Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the merits of the plans of the General Secretary of the Council of Europe to decease the budget for the Council's youth sector activities.

​No decision has been taken to decrease the budget of the Council of Europe's (CoE) youth department. The suggestion to decouple the youth budget from the main budget is just one option proposed to manage the CoE's budget deficit following Russia's non-payment of its contributions and as part of wider reforms and efficiency savings. The UK's priority remains to protect the core functions of the CoE, including the European Court of Human Rights and the European Convention system. The UK continues to urge Russia to abide by its freely entered into and legally binding obligation to pay outstanding contributions in full.