Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, for what reason the Government supported proposals to close the youth department of the Council of Europe.
No decision has been taken to close the youth department of the Council of Europe. The suggestion to decouple the youth budget from the main budget is just one option proposed to manage the budget deficit in the organisation flowing from Russian non-payment and also as part of a wider drive for reforms and efficiency savings. It has yet to be discussed. The UK's priority is to protect the core functions of the organisation, including the court and the convention system.