To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many of his Department's staff posted overseas are (a) living in temporary accommodation and (b) living in tents in each country. (154903)

Foreign and Commonwealth Office staff are sometimes required to live in temporary or special accommodation in exceptional circumstances. At present in Iraq and Afghanistan we have 36 staff in accommodation based on factory-converted freight containers, and 28 staff in small, hardened concrete, accommodation units. It is expected these will remain in use for the foreseeable future. We also have one officer currently living in a tent within a UN compound in Juba, Sudan. Our embassy in Khartoum is actively seeking secure permanent accommodation for this officer.