Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has to increase language training for UK diplomats; and if he will make a statement. [141892]

Alistair Burt, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State: Increasing the number of skilled language speakers in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office is a priority for the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague). Work is under way to raise the standards of staff language skills significantly.

We are:

lengthening training programmes in key languages such as Arabic and Mandarin and increasing the number of speakers of these. Once trained speakers are in place, we will have 40% more speakers of Arabic and Mandarin in our posts overseas than in 2010;

increasing the number of jobs overseas for which language skills will be a requirement;

ensuring our training supports the influencing and negotiation skills required for effective diplomacy;

providing lunchtime and after-work classes, and e-learning resources in key languages to ensure that speakers can develop and maintain skills while on home postings;

and

developing cadres of language expertise to support British foreign policy over the long-term.

As the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs announced in a speech at the FCO in September 2011, this Government has also committed to re-open a language centre in the Foreign Office. We expect to open the language centre in summer 2013. The new centre will be able to accommodate up to 1,000 students a year, including from other Government Departments. This will allow us, for the first time, to accommodate all of our students on-site, including the many FCO staff who study languages part-time.

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