Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Answer of 15 June 2023 to Question 188973 on Civil Servants: Secondment, whether he has taken steps to increase the data available.

Secondments into the Civil Service from other sectors are a key route to bring essential skills and experience into the right roles and teams, enabling talented individuals from outside the Civil Service to contribute to the work of Government by sharing critical capabilities and innovative thinking for a set period of time.

In August 2023 the Government Chief People Office, Fiona Ryland, commissioned all departments, professions and functions to embed secondments as a key part of their resourcing and skills strategies.

A quarterly secondments data commission was reintroduced in April 2023 to provide insight on inward and outward secondments taking place across government. The Cabinet Office has worked closely with departments to increase the amount, detail and quality of the data available. Responses are now received from all ministerial departments.