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Written question asked by Priti Patel (Conservative) on Wednesday, 10 June 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 15 June 2026. It was answered by Seema Malhotra (Labour) on Tuesday, 23 June 2026 on behalf of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

Aid Workers: Sexual Offences

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many safeguarding concerns were reported to her Department in 2025/26; how many SEAH cases there were where staff were the (a) subject of the complaint and (b) complainant; and what the outcome of those complaints was.

Answer

The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) continues to take safeguarding concerns extremely seriously, and has made concerted steps to encourage individuals to come forward whenever they have concerns to raise.

In terms of safeguarding concerns reported to the FCDO where either the survivor or subject of complaint was an FCDO staff member, there were 129 such cases in 2025-26, 55 per cent where FCDO staff were the subjects of a complaint, and 45 per cent where FCDO staff were the survivors. In 2025-26, we closed 114 such internal cases, in roughly the same proportions as above. In all cases where the allegation was proven against an FCDO staff member, action up to and including dismissal was taken.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
8534
Session
2026-27
Subjects
Complaints Sexual offences Aid workers
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk