Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office written question – answered at on 5 February 2026.
Fleur Anderson
Labour, Putney
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has had discussions with Cabinet colleagues on the ratification of the Global Ocean Treaty.
Neil Duncan-Jordan
Labour, Poole
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she plans to ratify the UN High Seas Treaty by June 2026.
Seema Malhotra
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities), Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Following Royal Assent of the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Act (BBNJ), further secondary legislation is required before the BBNJ Agreement can be ratified by the UK. This will happen when the parliamentary timetable allows.
Yes1 person thinks so
No0 people think not
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Secretary of State was originally the title given to the two officials who conducted the Royal Correspondence under Elizabeth I. Now it is the title held by some of the more important Government Ministers, for example the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
The cabinet is the group of twenty or so (and no more than 22) senior government ministers who are responsible for running the departments of state and deciding government policy.
It is chaired by the prime minister.
The cabinet is bound by collective responsibility, which means that all its members must abide by and defend the decisions it takes, despite any private doubts that they might have.
Cabinet ministers are appointed by the prime minister and chosen from MPs or peers of the governing party.
However, during periods of national emergency, or when no single party gains a large enough majority to govern alone, coalition governments have been formed with cabinets containing members from more than one political party.
War cabinets have sometimes been formed with a much smaller membership than the full cabinet.
From time to time the prime minister will reorganise the cabinet in order to bring in new members, or to move existing members around. This reorganisation is known as a cabinet re-shuffle.
The cabinet normally meets once a week in the cabinet room at Downing Street.
