A duty of care to our former colonies?

To ask Her Majesty's Government, in the light of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Trinidad from 27 to 29 November, how they are building a constructive relationship between the United Kingdom and Caribbean Commonwealth countries.

The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead): My Lords, last week, Her Majesty the Queen made a state visit to Bermuda, the Bahamas and to Trinidad and Tobago. Her Majesty attended the Commonwealth summit in Trinidad and Tobago. In Port of Spain, at the summit, my right honourable friend the Prime Minister met the Caribbean Heads of Government and emphasised strongly the value of the UK's relationship with the Caribbean region and its people. Before attending the summit, I visited Jamaica and met Ministers and others.

Baroness Scott of Needham Market: Is the noble Baroness aware of the very widespread perception in Caribbean countries that the UK Government have much less commitment to the Commonwealth Caribbean than they previously had? Is she aware, for example, of the widespread anger among Jamaican parliamentarians that, if they wish to attend meetings in Brussels, they have to transit through the UK and are now required to have a visa simply to change planes?

Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead: I thank the noble Baroness. I am aware and, indeed, acknowledge that some disquiet has been felt by the Caribbean Governments in particular. We are making every effort to address that. I have been engaging with the diaspora in the UK. I have had a round table with representatives of the Caribbean community and a UK-wide event with the diaspora. I have plans in hand to deal with issues such as trade and industry, the relationship with DfID and, I hope, with the border authority as well, so I am making a serious effort to address some of the concerns that have been raised.

The noble Baroness referred to visas. We believe that we get more efficiency and more flexibility, and that the system has more integrity, by delivering Jamaican visas from the United States. The visa system has to have quality and consistency and it was discussed with the Prime Minister at the meeting that I mentioned earlier.

In other words, that would be a non-answer. The reasoning behind the question is one of visas for Parliamentarians and officials attending meetings in Brussels. Nowadays, following retrenchment amongst Caribbean airlines, there are very few direct flights to Europe, which means a connecting flight via London for most Caribbean island states. The new border regime means that they need visas to transit London. Not stay in London, you understand, not to even leave the airport, but simply to transfer from one flight to another.

Quite often, meetings are called at short notice, and a delay in obtaining a visa means that the meeting cannot be attended. Of course, if the application has to go to the High Commission in Kingston, for example, then onto the United States and then back to Jamaica, delay is inevitable. Given the power imbalance between the European Union and small island states, an inability to press their case is only likely to make life more difficult.

Baroness Kinnock's answer implies that she doesn't care, that she mistakes holding meetings for actually taking steps that might make life easier for Parliamentarians and officials from our former colonies. I presume that she does care, however, so wouldn't it be nice if she found some way in which her Department could help?