Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many and what proportion of job vacancies at 10 Downing Street were externally advertised in the period since 4 July 2024.

For management and staffing purposes the Prime Minister’s Office is a business unit of the Cabinet Office and consistently follows the same principles, protocols and approvals to recruitment as all other areas of the Department.

Since the General Election there have been 20 job vacancies at 10 Downing Street. Of these 8 were advertised externally. The 12 vacancies that were not advertised externally were either for short term cover (3-6 months and one was a slightly longer maternity cover) or for roles that required extensive and specific Civil Service knowledge and experience. This approach is in keeping with practice in previous administrations.