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.
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 civil servants will have access to training from the National School of Government and Public Services; how many hours of training will be provided to civil servants; who will provide that training; and whether they will publish the proposed training curriculum.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
His Majesty’s Government is establishing the National School of Government and Public Services to strengthen the professional capability of the Civil Service.
The National School will serve over half a million civil servants. It will provide hundreds of thousands of hours of training as well as on-demand online learning. Training will be provided by a combination of civil service trainers, senior civil servants, and external providers and experts, including leading academic institutions.
We currently publish details of civil service training and will continue to do so as we expand the curriculum, focusing on priority skills including digital and AI. Further details of the proposed training curriculum will be published when the National School launches later in 2026.
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, what plans they have to make changes to Civil Services human resources processes to reform performance management.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The delivery objectives of all Senior Civil Servants should be linked to the objectives of the department and minister they serve. The framework is regularly reviewed and updated in alignment with Government priorities.
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 19 January (HL13271), when they expect to publish the Civil Service strategic workforce plan; and whether they will detail its objectives.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Civil Service is committed to publishing a Civil Service Strategic Workforce Plan in the first part of this year once departments have finalised their workforce plans as per the financial settlements that were agreed with HMT in the Spending Review and the priorities set by Ministers, including those set out in the Autumn Budget.
The Civil Service Strategic Workforce Plan will set out how the Civil Service workforce will meet the Government’s policies of reducing back office costs by 16% by 2030, halving consultancy spend and targeting spending on front line services.
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 19 January (HL13271), whether they will detail their plans to reduce back-office costs in the Civil Service by 16 per cent over the next five years; and what savings will be achieved in each year up to 2030.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Spending Review 2025 set each department’s yearly administration budget and committed to reduce them by 16% in total and in real terms by 2029-30. The Spending Review details the planned administration Budgets for each department for each year between 2025-26 and 2029-30.
The reductions will be delivered through savings and efficiencies, supported by the £150 million announced at Spring Statement 2025 to help deliver employee exit schemes, and with greater embedding of a cost-conscious culture across Whitehall, including reducing travel costs.
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 19 January (HL13276), when the arm's length bodies (ALB) review will be completed; and whether its findings will be published.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
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 how many consultations they have launched since July 2024.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
All government consultations are published on GOV.UK. Individual government departments are responsible for the consultations they lead on.