Written question asked by Neil O'Brien (Conservative) on Tuesday, 18 November 2025, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 24 November 2025 (named day). It was answered by Seema Malhotra (Labour) on Tuesday, 25 November 2025 on behalf of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.
Russia: Diplomatic Service
- Question
-
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 4 April 2025 to Question 40311, if she will provide an updated figure for the number of staff in her Department who currently hold valid Russian-language examination passes at C1 level or above.
- Answer
-
Almost 100 valid Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) qualifications in Russian are currently held at C1 level or above by FCDO staff, and almost 75 in Mandarin. Exam passes are valid for five years. Some staff may concurrently hold a valid C1 and C2 pass. As previously explained to the Hon. Member, these figures alone do not provide an accurate measure of FCDO staff language capabilities as staff may hold a non-FCDO language qualification or be a native speaker.
Secondary information
- Type
- Written question
- Reference
- 92121
- Session
- 2024-26
- Related items
- Grouped for answer
- Yes
- Subjects
- Diplomatic service Russia Russian language
- Link
- View this Written question on www.parliament.uk
Librarians' tools
- Timestamp
- 2025-11-25 16:21:41 +0000
- URI
- http://data.parliament.uk/writtenparliamentaryquestion/commons/2024-26/92121
- In Indexing
- http://indexing.parliament.uk/Content/Edit/1?uri=http://data.parliament.uk/writtenparliamentaryquestion/commons/2024-26/92121
- In Solr
- https://search.parliament.uk/claw/solr/?id=http://data.parliament.uk/writtenparliamentaryquestion/commons/2024-26/92121