The number of Chagossians supported through funding from the Support Package since 2016 are:

From the accessible records held by the Foreign & Commonwealth Office, the legal costs of defending all actions brought against HMG by or on behalf of Chagossians in domestic courts or tribunals since 1998 to present are £3,971,391.17.

This figure has not been adjusted to take account of costs awarded to HMG.

It is not possible to assess the staff costs of FCO officials working on these cases, as staff time is not recorded in this way.

Chagossians born on the British Indian Ocean Territory are British Overseas Territories Citizens, and also automatically became British citizens under the British Overseas Territories Act 2002. These individuals therefore already have the right of abode in the United Kingdom.

Under current British nationality law, citizenship is normally only passed on to one generation born abroad. British citizens can make use of existing immigration routes to bring their family members to the UK.

We have no plans to extend the arrangements for British Nationals (Overseas) set out on 1 July 2020 to Chagossians.

We have developed the following criteria to demonstrate eligibility to access the Support Package:

• Being born in the Chagos Archipelago/British Indian Ocean Territory.
• Claiming to be of Chagossian heritage, descended from a Chagossian born in the Chagos Archipelago/British Indian Ocean Territory, with a direct maternal or paternal line of descent.

These criteria are already being applied to ensure that heritage visit places are allocated in a fair and transparent manner.

The UK Government has expressed sincere regret about the manner in which Chagossians were removed from the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) in the 1960s and 1970s. It announced in November 2016 that resettlement of Chagossians could not be supported on the grounds of feasibility, defence and security interests, and cost to the British taxpayer. The Government further announced at that time that it would implement a support package worth approximately £40 million over ten years. The support package intends to provide Chagossians in the communities in which they currently live - predominantly UK, Mauritius and Seychelles, - with better life chances. The Government recognises the emotional connection of Chagossians to BIOT, and has expanded the heritage visit programme to allow more Chagossians to visit in the coming years.

The Chagossian Support Package is discretionary Government funding to address the most pressing needs of the Chagossian community in the UK and overseas by improving access to health and social care and to improved education and employment opportunities. It is not intended to help with the immediate financial issues caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

There are other UK Government financial support schemes to provide assistance to businesses and individuals affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and associated lockdown.

The Prime Minister had a discussion with Prime Minister Jugnauth, which included the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT), when he attended the UK-Africa Investment Summit in London in January. We remain open to dialogue with Mauritius on matters of shared interest, including BIOT and its Marine Protected Area (MPA).

We have no doubt about our sovereignty over the territory of BIOT, which has been under continuous British sovereignty since 1814. We have made a long-standing commitment to cede sovereignty of the territory to Mauritius when it is no longer required for defence purposes. We stand by that commitment.

In November 2016, the UK Government announced that resettlement of Chagossians could not be supported on the grounds of feasibility, defence and security interests, and cost to the British taxpayer. There remains no right of abode in BIOT. While resettlement is unrealistic the UK Government is providing a significant package of assistance to Chagossians to help boost their life chances and provide increased opportunities to participate in a rolling programme of heritage visits to the Territory