Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many staff left his Department in each of the last five years by grade.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Information on the number of civil servants leaving each Government department and organisation 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. This information is available through the Civil Service data browser for 2021 through 2025 at the following link:

https://civil-service-statistics.jdac.service.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many households received more than £1,835 per month in benefits in the last period for which data is available.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Family Resources Survey (FRS) is an annual report that provides facts and figures about the incomes and living circumstances of households and families in the UK. The FRS uses a nationally representative sample of UK households and includes data on benefit receipt, at both individual and family levels.

The latest FRS is available for 2023/24 and, in the ‘Income and state support data tables’, Table 2.14a shows the number of benefit units in the UK by the total amount of annual state support received for that financial year, plus the two preceding years. This data is also available in the ‘FRS Family 2’ table in the ‘Family (Benefit Unit) Dataset’ on Stat-Xplore. Please read the notes which accompany these tables.

You can log in or access Stat-Xplore as a guest user and, if needed, you can access guidance on how to extract the information required. In addition there is also the FRS Stat-Xplore User Guide.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many households have been assessed as qualifying for each exemption from the household benefit cap in each of the last 12 months.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many households are exempt from the household benefit cap because they meet the earnings rule.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many and what proportion of staff in his 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 Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The information is not held centrally in the format requested and could only be provided at a disproportionate time and cost.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many and what proportion of his Department's staff in each grade were rated in the top performance category in the last year.

Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The department operates a rating-less system for Performance & Development and as such the information requested is not available.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of departmental staff in each grade were rated in the top performance category in the last year.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Senior civil servants (SCS) and delegated grades follow different performance management frameworks. SCS’ operate within the framework for SCS performance management prescribed by Cabinet Office. For delegated performance there is a flexible framework that requires departments to reflect a number of core elements in their approach, including differentiating performance, addressing under and poor performance, and addressing diversity and inclusion. The following table shows the top ratings within the different performance management frameworks by grade and proportion, as of April 2025:

Notes:

1. the numbers rated in the top performance category are rounded to the nearest five; and
2. the proportion is calculated based on employees who received a performance rating.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, 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 Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The average number of working days lost per full-time equivalent member of staff in the Department in the period between October 2024 and September 2025, the most recent period for which records are available, was 5.12.

The average number of working days lost per full-time equivalent member of staff in the executive agencies over the same period was 8.22 in the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and 5.71 in the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

There were no formal performance warnings issued against civil servants in the Department or the UKHSA between 1 December 2024 and 30 November 2025 where the civil servant was also issued a formal attendance warning for exceeding sickness trigger points.

There were four formal performance warnings issues to staff in the MHRA whose absence exceeded departmental triggers.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the total cost was of (a) settlement agreements and (b) special severance payments made to departing departmental staff in the last year.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

During the period 1 December 2024 to 30 November 2025, the total cost of settlement agreements to the Department was £15,000. Under HM Treasury’s rules, payments made under settlement agreements are classed as Special Severance Payments.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of departmental staff 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 Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

As of 28 November 2025, the Department had 112 employees, or 3%, on a temporary promotion to a higher grade from their substantive grade. The following table shows the percentage of employees on temporary promotion, broken down by grade:

We have only recently started to capture performance markings on the system and so cannot provide a breakdown for last year. Due to the way our data is held, we are not able to provide a breakdown of the number or proportion of staff who were promoted to a higher grade whilst on temporary promotion.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what the total cost was of (a) settlement agreements and (b) special severance payments made to departing staff in the last year.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

For the last financial year, the total cost to DSIT of payments associated with settlement agreements is set out in the Department’s Annual Report and Accounts: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dsit-annual-report-and-accounts-2024-to-2025

Where relevant, this includes special severance payments that have associated settlement agreements.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, 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 Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Sickness absence data for the Civil Service, including departmental breakdowns, are published annually and are available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/sickness-absence

The requested data on formal warnings are not held centrally in a reportable format.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, in the past twelve months, how many disciplinary cases were concluded against civil servants in (a) the 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 Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

• Data on the number of Disciplinary/Conduct cases and Performance cases which have concluded and had an outcome recorded in DSIT and its 4 Executive Agencies in the 12 months to December 2025 are provided in the table below.
• Figures reflect only cases where HR Casework Services were engaged and details formally recorded; issues managed independently by line managers are not included. Categories reflect those used by each organisation for recording this information.

Table - DSIT & Executive Agencies Disciplinary and Performance Case Outcomes (12 months to December 2025)

* Breakdown not available

• DSIT Executive Agencies include: Intellectual Property Office (IPO), UK Space Agency (UKSA), the Met Office, and Building Digital UK (BDUK). BDUK ceased to be an Executive Agency and became a Directorate of DSIT on 1 November 2025.
• Redactions: Where numbers are five or fewer, “≤5” is shown to protect confidentiality.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how many and what proportion of staff in each grade were rated in the top performance category in the last year.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

• The table below sets out, by grade, the number of staff in DSIT recorded as having been assessed as ‘Exceeding’ – the highest performance rating for SCS and DSIT delegated grade staff – at the end of the most recent full reporting year (31 March 2025). It also lists what percentage this represents of the total number of staff at each grade.
• This data relates to DSIT staff excluding Government Digital Service as they did not formally transfer into the Department until June 2025.

*Numbers of 30 or fewer employees have been redacted.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how many and what proportion of staff 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 Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

• The latest data held centrally are set out in the Table below.
• They refer to DSIT staff who were promoted to higher grade within the Department during the period 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025 and who were DSIT employees throughout that year.
• The data exclude (i) any staff promoted to roles outside DSIT and (ii) Government Digital Service as they did not formally transfer into the Department until June 2025.
• DSIT did not promote in-grade.
• Regarding part b(i) of the question, information to cross-reference promotions to performance markings is not held centrally and consequently cannot be provided.

Table: Staff Promotions by Grade (Number of staff and Percentage of Grade) in DSIT from 1/4/2024 to 31/3/2025 inclusive

*Numbers of 30 or fewer employees have been redacted.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people have been employed by (a) the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and (b) the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency in each year since 2005.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The table attached shows the annual budget and the number of full time equivalent (FTE) employees for the UK Health Security Agency, the Food Standards Agency, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, the Care Quality Commission, and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, each year from 2005/06 to 2024/25. The number of people employed by each arm's-length body has been recorded as FTE (payroll). The annual budget comprises both the Resource Departmental Expenditure Limit and the Capital Departmental Expenditure Limit to give the total Departmental Expenditure Limit budget.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the annual budget was for the (a) National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and (b) Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency in each year since 2005.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The table attached shows the annual budget and the number of full time equivalent (FTE) employees for the UK Health Security Agency, the Food Standards Agency, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, the Care Quality Commission, and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, each year from 2005/06 to 2024/25. The number of people employed by each arm's-length body has been recorded as FTE (payroll). The annual budget comprises both the Resource Departmental Expenditure Limit and the Capital Departmental Expenditure Limit to give the total Departmental Expenditure Limit budget.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the annual budget was for the (a) Care Quality Commission, (b) UK Health Security Agency and (c) the Food Standards Agency in each year since 2005.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The table attached shows the annual budget and the number of full time equivalent (FTE) employees for the UK Health Security Agency, the Food Standards Agency, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, the Care Quality Commission, and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, each year from 2005/06 to 2024/25. The number of people employed by each arm's-length body has been recorded as FTE (payroll). The annual budget comprises both the Resource Departmental Expenditure Limit and the Capital Departmental Expenditure Limit to give the total Departmental Expenditure Limit budget.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people have been employed by (a) the Care Quality Commission, (b) the UK Health Security Agency and (c) the Food Standards Agency in each year since 2005.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The table attached shows the annual budget and the number of full time equivalent (FTE) employees for the UK Health Security Agency, the Food Standards Agency, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, the Care Quality Commission, and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, each year from 2005/06 to 2024/25. The number of people employed by each arm's-length body has been recorded as FTE (payroll). The annual budget comprises both the Resource Departmental Expenditure Limit and the Capital Departmental Expenditure Limit to give the total Departmental Expenditure Limit budget.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, in the past twelve months, how many disciplinary cases were concluded against civil servants in (a) his 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 Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)

It is taking time to collate the required information to answer the hon. Member's Question. I will write to him when the information is available, and a copy of this letter will be placed in the Library of The House.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the cost was of (a) settlement agreements and (b) special severance payments made to departing staff in the last year.

Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)

It is taking time to collate the required information to answer the hon. Member's Question. I will write to him when the information is available, and a copy of this letter will be placed in the Library of The House.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many and what proportion of staff in each grade were rated in the top performance category in the last year.

Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)

It is taking time to collate the required information to answer the Hon. Member's Question. I will write to him when the information is available, and a copy of this letter will be placed in the Library of The House.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the average number of working days lost to sickness absence per full-time equivalent member of staff was in (a) his 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 Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)

It is taking time to collate the required information to answer the hon. Member's Question. I will write to him when the information is available, and a copy of this letter will be placed in the Library of The House.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many and what proportion of staff were promoted (a) in-grade and (b) to a higher grade in the last year by (i) performance marking in the previous year and (ii) grade.

Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)

It is taking time to collate the required information to answer the hon. Member's Question. I will write to him when the information is available, and a copy of this letter will be placed in the Library of The House.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what the total cost was for (a) settlement agreements and (b) special severance payments made to departing staff from his Department in the last year.

Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Any payments made in each Financial Year relating to settlement agreements, which includes special severance payments associated with settlement agreements where relevant, will be published in the relevant Annual Report and Accounts.

For the last financial year, these are published at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/mhclg-annual-report-and-accounts-2024-to-2025

A further update will be provided as part of the next set of published accounts for 2025-26.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many disciplinary cases were concluded against civil servants in (a) his Department and (b) his Department's agencies broken down by (i) outcome and (ii) whether the primary allegation related to (A) performance and (B) conduct in the last twelve months.

Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The department is not responsible for collecting or maintaining data on disciplinary action for staff in its executive agencies. We do hold information on concluded disciplinary cases within the core department; however, producing the requested information for both the core department and its executive agencies, and in the format specified, would incur disproportionate time and cost.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the total cost was of (a) settlement agreements and (b) special severance payments made to departing staff in the last year.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

For the last financial year, the total cost to Defra of payments associated with settlement agreements is set out in pg. 167 of Annual Report and Accounts. Where relevant, this includes special severance payments that have associated settlement agreements.