James Cleverly – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by James Cleverly on 2016-10-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the use of funding from the public purse provided to the Commonwealth Secretariat.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

We support the work of the Commonwealth Secretariat, in particular around the promotion of democratic values and development. We expect the Secretariat to use any funding we provide efficiently and effectively in line with its agreed budget, financial procedures and priorities. In addition to being considered by external auditors, the Secretariat’s budget is assessed by the Commonwealth’s Executive Committee and Board of Governors at regular meetings. The UK is a member of both groups, represented by the UK’s Commonwealth Envoy.

We are committed to supporting the Secretary General’s efforts to reform and revitalise the Commonwealth Secretariat and to working with her and our Commonwealth partners to strengthen the organisation.