New White Paper on the Overseas Territories is urgently needed, says Lords committee

The UK Overseas Territories are a vital and valued part of the wider UK family. The Territories stretch across the globe, from the likes of Anguilla in the Caribbean to the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic, the Pitcairn Islands in the South Pacific, and Gibraltar on the European mainland. They enrich our social, cultural, environmental and economic life through  abundant biodiversity, thriving financial sectors, and their vital strategic significance. The Territories are, however, also uniquely exposed to global challenges and geopolitical uncertainty. The UK Government must fulfil its promise to ensure its relationship with them is one of “openness and mutual respect”, according to the House of Lords Constitution Committee.  

In a letter published today to Stephen Doughty MP, Minister of State for the UK Overseas Territories, the Committee has set out the findings of its inquiry into the 2023 UK-Overseas Territories Joint Declaration. It has made a number of recommendations on how to strengthen the UK's relationship with the Overseas Territories, including: 

• A new White Paper should be published in the next parliamentary session. This is urgently needed to bring together the confusing patchwork of documents and principles - which have proliferated since the publication of the badly outdated 2012 White Paper - into a single policy framework. It would also provide a valuable opportunity for the UK Government, together with the Overseas Territories, to think more strategically about their constitutional relationship and its future. 

• The UK Government, working with the Overseas Territories, must ensure that the commitments and principles within the 2023 UK-Overseas Territories Joint Declaration are at the forefront of their day-to-day engagement. To facilitate this, formal mechanisms should be established to monitor, and report on, progress against the commitments made within the Joint Declaration. 

• The UK Government must work with interested Overseas Territories to bring forward bilateral Compacts as a matter of urgency. These Compacts should involve a jointly-agreed framework for engagement and clearly set out how progress against the commitments made will be monitored and reviewed. 

• The regular turnover of FCDO ministers and officials has had a detrimental impact on inter-personal relationships with the Overseas Territories and institutional memory. The Government should only make changes to ministerial and official responsibilities for the Overseas Territories sparingly, and should ensure that structures for effective engagement are deeply embedded so that they are not vulnerable to changing personalities. The Government should also review the appropriateness of ministerial responsibility for the Overseas Territories remaining with the FCDO.  

• There is an underlying tension between the UK's overarching responsibility for good governance and upholding international commitments and the Overseas Territories' desire to exercise autonomy. The UK Government and the Overseas Territories must ensure that they work together to reach resolutions on important policy and constitutional matters for mutual benefit. 

• Positive engagement between the UK Government and the Overseas Territories requires early engagement, ongoing and transparent communication, and clarity about roles and responsibilities. These principles should be embedded across all Government departments as a routine part of their engagement with the Overseas Territories, and should be reflected in the UK Government's new Charter of Engagement. A list of officials within each department responsible for matters relating to the Overseas Territories should be made available to Territory Governments as soon as possible, and updated annually.  

Lord Strathclyde, Chair of the Constitution Committee said: 

“The relationship between the UK Government and the Overseas Territories is of fundamental constitutional importance. It has matured and modernised significantly in recent decades and is in many respects positive and constructive. 

“The Overseas Territories do not always feel appropriately respected or valued, and the 2012 White Paper is now badly out of date. A cross-Whitehall culture that respects and values the Overseas Territories is central to effective engagement. The UK Government must ensure that the Overseas Territories are not reliant solely on personal relationships with motivated ministers and officials to ensure they are informed, consulted, and engaged in decision-making.  

“The Overseas Territories play a vital societal, cultural, environmental, economic and strategic role as an integral part of the wider UK family. The UK Government must commit to structurally embedding the features of positive engagement with the Overseas Territories, to support a respectful, reciprocal and constructive relationship for the long-term. This should begin with the publication of a new White Paper in the next parliamentary session.” 

Note to editors         

1. This letter summarises the findings of the committee's inquiry into the 2023 UK-Overseas Territories Joint Declaration. The inquiry has reviewed progress against the commitments set out in the Joint Declaration, as well as the mechanisms for engagement between the UK and the Overseas Territories, and the extent to which they are effective. More information about the inquiry is available here.