Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the support provided by the Royal Commonwealth Society (RCS) to events celebrating the Commonwealth, and its wider role in addressing challenging social issues, including early and forced child marriage, how much financial support has been provided to the RCS in each of the last five financial years, and how much will be provided in this and the next financial year.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has contributed a total of £191,452 from 2011- 2015 to activities run by the Royal Commonwealth Society (RCS) and the Council of Commonwealth Societies (CCS) for whom the RCS organises events. A breakdown of this sum is listed below:

This year the FCO has again provided £20,000 towards the cost of the CCS Commonwealth Service event in Westminster Abbey.

Future funding requests for all Commonwealth organisations will be assessed on a case by case basis.