Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to (a) protect and (b) advocate for LGBT+ rights in Europe.

Since 2018, the UK has committed over £13 million in programmes to support LGBT+ rights. In Europe, this has included targeted interventions to respond to hate crime in the Western Balkans, and support LGBT+ organisations in Poland, Hungary and Serbia.

Within the Council of Europe, the UK have co-chaired the European LGBTI Focal Points Network, and have played an important role in establishing a new Council of Europe LGBT+ working group.

As the Prime Minister's Special Envoy for LGBT+ Rights, Lord Herbert of South Downs works with our diplomatic network to respond to the challenges faced by LGBT+ people in Europe. Most recently, he met Ukrainian and Polish civil society organisations at the joint Warsaw-Kyiv Pride, and supported efforts to ensure a successful EuroPride in Belgrade.