Lord Tariq Ahmad, minister of state for the Commonwealth and United Nations at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and Ben Merrick, director of overseas territories at the FCO, speak to the House of Commons’ Foreign Affairs Committee in December during its probe into the United Kingdom’s relationship with the overseas territories.
Lord Tariq Ahmad, minister of state for the Commonwealth and United Nations at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and Ben Merrick, director of overseas territories at the FCO, speak to the House of Commons’ Foreign Affairs Committee in December during its probe into the United Kingdom’s relationship with the overseas territories.

The United Kingdom government has no plans to impose same-sex marriage or to phase out belongership in the overseas territories, according to its Sunday response to the Feb. 21 report by the House of Commons’ Foreign Affairs Committee.

It also stuck to its previously announced timeline for requiring public company registers in the OTs despite the FAC’s recommendation to move up the deadline.

However, the UK government was more accepting of other FAC advice, agreeing to consider recommendations regarding the Foreign and Commonwealth Office governance structure, the National Health Service and OT funding.

At least one OT leader, Cayman Islands Premier Alden McLaughlin, welcomed the UK response, praising it as “a clear-headed restatement of the fundamental principle of self-government that underpins the relationship between Cayman and the UK.”

The FAC, however, was not impressed. In a statement published Sunday, the committee criticised the UK government for disagreeing with some of its recommendations and for allegedly risking the shared values of “Global Britain.”

Inquiry

The Feb. 21 FAC report, titled “Global Britain and the British Overseas Territories: Resetting the Relationship,” followed a seven-month inquiry into the UK’s 14 overseas territories — the first of its kind in 11 years.

The document drew wide- spread indignation in the Virgin Islands and other territories, particularly for its suggestions that British residents of the OTs be allowed to vote and hold public office and that the OTs be forced to legalise same-sex marriage.

The response stated that the UK government is committed to LGBT rights, but because “marriage law is an area of devolved responsibility it should be for the territories to decide and legislate on” and that the OTs’ “justice mechanisms and processes should be allowed the space to address these matters.”

The government pledged to continue encouraging OTs to “recognise and protect same-sex relationships,” but stated that it will not introduce an order in council requiring them to legalise same-sex marriage as suggested by the FAC report.

Belongership

In regards to belongership, the response explained that “immigration decisions are primarily a matter for OT governments” and added that the UK would not follow a recommendation to phase out what the FAC called the “discriminatory elements” of the system.

However, the government stated that it would encourage dialogue on belongership and emphasise to territory leaders the importance of allowing residents to vote and “engage fully in the community.

Public company registers

The UK government also stuck to its guns on public company registers in spite of an FAC recommendation to require them in the OTs earlier than previously planned.

The response reiterated the government’s intention to prepare an order in council by December 2020 with OTs expected to have publicly avail- able registers by the end of 2023 at the latest.

The document added that the FCO will prepare detailed timelines for each individual OT depending on its fiscal position and business model, and will provide assistance including technical workshops to the OTs in the coming months.

The FAC report

In other areas, the UK government was more amenable to the FAC’s suggestions.

Its response, for example, expressed its willingness to consider recommendations to increase access to services offered by the UK National Health Service for OT residents; to improve scrutiny of the FCO’s governance; and to provide better clarity on OT funding.

The government also stated that it is open to FAC advice to explore alternatives to the current management structure in which the FCO oversees the OTs.

It added that the foreign secretary is considering an in- dependent review of the structure through an inter-ministerial group that will meet in the summer, and that the FCO is committing additional funding for positions to support governors in the OTs.

The government is also establishing an inter-ministerial group to examine the issue of developing a dedicated fund for OT development aid.

In response to an FAC suggestion regarding citizenship by descent, the government noted that the Home Office has begun a consultation process with governors and OT governments to consider possible legislation to address concerns about OT parents who wish to pass on British citizenship to their children.

The response also addressed FAC concerns about the impact that the UK’s impending departure from the European Union will have on the territories, including access to various EU programmes like the European Development Fund and Horizon 2020.

In the event that there is no deal in the UK’s exit from the EU, the document stated, the UK will “guarantee funding for specific EU projects over their lifetime.”

Response to the response

The FAC fired back this week, saying in a statement that the government’s response to its report “risks diluting the shared values and commitments of the relationship and those of the flagship FCO policy of ‘Global Britain’” and did not engage with its recommendation on belongership “in any meaningful way.”

The statement quoted FAC Chair Tom Tugendhat speaking about the “bonds” between the UK and the OTs.

“Our report made a variety of recommendations to strengthen those bonds, but by not backing our calls against belongership and for same-sex marriage, the government risks weakening messages of core sympathy for each other’s core values,” he said.

He added that the committee would hold the government to account on its commitments to require public registers and to conduct an independent review of FCO management.

In VI, Fahie mum

VI Premier Andrew Fahie did not respond to requests for comment on the response. Deputy Premier Dr. Natalio “Sowande” Wheatley referred comments to Mr. Fahie.