Asked by: Baroness Shawcross-Wolfson (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the civil service strategic workforce plan will include, by department, projected changes in (1) headcount, (2) workforce costs, (3) consultancy and contingent labour expenditure, and (4) the proportion of staff in frontline and back-office roles, for each year to 2029–30.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Publication of the Civil Service Strategic Workforce Plan has been delayed to ensure it is fully aligned with the vision and transformation ambitions set out by the Cabinet Secretary and the Prime Minister’s proposals to re-wire the state. This includes ambitions to establish devolution as a core principle of this Government, and to ensure the plan reflects the Cabinet Secretary’s clear ambition for an AI-enabled state.
Further details will be shared in due course.
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 5 February (HL13845), when they expect to publish the civil service strategic workforce plan.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Publication of the Civil Service Strategic Workforce Plan has been delayed to ensure it is fully aligned with the vision and transformation ambitions set out by the Cabinet Secretary and the Prime Minister’s proposals to re-wire the state. This includes ambitions to establish devolution as a core principle of this Government, and to ensure the plan reflects the Cabinet Secretary’s clear ambition for an AI-enabled state.
Further details will be shared in due course.
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 18 March (HL15206), what data the Government People Group is collecting to monitor whether departments and agencies have changed their recruitment practices to place greater value on frontline delivery, innovation and private-sector experience; and whether that data will be published.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Future Civil Service Group (formerly Government People Group) continues to work closely with SCS Recruitment leads nominated by each core Government department to support and enable the implementation of best practice, and making relevant changes to their hiring practices to target people with frontline delivery, innovation and private-sector skills and experience.
In July 2026, departments were surveyed to confirm their adoption of the new criteria. 80% confirmed they had fully implemented this for all relevant roles and 20% were finalising changes in practice to ensure compliance for relevant roles going forward.
There are no plans to publish this data or to gather more data centrally currently.
Asked by: Baroness Shawcross-Wolfson (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of appointments to the Senior Civil Service since 1 April 2026 have been made to candidates whose principal previous employment was (1) elsewhere in the Civil Service, (2) the wider public sector, and (3) the private or third sector; and how those proportions compare with (a) 2023-24, (b) 2024–25, and (c) 2025–26.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Cabinet Office does not yet hold data centrally for Senior Civil Service entrants after 1st April 2026, though individual departments may hold this data for their own Senior Civil Servants.
The following table shows the proportion of centrally-managed Senior Civil Service entrants from (1) elsewhere in the Civil Service, (2) the wider public sector, and (3) the private or third sector from 2023-24 to 2025-26:
Table 1: Proportion of SCS entrants by recruitment sector 2023-24 to 2025-26
| Proportion of Entrants | ||
Financial Year | Government department | Private sector | Voluntary and wider public sector |
2023-24 | 79.7% | 10.3% | 10.0% |
2024-25 | 78.6% | 11.0% | 10.4% |
2025-26 | 75.2% | 13.8% | 11.0% |
Source: Cabinet Office SCS database
2025-26 figures are provisional and may change.
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 - Captain of the King's Bodyguard of the Yeomen of the Guard (HM Household) (Deputy Chief Whip, House of Lords)
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 - Captain of the King's Bodyguard of the Yeomen of the Guard (HM Household) (Deputy Chief Whip, House of Lords)
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 - Captain of the King's Bodyguard of the Yeomen of the Guard (HM Household) (Deputy Chief Whip, House of Lords)
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 - Captain of the King's Bodyguard of the Yeomen of the Guard (HM Household) (Deputy Chief Whip, House of Lords)
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 - Captain of the King's Bodyguard of the Yeomen of the Guard (HM Household) (Deputy Chief Whip, House of Lords)
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 - Captain of the King's Bodyguard of the Yeomen of the Guard (HM Household) (Deputy Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Number 10 and the Cabinet Office are continuing to work together and with departments to consider taskforces across the Prime Minister’s priorities.