Question follow-through · 92122

China: Diplomatic Service

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 28 March 2025 to Question 40312 on China: Diplomatic Service, how many staff in her Department have achieved Mandarin qualifications at (a) C1 and (

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
18 Nov 2025
Target answer date
24 Nov 2025
Answer
25 Nov 2025 · 7 calendar days after tabling

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

Recorded timeline

  1. 18 Nov 2025

    Question tabled

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 28 March 2025 to Question 40312 on China: Diplomatic Service, how many staff in her Department have achieved Mandarin qualifications at (a) C1 and (

  2. 24 Nov 2025

    Target answer date

    Date supplied by the official written-questions record.

  3. 25 Nov 2025

    Answer published

    Almost 100 valid Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) qualifications in Russian are currently held at C1 level or above by FCDO staff, and almost 75 in Mandarin. Exam passes are valid for five years. Some staff may concurrently hold a valid...

Open official record

Official data retrieved 28 Sept 2026.

Later records

Possible follow-up questions

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17 Dec 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what funding has been allocated to programmes relating to the UKs relationship with Europe in the (a) 2026-7, (b) 2028-9 and (c) 2029-30 financial years.

Unreviewed candidateSame MP and department; topic relationship is unreviewed

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: Performance Appraisal

17 Dec 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many and what proportion of staff in each grade were rated in the top performance category in the last year.