Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many members of staff in his Department have worked on marine diplomacy in each of the last five years.

The Maritime Policy Unit (three members of staff) and the Maritime Security Team (three members of staff) have both been in existence during the past five years. In addition, staff in other departments in particular the Polar Regions Department, and in our posts across the world, have engaged on a variety of marine and maritime issues as they have arisen over the past five years.