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Written Question
Gulf of Mexico: Politics and Government
Tuesday 4th February 2025

Asked by: Alison Griffiths (Conservative - Bognor Regis and Littlehampton)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department plans to refer to the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America in official documents.

Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

We have long-standing processes on establishing geographical feature names for UK use, which will continue to govern future labelling.

It is a matter for the US how it labels geographical features around its own coastline.


Written Question
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: Unfair Dismissal
Monday 27th January 2025

Asked by: Alison Griffiths (Conservative - Bognor Regis and Littlehampton)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department offers protection to staff from unfair dismissal from their first working day.

Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The FCDO is committed to ensuring fair treatment and protection for all its employees from the outset of their employment. The FCDO adheres to the principles of fairness and transparency in all its employment practices, including protection against unfair dismissal. While the current UK employment law stipulates a two-year qualifying period for employees to gain protection against unfair dismissal, the FCDO goes beyond this requirement by fostering a supportive and respectful working environment and having in place robust and fair procedures relating to employment decisions.