Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of staff in her Department were promoted (a) in-grade and (b) to a higher grade in the last year broken down by (i) performance marking in the previous year and (ii) grade.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office introduced a no-rating performance management system for delegated grades in 2021 in line with external good practice. Therefore, the department cannot compare progression with performance markings / categories.
For the SCS grade please see table below.
Promotions from PB1 (SCS1) to PB2 (SCS2)
Performance markings from the previous year:
Achieved: <5
High Performing: <5
Exceeding: <5
Promotions from Grade 6 to PB1 (SCS1)
Performance markings from the previous year:
Achieved: 8
Partially Met: <5
Not in scope for a performance marking: 8
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of staff in each grade in her Department were rated in the top performance category in the last year.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office introduced a no-rating performance management system for delegated grades in 2021 in line with external good practice. Therefore, the department cannot compare progression with performance markings / categories.
The performance management framework for Senior Civil Servants is a Cabinet Office policy, applied across the Civil Service departments including the Home Office.
In the last performance year, the proportion of staff rated in the top performance category (“Exceeding”) for Senior Civil Servants is 25.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the total cost was of (a) settlement agreements and (b) special severance payments made to departing staff in her Department in the last year.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office does not publish specific information on settlement agreements and special severance payments for departing staff.
The Home Office does publish the overall payments made to staff exiting the department each year and this is outlined in the annual report and accounts. For 2024-25 this is featured on page 170. Home Office Annual Report and Accounts 2024 to 2025
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, in the past twelve months, how many disciplinary cases were concluded against civil servants in (a) her Department and (b) its agencies broken down by (i) outcome and (ii) whether the primary allegation related to (A) performance and (B) conduct.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Please find table below outlining disciplinary cases by performance and conduct.
Discipline Outcome | Headcount |
Performance |
|
Dismissal - Poor Performance | 20 |
Dismissal - Probation | 50 |
Conduct |
|
Dismissals with leaving reason containing Gross Misconduct | 132 |
Final Written Warning | 8 |
First Written Warning | 10 |
No Formal Action | <5 |
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average number of working days lost to sickness absence per full-time equivalent member of staff was in (a) the Department and (b) its executive agencies in the last year; and how many formal performance warnings were issued to staff whose absence exceeded departmental triggers.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The current Average Working Days Lost (AWDL) is 8.12. Regarding the number of performance warnings issued to staff, this can only be obtained through disproportionate effort.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many employment tribunal claims relating to unfair dismissal have been lodged against her Department in the last 12 months.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The information requested is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many employment tribunal claims alleging breaches of the Equality Act 2010 have been lodged against her Department in the last 12 months.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The information requested is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many staff in her Department did not retain employment following the completion of their probationary period in the last 12 months.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
In the last 12 months 59 Home Office employees were dismissed during their probationary period for efficiency reasons.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many staff in her Department had their probationary period extended in the last 12 months.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The information requested is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have been employed by the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner in each year since 2005; and what the annual budget was for the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner in each of those years.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
As an Executive Non-Departmental Public Body of the Home Office, the Immigration Advice Authority (IAA), formerly known as the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner (OISC), is operationally independent and responsible for the service it provides.
Details of its staffing levels and its budget are published online in its Annual Report and Accounts (ARAs). A list of annual reports and financial accounts, and business plans published by the Office of the Immigration Service Commissioner from 2005 to 2021 can be found here.
For more recent ARAs, the 2022/23 report can be found here and the 2023/24 report can be found here.