Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what processes his Department has in place to hold to account the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth.

​Meetings of the Commonwealth Secretariat's Executive Committee (ExCo) and Board of Governors provide formal opportunities to engage with the Secretary-General and her team on the actions and activities of the Secretariat, including those outlined in the Annual Results Report, the mid-term review of the Strategic Plan and updates of mandates provided by Heads of Government at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Malta in November 2015. ExCo also considers the annual budget and the Secretariat's actions against recommendations provided by External Auditors of the accounts. In addition to these formal meetings, the UK's Commonwealth Envoy and other representatives of my department and the Department for International Development also meet regularly with the Secretary-General and her staff to review performance and identify progress against programme delivery.