Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he has made an assessment of the potential financial impact of applying the Government commercial function terms and conditions of employment to the wider civil service.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
No such assessment has been made. Decisions on terms and conditions of employment are made by the employing department, depending on their specific business requirements and nature of the role and as set out in the Civil Service Management Code.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Comprehensive Spending Review 2025, what estimate he has made of the number of new Quasi-Autonomous Non-Governmental Organisations which will be created.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Proposals for new bodies are subject to the ongoing ALB review, announced by the Chancellor for the Duchy of Lancaster on 6 April, to ensure their existence can be strongly justified against key principles.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the transparency of the Commissioner for Public Appointments.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Commissioner for Public Appointments is a statutory office holder and provides independent assurance that public appointments are made in accordance with the government’s Governance Code on Public Appointments. The Governance Code is built on the principles of ministerial responsibility, selflessness, integrity, merit, openness, diversity, assurance and fairness.
The Commissioner’s functions are set out in the Public Appointments Order in Council. Under the Order in Council, the Commissioner must publish an annual report on public appointments. All annual reports, as well as the outcome of complaints and investigations, are published on the Commissioner’s website.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of abolishing the Home Office.
Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
There are no plans of this kind.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the transparency of the House of Lords Appointments Commission.
Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The House of Lords Appointments Commission is an independent, advisory non-departmental public body. The Commission publishes an Annual Report on its website, the most recent of which was published on 14 May, along with other information about the Commission’s activity and processes.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when he plans to respond to Question 46599, tabled by the hon. Member for Mid Leicestershire on 17 April 2025.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
With apologies to the Hon. member, a response has now been issued.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many permanent civil servants had contracts of employment terminated for poor performance in (a) 2022-23, (b) 2023-24 and (c) 2024-25.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Departments have delegated responsibility for managing poor performance.
Information on how many civil servants in departments have had their contracts of employment terminated for poor performance is therefore not available centrally.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the average number of sick days was per employee in each Government department in (a) 2022-23, (b) 2023-24 and (c) 2024-25.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Cabinet Office publishes sickness absence data for the Civil Service on an annual basis on gov.uk. We do not report the average number of sick days per employee. Our preferred measure is Average Working Days Lost (AWDL) per staff year which accounts for workforce size and composition, in a way that average number of sick days per employee does not.
In 2022-23, overall AWDL per staff year in the Civil Service was 8.3 days in the year ending 31 March 2023. AWDL per staff year by main departments is available in Table 3a of the data tables available at: Civil Service sickness absence, 2023: report.
In 2023-24, overall AWDL per staff year in the Civil Service was 7.8 days in the year ending 31 March 2024. AWDL per staff year by main departments is available in Table 3a of the data tables available at: Civil Service sickness absence, 2024: report.
Data for 2024-25 is not yet available, but will be published in early 2026.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of changing the civil service pension scheme to a defined contribution model on costs to the public purse.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Any assessment of moving the Civil Service Pension Scheme, or any other Public Service Pension Scheme, to a defined contribution model is the responsibility of HM Treasury. The Cabinet Office has responsibility for the Civil Service Pension Scheme only in respect of changing scheme rules to align with or ensure legal compliance with HM Treasury policy.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of requiring full-time office working in the civil service on public sector productivity.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
In October 2024, Heads of Departments across government announced that guidance on office attendance will remain in place, with most civil servants expected to spend at least 60% of their time at a Government building or on official business, such as visiting stakeholders. Senior managers will continue to be expected to be in the office more than 60% of the time. This is the same expectation on office attendance as was introduced under the previous administration.
The approach will allow teams and departments to maximise the benefits of hybrid working and getting the best from being together.