Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether they have made an estimate of the potential impact of abolishing diversity, equity and inclusion roles in their Department on annual staffing costs.

No such estimate has been made, but I would refer the Hon Member to the Cabinet Office guidance on the Civil Service Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Expenditure, published under the previous government in May 2024, which states:

Internal Efficiency Measures

18. Internal measures are important to promote efficient and effective EDI practice, which aligns to Government priorities. To ensure EDI spend in the Civil Service is commensurate with agreed organisational priorities the following measures must be considered:

c. Incorporate standalone EDI staffing roles into broader HR: The responsibility for EDI delivery should be embedded into HR professionals’ broader accountabilities. The CS D&I Strategy frames an approach where diversity and inclusion is not an end in itself, but an integral means of delivering better outcomes for our citizens. To deliver this, and move away from tokenistic, albeit well-intentioned actions, to produce truly transformative delivery our HR professionals are required to take ownership of EDI and focus the approach against the key areas of an employee lifecycle that make the biggest impact for all our people: recruitment, talent management, learning & development, leadership, culture and tackling bullying harassment and discrimination when it occurs.