Neil O'Brien Alert Sample


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Information between 17th December 2025 - 27th December 2025

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Written Answers
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Performance Appraisal
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Wednesday 17th December 2025

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, 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 such 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 Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The following table summarises the information held on the total number of performance ratings where these were available, and the number of cases where a rating was unsatisfactory or below. Please note that the policy for performance management has changed over this period. End-year performance ratings were removed for most staff in April 23. From this date performance ratings are only collected for Senior Civil Servants in APHA, RPA, VMD and Core Defra, senior leaders in NE, and all staff in EA.

Additionally, NE ratings for senior leaders are collated by NE directly and are not included in the data below from April 23 onwards.

The reportable data Defra holds does not include the reason for a dismissal and therefore a link to performance rating cannot be made. This limitation means that the requested information on number of staff who left because of a poor performance rating, and the proportion this represents, is not available.

Organisation

Financial Year

Number of performance ratings

Number of cases where performance was unsatisfactory or below

Core Defra

2020-2021

4720

2021-2022

5873

15

2022-2023

5856

2023-2024**

182

2024-2025**

184

10

Agencies (APHA, EA, NE, RPA, VMD)

2020-2021*

14975

29

2021-2022

17768

54

2022-2023

20438

44

2023-2024**

12925

40

2024-2025**

13154

29

*No ratings available for RPA.

**SCS only for APHA, RPA, VMD, Core Defra, no ratings available for NE.

c. These numbers are suppressed in accordance with the Defra data protection policy.

Department for Work and Pensions: Career Development
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Wednesday 17th December 2025

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, 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 Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

This information is not held centrally.

Treasury: Sick Leave
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Thursday 18th December 2025

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the average number of working days lost to sickness absence per full-time equivalent member of staff was in (a) her 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 Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

Information on the average number of working days lost to sickness within the department for 2024 - 2025 is published annually through the HM Treasury annual report and accounts at the following web address: HM Treasury annual report and accounts 2024 to 2025 - GOV.UK (Page 102).

This information can also be found for HM Treasury’s executive agencies at the following web addresses:

Government Internal Audit Agency: GIAA Annual Report and Accounts 2024-2025 - GOV.UK (Page 78);

UK Debt Management Office: UK Debt Management Office and Debt Management Account annual report and accounts, 2024 to 2025 - GOV.UK (Page 67).

HM Treasury does not issue performance warnings to those who exceed the absence trigger point as absence triggers are managed under the attendance management policy.

Treasury: Redundancy Pay
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Thursday 18th December 2025

Question to the HM Treasury:

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

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

There have been zero settlement agreements made to departing staff in the last year.

Met Office: Finance
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Thursday 18th December 2025

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to the DSIT Main Estimate memoranda for the years 2024 to 2025 and 2025 to 2026, for what reason there has been an increase in the capital spending allocated to the Met Office during this period.

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

The movement in capital spending allocated to the Met Office reflected the latest plans for the delivery of the new supercomputer milestones.

Department for Science, Innovation and Technology: Public Expenditure
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Thursday 18th December 2025

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to DSIT Main Estimate memorandum 2025 to 2026, if she will provide a breakdown of past and planned capital spending in the category of 'Science and Society'; and for what reasons this spending has increased from 2024 to 2025 levels.

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

For 2024/25 the total capital spend on Research and Development (R&D) in the category of Science and Society was £111.4m and for 2023/24 was £109.9m. £216.8m spend is planned for 2025/26 as presented within the Main Estimate for 2025/26. Science and Society is a reporting category and budgeted allocations from this area are sometimes reallocated to other DSIT reporting categories during the financial year. The budget at Main Estimate is therefore often higher than at Supplementary Estimate due to the timing of the budget allocations. Future year plans for 'Science and Society' will be confirmed as part of future Estimates.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport: Sick Leave
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Thursday 18th December 2025

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what the average number of working days lost to sickness absence per full-time equivalent member of staff was in (a) her 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 is published annually, and is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/sickness-absence.

The next update will be for the year ending 31st March 2025.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport: Career Development
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Thursday 18th December 2025

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

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

This information is not held centrally. This data is difficult to present due to there being no definition of an “in-grade promotion” and limited data on staff who go on promotion to another department. Collation and presentation of this data could potentially require significant manual work and data linking across departments.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport: Redundancy Pay
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Thursday 18th December 2025

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what the 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)

Since 2019 the flexible Performance Management Framework has enabled departments to adopt a Performance Management approach to best suit their organisational and cultural needs. DCMS operates a continual performance management approach throughout the year, which includes data on those not meeting performance expectations through the Managing Poor Performance process.

There is no common definition of ‘top performance’ across Government, and we do not hold performance data for top performers for staff below SCS level at this time.


For Senior Civil Servants, DCMS follows the SCS framework for performance management. There are four possible ratings available with the top marking being ‘Exceeding’. For the performance year 1 April 2024 - 31 March 2025, there were 65 SCS in scope of the end of year performance management process. Given the relatively small number of Senior Civil Servants in scope of the process, sharing the number and proportion of those receiving the top box marking could be disclosive and is therefore being suppressed.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport: Disciplinary Proceedings
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Thursday 18th December 2025

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many disciplinary cases were concluded against civil servants in (a) her Department and (b) its agencies by (i) outcome and (ii) whether the primary allegation related to (A) performance and (B) conduct in the last twelve months.

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

In the last 12 months, there have been 6 disciplinary cases that have concluded within DCMS. All related to an allegation of misconduct.

We cannot provide the outcome of closed disciplinary cases. Doing so would breach the Data Protection Act and risk identifying individual cases where the case count is five or less, as the information relates to someone other than the data subjects.

DCMS does not hold information regarding its agencies, including its arms-length and public bodies. This is because they are independent employers from the department.

Poor performance is addressed under a separate management procedure.

Treasury: Disciplinary Proceedings
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Friday 19th December 2025

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many disciplinary cases were concluded against civil servants in (a) her Department and (b) its agencies by (i) outcome and (ii) whether the primary allegation related to (A) performance and (B) conduct in the last twelve months.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

HMT don’t hold the information for disciplinary cases in agencies. Where there is an issue in staff performance, HMT have a managing poor performance policy to manage any concerns. Our disciplinary policy covers issues with conduct.

In the last twelve months, there have been six disciplinary cases concluded against civil servants. We consider that providing an exact breakdown of outcome would constitute the disclosure of personal data. This is because section 40(2) of the FOI Act, by virtue of section 40(3A) provides an absolute exemption for third party personal data, where disclosure would contravene any of the data protection principles set out in Article 5 of the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR). The first data protection principle requires the disclosure of third-party personal data to be lawful, fair and transparent. We believe that releasing the information would breach the first data protection principle, since it would be unlawful and unfair to release the information.

Treasury: Performance Appraisal
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Friday 19th December 2025

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many and what proportion of staff in each grade were rated in the top performance category in the last year.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

Performance management reviews are conducted in accordance with the relevant policies and procedures within HM Treasury. The table below presents the percentage of staff in each grade who achieved the highest performance rating in the 2024–25 end-of-year performance management process, which concluded on 31st March 2025:

Grade

Number of those in each grade that received the highest performance rating

Percentage of those in each grade that received the highest performance rating

AO

Less than 30

N/A

EO

58

28%

HEO

117

26%

SEO

91

32%

Grade 7

209

32%

Grade 6

91

32%

SCS Grades

41

30%

For delegated grades the high performance category is defined as delivering exceptional performance, consistently exceeding expectations in both the achievement of objectives (‘what’ is delivered) and the demonstration of organisational values and behaviours (‘how’ the work is carried out).

For SCS the exceeded performance category is defined as exceeding outcomes, exceeding expected competency and behavioral standards. The members of the SCS should have consistently performed above and beyond all of their agreed stretching objectives throughout the performance year.

Treasury: Career Development
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Friday 19th December 2025

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, 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 Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

(a) This information is not held centrally due to there being no definition of an “in-grade promotion”.

(b) Please see below a table which sets out promotions in the year 2024-25 by box marking in the previous year (2023-24) .

Promotions in year 2024-25 by Box Marking in Previous Year (2023-24)

Grade promoted from

1/Top

2/Achieving

Unknown/No box marking

Range B (AO)

<30

<30

<30

Range C (EO)

<30

<30

<30

HEO

39 (2%)

40 (2%)

<30

SEO

<30

<30

<30

Range E (G7)

<30

<30

<30

Range E2 (G6)

<30

<30

<30

SCS 1

<30

<30

<30

Please note that data that could identify individuals has been suppressed. All proportions have been rounded to the nearest whole percentage; and any proportions based on less than 30 employees have been suppressed.

Department of Health and Social Care: Termination of Employment
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Monday 22nd December 2025

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/

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Career Development
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Monday 22nd December 2025

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.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Performance Appraisal
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Monday 22nd December 2025

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.

Department of Health and Social Care: Performance Appraisal
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Monday 22nd December 2025

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:

Grade

Number rated in the top performance category

Proportion

Executive Officer

30

14%

Higher Executive Officer

55

11%

Senior Executive Officer

80

12%

Grade 7

170

17%

Grade 6

90

23%

SCS

30

14%

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.
Department of Health and Social Care: Sick Leave
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Monday 22nd December 2025

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.

Department of Health and Social Care: Redundancy Pay
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Monday 22nd December 2025

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.

Department of Health and Social Care: Career Development
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Monday 22nd December 2025

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:

Grade

Percentage on temporary promotion

Higher Executive Officer

4%

Senior Executive Officer

3%

Grade 7

2%

Grade 6

6%

Senior Civil Service 1

5%

Overall

3%

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.

Department for Science, Innovation and Technology: Redundancy Pay
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Monday 22nd December 2025

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.

Department for Science, Innovation and Technology: Sick Leave
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Monday 22nd December 2025

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.

Department for Science, Innovation and Technology: Disciplinary Proceedings
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Monday 22nd December 2025

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)

Organisation

Case Type

Total Cases

Written Warning

Informal Action

Resigned

Dismissed

No Case Found / Improvement

Other Outcomes

DSIT

Disciplinary

22

6

7

≤5

-

≤5

≤5

DSIT

Performance

41

≤5

12

11

≤5

11

≤5

BDUK

Disciplinary

≤5

-

-

-

≤5

≤5

-

BDUK

Performance

≤5

≤5

≤5

≤5

-

-

-

IPO

Disciplinary

16

10

-

-

≤5

≤5

-

IPO

Performance

13

13

-

-

≤5

-

-

UKSA

Disciplinary

≤5

*

*

*

*

*

*

UKSA

Performance

6

*

*

*

*

*

*

Met Office

Disciplinary

7

-

≤5

≤5

-

≤5

≤5

Met Office

Performance

29

≤5

-

-

-

27

≤5

* 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.
Department for Science, Innovation and Technology: Performance Appraisal
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Monday 22nd December 2025

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.

Grade

Exceeding

Grand Total

Exceeding% of Grade

AO

<=30

<=30

-

EO

<=30

78

-

HEO

54

318

17%

SEO

85

406

21%

G6

47

177

27%

G7

156

610

26%

FASTSTREAM

<=30

<=30

<=30

SCS

<=30

162

-

DSIT Total

384

1772

22%

*Numbers of 30 or fewer employees have been redacted.

Department for Science, Innovation and Technology: Career Development
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Monday 22nd December 2025

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

Grade

No. Promoted

% of Grade who were promoted

AO

0%

EO

<=30

<=30

HEO

84

25%

FASTSTREAM

<=30

<=30

SEO

32

8%

G7

<=30

<=30

G6

<=30

<=30

SCS 1

<=30

<=30

Total

156

8%

*Numbers of 30 or fewer employees have been redacted.

Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency and National Institute for Health and Care Excellence: Staff
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Monday 22nd December 2025

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.

Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency and National Institute for Health and Care Excellence: Finance
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Monday 22nd December 2025

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.

Department of Health and Social Care and Food Standards Agency: Finance
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Monday 22nd December 2025

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.

Department of Health and Social Care and Food Standards Agency: Staff
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Monday 22nd December 2025

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.

Ministry of Defence: Disciplinary Proceedings
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Tuesday 23rd December 2025

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.

Ministry of Defence: Redundancy Pay
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Tuesday 23rd December 2025

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.

Ministry of Defence: Performance Appraisal
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Tuesday 23rd December 2025

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.

Ministry of Defence: Sick Leave
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Tuesday 23rd December 2025

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.

Ministry of Defence: Career Development
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Tuesday 23rd December 2025

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.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Redundancy Pay
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Tuesday 23rd December 2025

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.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Disciplinary Proceedings
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Tuesday 23rd December 2025

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.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Redundancy Pay
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Tuesday 23rd December 2025

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.




Neil O'Brien mentioned

Deposited Papers
Friday 19th December 2025

Source Page: Letter dated 15/12/2025 from Ian Bauckham, Chief Regulator, to Neil O'Brien MP in response to Parliamentary Question PQ88782 concerning how many people have been employed by OFSTEAD, OFQUAL and the Office for Students since 2005. 2p.
Document: PQ88782_OBrien.pdf (PDF)

Found: Letter dated 15/12/2025 from Ian Bauckham, Chief Regulator, to Neil O'Brien MP in response to Parliamentary