanged views with Chief Ministers and Government leaders of the UK Overseas Territories at the annual Overseas Territories Consultative Council meeting in London on 10 December 2003.
He has had no recent communications with the crown dependencies. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs is responsible for the United Kingdom's relations with the crown dependencies.
§ Mr. RosindellTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how often he communicated with the governments of Britain's overseas territories in the last three years. [150428]
§ Mr. RammellMy right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary visited Gibraltar in May 2002, and has been in direct contact with the Chief Minister on several occasions over the last three years. He communicated directly with the governments of the other overseas294W territories when he addressed Chief Ministers and their equivalents at the annual Overseas Territories Consultative Council in London on 10 December 2003.
I maintain regular contact with the overseas territories as does my hon. Friend the Minister for Europe as Minister of State responsible for Gibraltar. Governors, of course, are in constant contact with the governments of the overseas territories.
§ Mr. RosindellTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the cost of administering Britain's overseas territories is in 2003–04. [150430]
§ Mr. RammellAccording to the published, audited 2002–03 Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Resource Accounts, available in the Library of the House, the total cost of supporting the overseas territories in 2002–03 was approximately £21 million (ref: Objective 9, Schedule 57 FCO Resource Accounts). This is the full economic cost of supporting the overseas territories, and represents the cost of the total effort expended at post/missions and in the UK of supporting the overseas territories. The costs in 2003–04 are expected to be about the same.
It is not possible to quantify the costs to other Government Departments of their role in administering the overseas territories.
§ Mr. RosindellTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has to visit overseas territories over the next year. [150431]
§ Mr. RammellOverseas engagements for my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary and other Ministers are kept under constant review. It is not practice to announce such visits until they are firm. Because of the unpredictable nature of world events, final decisions on overseas visits are often not possible until very shortly before the day of travel.
I visited Ascension Island and the Falkland Islands in November 2003, and I hope to visit others in the future. My hon. Friend the Minister for Europe visited Gibraltar in July 2003.
§ Mr. RosindellTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the London office of the governments of(a) the Falkland Islands, (b) Gibraltar and (c) the Cayman Islands during the last 12 months. [150433]
§ Mr. RammellMy right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has had no direct discussions with the London offices of the governments of the Falkland Islands, Gibraltar or the Cayman Islands during the last 12 months. The Foreign Secretary addressed the Overseas Territories Consultative Council in December 2003, which the London representatives attended.
I met the London representatives at the Overseas Territories Consultative Council last December. The London representative of the Falkland Islands Government also attended a meeting between myself and Falkland Island Councillor Richard Cockwell in June 2003. I will have a further opportunity to meet the representatives at a lunch prior to the UK Overseas Territories Association AGM next month.
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