Asked by: John Glen (Conservative - Salisbury)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many people have been appointed to civil service positions without open competition in her Department since the general election; what their (a) job titles and (b) salary bands are; and on what basis each was appointed.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
MHCLG made 47 appointments by exception to fair, open and merit-based recruitment principles from 1 July to 31 September 2024.
All appointments were at grades below the Senior Civil Service. We are unable to break this down further (ie grade level) as the numbers are too small to disclose.
Exception | Description | Number of appointments between 1st July – 31st September 2024 |
Exception 1 | Temporary appointments | 40 |
Exception 2 | Government employment programmes | 5 |
Exception 3 | Secondments | 2 |
The department publishes a senior and junior organogram biannually setting out job titles and salaries – Organogram of Staff Roles & Salaries - data.gov.uk.
There are clear rules governing recruitment and appointment of civil service roles, which are regulated by the Civil Service Commission. It is the longstanding convention of government under successive administrations that we do not comment on matters relating to individual staff.
Asked by: Shaun Davies (Labour - Telford)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what the average length of paternity leave taken by staff in her Department was in each of the last three years; and what information she holds on the the average length of paternity leave taken by staff in local authorities in the same period.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Our records show that between 2021 and October 2024, 100 (Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government) employees have taken paternity leave for the birth or adoption of a child. The average working days taken (AWDT) is shown in the table below.
Calendar Year | AWDT |
2021 | 10 |
2022 | 11 |
2023 | 12 |
2024 (Jan to Oct) | 10 |
Staff employed in local authorities are subject to the pay terms and conditions for those organisations. This department does not keep a central record on employment data relating to these organisations.
Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answers of 6 September 2024 to Questions 2306 and 2308 on Ministers: Official Cars, which (a) Ministers and (b) officials in his Department have (i) been allocated a dedicated vehicle and (ii) access to use of a shared vehicle from the Government Car Service; what the (A) make, (B) model and (C) fuel type is for each car; and what the budget was for those cars in the 2024-25 financial year.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government Car Service (GCS) offers vehicles to government departments as a shared resource. Each department independently determines the allocation of these vehicles to its ministerial cadre/officials, as under previous administrations.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government is currently allocated two vehicles including allocated and shared vehicles.
For security reasons specific details of allocations including make and model of vehicles are not issued.
The average cost to a Department for a single DPC (Department Pool Car) in 2024/25 financial year is £108K per annum.
Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what her Department's policy is on the allocation of Government Car Service cars to senior officials; what the policy was on 24 May 2024; and which senior officials have been granted access to the service since 4 July 2024.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government Car Service (GCS) offers vehicles to government departments as a shared resource. Each department independently determines the allocation of these vehicles.
The arrangements relating to the using of vehicles in the Government Car Service is set out in the Civil Service Management Code.
There has been no change in this policy since the general election.
Oct. 15 2024
Source Page: Democratic participation: Open letter to the electoral sectorFound: From: Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and Alex Norris MP Published 15 October
Oct. 15 2024
Source Page: Homes England invests in Schroders Capital’s Real Estate Impact FundFound: The investment was today confirmed as part of a package of key measures announced by the UK’s Ministry
Oct. 15 2024
Source Page: NHS England: annual report and accounts 2023 to 2024Found: increase the likelihood of deadlines being achieved • regular engagement with partners including the Ministry
Oct. 15 2024
Source Page: Local authority capital expenditure and receipts in England: 2022 to 2023 individual local authority dataFound: of Housing Communities & Local Government (formerly CLG Communities) 3641 E1121 E10000008 Devon SC SC
Mentions:
1: Simon Hoare (Con - North Dorset) the split of budget and responsibility and policy between the Secretary of State’s Department and the Ministry - Speech Link
Mentions:
1: Phil Brickell (Lab - Bolton West) heart from the comments made by Lord Khan of Burnley, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the Ministry - Speech Link