Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what the planned timescale is for reaching a decision on whether his Department will be a (a) reserved or (b) unreserved department.

In line with the Civil Service Nationality Rules, the FCDO will be a reserved department, meaning all roles in the department are open to UK nationals only. The Foreign Secretary has agreed that all existing non-UK national staff can continue to work for the FCDO and will be able to progress in their careers. All future recruitment into the department will be for UK-nationals only.