Question follow-through · 86285

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: Languages

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many officials in her Department hold language qualifications in (a) Mandarin, (b) Cantonese, (c) Russian, (d) Ukrainian, (e) Arabic, (f) Farsi, and (g) Hebrew, broken do

answeredForeign, Commonwealth and Development Office

About this written question

A written question asks a government minister for information in writing. Parliament publishes the question and any answer.

Answering body
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
Tabled
29 Oct 2025
Target answer date
3 Nov 2025
Answer
6 Nov 2025 · 8 calendar days after tabling

Elapsed calendar days describe the record timeline, not whether Parliament considers an answer on time.

Recorded timeline

  1. 29 Oct 2025

    Question tabled

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many officials in her Department hold language qualifications in (a) Mandarin, (b) Cantonese, (c) Russian, (d) Ukrainian, (e) Arabic, (f) Farsi, and (g) Hebrew, broken do

  2. 3 Nov 2025

    Target answer date

    Date supplied by the official written-questions record.

  3. 6 Nov 2025

    Answer published

    The language proficiency of Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) staff cannot adequately be assessed solely by looking at the number with current C1 and C2 qualifications, as this does not take into account those staff members who may hol...

Open official record

Official data retrieved 28 Sept 2026.

Later records

Possible follow-up questions

Strong links require the same MP, department and exact heading. Other same-department questions are shown as unreviewed candidates, not as confirmed follow-ups. No debate link is asserted unless a stable source relationship exists.

Unreviewed candidateSame MP and department; topic relationship is unreviewed

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: Performance Appraisal

3 Nov 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many performance reviews were undertaken for staff in (a) her Department and (b) its agencies in each of the last five years; in how many cases performance was rated as u

Unreviewed candidateSame MP and department; topic relationship is unreviewed

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: Conditions of Employment

3 Nov 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many staff in her Department (a) did not retain employment following completion of their probationary period and (b) had their probationary period extended in each of the

Unreviewed candidateSame MP and department; topic relationship is unreviewed

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: Disability

3 Nov 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many staff in her Department are recorded as having a (a) mental health condition and (b) physical disability by the grade of those staff.

Unreviewed candidateSame MP and department; topic relationship is unreviewed

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: Employment Tribunals Service

3 Nov 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many employment tribunal claims relating to (a) unfair dismissal and (b) claims under the Equality Act 2010 have been lodged against her Department in each of the last fi

Unreviewed candidateSame MP and department; topic relationship is unreviewed

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: Equality

10 Nov 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many people work in the diversity and inclusion team in her Department's human resources department.

Unreviewed candidateSame MP and department; topic relationship is unreviewed

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: Equality

10 Nov 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many people in her Department have equality, diversity and inclusion responsibilities.

Unreviewed candidateSame MP and department; topic relationship is unreviewed

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: Mandarin Language

11 Nov 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many staff in her Department have language proficiency in Mandarin at (a) CEFR level C1 and (b) higher.

Unreviewed candidateSame MP and department; topic relationship is unreviewed

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: Russian Language

11 Nov 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 4 April 2025 to Question 40311 on Russia: Diplomatic Service, how many staff in her Department have language proficiency in Russian at (a) CEFR leve

Unreviewed candidateSame MP and department; topic relationship is unreviewed

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: Ukrainian Language

11 Nov 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many staff in her Department have language proficiency in Ukrainian at (a) CEFR level C1 and (b) higher.

Unreviewed candidateSame MP and department; topic relationship is unreviewed

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: Performance Appraisal

11 Nov 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many staff and what proportion in her Department were subject to formal performance management procedures as a result of unsatisfactory performance in the last 12 months.

Unreviewed candidateSame MP and department; topic relationship is unreviewed

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: Termination of Employment

11 Nov 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many and what proportion of staff in her Department left employment in the last 12 months following formal (a) performance and (b) capability procedures.