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722990

registered interest
date	20/04/2017
answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept id	16
answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
hansard heading	Diplomatic Service
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many UK-based consular staff at Executive Officer grade are currently serving overseas in frontline consular work.
tabling member constituency	Carshalton and Wallington
tabling member printed	Tom Brake
uin	71405
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/04/2017 answer text <p>There are around 600 staff working in our overseas consular network. These comprise a mix of UK based and local staff providing a balance of experience, skills, local knowledge and language. Of these, there are currently 10 UK-based FCO Grade B3 officers (Executive Officers). In addition, there are a further 27 UK-based FCO Grade C4 and C5 officers (Higher Executive Officers/Senior Executive Officers) and six UK-based FCO Grade D7 (Civil Service Grade 6) Consular Regional Directors providing strategic leadership to the front line overseas.</p> answering member constituency Bournemouth East answering member printed Mr Tobias Ellwood question first answered 26/04/2017 14:45:16 answering member 1487 label Biography information for Mr Tobias Ellwood
tabling member	151 label Biography information for Tom Brake

722994

registered interest
date	20/04/2017
answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept id	16
answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
hansard heading	Diplomatic Service: Training
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what training consular staff receive before they start work; how long such training courses last; and what proportion of training time is spent on cases of murder, missing persons, rape and sexual assault.
tabling member constituency	Carshalton and Wallington
tabling member printed	Tom Brake
uin	71406
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/04/2017 answer text <p>All front line staff undertake mandatory training designed to give them the relevant skills and knowledge to provide appropriate support in a range of circumstances, including cases of murder, missing persons, rape and sexual assault. Our training is aligned with our Consular Strategy 2016-2020 and is constantly updated in line with ongoing customer feedback, formal evaluations and policy or legal developments.</p><p>Frontline Consular staff, in London and overseas, undertake mandatory &quot;Introduction to Consular Work&quot; and &quot;Safeguarding children and young persons&quot; e-learning courses during their first week in the role. This is followed within three months by an &quot;Assistance Guidance Assessment&quot;, which is conducted to a pass standard, and a five-day &quot;Essential Assistance Workshop&quot;, an interactive course with activities focused on building customer care skills for handling the full range of consular casework with particular emphasis on the most vulnerable.</p><p>Staff then follow a programme of continuous development relevant to their role. This comprises a range of learning activities including e-learning, workshops and discussions with specialist agencies and NGOs dealing specifically with bereavement, rape and sexual assault which are designed to further enhance the skills, knowledge and behaviours of consular staff dealing with these and other vulnerable customers. There are also opportunities for staff to practice customer care skills through telephone handling skills practice programme.</p><p>We have also developed a learning retention and evaluation tool to help embed knowledge following training courses. This involves a series of online timed and targeted questions for a five month period.</p> answering member constituency Bournemouth East answering member printed Mr Tobias Ellwood question first answered 26/04/2017 14:50:13 answering member 1487 label Biography information for Mr Tobias Ellwood
tabling member	151 label Biography information for Tom Brake

722995

registered interest
date	20/04/2017
answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept id	16
answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
hansard heading	British Nationals Abroad: Missing Persons
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what changes in procedures have been implemented in handling the cases of missing persons overseas and in training staff in how to handle such cases in the last 10 years.
tabling member constituency	Carshalton and Wallington
tabling member printed	Tom Brake
uin	71407
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/04/2017 answer text <p>The FCO regularly reviews all aspects of policy and guidance for assisting British nationals in difficulty overseas. The package of support and guidance for staff on handling cases of missing persons overseas is currently under review. The review includes the development of specific training material for handling such cases. The FCO has developed a close working relationship with the NGO 'Lucie Blackman Trust' to support the friends and families of British nationals who are missing overseas. The FCO has also published on gov.uk the public leaflet 'Missing persons abroad' which explains what practical help FCO staff can offer to people when a British national goes missing abroad, what people can do themselves and where they can go for additional help.</p> answering member constituency Bournemouth East answering member printed Mr Tobias Ellwood question first answered 26/04/2017 14:56:01 answering member 1487 label Biography information for Mr Tobias Ellwood
tabling member	151 label Biography information for Tom Brake

722996

registered interest
date	20/04/2017
answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept id	16
answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
hansard heading	Diplomatic Service: Training
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what training is given to staff working on frontline consular assistance issues in the Consular Directorate; and what the grades are of all such staff.
tabling member constituency	Carshalton and Wallington
tabling member printed	Tom Brake
uin	71409
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/04/2017 answer text <p>All front line consular staff in London and overseas complete a mandatory programme of Consular training, including an &quot;Introduction to Consular Work&quot; and &quot;Safeguarding Children and Young Persons&quot; e-learning within their first week in the role. This is followed within three months by an Assistance Guidance Assessment, which is conducted to a pass standard, and attendance at a five day &quot;Essential Assistance Workshop&quot;, an interactive course with activities focused on building customer care skills for handling the full range of consular casework, with particular emphasis on the most vulnerable.</p><p>In addition there is an ongoing programme of blended learning designed to support continuous development and further enhance the skills, policy knowledge and behaviours of consular staff dealing with all types of consular cases.</p> answering member constituency Bournemouth East answering member printed Mr Tobias Ellwood question first answered 26/04/2017 14:58:13 answering member 1487 label Biography information for Mr Tobias Ellwood
tabling member	151 label Biography information for Tom Brake