Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of reserving posts in the Diplomatic Service and his Department to UK nationals on the (a) efficacy of and (b) recruitment of expertise for UK Official Development Assistance programmes.

The Civil Service Nationality Rules (CSNR) set out who is eligible to be employed in the Civil Service. Under the CSNRs, all posts in the Diplomatic Service were reserved for British nationals only. When the FCDO was formed, the Foreign Secretary decided that a reserved model best meets with the FCDO's security and representational requirements.

FCDO continues to review workforce policies to ensure that it has access to the skills and experience to deliver its objectives.