Baroness gets BOTs as part of cross-ministry portfolio
Baroness Anelay
(CNS): Responsibility for the British Overseas Territories has gone to Baroness Anelay of St Johns (69), who has cross-ministerial responsibilities between the Foreign Office and the Department for International Development. The FCO confirmed Tuesday that the territories had been added to the baroness’s portfolio, despite incorrect announcements locally Monday that Sir Alan Duncan had been given responsibility for the UK’s dependent territories. Following Prime Minister Theresa May’s realignment of ministerial responsibilities in her Cabinet, the territories are now part of a new portfolio, which suggests that the territories are being considered as a development issue for the UK.
Joyce Anne Anelay is a member of the House of Lords who was made a life peer in 1996. She became minister of state for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office two years ago in August 2014. She was given the additional responsibility for the Department for International Development this week as part of May’s new cabinet line-up.
Baroness Anelay now has a long list of responsibilities covering a diverse range of subjects, from the Commonwealth and the United Nations to human rights and the criminal courts, as well as areas such as climate change and international energy security. She is also the Prime Minister’s Special Representative (PMSR) on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict.
It is not clear, given the remit Anelay now has, where the territories will fit. The Cayman Islands premier and other leaders of Britain’s territories will be meeting the minister later this year when they attend the Overseas Territories Joint Ministerial Council in London.
Premier Alden McLaughlin and Financial Services Minister Wayne Panton travelled to the Turks and Caicos this week for the pre-JMC meeting with other territory leaders, unaware of the new minister and the change in the portfolio positioning of the BOTs.
The impact of Brexit on the territories is expected to dominate this year’s JMC and the pre-meeting, which opens tomorrow chaired by the TCI Premier Rufus Ewing.
“We meet each year ahead of the Joint Ministerial Council to discuss the many areas in which we can work together, said McLaughlin ahead of the trip.
“This year we will also explore the implications on the OTs and their relationship with the European Union as it will be our first meeting since the United Kingdom referendum to leave the EU,” the premier said. “Through this meeting we will come to a consensus on the way forward to strengthen our collective position at the full JMC meeting.”
While Brexit is expected to head the agenda, the meeting will also include financial services, environmental and security matters, social and economic development as well as the relationship between the OTs and the UK.
Cabinet Secretary Samuel Rose, Senior Political Advisor Roy Tatum and Sherpa Jason Webster are also travelling to the meeting, officials stated.
Category: Politics
Baroness, if you could say something to the people of the Cayman Islands, what would it be?
What is a sherpa? I thought it meant a Nepalese mountain guide.Don’t think that applies here. CNS could you use terminology that is aimed at local audiences.
It is a term used to describe the personal representative of a head of state
“Baroness”. Associating oneself with these absurd inherited titles in the 21st century is plain stupid.
BoTs are really not high up the Government priorities now. Expect little to be done when the EU blacklists Cayman shortly.
Gosh, she looks scarier than Alan Duncan, much bigger hair!
Watch out now, the U.K. are looking at development issues, whatever that is. Cayman could be about to see serious change as the UK realigns itself in the world. BOT’s of negligible strategic worth may be cut free or worse.
One thing though, Cayman is not a dependent territory or crown dependency. Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man cover those.
CNS: please try to get the terminology correct, the term BOT’s was introduced after the BOT’s Act 2002 and superseded the term British Dependent Territory. This is your island, at least get your own status and history right when trying to educate your people through the news media.
In fairness the article uses lower case for dependent territory, which is an accurate description of Cayman in ordinary language without reference to the old legal term. The first sentence uses the capitalized British Overseas Territory.
“Sherpa Jason Webster”? WTF? Is he carrying bags and breathing apparatus?
Re the Sherpa, this is the Govt. that will be reducing spending, i expected that to include reducing the size of the overseas delegations. Can we be informed of the benefits to us of his role on the trip? I’m sure he is needed for something -and it’s not to carry luggage.
I thought retirement age in the UK was 65.
And the difference that makes, is?
That she is old enough to have been put to pasture in the House of Lords and assigned the Departments of Nobody Cares.
There isn’t really a “retirement age” in the UK any longer, just the age at which you can claim your pension – it’s basically a matter for the individual to decide – compelling someone to leave their job simply because they have reached a specific age is classed as “age discrimination” and is illegal. State pension age is somewhere between 65 and 68, depending on when you were born.
This is not very good news. We already know how bad the FCO are and DfID is just a self-serving cluster ****. To be bundled into the same portfolio is not a happy prospect.
Baroness Anelay announces funding for LGB&T projects on International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia (https://www.gov.uk/government/news/idahobit-day-statement-from-baroness-anelay)
🙂