Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has for the UK to share diplomatic premises overseas with (a) Canada, (b) Australia and (c) New Zealand. [141891]

Mr Lidington, Minister of State: We are committed to strengthening our relationships with our Commonwealth partners. We believe that co-location of embassies, where it is of mutual benefit, supports closer co-operation, and is an efficient use of resources. Where we are co-located, it is as separate embassies in the same premises.

The United Kingdom already shares diplomatic premises with:

(a) Canada in Bamako and Rangoon

(b) Australia in Vientiane

(c) New Zealand in Kabul

There are plans for further co-location with these countries. These include:

(a) with Canada in Port-au-Prince

(b) with Australia in Dakar. The Australians will also use around 12 of our offices in Africa during their two-year tenure of the United Nations Security Council.

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