Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage on 20 March (HL5602), what representations the government of China or its representatives have made to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office relating to the latest planning application for the Chinese Embassy, prior to and after the Secretary of State's call-in decision, and on what dates.

The planning application has been called in by the Secretary of State for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and she will make this decision independent from the rest of Government corresponding to her quasi-judicial role. Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office officials speak regularly with the Chinese Government about a range of issues.