Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what guidance his Department provides to its managers on how many days training should be made available to staff.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) does not specify how many days training should be available to staff. We adhere to Civil Service guidelines which recommend that staff should aim to do a minimum of five days training a year, however, the amount of time staff spend participating in both informal learning and formal training events will vary according to their role, profession or personal development needs. The amount of time allocated for language training is calculated spearately depending on the operational requirements of the role.