Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether (a) Ministers and (b) officials in her Department have had discussions with representatives of the Chinese government on the application to build a new Chinese Embassy in Tower Hamlets.

Officials in my Department have met with representatives of the People’s Republic of China. The purpose of this engagement was to explain the operation of the UK planning system. Details of the application for a new Chinese embassy were not discussed.