Asked by: Kirsty Blackman (Scottish National Party - Aberdeen North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many posts there are for (a) press, (b) media and (c) other communications staff in his Department; and what the salary band is for each post.
Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
In the central Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office communications team, there are a total of approximately 135 Full Time Equivalent Government Communication Service professionals.
Of this total, 22 work in the media discipline which covers press and media responsibilities.
This is the latest available data from April 2025.
Asked by: Kirsty Blackman (Scottish National Party - Aberdeen North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions his Department has had with Pakistani authorities on reports of attacks and harassment directed towards peaceful protesters since the change of Government in Pakistan in 2022.
Answered by Leo Docherty
Political protests are an internal matter for the Government of Pakistan. There is no place for violence in politics and the UK regularly engages the Government of Pakistan at a senior level on the need to uphold the rule of law and respect human rights.
Asked by: Kirsty Blackman (Scottish National Party - Aberdeen North)
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 the (a) primary and (b) secondary legislation sponsored by (i) their Department or (ii) their predecessor Department has undergone a post legislative review in each of the last 10 years.
Answered by Amanda Milling
In the last 10 years the FCDO and its predecessor Departments have sponsored eight pieces of primary legislation. None of these pieces has undergone post legislative review.
The number of post legislative reviews the Department has undertaken on secondary legislation in each of the last ten years is not held within the Department.
Asked by: Kirsty Blackman (Scottish National Party - Aberdeen North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many pieces of (a) primary and (b) secondary legislation their Department has sponsored in each of the last 10 years.
Answered by Amanda Milling
The number of pieces of both primary and secondary legislation sponsored by Government departments could be calculated utilising publicly available information. This information is not held within the Department.
Asked by: Kirsty Blackman (Scottish National Party - Aberdeen North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many post legislative reviews (a) their Department or (b) their predecessor Department has undertaken on (i) primary and (ii) secondary legislation in each of the last five years.
Answered by Amanda Milling
In the last five years the FCDO and its predecessor Departments sponsored two pieces of primary legislation. Neither Act has yet been subject to post legislative review. This information is only held for internal administrative reasons and may not be exhaustive, for example, due to machinery of government changes to departmental structure in the last five years.
The number of post legislative reviews the Department has undertaken on secondary legislation in each of the last five years is not held within the Department.
Asked by: Kirsty Blackman (Scottish National Party - Aberdeen North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many officials employed in his Department in June 2016 had substantial experience of international trade negotiation.
Answered by Mark Field
A significant proportion of FCO officials, both in the UK and overseas, have worked on roles relevant to the prosperity agenda, within which international trade is included. The FCO is also investing further to equip its and other HMG staff with the necessary skills through the Trade Policy and Negotiations Faculty of the Diplomatic Academy.
Asked by: Kirsty Blackman (Scottish National Party - Aberdeen North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many officials employed in his Department as of 12 October 2017 have substantial experience of international trade negotiations.
Answered by Mark Field
Building the UK’s prosperity is a key priority for the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO). Our network of Posts overseas work to deliver the goals of the whole of Government, including in support of the objectives of the Department for International Trade. A significant proportion of FCO officials, both in the UK and overseas, have worked on roles relevant to the prosperity agenda, within which international trade is included. The FCO is also investing further to equip its and other HMG staff with the necessary skills through the Trade Policy and Negotiations Faculty of the Diplomatic Academy.
Asked by: Kirsty Blackman (Scottish National Party - Aberdeen North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many hours his Department spent on processing freedom of information requests in each of the last 24 months.
Answered by David Lidington
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) does not hold data on the number of hours spent processing Freedom of Information requests.