Pincher: No OTs Request Devolution Settlement
“None of the Overseas Territories have requested a constitutional relationship akin to the devolution settlements within the United Kingdom,” Minister of State Christopher Pincher said in the UK Parliament.
According to the Hansard of the UK Parliament’s session on January 27th, Shadow Minister Afzal Khan asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, “what his policy is on the future governance of the Overseas Territories; what assessment he has made of the potential merits of [a] a devolution settlement for those territories similar to those for devolved nations of the UK and [b] representation for those territories in the UK Parliament.”
In response, the Minister of State Christopher Pincher said, “Each of the United Kingdom’s 14 Overseas Territories has its own unique constitution setting out the responsibilities of the local government and the Government of the United Kingdom. The requests for constitutional reform have been driven by the people of each inhabited Territory.
“In the last year the Government has held formal negotiations on constitutional reform with the Cayman Islands and Anguilla. None of the Overseas Territories have requested a constitutional relationship akin to the devolution settlements within the United Kingdom.”
A fact sheet on Devolution from the UK Government states, “Devolution is about how parliaments and governments make decisions. In the UK it means that there are separate legislatures and executives in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.”
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