A Written Ministerial Statement (WMS) on 19 December 2023 provided a comprehensive update on this issue (HCWS151).

Publicly accessible registers of beneficial ownership are an essential tool for tackling illicit finance. That is why in 2016 the UK set up our own publicly accessible register of beneficial ownership, the People with Significant Control (PSCs) register, which was the first of its kind in the world. The UK Government is still committed to publicly accessible registers becoming the global norm, including in the Crown Dependencies (CDs) and Overseas Territories (OTs). Many other countries and jurisdictions around the world have joined us. We are still working with others to achieve this aim.

Regarding the 2022 CJEU judgment and other relevant rulings, the UK is satisfied with the lawfulness of our own publicly accessible registers and continues to believe that the CDs could legally implement public registers of their own. As set out in my WMS in December, according to Transparency International, currently 14 EU Member States allow public access to their beneficial ownership registers. Gibraltar has maintained a publicly accessible beneficial ownership register since 2020 and has not noted any negative economic impacts resulting from implementation of its public register.

On 13 December 2023, the CDs issued new public commitments on providing access to their beneficial ownership registers for obliged entities and those with a legitimate interest, including media and civil society organisations. While the Home Office broadly welcomed these commitments as a very significant step forward in beneficial ownership transparency, it is not the pace the UK Government expects, and the CDs have been urged to implement them as quickly as possible this year.

On 18 January 2024, the EU published proposals on their Sixth Anti-Money Laundering Directive (6AMLD), which the CDs stated in their public commitments will help inform the development of their own definitions of legitimate interest access. With this important development, and considering the time that has elapsed since their original 2019 commitments, and the importance these improvements will bring to the security of the UK and the wider British family, the Home Office is urging the CDs to make progress as quickly as possible this year.

The UK Government position remains that the CDs should be working towards publicly accessible registers in the longer term. Nevertheless, the Home Office looks forward to seeing these commitments on legitimate interest access being adopted by the appropriate CD parliaments. Parliament will wish to consider the CDs’ commitments and will closely monitor the situation.

In 2019, the Bailiwick of Jersey, Bailiwick of Guernsey and Isle of Man (the Crown Dependencies) committed to implement publicly accessible registers of beneficial ownership in line with principles adopted by the European Union.

In December 2022, following the ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), the Crown Dependencies issued a statement announcing that they were pausing work on their public commitments while they sought legal advice.

Currently 14 EU Member States allow public access to their beneficial ownership registers. Gibraltar has maintained a publicly accessible beneficial ownership register since 2020 and has not noted any negative economic impacts resulting from implementation of its public register.

The UK and the Crown Dependencies have differing legal views on implementing publicly accessible registers in light of the CJEU ruling. The UK is satisfied with the lawfulness of our own publicly accessible registers and continues to believe that the CDs could legally implement public registers of their own.

The Home Office is actively engaging the Crown Dependencies to understand their position. We will keep Parliament updated in the weeks ahead.

The Seafarers’ Wages Bill is a key strand in the Nine-Pont Plan for seafarer protections and will ensure that seafarers with close ties to the UK, working aboard services in scope of the Bill and do not qualify for the UK National Minimum Wage, are paid a fair wage.

It will apply to services calling at UK ports from a place outside the UK at least once every 72 hours, which equates to 120 times a year, and access to UK ports will be conditional on operators demonstrating that they will be paying at least an equivalent to the UK National Minimum Wage to their seafarers whilst in UK waters. This would include services calling from Jersey and Guernsey whilst in UK territorial waters, provided that they meet the frequency threshold.

We have also begun engaging with Jersey and Guernsey on how we can improve seafarer welfare and to explore the creation of minimum wage equivalent corridors.

The UK is constitutionally responsible for the defence and international relations of the Crown Dependencies (CDs), in recognition of which the CDs make voluntary contributions to the UK Government, either financially (directly and indirectly) or by providing military personnel. As these are general contributions in recognition of the UK’s overall responsibilities, and as it is in the interests of the UK to represent the whole British family internationally, these contributions are not intended to reflect the exact cost of either defending the Crown Dependencies or representing them internationally.

The Isle of Man makes a direct monetary contribution to the Consolidated Fund at HM Treasury. The Isle of Man’s payments are broken down in Table 1 below.

Table 1

The Bailiwick of Jersey’s contribution is to maintain an Army Reserve Unit (the Jersey Field Squadron, part of the Royal Engineers) on the island. Jersey pays the UK Ministry of Defence’s costs associated with the Jersey Field Squadron and meets the on-island costs directly. Jersey’s total contribution can be found in Table 2 below.

Table 2

The Bailiwick of Guernsey makes part of its contribution in the form of payment of passport fees, which are passed to the UK Ministry of Justice (MoJ), these are subsequently paid over to the Consolidated Fund at HM Treasury. Guernsey also accepts ownership of the breakwater in Alderney and is responsible for its repair, management and maintenance. Guernsey’s contributions can be found in Table 3 below.

Table 3

*Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the issue of passport fees from the Bailiwick of Guernsey in respect of 2020 was delayed and therefore receipted in 2021-22. £287,812.00 was received in June 2021 in respect of January 2020 to December 2020 and this amount will be reported in the MoJ Annual Report and Accounts for the year ending 31 March 2022. The 2020-21 figure for Guernsey passport fees is lower than previous years, as Guernsey received a reduced number of passport applications due to the Covid-19 pandemic.