Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many job advertisements were published on the Civil Service jobs website in 2025 which were (a) available on public website and (b) only available to Civil Services within the passworded website.
Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
In 2025, there were 45,566 job adverts published on Civil Service Jobs. Of these, 24,865 (54.6%) were available to the public. The remaining 20,701 (45.4%) were advised internally and/or cross-government, meaning they were available only to existing civil servants.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the speech, Move fast. Fix things, delivered on 20 January 2026 by the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister, what proportion of the Senior Civil Service had (a) primary career experience in policy roles, (b) primary career experience in operational delivery roles and (c) prior private sector experience; and what the equivalent figures were in each of the previous five years as of 1 January 2026.
Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
We are unable to provide a response as this information is not captured centrally at the application stage.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what role the Cabinet Office had in relation to the investigation into the then Consul General in New York in 2017.
Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The allegations were dismissed 9 years ago on the basis that there was no case to answer.
These allegations were considered by the Cabinet Office as the individual was a permanent member of staff of that Department.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will publish the investigation in the then Consul General in New York in 2017.
Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The allegations were dismissed 9 years ago on the basis that there was no case to answer.
We do not release confidential documents relating to internal HR processes.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many participants in the Future Leaders Scheme a) enrolled, b) completed the full programme, c) withdrew before completion and d) were removed by programme administrators in each of the last three years.
Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The required data is provided in the table below. The 2024-25 intake began delivery in 2025, and will complete in Summer 2026, so completion data is not yet available. Withdrawal and removal information for this year is accurate as at 23 February 2026. Data has been suppressed to prevent the identification of individuals.
| FLS 2021-22 | FLS 2022-23 | FLS 2023-24 | FLS 2024-25 (current intake) |
Enrolled | 428 | 438 | 423 | 398 |
Completed the programme | 422 | 424 | 419 | Ongoing |
Withdrew before completion | <10 | 14 | <10 | <10 |
Removed by scheme administrators | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Completion Percentage | 98.6% | 96.8% | 99% | - |
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the publication entitled Cabinet Office - Second Headquarters: Year in Review 2025, of 9 January 2026, how many headcount staff are assigned to work in the second Headquarters; and how many desks there are.
Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Cabinet Office Second Headquarters is based in the Government Hub at 1 Atlantic Square, Glasgow.
The Cabinet Office's Second Headquarters serves as a key regional base, accommodating over 700 Cabinet Office staff.
It has been the practice of successive governments not to comment, on grounds of both national security and staff safety, on the physical capacity or staffing numbers for individual buildings of the government estate.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, further to the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee, Oral evidence: The work of the Cabinet Office, HC 463, 16 December 2025, Question 353, if he will list the 36 voluntary exit schemes in operation by public body.
Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
I refer to the Honourable Member to Minister Turley’s answer provided to PQ 82675.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, further to the answer by the Parliamentary Secretary to the Cabinet Office of 29 October 2025, to Question 83801, on Peers and Members: Social Class, and to the answer by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent of 5 February 2026, to Question HL13977, on Civil Service: Unpaid Work, how should the children of peers self-certify their social class if they apply to the Civil Service Internship Scheme in the absence of a classification by the Office for National Statistics.
Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
All candidates are required to complete the questions set by ONS for determining socio-economic background based on their individual circumstances. For parental occupation this is at the age the candidate was 14. This allows the Civil Service to make a determination on their eligibility based on their answers. This is the same approach as was used for Fast Stream Internships under the previous administration.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 20 January 2026 to Question 104805 on Senior Civil Servants: Redundancy Pay, whether (a) Cabinet and (b) Permanent Secretaries asked to leave posts will be given Civil Service Compensation Scheme terms as severance payments in future.
Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
I refer to Minister Turley’s answer for 88716 and 95640. The Permanent Secretary model contract sets out the contractual detail on compensation payments for all Permanent Secretaries.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 21 January 2026 to Question 105252 on Government People Group: Contract, which public body and business unit is the customer under the KPI.
Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
With regard to the PeopleScout Ltd contract referenced in question 105252, Cabinet Office awarded the contract and the Government Recruitment Service within Cabinet Office is the responsible Customer. Consequently, the Customer referenced within the KPI is Government Recruitment Service, and the Supplier will only accept commissions directly from this entity.