Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 7 July 2026 to Question 14355 on Public Appointments: Equality, whether socio-economic background of an applicant is a material consideration in the appointment process for (a) regulated public appointments and (b) civil servants.

The socio-economic background of an applicant is not a material consideration in the regulated public appointment process. Applicants are assessed against the advertised criteria for the role.

On civil service recruitment, while data on candidate socio-economic background status is collected during a recruitment campaign, it is for recording and monitoring purposes only. It is not shared with those involved in the appointment process of civil servants for individual candidates and is not a determining factor for appointments.