Asked by: Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru - Arfon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what estimate he has made of the number of civil servants based in the UK Mission to the EU in Brussels in each of the last five years.
Answered by Wendy Morton
The UK Mission to the European Union (UKMis Brussels) currently employs around 180 people, comprising both permanent civil servants from multiple Government Departments and locally recruited staff. We keep staffing under regular review to ensure it is appropriate to deliver HMG objectives including supporting negotiations on the future UK-EU relationship.
Asked by: Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru - Arfon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 21 February 2018 to Question 128965 on Sri Lanka: Diplomatic Service, what discussions he has had with his Sri Lankan counterpart since the return of the that country's Defence Attaché to Colombo.
Answered by Mark Field
Following my phone conversation with the Sri Lankan Foreign Minister on 8 February, I met him again on 18 April in the margins of the Commonwealth Summit and raised the Defence Attaché incident. The former Defence Attaché's posting to London was formally ended by the Government of Sri Lanka on 15 April. No successor has yet been appointed.
Asked by: Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru - Arfon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what training his Department has provided to (a) general civil servants, (b) fast stream civil servants and (c) senior civil servants on understanding the scrutiny and legislative roles of the UK Parliament; how many such courses have taken place; and how many civil servants have attended such training courses in each of the last five years.
Answered by Alan Duncan
Our records do not cover training provided over the whole period of the last five years or differentiate between fast stream and main stream civil servants. However, since July 2015, over 1200 civil servants have completed learning on Parliamentary scrutiny and Parliament's legislative role as part of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Diplomatic Academy's Foundation and Practitioner Levels. Of these, 23 are senior civil servants.
In addition, the FCO also runs tailored face-to-face courses on Working with Parliament and on FCO Oral Questions every 5 weeks during the parliamentary session and provides ad hoc one-to-one level learning where requested. FCO and Government staff also access material and attend courses organised by Civil Service Learning, which is a cross-departmental resource and is managed centrally.
All fast stream new entrants to the FCO have since last year been required to study for and pass a City & Guilds Level 3 Diploma in UK Foreign Policy and Diplomacy, as do some staff to obtain promotion. This diploma includes material on a broad range of the FCO's parliamentary responsibilities.
Asked by: Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru - Arfon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what training his Department has provided to (a) general civil servants, (b) fast stream civil servants and (c) senior civil servants on devolution and inter-governmental relations; how many such courses have taken place; and how many civil servants have attended such training courses in each of the last five years.
Answered by Alan Duncan
Our records do not cover training provided over the last five years nor differentiate between fast stream and main stream civil servants. However, since July 2015, over 350 Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) staff and over 300 from other Government departments have learnt about devolution as part of the Diplomatic Academy's Foundation Level and Practitioner Levels. Of these, five are senior civil servants.
In November 2017, the FCO in partnership with the Open University launched a new online Devolution and Foreign Policy Practitioner Level learning module providing a deeper understanding of how devolution relates to every day foreign policy work. The pilot saw over 40 staff in London, North America and Asia Pacific undertake training, and the learning will be rolled out across the network in 2018.
All fast stream new entrants to the FCO have since last year been required to study for and pass a City & Guilds Level 3 Diploma in UK Foreign Policy and Diplomacy, as do some staff to obtain promotion. This diploma includes material on devolution. A briefing on devolution is also provided to all new Fast Stream entrants as part of their induction.
Heads of Mission routinely visit a devolved administration as part of the Overseas Leadership Development Programme. This aims to increase engagement and equip Heads of Mission to better understand and represent the interests and priorities of devolved administrations as well as inter-governmental relationships and devolved structures, and to highlight how the FCO works with other Government departments and delivers support for the whole of the UK. Since June 2016, 56 new Heads of Mission have undertaken such a visit.
Asked by: Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru - Arfon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for the Home Department on expelling Sri Lanka’s Defence Attaché, Brigadier Priyanka Fernando, as a result of his conduct at the High Commission on 4 February 2018.
Answered by Mark Field
This matter is being dealt with by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Government of Sri Lanka. It is not a matter for the Secretary of State for Home Affairs.
Asked by: Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru - Arfon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will withdraw the diplomatic papers and immediately expel Sri Lanka’s Defence Attaché, Brigadier Priyanka Fernando, as a result of his conduct at the High Commission on 4 February 2018.
Answered by Mark Field
The Defence Attaché has returned to Colombo from London while the incident is thoroughly investigated by the Government of Sri Lanka. The British Government awaits the outcome of that investigation.
Asked by: Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru - Arfon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the compatibility of the conduct of Sri Lanka’s Defence Attaché, Brigadier Priyanka Fernando, at the High Commission on 4 February 2018 with the standard expected by his Department of diplomatic guests.
Answered by Mark Field
I was deeply concerned by the incident. The Defence Attaché has returned to Colombo from London while the incident is thoroughly investigated. I spoke to Foreign Minister Marapana on 8 February and he left me in no doubt that Sri Lanka also takes this incident very seriously.
Asked by: Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru - Arfon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with British Tamil organisations on the conduct of Sri Lanka’s Defence Attaché, Brigadier Priyanka Fernando, at the High Commission on 4 February 2018.
Answered by Mark Field
FCO officials have met with a number of diaspora organisations to discuss matters including the incident on 4 February and the Defence Attache was subsequently ordered to return to Colombo for consultations. We regularly meet diaspora groups in this way to better understand their interests and concerns.
Asked by: Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru - Arfon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Sri Lankan High Commissioner on the conduct of Sri Lanka’s Defence Attaché, Brigadier Priyanka Fernando, at the High Commission on 4 February 2018.
Answered by Mark Field
The Government takes this incident very seriously and I remain deeply concerned. FCO officials made a number of representations to the Government of Sri Lanka both in Colombo and London in the period after 4 February. I spoke to Foreign Minister Marapana on 8 February about the matter and he left me in no doubt that the Sri Lankan government was also treating this incident with utmost seriousness.
Asked by: Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru - Arfon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what translation arrangements his Department has put in place to enable efficient and accurate handling of Welsh language correspondence from (a) MPs and (b) the general public.
Answered by Alan Duncan
The volume of untranslated Welsh language correspondence the Foreign and Commonwealth Office receives is very low. Accordingly we do not have set procedures in place, but instead seek advice from the Wales Office on a case by case basis.