Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much their Department has spent on (a) translation and (b) interpretation for languages other than (i) British Sign Language and (ii) languages native to the UK for people contacting (A) their Department and (B) its agencies in 2025.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office spent around £215,000 on direct, external Interpreter and Translator costs, for the financial year 2024-25. Indirect Interpreter and Translator costs (for example, staff time, particularly where translation or interpreter type activities is not their primary role) are not included in this figure.

The information required to delineate between Interpreter and Translator spend, as well as to which language spend pertains, is not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.