Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
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.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The European Union is the UK's largest trading partner, and cooperation with our European partners is - among other issues - central to the Government's work on trade, security, illegal migration, development and climate change, not to mention our support for Ukraine. Future budgetary and resource allocations will be set out in the usual way across the range of Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office responsibilities and priorities.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
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 staff were promoted (a) in-grade and (b) to a higher grade in the last year broken down by (i) performance marking in the previous year and (ii) grade.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office employs approximately 17,500 staff across hundreds of locations worldwide, many of which operate with locally managed HR arrangements and procedures. While we are able to say that around 15 per cent of these individuals worldwide were marked in the top performance box last year, the other information the Hon Member has requested is not centrally held, and could only be collated and verified at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what the average number of working days lost to sickness absence per full-time equivalent member of staff was in (a) the Department and (b) its executive agencies in the last year; and how many formal performance warnings were issued to staff whose absence exceeded departmental triggers.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 3 December to Question 94436.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what the total cost was of (a) settlement agreements and (b) special severance payments made to departing staff in the last year.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
For the last financial year, the total cost to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office of payments associated with settlement agreements is set out in the Department's Annual Report and Accounts. Where relevant, this includes special severance payments that have associated settlement agreements.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many disciplinary cases were concluded against civil servants in (a) the Department and (b) its agencies broken down by (i) outcome and (ii) whether the primary allegation related to (A) performance and (B) conduct in the past twelve months.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office employs approximately 17,500 staff across hundreds of locations worldwide, many of which operate with locally managed HR arrangements and procedures. While we are able to say that around 15 per cent of these individuals worldwide were marked in the top performance box last year, the other information the Hon Member has requested is not centrally held, and could only be collated and verified at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
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 staff in each grade were rated in the top performance category in the last year.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office employs approximately 17,500 staff across hundreds of locations worldwide, many of which operate with locally managed HR arrangements and procedures. While we are able to say that around 15 per cent of these individuals worldwide were marked in the top performance box last year, the other information the Hon Member has requested is not centrally held, and could only be collated and verified at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 4 April 2025 to Question 40311, if she will provide an updated figure for the number of staff in her Department who currently hold valid Russian-language examination passes at C1 level or above.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
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 C1 and C2 pass. As previously explained to the Hon. Member, these figures alone do not provide an accurate measure of FCDO staff language capabilities as staff may hold a non-FCDO language qualification or be a native speaker.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
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 (b) C2 level under the CEFR scale in the past five years for which the latest data is available.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
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 C1 and C2 pass. As previously explained to the Hon. Member, these figures alone do not provide an accurate measure of FCDO staff language capabilities as staff may hold a non-FCDO language qualification or be a native speaker.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
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.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office's total staff headcount is approximately 17,500 employees, working in hundreds of different locations around the world, many with locally-managed HR arrangements and procedures. The requested information could therefore only be collated and verified for the purposes of answering this question at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
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 staff in her Department left employment in the last 12 months following formal (a) performance and (b) capability procedures.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office's total staff headcount is approximately 17,500 employees, working in hundreds of different locations around the world, many with locally-managed HR arrangements and procedures. The requested information could therefore only be collated and verified for the purposes of answering this question at disproportionate cost.