§ Lord Lester of Herne Hillasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will seek an increase in the contributions made by member states of the Council of Europe to ensure that the European Court of Human Rights has sufficient resources. [HL2563]
§ Baroness Symons of Vernham DeanThe Government await the results of the review that will be carried out this year by the Council of Europe's Internal Auditor on the current three-year programme for the European Court of Human Rights before making a judgment on whether Council of Europe member states' contributions will need to be increased to ensure that the European Court of Human Rights has sufficient resources.
12WAAdditional resources have already been found to fund the current three-year programme (2003–05) which has seen the enhancement of the budget for the Court and other departments involved in the execution of judgments of the Court.
Where necessary, such as with the reform of the European Court of Human Rights, the Government have given extra funds to ensure that the Council of Europe's core work is not neglected. However, we believe that all areas of the organisation's activity should be constantly reviewed and prioritised within the discipline of zero real growth.