Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office written question – answered at on 16 July 2025.
Kevin Hollinrake
Shadow Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will submit a copy of the China Audit to the designated Planning Minister who is now considering the called-in planning application for the Chinese Embassy at the Royal Mint, London.
Catherine West
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign Secretary will not be submitting a copy of the China Audit to the designated Planning Minister. However, on 14 January, the Foreign Secretary and Home Secretary submitted written representations to the Planning Inspector to ensure national security concerns are fully considered. These representations are publicly available on the Tower Hamlets website and form part of the evidence that will be reviewed by the Planning Minister.
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Secretary of State was originally the title given to the two officials who conducted the Royal Correspondence under Elizabeth I. Now it is the title held by some of the more important Government Ministers, for example the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of Lords or the House of Commons. There are three main types of Minister. Departmental Ministers are in charge of Government Departments. The Government is divided into different Departments which have responsibilities for different areas. For example the Treasury is in charge of Government spending. Departmental Ministers in the Cabinet are generally called 'Secretary of State' but some have special titles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ministers of State and Junior Ministers assist the ministers in charge of the department. They normally have responsibility for a particular area within the department and are sometimes given a title that reflects this - for example Minister of Transport.
