Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many staff left his Department in each year since 2015.
Answered by Anthony Browne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The following table gives the number of leavers from the Department for Transport and the current Executive Agencies from 2014/15 to 2022/23. Data is from the published tables from the Annual Civil Service Employment Survey (ACSES). Numbers are rounded to the nearest ten.
2014/15 | 2015/16 | 2016/17 | 2017/18 | 2018/19 | 2019/20 | 2020/21 | 2021/22 | 2022/23 |
940 | 1,080 | 1,210 | 1,020 | 1,050 | 980 | 730 | 1,280 | 1,650 |
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much the Great British Railways transition team has spent with recruitment agencies.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
No money has been spent by the Great British Railways Transition Team with recruitment agencies.
Asked by: Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the average wait time for each of the eight levels of security vetting by United Kingdom Security Vetting, from 'Baseline Personnel Security Standard' to 'Enhanced Developed Vetting'.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
As Minister for State at the Cabinet Office I am able to provide a response in relation to National Security Vetting (NSV). UKSV acts as the service provider for NSV across His Majesty’s Government (HMG). NSV remains a separate and distinct process to recruitment and onboarding processes and provides an additional personnel assurance within both public and private sector for roles and projects that require access to the sensitive assets and Protectively Marked Materials (PMM).
The government does not comment on the workings of the NSV process at the strategic or tactical level for security reasons and thereby details of numbers awaiting NSV cannot be shared. However the following information may be useful.
The Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) is not a level of NSV, nor conducted by United Kingdom Security Vetting (UKSV); it is a separate pre-employment check conducted locally by recruiting departments. As this is a localised departmental element, no central record of data for BPSS is held within HMG at this time.
Following a stabilisation programme initiated in 2023, there have been sustained and stable improvements in performance against Key Performance Indicators (KPI) across all service levels of National Security Vetting clearances which includes Counter Terrorist Check (CTC), Security Check (SC) and Developed Vetting (DV). Across core services:
Accreditation Checks (AC), a level of NSV, primarily used by the aviation industry, are being completed in five days or less.
The KPIs for both CTC and SC are 25 days, on 29th February 2024 96% of cases were being processed within that time frame.
The KPI for DV is 95 days; on 29th February 2024 93.48% of initial DV cases were being processed within that time frame.The Performance Indicator for DV Renewals is also 95 days; on 29th February 2024 13.78% of these cases were being processed within that time frame. However we expect that DV renewals submitted from 1st April 2024 will be delivered within the KPI of 95 days.
The requirements for security cleared roles across HMG vary and are set by individual department and partner agencies dependent on duties and level of access to Protectively Marked Materials (PMM). It is, therefore, not possible to provide confirmation of the performance of NSV in relation to specific roles. In line with the practice followed by successive administrations, the Government does not otherwise comment on security matters, including average actual processing times.
Asked by: Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many people employed by the private sector are currently awaiting security vetting by United Kingdom Security Vetting.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
As Minister for State at the Cabinet Office I am able to provide a response in relation to National Security Vetting (NSV). UKSV acts as the service provider for NSV across His Majesty’s Government (HMG). NSV remains a separate and distinct process to recruitment and onboarding processes and provides an additional personnel assurance within both public and private sector for roles and projects that require access to the sensitive assets and Protectively Marked Materials (PMM).
The government does not comment on the workings of the NSV process at the strategic or tactical level for security reasons and thereby details of numbers awaiting NSV cannot be shared. However the following information may be useful.
The Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) is not a level of NSV, nor conducted by United Kingdom Security Vetting (UKSV); it is a separate pre-employment check conducted locally by recruiting departments. As this is a localised departmental element, no central record of data for BPSS is held within HMG at this time.
Following a stabilisation programme initiated in 2023, there have been sustained and stable improvements in performance against Key Performance Indicators (KPI) across all service levels of National Security Vetting clearances which includes Counter Terrorist Check (CTC), Security Check (SC) and Developed Vetting (DV). Across core services:
Accreditation Checks (AC), a level of NSV, primarily used by the aviation industry, are being completed in five days or less.
The KPIs for both CTC and SC are 25 days, on 29th February 2024 96% of cases were being processed within that time frame.
The KPI for DV is 95 days; on 29th February 2024 93.48% of initial DV cases were being processed within that time frame.The Performance Indicator for DV Renewals is also 95 days; on 29th February 2024 13.78% of these cases were being processed within that time frame. However we expect that DV renewals submitted from 1st April 2024 will be delivered within the KPI of 95 days.
The requirements for security cleared roles across HMG vary and are set by individual department and partner agencies dependent on duties and level of access to Protectively Marked Materials (PMM). It is, therefore, not possible to provide confirmation of the performance of NSV in relation to specific roles. In line with the practice followed by successive administrations, the Government does not otherwise comment on security matters, including average actual processing times.
Asked by: Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many people are currently awaiting security vetting by United Kingdom Security Vetting.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
As Minister for State at the Cabinet Office I am able to provide a response in relation to National Security Vetting (NSV). UKSV acts as the service provider for NSV across His Majesty’s Government (HMG). NSV remains a separate and distinct process to recruitment and onboarding processes and provides an additional personnel assurance within both public and private sector for roles and projects that require access to the sensitive assets and Protectively Marked Materials (PMM).
The government does not comment on the workings of the NSV process at the strategic or tactical level for security reasons and thereby details of numbers awaiting NSV cannot be shared. However the following information may be useful.
The Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) is not a level of NSV, nor conducted by United Kingdom Security Vetting (UKSV); it is a separate pre-employment check conducted locally by recruiting departments. As this is a localised departmental element, no central record of data for BPSS is held within HMG at this time.
Following a stabilisation programme initiated in 2023, there have been sustained and stable improvements in performance against Key Performance Indicators (KPI) across all service levels of National Security Vetting clearances which includes Counter Terrorist Check (CTC), Security Check (SC) and Developed Vetting (DV). Across core services:
Accreditation Checks (AC), a level of NSV, primarily used by the aviation industry, are being completed in five days or less.
The KPIs for both CTC and SC are 25 days, on 29th February 2024 96% of cases were being processed within that time frame.
The KPI for DV is 95 days; on 29th February 2024 93.48% of initial DV cases were being processed within that time frame.The Performance Indicator for DV Renewals is also 95 days; on 29th February 2024 13.78% of these cases were being processed within that time frame. However we expect that DV renewals submitted from 1st April 2024 will be delivered within the KPI of 95 days.
The requirements for security cleared roles across HMG vary and are set by individual department and partner agencies dependent on duties and level of access to Protectively Marked Materials (PMM). It is, therefore, not possible to provide confirmation of the performance of NSV in relation to specific roles. In line with the practice followed by successive administrations, the Government does not otherwise comment on security matters, including average actual processing times.
Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps he is taking to help ensure the employment of women by (a) aid agencies and (b) NGOs in Afghanistan.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are committed to ensuring the delivery of aid in Afghanistan, including the continued participation of female aid workers and the full access of women and girls to services. We regularly engage with humanitarian partners to understand the situation for female staff and how best to support their continued role in the response. We provide financial flexibility to partners to support costs, enabling female staff to continue working.
We have repeatedly condemned the Taliban's decisions to restrict the rights of women and girls and are working with the international community to push for women and girls' rights in Afghanistan.
Asked by: Deidre Brock (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh North and Leith)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many staff were employed at Queen Elizabeth House in each UK Government department or arms-length body (a) full time, (b) part time, (c) on a consultancy basis and (d) as civil servants as of 8 January 2023.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The number of civil servants reported in post by government departments and executive agencies as at 31 March 2023 based in Queen Elizabeth House is presented in the table below. The postcode for Queen Elizabeth House, 1 Sibbald, Edinburgh is EH8 8FT.
Information on consultants based or employed at Queen Elizabeth House is not centrally available.
Table 1: Civil Servants whose postcode of government establishment or other workplace where employed or based is EH8 8FT, by civil service organisation and working pattern, as at 31 March 2023
Civil Service Organisation | Headcount of all civil servants in full-time role | Headcount of all civil servants working in a part-time role | Total headcount of all civil servants |
Building Digital UK | [s] | 0 | [s] |
Cabinet Office (excl. agencies) | 10 | 0 | 10 |
Central Civil Service Fast Stream | [s] | 0 | [s] |
Competition and Markets Authority | 55 | 15 | 70 |
Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (excl. agencies) | 80 | [s] | 85 |
Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (excl. agencies) | 10 | 0 | 10 |
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (excl. agencies) | 20 | [s] | 20 |
Department for International Trade | 30 | [s] | 35 |
Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (excl. agencies) | 30 | [s] | 35 |
Department for Transport (excl. agencies) | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Department of Health and Social Care (excl. agencies) | [s] | 0 | [s] |
Government Actuary’s Department | 10 | [s] | 15 |
Government Commercial Organisation | [s] | 0 | [s] |
Health and Safety Executive | 50 | 5 | 55 |
HM Revenue and Customs (excl. agencies) | 1,825 | 395 | 2,220 |
Home Office | [s] | 0 | [s] |
Ministry of Justice (excl. agencies) | [s] | 0 | [s] |
Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland (incl. Office of the Advocate General for Scotland) | 75 | 10 | 80 |
Scottish Government (excl. agencies) | [s] | 0 | [s] |
Valuation Office Agency | 5 | 5 | 10 |
Total | 2,220 | 440 | 2,655 |
Source: Annual Civil Service Employment Statistics (ACSES), Cabinet Office
[s] = confidential and suppressed due to small numbers of between 1 and 4.
Numbers are rounded to the nearest five.
Additional departments and their civil servants may be based/employed at Queen Elizabeth House but may not show in the data due to non-reporting of postcode information when reporting their locations information to Cabinet Office through ACSES.
The data in the table refers to civil service organisations and civil servants only. Data for non-civil service organisations are not available centrally.
Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many civil servants were employed in each (a) Government department and (b) other public sector bodies by (i) head count and (ii) full time equivalent in each year since 1997.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
Civil Service employment on both a headcount and full-time equivalent basis by government departments and their executive agencies and Crown NDPBs has been published on a quarterly basis since 2005 by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) as part of Public Sector Employment Statistics. The ONS statistics are our preferred headline measure for overall Civil Service and departmental employment. Departmental information back to 2005 can be accessed from the following ONS releases:
2011 to 2023
2010
2009
2008
2007
2006
2005
Information on Civil Service employment, on both a headcount and full-time equivalent basis by government department and their executive agencies and Crown NDPBs, is also available and published annually by Cabinet Office as part of Civil Service Statistics and can be accessed from the webpages below:
2006 to 2023 https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/civil-service-statistics
Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to her Department's press release, Cash boost to create new flexible approach to apprenticeships, published on 3 August 2021, what proportion of the fund to support flexi-job apprenticeship agencies has been spent.
Answered by Robert Halfon
The department is supporting sectors with short-term project-based work through flexi-Job apprenticeship agencies (FJAAs), which allow apprentices to work with different host employers, and on a range of projects, to gain the skills and knowledge needed to be successful in their chosen field.
In July 2021, the government created a £7 million fund to support employers set up and expand FJAAs. £4.5 million of grant allocations have been awarded, and 97% (£4.3 million) of the grant allocations have been spent.
There are now 44 FJAAs supporting the delivery of apprenticeships in sectors such as creative, construction, agriculture and digital, across every region in England. The current register of FJAAs can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/flexi-job-apprenticeships/flexi-job-apprenticeship-agencies.
The number of apprenticeship starts through FJAAs can be found in the apprenticeships and traineeships statistical release here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/apprenticeships-and-traineeships, with the latest data to be published on 25 January 2024. The department intends to publish data on achievements by FJAAs in due course.
Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many (a) starts and (b) completions of flexi-job apprenticeships there have been through the flexi-job apprenticeship agencies register since February 2022.
Answered by Robert Halfon
The department is supporting sectors with short-term project-based work through flexi-Job apprenticeship agencies (FJAAs), which allow apprentices to work with different host employers, and on a range of projects, to gain the skills and knowledge needed to be successful in their chosen field.
In July 2021, the government created a £7 million fund to support employers set up and expand FJAAs. £4.5 million of grant allocations have been awarded, and 97% (£4.3 million) of the grant allocations have been spent.
There are now 44 FJAAs supporting the delivery of apprenticeships in sectors such as creative, construction, agriculture and digital, across every region in England. The current register of FJAAs can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/flexi-job-apprenticeships/flexi-job-apprenticeship-agencies.
The number of apprenticeship starts through FJAAs can be found in the apprenticeships and traineeships statistical release here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/apprenticeships-and-traineeships, with the latest data to be published on 25 January 2024. The department intends to publish data on achievements by FJAAs in due course.