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.

China: Diplomatic Service

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 28 March 2025 to Question 40312 on China: Diplomatic Service, how many staff in her Department have achieved Mandarin qualifications at (a) C1 and (b) C2 level under the CEFR scale in the past five years for which the latest data is available.

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: 92122
Session: 2024-26
Related items: China: Diplomatic Service
Friday, 28 March 2025
Written questions
House of Commons
Grouped for answer: Yes
Subjects: Diplomatic service China Mandarin language
Contains statistics: Yes
Link: View this Written question on www.parliament.uk