Overseas offices cost $650,000 but give ‘significant value’
The benefits of the Government’s three overseas offices, costing taxpayers about $650,000 a year in rent, have been hailed by the Cabinet Office.
It said in a statement that the London, Washington and Brussels “strategic offices” delivered “significant value to Bermuda’s people” by protecting the island’s interests, supporting Bermudians overseas and promoting investment and jobs at home.
The comments came in response to questions from The Royal Gazette about why, per public access to information rules, the rental contracts for the overseas offices and the Cabinet Office’s ministerial headquarters on Front Street were not published in the Official Gazette.
The statement said the expenditures were in the public domain and accessible to anyone as the “rental costs for the Government’s overseas offices and local premises have been consistently disclosed through the annual Budget and debated openly in the House of Assembly for many years”.
The 2025-26 Budget Book estimated $234,800 a year in rent for Washington, $68,767 for Brussels and $343,500 for London, — a total of $647,067.
The Pati disclosure provided slightly different figures: $160,000 for DC and €110,000 ($130,000) for Brussels, per the rates being paid last November, and £270,000 ($368,000) for London.
The Cabinet Office said the overseas offices “provide on-the-ground engagement with the British and US governments and with EU institutions on matters that directly affect Bermuda’s economy, financial services, air service and tourism, tax and regulatory policy, sanctions and compliance and emergency/crisis co-ordination, while offering practical assistance to Bermudians studying, receiving medical care or working abroad”.
The Gazette made a Pati request to the Cabinet Office last November for all the contracts it held worth more than $50,000 a year.
As earlier reported, Major Marc Telemaque, the Cabinet Secretary, disclosed details of some contracts in March, including $240,000 a year for Washington firm TheGroup’s “month-to-month” agreement for political consulting and lobbying services.
Details were also given of $133,008 a year paid to Anthony Howell, an adviser in the DC office, and $156,840 a year to Aliyyah Ahad, the Government’s representative in Brussels.
Major Telemaque described his response to the Pati request as “fulsome” but the Gazette asked the Information Commissioner’s Office to review the decision to ensure all contracts were disclosed.
On September 4, details were shared of the rental contracts for the overseas offices and the ministry headquarters at the Ingham & Wilkinson Building, at 129 Front Street, as well as for a cleaning contract.
The Cabinet Secretary wrote that the additional disclosure was “further to correspondence with the ICO”.
Rent for the ministry’s Hamilton headquarters was given in the Pati disclosure as $532,992 a year, paid to Ingham & Wilkinson Ltd.
The cleaning contract with Paradise Cleaning Co, beginning on April 1, 2024 for $2,275 a month, was terminated on July 2 this year.
Section 6 of the Pati Act requires public authorities to regularly publish details of every contract entered into worth $50,000 or more, including the contractor’s name, the monetary value, the time frame and the goods and services being provided.
A Cabinet Office notice in the Official Gazettein December 2018 included $175,327 for rent for the Washington Office, although it was closed at the time, $399,327 for the London Office and $416,400 for office rent with Ingham & Wilkinson.
The Cabinet Office statement said: “The Government of Bermuda can confirm that our London, Brussels, and Washington DC offices have delivered significant value to the people of Bermuda.”
It detailed the “tangible results for Bermudians” achieved by the London Office, which was established in 2008 “at the request of the UK Government and afforded status under UK statutory legislation”.
They included securing visa-free access to the Schengen Area for British Overseas Territories passport holders, pushing for the BMU code in Bermuda passports, giving consular assistance to thousands of Bermudians abroad and securing home fees and tuition fee loans for Bermudian university students.
The statement said the office supported the Government in “defeating damaging amendments in the UK Parliament that would have harmed our financial services industry” and provided Bermudians with opportunities and internships.
It added that the Brussels Office, established in 2019, “ensures Bermuda has a strong voice in Europe, particularly since Brexit removed the UK from EU decision making”.
The statement said that with Europe’s political landscape shifting, the Brussels office continued to “ensure Bermuda’s interests are represented and protected at the highest levels”.
The Washington Office, opened in 2009, played a “vital role in protecting and advancing the island’s economic and policy interests”, it added.
“By engaging directly with US lawmakers, regulators and federal agencies, it defends Bermuda against harmful measures while promoting the island’s strong record as a co-operative and transparent jurisdiction,” the statement said.
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