To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for the Home Department on the practice of female genital mutilation.

The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), has regular conversations with Cabinet colleagues on a range of issues. The UK Government is clear that female genital mutilation is unacceptable wherever and whenever it occurs. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office works with the Home Office, the Department of Health and the Department for Education to prevent female genital mutilation.