Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what training is given to staff working on frontline consular assistance issues in the Consular Directorate; and what the grades are of all such staff.

All front line consular staff in London and overseas complete a mandatory programme of Consular training, including an "Introduction to Consular Work" and "Safeguarding Children and Young Persons" e-learning within their first week in the role. This is followed within three months by an Assistance Guidance Assessment, which is conducted to a pass standard, and attendance at a five day "Essential Assistance Workshop", an interactive course with activities focused on building customer care skills for handling the full range of consular casework, with particular emphasis on the most vulnerable.

In addition there is an ongoing programme of blended learning designed to support continuous development and further enhance the skills, policy knowledge and behaviours of consular staff dealing with all types of consular cases.