Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how many people were employed by the (a) Office of Communications and (b) Information Commissioner’s Office in each year since 2005.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The number of employees and annual expenditure of Office of Communication (Ofcom) and the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) are available in each organisation’s Annual Reports which can be viewed at: https://www.ofcom.org.uk/about-ofcom/annual-reports-and-plans and https://ico.org.uk/about-the-ico/our-information/annual-reports/.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what the annual budget was for the (a) Office of Communications and (b) Information Commissioner’s Office in each year since 2005.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The number of employees and annual expenditure of Office of Communication (Ofcom) and the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) are available in each organisation’s Annual Reports which can be viewed at: https://www.ofcom.org.uk/about-ofcom/annual-reports-and-plans and https://ico.org.uk/about-the-ico/our-information/annual-reports/.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how many performance reviews were undertaken for staff in (a) her Department and (b) its agencies in each of the last five years; in how many of those cases was performance rated as unsatisfactory or below; how many staff left following such a rating; and what proportion of full-time equivalent staff this represented.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Organisation | 2024–25 | 2023–24 | 2022–23 | 2021–22 | 2020–21 |
DSIT | 1,765 staff | 1,349 staff | - | - | - |
Unsatisfactory | 42 (2.4%) | 37 (2.7%) |
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Left DSIT after rating | 6 (0.3%) | 1 (0.1%) |
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BDUK | ~270 staff |
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Unsatisfactory | 5 staff | 6 staff | 5 staff | 2 staff | 1 staff |
Left BDUK | 4 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
UKSA | 323 staff | 313 staff |
| 251 staff | 218 staff |
Unsatisfactory | - | 1 | - | 2 | 0 |
Left UKSA | - | 0 | - | 0 | 0 |
Met Office | 2,320 reviews | 2,308 reviews | 2,278 reviews | 2,120 reviews | 2,053 reviews |
Unsatisfactory | 1 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
DSIT – Formed in 2023, data only from 2023–24 onwards; all staff in scope receive quarterly performance reviews.
DSIT’s Executive Agencies:
Building Digital UK (BDUK) - Quarterly performance reviews required. Became DSIT Directorate 1/11/2025.
UK Space Agency (UKSA) - Quarterly reviews required.
Met Office - No data on staff leaving after rating.
Intellectual Property Office (IPO) - No formal ratings; poor performance action applied as necessary
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how many staff in her Department (a) did not retain employment following completion of their probationary period and (b) had their probationary period extended in each of the last five years.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
DSIT’s probation policy and guidance advises managers on the steps to take to assess a new employee’s suitability for the post and to provide support to enable them to succeed. It also advises on the steps to take where performance, attendance or conduct are not satisfactory. This can include exiting the employee or extending their probation to provide further evidence for a final decision on their suitability.
Dismissals in relation to probation failure since DSITs inception occurred during years 2023-25 and totalled 2 members of staff.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how many employment tribunal claims (a) for unfair dismissal and (b) under the Equality Act 2010 have been brought against her Department in each of the last five years.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Data specific to DSIT is only available from July 2024 onwards, prior to this data was categorised under BEIS and so we are unable to determine if cases relate to DSIT or DESNZ.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how many staff left her Department in each of the last five years, listed by grade.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Information on the number of civil servants leaving each government department and organisation by responsibility level for the years 2021 to 2025 is published annually through the ‘Civil Service data browser’ as part of Civil Service Statistics 2025, an accredited official statistics publication. Information can be accessed through the Civil Service data browser for 2021 through 2025 at the following web address:
Civil Service statistics - GOV.UK
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how many staff in her Department are recorded as having a (a) mental health condition and (b) physical disability, listed by grade.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The table below breaks down the number of staff with mental health or physical conditions by grade:
Grade | Physical Disability | Mental Health condition |
AO | 2 | 0 |
EO | 2 | 3 |
HEO | 8 | 9 |
SEO | 14 | 6 |
G7 | 20 | 14 |
G6 | 8 | 1 |
SCS | 2 | 2 |
Total | 56 | 35 |
Information on the number of people declaring a disability by each government department are published annually as part of Civil Service Statistics 2025, an accredited official statistics publication. Latest published data are as at 31 March 2025 and can be found at Table 29 of the statistical tables at the following web address:
Civil Service statistics - GOV.UK
Information for 31 March 2026 is due for publication in July 2026.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how many staff in (a) his Department and (b) UKRI and the Research Councils have job titles that include the words (i) equality, (ii) diversity, (iii) inclusion, (iv) gender, (v) LGBT and (vi) race.
Answered by Feryal Clark
(a) There are 4 staff within DSIT with one or more of the terms in their job title, the individual breakdowns are as follows - Equality: 0, Diversity: 0, Inclusion: 4, Race: 0, Gender: 0, LGBT: 0.
(b) There are 20 staff within UKRI and its research councils with one or more of the terms in their job title, the individual breakdowns are as follows: (note: some staff have multiple terms in their job title, while some staff only have one term in their job title, so the numbers below are greater than 20) - Equality: 18, Diversity: 18, Inclusion: 19, Race: 1, Gender: 0, LGBT: 0
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to page 6 of the policy document entitled Statement of Levelling Up Missions, published on 25 January 2024, whether it remains his Department's policy that levels of public investment in research and development outside the Greater South East will increase by at least 40% by 2030.
Answered by Feryal Clark
This public R&D regional investment target is committed to in legislation via the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023.
Increasing productivity right across the UK is fundamental to our mission to kickstart economic growth. Through our Industrial Strategy and the development of Local Growth Plans, we will build on local strengths to ensure that public and private R&D investment right across the UK helps local places to reach their potential.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how much his Department spent on communications in the last year for which data is available.
Answered by Feryal Clark
In financial year 2023/2024 the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) spent a total of £8,316,561.37 on communications. This is inclusive of £3,516,253.54 which are payroll related costs for staff who work in the Communications Directorate.
The DSIT Communications Team is responsible for all communications conducted by the department and its Ministers to help inform, promote and explain departmental policies through traditional and new media channels. This includes a number of paid-for marketing campaigns such as those designed to encourage uptake of R&D funding made available through Horizon Europe and campaigns to build skills required for the jobs of the future.