Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what information officials in her Department have gathered on (a) the political views and (b) related social media posts of staff working in higher and further education settings; and how much money from the public purse has been expended on those activities.

When individuals are recommended for an appointment in a public role, departments may carry out due diligence, which involves gathering publicly available information. This may include a search against the insolvency register, a search against the register of disqualified directors and some basic internet searches to check for any undeclared conflicts of interest or other issues around the suitability of the appointment that should be considered. In line with the Civil Service Code, there are no other circumstances where officials conduct investigations into the political views of individuals.