Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to discuss the case for creating new permanent Commonwealth specialist agencies at the next Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.

The UK has no plans to discuss the creation of new specialist agencies at the next Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM). We are focused on strengthening and delivering through the existing institutions, organisations and networks of the Commonwealth. Those include the three inter-governmental organisations (the Commonwealth Secretariat, the Commonwealth Foundation and the Commonwealth of Learning) and their many programmes; several intergovernmental fora of ministers and senior officials; and over 80 Commonwealth-accredited organisations. We look forward to the postponed CHOGM being held in Kigali next year. The UK will continue as Commonwealth Chair-in-Office until then.