Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 4 April 2025 to Question 40311 on Russia: Diplomatic Service, how many staff in her Department have language proficiency in Russian at (a) CEFR level C1 and (b) higher.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer he was provided on 6 November in response to Question 86285.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many staff in her Department have language proficiency in Ukrainian at (a) CEFR level C1 and (b) higher.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer he was provided on 6 November in response to Question 86285.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many staff in her Department have language proficiency in Mandarin at (a) CEFR level C1 and (b) higher.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer he was provided on 6 November in response to Question 86285.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many people work in the diversity and inclusion team in her Department's human resources department.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office's total staff headcount is approximately 17,500 employees. The number of full time equivalent (FTE) staff who cover diversity and inclusion issues among their wider human resources responsibilities is currently 2.6.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many people in her Department have equality, diversity and inclusion responsibilities.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office's total staff headcount is approximately 17,500 employees. The number of full time equivalent (FTE) staff who cover diversity and inclusion issues among their wider human resources responsibilities is currently 2.6.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many performance reviews were undertaken for staff in (a) her Department and (b) its agencies in each of the last five years; in how many cases performance was rated as unsatisfactory or below; how many staff left as a result of such a rating; and what proportion of full-time equivalent staff this represented.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The full range of requested information is not readily available in comprehensive form, and could only be collated and verified for the purposes of answering this question at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many employment tribunal claims relating to (a) unfair dismissal and (b) claims under the Equality Act 2010 have been lodged against her Department in each of the last five years.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Employment Tribunal decisions are publicly available at https://www.gov.uk/employment-tribunal-decisions.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many staff in her Department are recorded as having a (a) mental health condition and (b) physical disability by the grade of those staff.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer provided on 6 November in response to Question 86710.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many staff left her Department by the grade of those staff in each of the last five years.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Information on the number of civil servants leaving each government department and organisation by responsibility level for the years 2021 to 2025 is published annually through the 'Civil Service data browser' as part of Civil Service Statistics 2025, an accredited official statistics publication. Information can be accessed through the Civil Service data browser for 2021 through 2025 at the following web address: https://civil-service-statistics.jdac.service.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many staff in her Department (a) did not retain employment following completion of their probationary period and (b) had their probationary period extended in each of the last five years.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office's (FCDO) probation policy and guidance advises managers on the steps to take to assess a new employee's suitability for the post and to provide support to enable them to succeed. It also advises on the steps to take where performance, attendance or conduct are not satisfactory. This can include exiting the employee or extending their probation to provide further evidence for a final decision on their suitability. The FCDO holds information on extensions to probation and dismissals during probation since September 2020. Prior to then information held is for the FCO only.
| Year | Dismissals | Extensions |
| 2020 | 5 | 7 |
| 2021 | <5 | <5 |
| 2022 | <5 | <5 |
| 2023 | <5 | <5 |
| 2024 | 5 | 8 |
| 2025 | <5 | 6 |