Asked by: Baroness Shawcross-Wolfson (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent on 23 April (HL16380), whether any teams modelled on the Vaccine Taskforce to deliver Prime Ministerial priorities have now been established; and if so, which Prime Ministerial priorities each team has been assigned and which ministers are sponsoring those teams.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Government has started the first two pilots of these taskforces. One that will improve data sharing across the criminal justice system with work taking place between the Ministry of Justice and the Home Office and a second to address violence against women and girls by working to accelerate delivery of support services in communities across the country. Delivery is led by departmental ministers with sponsorship from myself and my ministerial team.
Asked by: Baroness Shawcross-Wolfson (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent on 17 April (HL15207), when the Senior Civil Service Performance Management Framework will be updated; how it will ensure that underperformance is held to tougher standards; and how the impact of these new standards will be monitored and assessed.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Senior Civil Service (SCS) performance management framework for the 2026/27 performance year will be published imminently.
Asked by: Baroness Shawcross-Wolfson (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent on 24 March (HL14079), whether it is still their intention to set up teams modelled on the Vaccine Taskforce to deliver Prime Ministerial priorities; and, if so, whether these teams will be subject to the new departmental accountability framework.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The government is reforming the spending control and accountability framework in order to drive better value for money and enable the public sector to deliver the government’s priorities efficiently. This ultimately means better and faster outcomes for citizens. The reforms will reinforce accountability, enable the central government functions to focus more of their efforts on building capability, and be supported by open and collaborative ways of working. From 1 April, ‘delegated authority limits’ have increased across most of government and duplication in the approvals process has been removed.
Taskforces will be given the authority to exercise unique freedoms, including the freedom to get on with the job with prioritised business case approvals and increased delegated authority limits from the Treasury as appropriate.
Asked by: Baroness Shawcross-Wolfson (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent on 24 February (HL14387), whether the central performance management framework for the Senior Civil Service has been, or will be, changed in order to deliver the plans set out by the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister in his speech on 20 January.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
We are in the process of updating the Senior Civil Service (SCS) Performance Management Framework aimed at ensuring performance across the SCS is focused on the Prime Minister’s priorities and that underperformance is held to tougher standards and addressed as soon as it arises.
Asked by: Baroness Shawcross-Wolfson (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent on 2 February (HL13762), what progress they have made in the arm's length bodies review; when they expect that review to be completed; and when they will publish its findings.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
I refer the Noble Lady to my answer to HL13762.:
Question:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent on 19 January (HL13276), when the arm's length bodies (ALB) review will be completed; and whether its findings will be published.
Answer:
The review is ongoing. Outcomes will be communicated in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Shawcross-Wolfson (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, with regard to the speech by the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister on 20 January, which "Prime Ministerial priorities" will be assigned to new teams modelled on the Vaccines Taskforce; and which ministers will sponsor those teams.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Number 10 and the Cabinet Office are continuing to work together and with departments to consider taskforces across the Prime Minister’s priorities.
Asked by: Baroness Shawcross-Wolfson (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, with regard to the speech by the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister on 20 January, how key performance indicators (KPIs) for senior civil servants will be set by ministers; whether individual ministers will have total autonomy to set their own KPIs; over what time period those KPIs will be assessed; and whether those KPIs will be changed when a minister changes.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Performance arrangements for members of the Senior Civil Service stem from a centrally set performance management framework, which makes clear that the objectives should be linked directly to the objectives of the department and minister they serve. These are then assessed by their line manager, throughout the performance year.
Asked by: Baroness Shawcross-Wolfson (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent on 24 February (HL14386), how they will monitor whether individual departments and agencies change their hiring procedures and practices to place greater value on frontline delivery, innovation and private sector experience.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Departments and agencies have delegated authority to determine their own practices and procedures for the recruitment of staff to the Civil Service, including the Senior Civil Service (SCS), as outlined in the Civil Service Management Code.
The Government People Group are collaborating with dedicated SCS Recruitment leads from the core Government departments to support them in sharing best practice and making relevant changes to their hiring practices, in line with the ambition set out in the Chief Secretary to the Prime Ministers’ speech of 20 January 2026.
Asked by: Baroness Shawcross-Wolfson (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent on 28 January (HL14077), whether they will publish the changes they plan to make to the hiring criteria for senior civil servants, as set out in the speech by the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister on 20 January.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Our approach to hiring for the Senior Civil Service (SCS) is changing to place greater value on frontline delivery, innovation, and private sector experience. Departments and agencies have authority to determine their practices and procedures for the recruitment of staff to the Civil Service, including the Senior Civil Service.
In accordance with the Civil Service Recruitment Principles, departments must provide all potential applicants with information about the nature and level of each role, criteria against which they will be assessed, and details of the selection process and the total remuneration available. However, there are no plans to publish internal-facing guidance to the public domain, as it constitutes HR-to-HR guidance designed for departments to integrate into their respective policies and processes.
Asked by: Baroness Shawcross-Wolfson (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent on 28 January (HL14077) and the speech by the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister on 20 January, whether ministers will directly set key performance indicators (KPIs) for senior civil servants; and if so, how often performance will be measured against those KPIs; and how under-performance will be managed.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Performance arrangements for members of the Senior Civil Service stem from a centrally set performance management framework, which makes clear that the objectives should be linked directly to the objectives of the department and minister they serve.
Underperformance is managed under the same framework, and triggered when individuals fail to meet the minimum standards or receive low performance ratings, with sustained poor performance escalated to a separate formal policy aligned with ACAS best practice.