Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions his Department has had with the Chinese Government on the granting of planning permission for the proposed new Chinese Embassy in London; and on what dates these discussions took place.

The planning application has been called in by the Secretary of State for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and she will make this decision independent from the rest of Government corresponding to her quasi-judicial role. Officials at the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office speak regularly with the Chinese Government about a range of issues.