To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the UK Permanent Representative to the Council of Europe on the choice of the next Secretary General of the Council of Europe.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London and the UK Permanent Representative to the Council of Europe and her team have remained in close touch on this issue since the process for selection of the next Secretary General was launched in July last year. Good leadership is key to delivery of our strategic objective of international institutional reform. We have been in the forefront in working for a fair, open, competence-based selection process.