Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, how many civil servants in his Department have a criminal conviction.

Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The information requested is not held centrally by the Department and complying with this request would incur a disproportionate cost to the department. The Department undertakes Baseline Personnel Security Standard pre-employment checks for all new joiners. The FCDO's approach to employ those with a criminal record is assessed at national security level and all decisions are made in line with Cabinet Office's Security Vetting Guidance.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many civil servants in his Department have a criminal conviction.

Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)

This information is not centrally held and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, Civil Service applicants must declare any criminal convictions during the application process. This is reviewed during the security clearance process run by UKSV. The Ministry of Defence does not routinely employ people with unspent convictions.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many civil servants in his Department have a criminal conviction.

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

The information requested is not held centrally and to obtain it would incur disproportionate costs.

New appointments to Defra undergo pre-employment criminal record checks. Where a conviction is flagged, appointment is dependent on a role-specific risk assessment. Convictions for the following offences result in the individual automatically failing pre-employment checks and not being appointed: life sentences, arson, sexual offences and hate and terror offences.

Defra has participated in the Going Forward into Employment Scheme for Ex-Offenders and has appointed to posts via this scheme. We can confirm that the numbers appointed under this scheme are currently less than 10. However, exact numbers may enable individuals to be identifiable and the privacy and confidentiality of this information requires us to ensure individuals are properly protected.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of banning the sale of tobacco products to people born after 1 January 2009 on tobacco duties.

Answered by Gareth Davies - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

Tobacco_and_vapes_bill_IA.pdf (parliament.uk)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 8 March 2024 to Question 16638 on UK Health Security Agency: Finance, on what basis the information requested is considered to be commercially sensitive.

Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)

Further breakdown of customers groupings would identify individual customers and the value of individual vaccine sales. These grouping are varied and include customers such as wholesalers, hospitals, medical centres, travel clinics and other providers of vaccination services. To break this information down to a level that would identify individual purchases could prejudice future commercial relations with the UK Health Security Agency customers.

Found: Millar Bob Blackman Nick Fletcher Andrew Lewer Marco Longhi Martin Vickers Steve Double Philip

Found: Millar Bob Blackman Nick Fletcher Andrew Lewer Marco Longhi Martin Vickers Steve Double Philip

Found: Chope Sir Gary Streeter [R] Martin Vickers John Redwood Royston Smith Sir Robert Syms [R] Philip

Found: Millar Bob Blackman Nick Fletcher Andrew Lewer Marco Longhi Martin Vickers Steve Double Philip

Found: Chope Sir Gary Streeter [R] Martin Vickers John Redwood Royston Smith Sir Robert Syms [R] Philip

Found: Millar Bob Blackman Nick Fletcher Andrew Lewer Marco Longhi Martin Vickers Steve Double Philip

Found: Chope Sir Gary Streeter [R] Martin Vickers John Redwood Royston Smith Sir Robert Syms [R] Philip

Found: Millar Bob Blackman Nick Fletcher Andrew Lewer Marco Longhi Martin Vickers Steve Double Philip

Found: Millar Bob Blackman Nick Fletcher Andrew Lewer Marco Longhi Martin Vickers Steve Double Philip

Found: Millar Bob Blackman Nick Fletcher Andrew Lewer Marco Longhi Martin Vickers Steve Double Philip

Found: Millar Bob Blackman Nick Fletcher Andrew Lewer Marco Longhi Martin Vickers Steve Double Philip

Found: Millar Bob Blackman Nick Fletcher Andrew Lewer Marco Longhi Martin Vickers Steve Double Philip

Found: Chope Sir Gary Streeter [R] Martin Vickers John Redwood Royston Smith Sir Robert Syms [R] Philip

Found: Millar Bob Blackman Nick Fletcher Andrew Lewer Marco Longhi Martin Vickers Steve Double Philip

Found: Knight Bachelor • Philip Davies MP; Member of Parliament (MP) for Shipley.