Ascension Island

Part of the debate – in Westminster Hall at 10:22 am on 15 February 2006.

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Photo of Geoffrey Clifton-Brown Geoffrey Clifton-Brown Shadow Minister (Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs) 10:22, 15 February 2006

I congratulate Dr. Cable on securing the debate. I think that it was my first day in the House when I went into the Tea Room and someone said to me, "You know, whatever topic is discussed in the House, there will always be someone who is an expert on it." When I saw the title of this debate on the Order Paper, I obviously knew that the hon. Gentleman was an expert on the subject, but I did not know that my hon. Friends the Members for North-East Milton Keynes (Mr. Lancaster), for Shrewsbury and Atcham (Daniel Kawczynski) and for Worthing, West (Peter Bottomley), as well as the hon. Members for Colchester (Bob Russell) and for Taunton (Mr. Browne), were also experts. I congratulate them all on their speeches.

I also congratulate you, Mr. Bercow, as I think this is the first time that you have found yourself in the Chair for these proceedings. We are delighted to see you in that exalted position and hope that you will have many happy years sitting in the Chair, doing exactly what you are doing today.

I tend to the theory that there has not been a conspiracy over what is happening on Ascension Island and that the Government have found themselves in a bit of a muddle. As the hon. Member for Taunton said, they did not want to be totally open about their thinking on what the future of the island ought to be.

I declare an interest: like a number of my hon. Friends, I have been to Ascension Island on the way to the Falklands. I spent a happy lunchtime in the administrator's delightful residence. It had a lawn that many people in this country would be proud to tend, and a great deal of effort must go into tending it considering the problems on the top of the mountain there. We had to spend even more time on the island on the way back from the Falklands because the RAF would not take us out of there until the fog had cleared at RAF Brize Norton. The RAF did not want to land at Heathrow or Prestwick because of the cost.

Like my hon. Friend the Member for North-East Milton Keynes, therefore, I have spent several hours on Ascension Island. There is not much there, but it is no exaggeration to say that the Falkland Islands invasion could not have been repelled without the use of the island. It is strategically very important to the Government and to the Americans, as one can see by the size of the airport there and the facilities that GCHQ, Cable & Wireless and the RAF have there. It is a vital strategic base for us, as well as an important test base for the Americans, with their tracking of rockets and so on. The Government therefore need to be totally open about what they want to achieve for the island.

I, too, was struck by the article in The Daily Telegraph on 13 February, just two days ago. I picked out from it the phrase "contingent liabilities". The Government need to explain carefully to us what gave rise to the complete change of heart. They established an island council and they wanted to establish property rights, alternative American charter flights and a tourism business. Now, all of a sudden, the Government have changed their mind. It would be useful if the Minister explained clearly to us the reasons for that change of mind. As my hon. Friend the Member for Worthing, West pointed out, it would have been useful had the Minister spoken at the beginning, because we could have questioned him on what he said. In the absence of that, we have to ask a few questions.

I have given the Minister notice of my questions. If he cannot answer today all the points raised in the debate, I would be grateful if he put a note in the Library, or perhaps provided a written statement to the House on the points that emerge. Perhaps we could have a position paper on the Government's intentions for the future of the island. It might be helpful to have that on the record.

I shall ask the Minister a few of the questions of which I gave him notice. Do the Government regret their recommendation that there should be a review in relation to the constitutional rights of residence for people living on Ascension Island? Do the Government now believe that the residents of Ascension Island should have any influence on local decision making or not? What will be the future of the island council? If the people are to have some form of representation, the Government need to know how they are to be represented, both on the island council and directly to the Government.

What did the Government have in mind when they decided in April 2001 that fundamental changes were necessary in how Ascension Island was run? Do the Government regret their decision to introduce the idea of an island council in the 2001 concept paper, and their introduction of a new fiscal regime in April 2002, which brought in local income, property and customs taxes without the award of local democratic representation to the residents of Ascension Island? Those are critical questions, as are those on property rights, to which the hon. Member for Twickenham alluded.

Ascension Island's revenue budget for 2003–04 amounted to £4.3 million. Fiscal expenditure amounted to £3.3 million for recurrent expenditure and £0.7 million for capital expenses, leaving transfer reserves of £0.3 million—7 per cent. of revenue. Government expenditure funds one school, one hospital offering limited services but including basic operations, and police and judicial services, all of which are provided free to local taxpayers. Given that the economy is so fragile, surely the Government should reassure the residents of Ascension Island by employing a consistent and fair policy towards the island.

Following the completion of negotiations with the US authorities in October 2003 to allow air-charter access to Wideawake airfield, what approaches have been made by private transport groups to operate a link with Ascension Island? Have the Government considered promoting such links? Incidentally, Wideawake airfield is a misnomer if ever I heard one, because one nearly always arrives there in the middle of the night after a long flight from RAF Brize Norton anything but wide-awake. I think that the name refers to the birds, rather than the human condition.

What assessments have been made of the effect on the Ascension Island economy and on the local economy of a link with airports such as Brize Norton? It seems to me that that would be a possibility. Having visited Brize Norton, which is contiguous to my constituency, and knowing that the RAF is thinking about introducing a more commercial element to Brize Norton, there is an ideal opportunity to establish some form of tourism and more commercial activity with the island if the Government want to do so.

The hon. Member for Twickenham asked how many people were born on the island. It seems to me that if people, and perhaps their parents and grandparents, were born there, they have gone a long way down the road of citizenship. If they have citizenship of the island, will the Government recognise it?

What discussions have taken place in the past 12 months with the US Administration on changes in the administration of Ascension Island? Have those discussions impeded the agreed powers of the Ascension Island Administration? That is a key matter. I suspect that some discussions have taken place with the Americans and that some security implication has caused the Government's change of mind. It would be helpful—within, obviously, the bounds of open government—if the Minister gave us an idea of that today.

What are the contingent liabilities? The hon. Member for Twickenham, with his financial background, concentrated on the financial possibilities of contingent liabilities, but they could cover a multitude of possibilities—including even contamination and things of that kind. Alternatively, are we just thinking about the human condition and the problems of providing health, pensions and social security? Are they what is meant by contingent liabilities? We need to know. This is one of the crucial questions that we need to have answered in the debate.

According to Government figures, the cost of internal security and policing on Ascension has not been borne by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Who has shouldered that cost and what influence do they now have over the running of the island? Is it true that Ascension Island's local government paid for its own policing and internal security in 2004–05 and does the Minister believe that the Ascension Island Administration are now capable of running their own affairs? If there is to be a council, we need to know what revenue-raising powers, and thus the likely powers over administration of the island, it will have with regard to those essential public services.

What measures are the Minister's Department and the Ministry of Defence taking to ensure that the residents of Ascension Island who are entitled to a state pension receive a fair deal? If the Government will not award them quarterly uprating, does the Minister intend to give the Ascension Island Administration the powers necessary to provide for those residents? We need to know that with regard to not only pensions, but the entire range of public services.