Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the size of the UK's Diplomatic Staff in the context of increasing global multipolarity.

The FCDO oversees one of the world's largest diplomatic networks, with 282 Posts covering 180 Countries and Territories. In the last decade, the UK's diplomatic network has expanded by over 10%, with over 16,000 staff around the world and in the UK. The FCDO is ensuring that we have the right people and skills to deliver the Integrated Review: though diplomatic, economic, development & security partnerships; prioritising Euro-Atlantic security and the Indo-Pacific Tilt; and recognising the need for a more agile workforce, prepared for future crises and able to deliver UK interests in a more contested and fragmented geopolitical context.