Written question asked by Tobias Ellwood (Conservative) on Thursday, 10 July 2008, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 15 July 2008. It was answered by Meg Munn (Labour) on Wednesday, 16 July 2008 on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Languages

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many staff in his Department took second language training in each of the last five years; and what the five languages in which training was most frequently undertaken were.

Answer: [holding answer 15 July 2008]: During financial year 2004-05, 757 officers undertook language training. Information on which languages were studied is not available for this period.During financial year 2005-06,754 officers undertook language training.During financial year 2006-07, 567 officers undertook language training.During financial year 2007-08, 441 officers undertook language training.So far during financial year 2008-09, 135 officers are undertaking language training. The five languages most frequently studied so far this year, and in the previous three financial years, are French, Spanish, Russian, Arabic and Mandarin.

Secondary information