Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the National Security Adviser plays a role in the (a) recruitment and (b) selection of civil servants working on national security issues; and whether he has had discussions with the Civil Service Commission on this issue.

Special advisers are bound by the Special Adviser Code of Conduct which states they should not be involved in the line management of civil servants or in matters affecting a civil servant’s career such as recruitment, promotion, reward and discipline. The commission ensures the integrity of recruitment, including in the NSS, in the usual way.