Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the European Commission on proposals to open negotiations to facilitate youth mobility between the European Union and the United Kingdom.

The UK recognises the cultural value of youth mobility and the importance of facilitating cultural exchange opportunities for young people. We have successful Youth Mobility Schemes (YMS) with 13 countries, including Australia, New Zealand and Canada. The Government is willing to explore precedent based bilateral YMS arrangements with international partners, including individual EU Member States who are interested. The Government has no plans to agree to an EU-wide Youth Mobility Scheme.