Letter to the Second Clerk of the Committee
from the Head, Parliamentary Relations Team, Foreign and Commonwealth
Office
FAC OVERSEAS TERRITORIES INQUIRY—ORAL
EVIDENCE FOLLOW-UP
A number of follow-up action points arose from
Meg Munn's oral evidence to the Committee on 26 March. We provide
below some further answers referring to the transcript, together
with some wider points raised including on Turks and Caicos Islands
(TCI) issues and the Bermuda Regiment.
The action points in relation to Mr Murphy's
oral evidence on Gibraltar will follow shortly.
Q 280/281/282: Update on security measures to
protect the Attorney General following an arson attack, and on
a replacement for the Chief Auditor in TCI. Further comment on
allegations and concerns in written evidence referred to by the
FAC.
We can assure the Committee that we take all
allegations of corruption in an Overseas Territory extremely seriously.
The further development and promotion of good governance is a
key objective. But it is vital that any action be based on substantive
evidence. Party loyalties run deep in TCI and opinions about corruption
on each side of the political divide are highly polarised. We
continue to encourage anyone in the Turks and Caicos Islands who
has evidence of corruption to bring it forwards. All allegations
are looked into thoroughly, as appropriate, by the Governor's
Office, by the Audit Department (whose reports are subsequently
taken up by the Public Accounts Committee, which is chaired by
the Leader of the Opposition) or by the police Financial Crime
Unit, which is headed by a retired UK police officer. A number
of allegations are currently the subject of on-going enquiries.
But so far there has been insufficient evidence to justify either
a prosecution or a Commission of Enquiry.
For the longer term, two important steps are
about to be taken, which should significantly improve both the
capacity to deter and detect corruption as well as significantly
reduce the scope for abuse. By the end of April, the House of
Assembly is likely to adopt a Bill which will establish an independent,
standing Integrity Commission, with extensive powers to investigate
allegations of corruption. The implementation of this legislation
should enable the UN Convention on Corruption and the OECD Bribery
Convention to be extended to TCI.
Work is well advanced on legislation and other
measures to radically improve the management of Crown Land, which
has been identified as an essential element for assuring the sustainable
economic and social development of TCI. This will include the
creation of a dedicated Unit within government and a Bill which
should ensure transparent, accountable and fair procedures for
managing all Crown Land issues which should address the primary
problem of weak implementation of the agreed policy. Questions
over the granting of Crown Land lie at the root of many of the
current allegations, as indeed has been the case under previous
administrations.
ARSON ATTACK
ON THE
ATTORNEY-GENERAL'S
CHAMBERS
The Attorney General did not request assistance
from the FCO with his security following the arson attack on his
office in March. However, he did ask the Governor last year whether
an assessment of the security of his office and house could be
carried out. The Governor advised him that an effort would be
made for that assessment to be done during one of the routine
visits to TCI by an FCO Overseas Security Adviser. This was recommended
to the FCO by the Governor's Office but they were informed by
the FCO that the Adviser's remit was limited to reviewing security
arrangements in place for FCO staff. Following the arson attack
on his office, the Attorney called a meeting of senior Government
Officials (including the police) during which a plan was developed
which resulted in urgent and visible improvements in the security
of government offices in general, including the newly re-located
Attorney General's Chambers.
The Attorney General has seen this clarification
of events and has confirmed its content.
REPLACEMENT FOR
CHIEF AUDITOR
A substantive replacement for the Chief Auditor
will be in place in May. The successful applicant is well-qualified
and has long experience within the region. The Governor has been
working since July 2007 to fill this post and has kept the FCO
in close touch with developments. He sought and secured a salary
uplift from the local government to attract well-qualified candidates
and, since it continued to prove difficult to find a suitable
candidate before the former Chief Auditor left, he arranged for
an experienced Auditor from the UK Audit Commission to fill the
post on a temporary basis to ensure that there was no gap following
the departure of the former Chief Auditor in November 2007. The
Acting Chief Auditor had to leave post in March and efforts to
find another temporary auditor were unsuccessful. But the gap
has been kept down to two months and the Governor has invited
the former Acting Chief Auditor to return to TCI in May to provide
a comprehensive handover to his successor.
Q 302: Advise on action we are taking with the
Haitian Government about illegal immigration into TCI.
We remain deeply concerned about the continuing
tragic trade in illegal migrants from Haiti to the Turks and Caicos
Islands, and we continue to work closely with the Turks and Caicos
Islands Government on this issue on a number of fronts:
— through the Governor, we support
an on-going programme to build co-operation at both official and
Ministerial level between the Turks and Caicos Islands Government
and the Government of Haiti. Plans to formalise this through the
signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the TCI and Haiti
in May have had to be postponed due to recent events in Haiti
but it is hoped that it can be taken forward as soon as possible.
The MOU will focus on the need to improve the interdiction of
illegal migrants and other areas of mutual interest including
promoting trade, closer political co-operation and the sharing
of intelligence on smuggling drugs and firearms from Haiti. Our
Ambassador in Santo Domingo also raised this issue during a meeting
with the Haitian Foreign Minister in January;
— the Governor has initiated a process
to build further on the existing co-operation between the US,
The Bahamas and TCI in combating drug trafficking and to extend
this to cover illegal immigration. A tripartite group has been
established which is working on improving real time co-operation
between law enforcement agencies in all three countries. The US
Ambassador is convening a further meeting in Nassau in May to
take forwards this process;
— the Governor commissioned a comprehensive
review of the TCI Police Marine Branch, which is in the front
line in the effort to interdict illegal immigrants arriving in
TCI. The recommendations from the review call for significant
increases in staff, equipment and training. The key recommendation
is to appoint a highly skilled and experienced new commander of
the Branch, possibly from the UK, who will have responsibility
for implementing the other recommendations. A priority recruitment
process is underway. HMG has provided training for the Marine
Branch for many years; the possibility of basing a new HMG-funded
Regional Training Co-ordinator in the TCI, together with an inshore
patrol boat, is also being considered;
— by judicious routing and in the absence
of higher defence priorities, Atlantic Patrol Task (North) (a
Royal Navy frigate and Royal Fleet Auxiliary tanker) has managed
to increase port visits to TCI over the past year. Additionally,
at the request of the TCI Police Marine Branch, specialists from
the ships' crews have exceptionally provided training and use
of their helicopters to work with the TCI police in finding illegal
immigrants living in the bush. Although not a core defence responsibility,
the ships' presence is perceived to have provided a temporary,
but effective, deterrent to the would-be people traffickers;
— the TCI Government will shortly be
bringing forward revised immigration legislation which, amongst
other things, should help to reduce the "pull" factor
to TCI by more effectively implementing work permit regulations
and clamping down on illegal working; and
— the UK Government makes a significant
contribution to tackling the situation on the ground in Haiti.
The UK will pay £21 million towards the assessed costs of
the United Nations Stabilisation Force in Haiti (MINUSTAH) in
2007/8. The challenge for the UN in Haiti goes beyond traditional
peacekeeping to include capacity building and development.
The responsibility for immigration in the Turks
and Caicos Islands is delegated to the local government. The Immigration
Department has provided figures that show that 2,028 illegal migrants
were detected and subsequently repatriated to Haiti in 2006 and
that the numbers had decreased to 856 in 2007. The TCI Government
estimate that roughly the same number of illegal migrants enter
the Territory, evade detection, stay illegally and find work.
We understand that the annual cost to the local government is
estimated at some US$ 1 million, which represents a significant
pressure on local resources. We do have some concerns about the
accuracy of the figures provided, but the local government has
assured us that they are correct.
Q 333: Bermuda Regiment
GENDER DISCRIMINATION
IN CONSCRIPTION
Responsibility for the Bermuda Regiment was
delegated to the Government of Bermuda in 1989; recruitment policy
is therefore a matter for the elected Ministers of Bermuda. The
Bermuda Defence Act 1965 specifies that "every male commonwealth
citizen who possesses Bermudian status ... while is over the age
of 18 under the age of 23" is liable for military service.
That is the law of Bermuda and there are no grounds for the Governor
to intervene. However, the Regiment is giving consideration to
how more male and female volunteers might be attracted to serve
in the Regiment (but see below).
COMPLAINTS OF
ABUSE
The Commanding Officer of the Regiment is satisfied
that abuse does not occur, and has assured us that that any report
of abuse would be investigated vigorously and, if substantiated,
dealt with appropriately. The Regiment is subject to periodic,
independent, assessment by an officer from the Defence Adviser's
staff at the British Embassy in Washington. In September he will
visit Bermuda again to closely observe the Regiment in action
during a joint services exercise. The Assistant Defence Attaché
from Washington visited the Regiment, during its annual training
camp in Jamaica this month.
A NEW ROLE?
The Bermuda Regiment will continue to play two
vital roles which best serve Bermuda's needs; to support the Bermuda
Police Service in times of national emergency, and to undertake
a post disaster relief role both at home and elsewhere in the
region (as it did after Hurricane Ivan in the Cayman Islands in
2004 and Grenada in 2005). There is no intention to change the
role of the Bermuda Regiment to make it part of the British Army,
along the lines of the Royal Gibraltar Regiment (with individuals
and small contingents serving in operational theatres), but the
Government of Bermuda is considering the scope for increasing
the number of full time staff within the Regiment to enable it
to take on more responsibilities, for example an enhanced maritime
role. These discussions are at a preliminary stage and will require
input from the Regiment, the Bermuda Police Service, the Bermuda
Fire Service, Government House, and other stakeholders.
During Meg Munn's visit to Bermuda last month
she met several senior officers of the Regiment to discuss these
issues. They impressed her with their enthusiasm for the Regiment
and willingness to work at shaping it to adapt to changing times.
But they did not underestimate the challenges that they might
face. For example, given the thriving Bermuda economy and virtually
full employment there, attracting more fulltime staff to the Regiment
will not be easy. It is increasingly difficult for the police
and fire services to recruit and retain Bermudian staff while
the thriving private sector can offer more attractive rewards.
In attempting to recruit more staff the Regiment would be competing
directly with the police and fire services. Already some 40% of
police officers in Bermuda are recruited from overseas.
Q 335: How do you ensure that decisions and discussions
at the Overseas Territories Consultative Council are followed
up by other Government Departments?
The FCO informs other UK Government Departments
of the Overseas Territories Consultative Council agenda items
relevant to them and invites them to send a representative to
lead the discussion.
At the most recent meeting in December 2007,
the Attorney General, Baroness Scotland, Jane Kennedy (HM Treasury),
Jim Fitzpatrick, (Department for Transport) and John Hutton (Department
for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform) all participated.
We believe this is a good example of the importance many UK Departments
attach to Ministerial dialogue with the Territories.
But, as the Minister said in her evidence session,
there is scope for greater engagement on the Overseas Territories
by other Whitehall Departments and Ministers. The FCO and DfID
Permanent Under-Secretaries wrote jointly to their opposite numbers
in Whitehall in December last year reminding them that the Territories
are a shared Whitehall responsibility and asking each of them
to set out their arrangements for dealing with the Territories.
There has been a limited response so far. We intend to follow
this up at Ministerial level to get commitments from UK Departments
to work more closely on the Overseas Territories.
A number of action points were agreed at the
Overseas Territories Consultative Council including measures to
take forward work on the extension to the Territories of international
conventions on human rights and corruption, constitutional modernisation,
sustainable development and climate change. Since then, the FCO
has followed up on these issues with the UK Departments concerned
through correspondence and meetings at both official and Ministerial
level. For example, Baroness Scotland has just chaired the annual
conference of OT Attorneys General in the Turks and Caicos Islands
at which criminal justice issues raised at the December Consultative
Council were followed up.
Officials have also been engaged with a cross-section
of Whitehall partners in order to progress other agenda items,
including financial services regulation, access to healthcare,
disaster management and development.
The FCO also continues to work with other Whitehall
Departments outside of the context of the OTCC on issues as they
arise. Examples include working with the Department for Transport
on air safety, with DfID as described elsewhere in additional
evidence, and with MoD on a number of issues not least in relation
to the Falklands and BIOT. There are two excellent examples of
co-operation between the FCO, DfID and MOD when asked for emergency
assistance on Tristan da Cunha. In December 2007 we responded
quickly to information we received of a potential shortage of
asthma and flu drugs on the island. A contingency supply of drugs
was delivered on a Royal Navy Royal Fleet Auxiliary within 12
days. Also, in February 2008 the MOD sent a party of Royal Engineers
to Tristan to undertake emergency work on the harbour, the only
access point for the island, following a request for emergency
assistance from the Island. DfID funded the work. The Engineers
completed their work, securing the harbour over the austral winter.
Plans for further work are under review given the high quality
of the Engineers' work.
Q 336/337: FCO's relationship with DFID in relation
to delivering the aid programmes in Montserrat, St Helena and
Pitcairn.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office leads in
Whitehall to ensure the security and good governance of the UK's
Overseas Territories. Other Whitehall departments have a shared
responsibility for the Overseas Territories in their specific
areas of competence. The FCO and DFID are working closely together
in Montserrat, St Helena and Pitcairn to help the Territory governments
towards eventual graduation from budgetary aid to self-sustainability.
MONTSERRAT
In Montserrat, the FCO and DFID are also working
together to mitigate against the effects of ongoing volcanic activity.
Examples include:
— through budgetary aid, DfID funds
the Government of Montserrat's day to day monitoring of the volcano,
with the help of external expertise; this is supplemented by twice
yearly visits, funded by the FCO, by an independent Scientific
Advisory Committee which provides a strategic assessment of volcanic
activity. Together, this provides the information necessary for
the Governor to work with the territory government in assessing
the risk level of volcanic activity; and
— as part of the Constitutional Review
process underway in Montserrat, the UK constitutional team (led
by the FCO) has ensured that any provisions negotiated in the
new Constitution are consistent with Montserrat's sustainable
development plan, which is supported by DFID assistance.
Officials from both Departments are in touch
on a daily basis about the development programme. The Governor
is exploring with DFID colleagues the feasibility of FCO and DFID
co-locating in Montserrat. There are logistical challenges that
will have to be addressed. But it is a clear indication of the
two Departments' commitment to strengthening on-island operational
collaboration.
ST HELENA
The FCO works closely with a number of other
government departments on St Helena. This is particularly the
case with DFID, given the level of budgetary support provided
to the island and the ongoing work on the air access project.
A UK Government team, comprising officials from
DFID and the FCO, visited St Helena in March 2007 to review the
use of budgetary aid. During their visit, the team agreed a three-year
package of development assistance. The team also reviewed the
draft Sustainable Development Plan (SDP) and departmental business
plans as well as discussing a framework for monitoring progress
towards implementing national and departmental reform programmes.
The close working relationship is maintained
throughout the year by individual and team meetings. Officials
from DFID and the FCO hold joint weekly telephone conferences
with the Governor, his staff and the DFID representative on the
island. These conference calls are used to review programmes on
the island, plan future activities and discuss all issues of importance
to the Governor, FCO and DFID. FCO and DFID officials have sat
on recruitment panels with the Governor for the appointment of
senior posts for St Helena Government, including the Chief Secretary,
Financial Secretary and Attorney General.
Given the significant levels of work and investment
involved in the air access project, FCO and DFID officials are
constantly in contact about this project. An FCO official is a
member of the DFID Air Access Team and participates in the regular
meetings between officials and the Access Team on St Helena. FCO
and DFID have together supported the preparatory work on island
in terms of legislative, administrative, organisational and other
changes.
These formal contacts are supplemented by ad
hoc discussions, exchanges and meetings at all levels, including
PUS and Ministerial, and including by teleconference with the
Governor and his staff.
PITCAIRN
FCO and DfID Ministers have had discussions
on the future policy for Pitcairn and an internal joint development
strategy paper has been produced. Both Departments are working
closely to return Pitcairn to self-sustainability.
Because of the relationship between Commissioner
and Governor, DFID and the Governor's office work jointly on various
aspects of the governance and economic development of Pitcairn.
At present the Commissioner is on the island pushing forward a
restructuring of Pitcairn's governance in close consultation with
the Governor's Office in Wellington. Given the size of the island
population, and the complete lack of a civil service, the Governor's
Office is involved in the day-to-day running of the island. This
does not happen to the same extent in other territories.
A further example is the work on new shipping
routes. DFID are looking to set up a new, more frequent and regular,
shipping route involving Auckland and French Polynesia for passengers
and freight. Negotiations with the French authorities in Paris
and French Polynesia are being undertaken by the Governor's office.
Without this, the new service could not be implemented, so co-operation
between the FCO and DFID is essential.
25 April 2008
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