Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of the conclusions of the report entitled One Family: Harnessing the Strategic Potential of the Commonwealth, published by Policy Exchange on 17 October 2024.

I welcome the contribution of Policy Exchange's 'One Family' report to the debate on the future of the Commonwealth. In particular, I support the report's argument for the Commonwealth to focus on important areas including boosting intra-Commonwealth trade and investment, protecting the environment and advancing education and skills. At CHOGM (Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting) last month the UK demonstrated its commitment across these three priorities by announcing, amongst another initiatives: the Trade Centre of Expertise, the Commonwealth Investment Plan of Action, continued funding for the Commonwealth Climate Finance Access Hub and an improved scholarship offer to empower Commonwealth youth with skills for the future.