Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many staff in his Department speak at least one of the following languages (a) Cantonese, (b) Hokkien, (c) a Turkic language spoken in China, or (d) Tibetan.

The FCDO currently has fewer than 5 UK based staff with valid FCDO qualification in Cantonese. We have no UK based staff with valid FCDO qualifications in Hokkien, Turkic languages spoken in China or Tibetan. We do not hold figures on staff who speak languages to a lower level, who qualified outside of the FCDO, or those whose qualification has lapsed. Our embassies across the world also employ staff locally who are fluent in their native language.