Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent steps his Department has taken to ensure that civil service recruitment processes comply with provisions in the Equality Act 2010 on discrimination against people according to their (a) socio-economic status and (b) other protected characteristics.

The Cabinet Office operates a policy requiring all employment opportunities to be made readily available to all.

The current selection process is designed to be fair and objectively identify the best candidates.

There are a number of safeguards built in to the process:

• Applications are anonymised until after the sift stage.

• All sifters are expected to act in accordance with the Civil Service Code.

• We would also expect an independent presence during any sift exercise. Each panel should include at least one member from outside of the line of business to provide an independent view.

We are committed to providing services and developing policies which promote equality of opportunity and eliminate unlawful discrimination. We are an equal opportunities employer and will not unlawfully discriminate in any aspect of employment, including how employees are selected or how employees are treated.