British Indian Ocean Territory
Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs

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Photo of Jeremy Corbyn

Jeremy Corbyn (Islington North, Labour)

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 12 December 2012, Official Report, column 338W, on the British Indian Ocean Territory, what the basis is for his assertion that in the relevant Decision Notice the Information Commissioner has concluded that the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 do not apply to the British Indian Ocean Territory.

Photo of Mark Simmonds

Mark Simmonds (Boston and Skegness, Conservative)

The Freedom of Information Act and the Environmental Information Regulations do not apply to Overseas Territories. In the Information Commissioner's Decision Notice of 6 November 2012, the Information Commissioner accepts in paragraphs 2, 30 and 40 of the notice, that the governments of the British Indian Ocean Territory and the UK are constitutionally separate. However, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has accepted that British Indian Ocean Territory Administration information stored on FCO systems in London is subject to the Freedom of Information Act and the Environmental Information Regulations.

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