Written question asked by John Wilkinson (Conservative) on Monday, 21 February 2005, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 24 March 2005. It was answered by Douglas Alexander (Labour) on Thursday, 24 March 2005 on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many British diplomatic posts were (a) gained and (b) lost during calendar year 2004 to the personnel establishments of UK Missions in (a) Council of Europe member states including international bodies of which the UK is a member located in Europe, (b) Africa and (c) Latin America including Belize and the Dominican Republic.

Answer: Mr. Wilkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many British diplomatic posts were (a) gained and (b) lost during calendar year 2004 to the personnel establishments of UK Missions in (i) Council of Europe member states including international bodies of which the UK is a member located in Europe, (ii) Africa and (iii) Latin America including Belize and the Dominican Republic. [217755] Mr. Alexander: [holding answer 24 February 2005]: The introduction of a new IT system means that information is not available from the start of calendar year 2004. New data from this system is also not completely comparable with the previous arrangement. Subject to this caveat, the changes in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's personnel establishments between October 2003 and December 2004 in the areas in question were as follows: (i) Council of Europe member states including international bodies of which the UK is a member located in Europe. Plus 25. (ii) Africa. Plus 67. (iii) Latin America including Belize and the Dominican republic. Plus 8.

Secondary information