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Written question asked by Ashley Fox (Conservative) on Monday, 6 July 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 9 July 2026 (named day). A holding answer was provided on Thursday, 9 July 2026. A substantive answer was provided by Keir Mather (Labour) on Wednesday, 2 September 2026 on behalf of the Department for Transport.

Maritime and Coastguard Agency: British Overseas Territories

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 29 June 2026 to Question 11742 on British Overseas Territories, what estimate she has made of the cost to the public purse of each monitoring visit undertaken by officials from the Maritime and Coastguard Agency to British Overseas Territories since 4 July 2024, broken down by (a) destination and (b) visit.

Answer

The MCA undertakes monitoring visits to provide assurance that Overseas Territories’ maritime administrations continue to meet their international maritime obligations and the standards set under the Red Ensign Group framework.

The estimated cost for each of the monitoring visits undertaken by officials from the Maritime and Coastguard Agency to British Overseas Territories since 4 July 2024 is shown below: This does not include staff salaries.

Location X Number of Auditors

Dates

Travel (£)

Accommodation (£)

Subsistence (£, estimated)

Other expenditure (£)

Total cost (£)

Primary Monitoring Visits

Gibraltar X 4

16–20 Sep 2024

2,802.37

2,285.33

632.07

—

5,719.77

Turks & Caicos Islands X 4

2–6 Dec 2024

8,676.98

10,268.26

1,180.77

400.88

20,526.89

St Helena X 3

24–28 Feb 2025

16,518.26

4,873.56

727.74

—

22,119.56

Cayman Islands X 3

1–12 Sep 2025

10,034.90

3,661.70

709.71

—

14,406.31

British Virgin Islands X 5

1–5 Dec 2025

32,116.97

6,791.67

1,725.53

—

40,634.17

Secondary Monitoring / Support Visits

British Virgin Islands X 3

29–31 Jul 2024

17,410.96

2,958.99

725.62

470.46

21,566.03

Anguilla X 1

20–24 Jan 2025

1,978.00

1,399.75

644.07

—

4,021.82

British Virgin Islands X 2

16–18 Jul 2025

4,790.56

1,732.16

431.59

297.15

7,251.46

Turks & Caicos Islands X 2

3–6 Nov 2025

7,172.34

3,175.34

713.27

—

11,060.95

St Helena X 3

16–20 Mar 2026

8,267.00

2,730.00

586.24

—

11,583.24

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
16175
Session
2026-27
Related items
Subjects
Costs British overseas territories Visits abroad Maritime and Coastguard Agency
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk