Written questions by Shastri-Hurst.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many people in her Department work in HR and the People function.

In responding to the Hon Member's eleven detailed questions about the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's relative focus on its public sector equality duty obligations compared to certain key foreign policy priorities, I refer him to the answer of 13 November 2025 to Question 88798, and inform him that - by comparison - the Department currently has more than 400 staff in the UK and overseas working on various aspects of the Iran crisis, the conflict in Ukraine, and our policies in respect of Russia and China.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many courses were offered internally on (a) equality, diversity and inclusion, (b) culture and (c) wellness in each of the last three years.

In responding to the Hon Member's eleven detailed questions about the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's relative focus on its public sector equality duty obligations compared to certain key foreign policy priorities, I refer him to the answer of 13 November 2025 to Question 88798, and inform him that - by comparison - the Department currently has more than 400 staff in the UK and overseas working on various aspects of the Iran crisis, the conflict in Ukraine, and our policies in respect of Russia and China.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many equality, diversity and inclusion related events the Permanent Secretary in her Department has attended since 5 July 2024.

In responding to the Hon Member's eleven detailed questions about the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's relative focus on its public sector equality duty obligations compared to certain key foreign policy priorities, I refer him to the answer of 13 November 2025 to Question 88798, and inform him that - by comparison - the Department currently has more than 400 staff in the UK and overseas working on various aspects of the Iran crisis, the conflict in Ukraine, and our policies in respect of Russia and China.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many civil servants in her Department held a language qualification in each of the last three years; and in what languages.

In responding to the Hon Member's eleven detailed questions about the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's relative focus on its public sector equality duty obligations compared to certain key foreign policy priorities, I refer him to the answer of 13 November 2025 to Question 88798, and inform him that - by comparison - the Department currently has more than 400 staff in the UK and overseas working on various aspects of the Iran crisis, the conflict in Ukraine, and our policies in respect of Russia and China.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many civil servants in her Department took part in a language course in each of the last three years; and in what languages.

In responding to the Hon Member's eleven detailed questions about the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's relative focus on its public sector equality duty obligations compared to certain key foreign policy priorities, I refer him to the answer of 13 November 2025 to Question 88798, and inform him that - by comparison - the Department currently has more than 400 staff in the UK and overseas working on various aspects of the Iran crisis, the conflict in Ukraine, and our policies in respect of Russia and China.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many language sessions were offered to civil servants in her Department in each of the last three years; and in what languages.

In responding to the Hon Member's eleven detailed questions about the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's relative focus on its public sector equality duty obligations compared to certain key foreign policy priorities, I refer him to the answer of 13 November 2025 to Question 88798, and inform him that - by comparison - the Department currently has more than 400 staff in the UK and overseas working on various aspects of the Iran crisis, the conflict in Ukraine, and our policies in respect of Russia and China.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many FTE civil servants were allocated to the Russia desk in each of the last three years for which data is available; and what their grades were.

In responding to the Hon Member's eleven detailed questions about the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's relative focus on its public sector equality duty obligations compared to certain key foreign policy priorities, I refer him to the answer of 13 November 2025 to Question 88798, and inform him that - by comparison - the Department currently has more than 400 staff in the UK and overseas working on various aspects of the Iran crisis, the conflict in Ukraine, and our policies in respect of Russia and China.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many full-time equivalent civil servants were allocated to the China desk in each of the last three years for which data is available; and what were their grades.

In responding to the Hon Member's eleven detailed questions about the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's relative focus on its public sector equality duty obligations compared to certain key foreign policy priorities, I refer him to the answer of 13 November 2025 to Question 88798, and inform him that - by comparison - the Department currently has more than 400 staff in the UK and overseas working on various aspects of the Iran crisis, the conflict in Ukraine, and our policies in respect of Russia and China.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many FTE civil servants were allocated to the Iran desk in each of the last three years for which data is available; and what their grades were.

In responding to the Hon Member's eleven detailed questions about the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's relative focus on its public sector equality duty obligations compared to certain key foreign policy priorities, I refer him to the answer of 13 November 2025 to Question 88798, and inform him that - by comparison - the Department currently has more than 400 staff in the UK and overseas working on various aspects of the Iran crisis, the conflict in Ukraine, and our policies in respect of Russia and China.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many civil servants in her Department attended at least one session on (a) equality, diversity and inclusion, (b) culture and (c) wellness in each of the last three years.

In responding to the Hon Member's eleven detailed questions about the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's relative focus on its public sector equality duty obligations compared to certain key foreign policy priorities, I refer him to the answer of 13 November 2025 to Question 88798, and inform him that - by comparison - the Department currently has more than 400 staff in the UK and overseas working on various aspects of the Iran crisis, the conflict in Ukraine, and our policies in respect of Russia and China.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much her Department spent on (a) equality, diversity and inclusion, (b) culture and (c) wellness (i) training courses and (ii) events in each of the last three years.

In responding to the Hon Member's eleven detailed questions about the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's relative focus on its public sector equality duty obligations compared to certain key foreign policy priorities, I refer him to the answer of 13 November 2025 to Question 88798, and inform him that - by comparison - the Department currently has more than 400 staff in the UK and overseas working on various aspects of the Iran crisis, the conflict in Ukraine, and our policies in respect of Russia and China.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what estimate she has made of the number of diplomatic officers posted to China who are proficient in Chinese to C1 CEFR level or higher.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 6 November 2025 in response to Question 86285.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what estimate she has made of the number of diplomatic officers posted to Russia who are proficient in Russian to C1 CEFR level or higher.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 6 November 2025 in response to Question 86285.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has with his counterparts in (a) Japan, (b) Australia and (c) the United States on (i) defence, (ii) trade and (iii) foreign policy relations.

We continue to engage with our allies across the world on defence, trade and foreign policy relations. It is the long-standing practice of successive governments not to comment on matters of national security and private diplomatic meetings. I refer the Rt Hon Member to the read outs available on gov.uk.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what plans he has to review his Department's strategic approach to relations with China.

This Government is taking a consistent, long term and strategic approach to managing the UK's relations with China, rooted in UK and global interests. To help inform this, a team in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has been conducting a full and comprehensive audit of the breadth of the UK's relationship with China. They have consulted widely across government and with a wide range of external stakeholders, which is already proving valuable in developing policies and planning engagement. We will continue to work hard to protect and pursue our interests with China, making sure that our engagement is delivering for the British people. That includes where we need to challenge and where we can identify potential areas of cooperation.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations he has made to his Chinese counterpart on the treatment of ethnic minorities in Xinjiang and Tibet.

The UK Government stands firm on human rights in China, including the repression of people in Xinjiang and Tibet.We raise our concerns at the highest levels: the Prime Minister, Foreign Secretary, Chancellor and Energy Secretary all raised human rights recently with their counterparts (President Xi, Foreign Minister Wang, Vice Premier He and Vice Premier Ding respectively).This Government continues to coordinate efforts with our international partners to hold China to account for human rights violations. For example, joining a statement led by Australia on Xinjiang and Tibet at the UN General Assembly in October.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the state of freedoms in Hong Kong; and what steps the Government is taking to support the rights of British National (Overseas) passport holders.

The UK has deep and longstanding ties with Hong Kong. However, as set out in detail in the Government's successive Six-monthly Reports on Hong Kong, the continued erosion of rights and freedoms threatens Hong Kong's way of life. China's imposition of the National Security Law (NSL) has seen dissent criminalised. The UK has called for the NSL to be repealed and for an end to the prosecution of all individuals charged under it.The UK has demonstrated our commitment to the people of Hong Kong through the bespoke immigration route for British National (Overseas) status holders and their eligible family members. This Government will continue to stand with the people of Hong Kong and provide a welcoming home to Hong Kongers.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of sanctions in deterring further atrocities in Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine.

Working with partners, our Russia sanctions are restricting Putin's war machine and degrading his military. Sanctions have deprived Russia of at least $450 billion since February 2022. They are increasing equipment costs and delays and reducing equipment quality for Putin's war machine. The cost of components has risen by 30 per cent for the Russian defence sector over three years. Sanctions have prevented Russia expanding military supplies to the battlefield, despite extra investment and enormous military losses. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office regularly reviews the effectiveness and impact of UK sanctions on Russia and remains committed to continuing to impose and enforce sanctions, alongside our partners, to constrain Russia's remaining sources of revenue.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will take steps with his international counterparts to establish an international register of damage caused by Russian aggression against Ukraine.

The UK is a founding member and Chair of the Conference of Participants for the Register of Damage for Ukraine, which allows Ukrainians to record losses, injury, or damage suffered as a result of the war. In March, the Board took several steps to increase access to justice: they launched six new claims categories, concluded a Memorandum of Cooperation with the Ukrainian Ministry of Justice to enable claimants to access legal support free of charge, and signed an agreement that sets a framework for the Register to access evidence gathered by Ukrainian law enforcement agencies.The UK is also engaged in international efforts to establish a Claims Commission for Ukraine that would assess the claims submitted under the Register of Damage. On 24-26 March, we joined the first meeting of the Intergovernmental Negotiation Committee as a next step towards agreeing the institutional structure and mandate of such a mechanism.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his international counterparts on establishing a special tribunal to prosecute crimes of aggression against Ukraine.

The UK is fully behind efforts to establish a Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine, and UK officials have played an important role in this process so far. The Foreign Secretary has just returned from Lviv where, alongside representatives of the Core Group of at least 37 countries, he announced united and ardent support for the establishment of a Special Tribunal and endorsed the legal texts required for its establishment. The UK will be engaging through the Council of Europe to take this work forward.