Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people were employed by the (a) Payment Systems Regulator and (b) Financial Ombudsman Service in each year since 2005.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
These are matters for the Financial Conduct Authority, the Prudential Regulation Authority, the Payment Systems Regulator and the Financial Ombudsman Service , which are operationally independent from Government. These organisations will each respond to the Honourable Member by letter, and a copy of the letters will be placed in the Library of the House of Commons.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the annual budget was for the (a) Payment Systems Regulator and (b) Financial Ombudsman Service in each year since 2005.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
These are matters for the Financial Conduct Authority, the Prudential Regulation Authority, the Payment Systems Regulator and the Financial Ombudsman Service , which are operationally independent from Government. These organisations will each respond to the Honourable Member by letter, and a copy of the letters will be placed in the Library of the House of Commons.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the annual budget was for the (a) Financial Conduct Authority and (b) Prudential Regulation Authority in each year since 2005.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
These are matters for the Financial Conduct Authority, the Prudential Regulation Authority, the Payment Systems Regulator and the Financial Ombudsman Service , which are operationally independent from Government. These organisations will each respond to the Honourable Member by letter, and a copy of the letters will be placed in the Library of the House of Commons.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, 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 cases performance was rated as unsatisfactory or below; how many staff left as a result of such a rating; and what proportion of full-time equivalent staff this represented.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Performance management reviews are conducted in accordance with the relevant policies and procedures within HM Treasury and its agencies. The total number of reviews carried out over the past five years, including those that resulted in a poor performance rating, and the number of staff that left as a result is presented in the table below. We are unable to provide the exact proportion of full-time equivalent staff this represented due to the very small numbers involved, which could risk disclosure of personal information.
HMT | |||
Year | No of Reviews | No of Poor Performance Markings | No of staff that left as a result |
2024-2025 | 2,057 | 28 | fewer than 5 4 |
2023-2024 | 1,962 | 19 | fewer than 5 4 |
2022-2023 | 1,959 | 22 | fewer than 5 4 |
2021-2022 | 1,976 | 26 | fewer than 5 4 |
2020-2021 | 1,864 | 21 | fewer than 5 4 |
Government Internal Audit Agency (GIAA) | |||
Year | No of Reviews 1 | No of Poor Performance Markings | No of staff who left as a result |
2024-2025 | 498 | Markings not given/unable to disclose 2 | Unable to disclose 4 |
2023-2024 | 509 | Markings not given/unable to disclose 2 | Unable to disclose 4 |
2022-2023 | 470 | Markings not given/unable to disclose 2 | Unable to disclose 4 |
2021-2022 | 461 | Data not available 3 | Unable to disclose 4 |
2020-2021 | 468 | Data not available 3 | Unable to disclose 4 |
Debt Management Office (DMO) | |||
Year | No of Reviews | Classified as Unsatisfactory or below | |
2025 | 115 | 0 | |
2024 | 111 | fewer than 5 4 | |
2023 | 104 | 0 | |
2022 | 96 | 0 | |
2021 | 200 | 0 | |
Notes:
DMO
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, 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 Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
HM Treasury’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. The below table provides the number of staff who had their probationary period extended in the last 5 calendar years, and the number of staff who have left involuntarily or were dismissed following a probation extension or not passing their original probation.
Year | Probation Extended | Left – Involuntarily (following probation extension/not passing original probation) |
2020 | 7 | Fewer than 51 |
2021 | 13 | 5 |
2022 | 5 | Fewer than 51 |
2023 | 6 | Fewer than 51 |
2024 | Fewer than 51 | Fewer than 51 |
Notes:
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many employment tribunal claims have been lodged against her Department by (a) unfair dismissal and (b) claims under the Equality Act 2010 in each of the last five years.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
HM Treasury collects data on the overall number of employment tribunal claims but this data is not categorised, so it is not possible to provide data on how many claims were brought in respect of unfair dismissal or under the Equality Act (2010) in each of the last five years.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many staff in her Department are recorded as having a (a) mental health condition and (b) physical disability by grade.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
HM Treasury holds data on staff with a disability where this has been shared voluntarily, including staff with a mental health condition and with a physical disability (including a sensory disability), but this is not published.
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. This data was most recently published on 31 March 2025 and can be found in Table 29 of the statistical tables at the following web address:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/civil-service-statistics-2025.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many staff left her Department by grade in each of the last five years.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
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: https://civil-service-statistics.jdac.service.cabinetoffice.gov.uk
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many staff were involved in conducting the Research and Development tax relief reform and intensive support Screening Equality Impact Assessment, published on 18 September 2025; and how many hours were spent by (a) Departmental staff and (b) external consultants in its preparation.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Tax policy reforms are implemented by HMRC through projects, to ensure efficient and accurate implementation taking account of customer needs. Projects follow set procedures, monitoring and governance. As part of the governance process, screening equality impact assessments (EQIAs) are delivered by the Project Team to determine whether full assessments are needed. The screening assessment for the R&D reforms published on 18 September concluded that a full assessment was not necessary. The resource and time used for the screening EQIA is part of the policy project delivery resource and not tracked separately. No external consultants were engaged.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions she had with the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) on the risk that OBR productivity growth forecasts would be revised down before the (a) Autumn Budget 2024 and (b) Spring Statement 2025.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Chancellor engages regularly with the OBR including in preparation for fiscal events. As the Government’s independent official forecaster, the OBR has full discretion over the judgements underpinning its forecasts.
In the OBR's March Economic and Fiscal Outlook, the OBR included two scenarios for trend productivity, reflecting both upside and downside risks.