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 Attorney General:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answers by Lord Hermer on 27 April (HL16377), 1 June (HL59), and 1 July (HL58), how many reporting and consultation duties have been identified by the artificial intelligence tool developed by the Cabinet Office and No. 10; how many have subsequently been reviewed by ministers; and how many have been identified for amendment or repeal.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Cluny - Advocate General for Scotland
Using the AI tool, the Cabinet Office has identified approximately 7000 statutory duties to consult. The process of reviewing all 7000 is ongoing.
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 Attorney General:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether departments are required to record formally how a proposed statutory reporting or consultation requirement has satisfied the Government's “higher bar”; and whether that assessment will be included in explanatory notes or impact assessments accompanying legislation.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Cluny - Advocate General for Scotland
At present there is no intention to require an assessment of statutory reporting or consultation duties in explanatory notes or impact assessments accompanying legislation. Alongside the changes to consultation duties, we will encourage more participatory and collaborative methods to ensure the public's views are meaningfully embedded throughout the policy-making process.Asked by: Baroness Shawcross-Wolfson (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hermer on 27 April (HL16376), what specific criteria ministers are required to apply when determining whether a proposed reporting or consultation requirement meets the Government's “higher bar” for inclusion in new legislation.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Cluny - Advocate General for Scotland
The starting point will be that requirements are in legislation by exception. Then going forward, formal consultation should only take place where there is still a statutory requirement to consult, where it would be conspicuously unfair not to consult, or where Ministers believe there is a good case for seeking external input and that the right vehicle for doing so is a formal consultation. Even where departments have historically consulted or previously promised to consult, it is expected that each individual instance to be considered afresh, thinking about what is fair in the particular circumstances.
Asked by: Baroness Shawcross-Wolfson (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Merron on 2 March (HL14550), how many NHS England employees they currently expect (1) to transfer into the Department of Health and Social Care, (2) to transfer to integrated care boards or other NHS bodies, and (3) to leave employment, as a consequence of the abolition of NHS England.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the Noble Baroness to the detailed plans set out in my Written Statement HLWS1049 made on 12 November 2025, and to the impact assessment that has been laid before the House, a copy of which is attached. We will provide further updates on staffing matters on an ongoing basis as the plans we have set out are delivered.
Asked by: Baroness Shawcross-Wolfson (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what headcount they expect integrated care boards to have in March 2028 as part of the ambition to reduce staffing by up to 50 per cent across Department of Health and Social Care, NHS England, and integrated care boards; and what is the baseline against which that element of the reduction will be measured.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the Noble Baroness to the detailed plans set out in my Written Statement HLWS1049 made on 12 November 2025, and to the impact assessment that has been laid before the House, a copy of which is attached. We will provide further updates on staffing matters on an ongoing basis as the plans we have set out are delivered.
Asked by: Baroness Shawcross-Wolfson (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what headcount and full-time equivalent staffing level they expect the restructured Department of Health and Social Care to have when the transfer of NHS England's functions is complete; and how this compares with the combined Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England workforce in March 2025.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the Noble Baroness to the detailed plans set out in my Written Statement HLWS1049 made on 12 November 2025, and to the impact assessment that has been laid before the House, a copy of which is attached. We will provide further updates on staffing matters on an ongoing basis as the plans we have set out are delivered.