Written question asked by Lord Janner of Braunstone (Labour), in the House of Lords. It was answered by Lord Howell of Guildford (Conservative) on Tuesday, 20 December 2011.

British Embassies

Question: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to expand the High Tech Hub initiative in the British Embassy in Tel Aviv to United Kingdom embassies in other nations.

Answer: The hi-tech Hub in Israel was opened by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, my right honourable friend the Member for Tatton (Mr Osborne) on 3 November 2011. This initiative has been designed by our ambassador to Tel Aviv. At present, there are no plans to open similar hi-tech hubs in our other embassies around the world. However the Foreign and Commonwealth Office is monitoring the progress of the hub in Tel Aviv to determine whether it might act as a model or provide lessons relevant to our engagement in other countries in the future, in line with the expansion of our efforts to promote the UK’s prosperity.

Secondary information