Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 2 June 2025 to Question 52906 on Department of Health and Social Care: Permanent Secretaries, whether she has been employed under the terms of the model permanent secretary contract; for how long the fixed term period is; and whether she is classified as a (a) temporary or (b) permanent civil servant.

The Department launched a fair and open competition to appoint a Permanent Secretary in January 2025. As a result of this process, Samantha Jones was found to be an appointable candidate for this role. However, during the recruitment process, it was announced that NHS England would be brought back into the Department. This significantly changed the scale and objectives required of this role. In light of these changes the Civil Service Commission agreed a three-year fixed term appointment by exception, on the Senior Civil Service Model contract.