To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many (a) Ministers and (b) civil servants in his Department received coaching in a foreign language in the last 12 months; what expenditure his Department incurred in providing such coaching; and in what languages such coaching was provided. (248069)

Based on business demand, there are 22 civil servants in the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform receiving language training from our preferred supplier. There are no Ministers receiving departmentally-funded language training.

The total expenditure for 2008 was £13,451.43. Languages undertaken were French, German, Spanish, Polish and Mandarin.