Written question asked by Rob Marris (Labour) on Thursday, 24 May 2007, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 21 June 2007. It was answered by Geoffrey Hoon (Labour) on Monday, 25 June 2007 on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Languages: Education

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what consultation she conducted with foreign language (a) teaching and (b) using staff in (i) her and (ii) other departments on the decision to outsource her Department's language-teaching operation.

Answer: [holding answer 21 June 2007]: In its review of language training provision, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Services consulted stakeholders, including senior language training managers. It decided in light of this work and a review of its wider activities that its language training operation was uneconomic and that it should withdraw from providing language training as it moved to Trading Fund status.A separate FCO review of language training policy, which concluded that language training needed to be provided in different ways, involved consultation with users of language training services from the FCO and other Government Departments. Following that review, the decision was taken to outsource the language teaching operation.

Secondary information