Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office written question – answered at on 3 July 2023.
John Howell
Conservative, Henley
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of presentation made by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Latvia on the viability of the Council of Europe at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on 20 June 2023.
Leo Docherty
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK welcomed remarks made by Latvia at the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly. We look forward to the application of Latvia's policies during its presidency in protecting and promoting democracy and rule of law across Europe. The Prime Minister and Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon were pleased to attend the Council of Europe Summit in Reykjavik alongside nearly forty other European leaders. The UK agrees with European partners that the Council of Europe is playing a vital role in supporting Ukraine. Its work to establish the Register of Damage is an important step in securing financial accountability and supporting justice for the people of Ukraine. The Prime Minister signed the Register at the Summit, as a founding participant, and we will continue to work with the Council and our friends worldwide to ensure support for it.
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An international organisation of member states (45 at the time of writing) in the European region; not to be confused with the Council of the European Union, nor the European Council.
Founded on 5 May, 1949 by the Treaty of London, and currently seated in Strasbourg, membership is open to all European states which accept the princple of the rule of law and guarantee fundamental human rights and freedoms to their citizens. In 1950, this body created the European Convention on Human Rights, which laid out the foundation principles and basis on which the European Court of Human Rights stands.
Today, its primary activities include charters on a range of human rights, legal affairs, social cohesion policies, and focused working groups and charters on violence, democracy, and a range of other areas.
Secretary of State was originally the title given to the two officials who conducted the Royal Correspondence under Elizabeth I. Now it is the title held by some of the more important Government Ministers, for example the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of Lords or the House of Commons. There are three main types of Minister. Departmental Ministers are in charge of Government Departments. The Government is divided into different Departments which have responsibilities for different areas. For example the Treasury is in charge of Government spending. Departmental Ministers in the Cabinet are generally called 'Secretary of State' but some have special titles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ministers of State and Junior Ministers assist the ministers in charge of the department. They normally have responsibility for a particular area within the department and are sometimes given a title that reflects this - for example Minister of Transport.
