Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will set out the (a) terms of reference and (b) duration of the appointment of Crawford Falconer KCMG to his Department as Second Permanent Secretary and Chief Trade Negotiation Adviser.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
In accordance with the Civil Service policy for Permanent Secretary roles, the DBT Second Permanent Secretary was appointed for a period of five years (August 2017 - August 2022). The period of appointment was subsequently extended to December 2024.
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what guidance he issues to the Civil Service Commission on considering the Northcote-Trevelyan principles when assessing applications for appointment made by exception.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The statutory basis for the management of the Civil Service is set out in the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010. The Act requires the Civil Service Commission, which is independent of Government, to publish a set of principles to be applied for the purposes of appointing civil servants on merit on the basis of fair and open competition. The recruitment principles are published here:
https://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/publications/recruitment-guidance/
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the terms were for the secondment of Kate Owen as Interim Chief Executive of the Civil Service Commission; and when the secondment will end.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The published Civil Service Commission 2022/2023 Annual Report shows the current Interim Chief Executive began the role on 15 May 2023. An external recruitment process to appoint a permanent Chief Executive was launched in May 2024 and is expected to conclude in September 2024.
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what policies the Civil Service Commission has in place to avoid conflicts of interest when investigating its sponsoring department.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Civil Service Commission (CSC) is an executive non-departmental public body established in statute by the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act (2010) to provide assurance that civil servants are selected on merit on the basis of fair and open competition and to help safeguard an impartial Civil Service. The Commission is independent of Government and of the Civil Service.
The Commission acts in accordance with its legislation and takes direction from the independent First Civil Service Commissioner and the independent Civil Service Commissioners, who are appointed on merit on the basis of fair and open competition following the principles set out in the CSC’s Recruitment Principles and in accordance with the Governance Code on Public Appointments.
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, which team in the Cabinet Office discharges statutory or contractual duties owed to Cabinet Office employees by the Cabinet Office as their employer whilst they are on secondment to the Civil Service Commission.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Staff recruited by the Civil Service Commission are employed by the Cabinet Office and seconded to the Commission for the duration of the time in their role. The Civil Service Commission is independent; its staff operate under the direction of the First Civil Service Commissioner and the Civil Service Commissioners.
As Cabinet Office employees, staff in the Civil Service Commission are subject to Cabinet Office contractual terms and conditions (for example in relation to salary and leave entitlements) and are supported in the application of these by the Cabinet Office's corporate functions.
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the role of the Propriety and Constitution Group is in his Department’s relationship with the Civil Service Commission.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Civil Service Commission (CSC) is an executive non-departmental public body established in statute by the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act (2010). The Commission is independent.
The Cabinet Office, through the Propriety and Constitution Group, sponsors the Civil Service Commission and has appropriate sponsorship arrangements in place to carry out this function whilst safeguarding its independence. The governance and accountability arrangements for the Commission are set out in its ‘Governance Statement’ in the latest Annual Report and Accounts, which can be found here - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-commission-annual-report-and-accounts-202223
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what discussions have taken place at (a) official and (b) ministerial level between the Propriety and Constitution Group and the Civil Service Commission (CSC) on the establishment of the CSC’s review of appointments made by exception at delegated grades since 1 July 2024.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Civil Service Commission is the independent regulator of Civil Service recruitment and carries out its functions independently of Government and in line with the provisions of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010.
On Friday 30 August the Civil Service Commissioner wrote to departments, including the CO, to say that they would carry out a short review of appointments made by exception since 1 July.
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what progress has been made on developing regular, clear and transparent reporting of metrics to track the achievement of Government policies.
Answered by Julia Lopez
Spending Review 2020 placed a renewed focus on outcomes and tied spending and performance closely together. To implement this approach, the government has developed provisional priority outcomes for each UK government department, including a number of cross-cutting outcomes. The government has also identified a set of provisional metrics for each outcome against which progress towards delivering the outcomes will be measured.