Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much her Department has spent on special severance payments in each of the last three years.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The number and cost of special severance payments made by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office in each financial year are routinely published in the department's annual report and accounts. The most recently published annual report and accounts are available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fcdo-annual-report-and-accounts-2024-to-2025
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether any civil servants hired by her Department were recruited over another person on the basis of a protected characteristic in each of the last three years.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office recruits on the basis of fair and open competition in line with the Civil Service Commission's Recruitment Principles, as it did throughout the period of the previous administration. There has been no change to HR recruitment processes since the current Government took office. On the specific question asked by the Rt Hon Member, I refer him to the answer provided on 3 March to Question 114470.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether it is her Department's policy that (a) Ministers and (b) special advisers use the disappearing messages function on Whatsapp on Government devices.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Rt Hon Member to the Cabinet Office guidance on the use of non-corporate communication channels, published under the previous government, on 30 March 2023: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/non-corporate-communication-channels-for-government-business.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discissions she has had with the signatories of the Pelindaba Treaty on their future adherence to that Treaty, in the context of (a) the transfer of sovereignty of the Chagos archipelago to Mauritius and (b) potential future UK or US military operations including the stationing or transit of nuclear weapons on Diego Garcia.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
For the reasons explained at length on previous occasions, no such discussions are required or intended. We will continue to operate the base exactly as we have done before.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what guidance her Department provides on the potential impact of Article 298 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on British maritime logistics taking place in (a) the Falkland Islands, (b) Gibraltar and (c) other British Overseas Territories.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The United Kingdom is a Party to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), having ratified it in 1997. The United Kingdom's position regarding Article 298 of UNCLOS is set out in the UK's formal declarations dated 7 April 2003 and 31 December 2020.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will publish official communications from the US State Department sent in March 2025 on the legal premise for transferring the sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government's legal position was set out on 22 May 2025 when the treaty was signed and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-secures-future-of-vital-diego-garcia-military-base-to-protect-national-security
I would also refer the Rt Hon Member to the statement made by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on the same day, which said: "The U.S. welcomes the historic agreement between the UK and Mauritius on the future of the Chagos Archipelago. This agreement secures the long-term, stable, and effective operation of the joint U.S.-UK military facility at Diego Garcia, which is critical to regional and global security. We value both parties' dedication. The U.S. looks forward to our continued joint work to ensure the success of our shared operations."
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the transfer of Diego Garcia to Mauritius on the risk of nuclear proliferation across the African continent, in the context of the influences of (a) Iran, (b) Russia, (c) China and (d) other actors.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Rt Hon Member to the answer provided on 9 September 2025 in response to Question 70432.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many full-time equivalent staff in her Department have been employed for the purpose of making social media content in each of the last three years.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Due to the difficulty of disaggregating the number of staff who work on social media from staff who work on broader digital communications, it is not possible to provide the requested data in response to this question.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many and what proportion of civil servants in her Department are (a) on temporary contract and (b) consultants.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Information on the number of civil servants employed on temporary contracts is published quarterly by the Office for National Statistics as part of the quarterly Public Sector Employment statistics. Information can be accessed for September 2025 at the following web address:
https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/publicsectorpersonnel/bulletins/publicsectoremployment/september2025.
Departmental expenditure on consultancy is published within the Annual Report and Accounts. The latest report for Financial Year 2024/25 can be found at the following web address:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fcdo-annual-report-and-accounts-2024-to-2025.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many (a) single sex and (b) gender neutral bathroom facilities her Department provides in its Whitehall premises.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I will be glad to schedule an opportunity for the Rt Hon Member to come into the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's King Charles Street offices and count the number of toilets if he considers that a sensible and appropriate use of his time. He will find that there has been no change to the provision of facilities to that in place under the previous government.