Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether any internship programmes at (a) MI5, (b) M16 and (c) GCHQ were open to people from white British backgrounds.

Yes. In recent years, UKIC has run a number of internships and placement schemes. They are designed to provide insight about what it is like to work in UKIC to individuals who have particular skills and expertise, want to work in a particular area and/or are from demographics and backgrounds under-represented across Government.

Any internship participant wishing to subsequently apply for employment with UKIC or the Civil Service is required to take part in a fair and open competition, in the normal way, with selection based on merit.