Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many full-time equivalent permanent staff in his Department he been assigned to (a) preparations and (b) negotiations on a new UN oceans treaty.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has two full-time equivalent permanent staff assigned to preparations and negotiations on a new agreement under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction. As of June, this number will rise to three full-time equivalent permanent members of staff and we are currently recruiting for a fourth. Other members of staff will also be available to support the negotiations as required. The FCO also works closely with other government departments, in particular the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, on these negotiations.