To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many locally employed British embassy staff in Russia have immunity from jurisdiction under Article 38.1 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations 1961. (287300)

No locally employed members of staff at British diplomatic missions in the Russian Federation have immunity under Article 38 (1) of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations 1961.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment has been made of the merits of conferring diplomatic status on non-Diplomatic Service staff employed by UK posts in the Russian Federation in accordance with the Diplomatic Service Regulations 2006. (287301)

Staff are appointed under article 7 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations 1961, according to the functions they perform at the mission. In practice, the privileges and immunities staff enjoy stem from the receiving state’s recognition that they have been appropriately classified, in line with their functions.

The diplomatic service regulations do not apply to locally engaged staff who are employed on local terms and conditions, governed by local law and practice.