Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2015-12-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 10 November 2015 to Question 14443, what sources of funding which are not from the Government are available for the resettlement of Chagossians in the Chagos Archipelago.

James Duddridge

Following the conclusion of a 12 week public consultation on the resettlement of the British Indian Ocean Territory on 27 October, the Government is now considering the responses. As part of that work we are aware of the existence of options including EU and private sector funding to reduce any potential upfront cost to the UK taxpayer of any resettlement. No decision has yet been made about whether to allow a resettlement, and because of that, no discussions have yet been had with any external funding organisations. In any decision, it is important we take into account the high cost associated with resettlement but also the open-ended liabilities it could incur and the need for the military facility on Diego Garcia to continue to operate unhindered.