Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many embassies or consulates they have closed in each year since 2010.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has not closed any Embassies over this period but has suspended operations in Tehran, Damascus and Tripoli for security reasons. Overall, the total number of FCO posts (Embassies, Consulates-General, Consulates, Multilateral Missions and Trade and Investment Offices) worldwide has risen from 257 to 267 since 2010. However, in order to help fund expansions elsewhere, we have closed a number of Consulates in Europe and elsewhere, as new technology has enabled us to deliver services in different ways.

The FCO has closed the following Consulates-General and Consulates since 2010:

2010: One: Consulate-General Geneva, Switzerland

2011: Two: Consulate-General Lille, France; Consulate-General Venice, Italy

2012: Three: Consulate-General Basra, Iraq; Consulate Florence, Italy; Consulate Funchal, Portugal

2013: One: Consulate Pattaya, Thailand

The FCO has also downgraded the following Consulates-General and Consulates to Trade and Investment Offices since 2010:

2012: Two: Consulate-General Lyon, France; Consulate Naples, Italy

2014: One: Consulate Bilbao, Spain