Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether UK embassies, high commissions and consulates are required to declare donations they have received in their annual accounts.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office publishes details of all sponsorship contracts awarded by UK embassies, High Commissions and Consulates valued over £5,000 in the FCO Annual Report and Accounts. This information is disclosed in a table in the accounts (Annex A, page 119 ), setting out corporate sponsorship by post and activity, and whether it is cash or benefit-in-kind.

With regards to gift donations that are not classified as corporate sponsorship, the FCO maintains a register detailing all gifts received, their estimated value and what happened to them. "Managing Public Money", HM Treasury's official guidance, does not set out a requirement for gift donations to be noted in the accounts unless HM Treasury or the Department concerned considers there is a special need for them to be brought to Parliament's attention.