Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent discussions she has had with UNESCO on progress with its performance improvement plan.

Secretary of State for International Development spoke to Mme Audrey Azoulay, UNESCO Director General, within two weeks of being appointed as Secretary of State. Mme Azoulay assured Secretary of State of the seriousness with which she is approaching the task of reforming UNESCO and confirmed her willingness to work with the UK on this. The Secretary of State has also written to Mme Azoulay outlining UK priorities for UNESCO reform, based on the 2017 performance improvement plan.