Asked by: Lord Marlesford (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what arrangements are in place to ensure that individuals convicted of abuse of public office and given custodial sentences are not re-employed in central government departments or agencies of central government.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
All Civil Service recruitment is subject to the Baseline Personnel Security Standard. The Government Baseline Personnel Security Standard check is not a formal security clearance but is a recognised standard for pre-employment screening. These checks ensure departments comply with current legislation (e.g. Right to Work in the UK) and are essential to assure the integrity of our organisation and the safety of staff and individuals.
Once a job offer is made a Basic Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) check is undertaken. The certificate will contain details of convictions and conditional cautions that are considered to be unspent under the terms of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.
If the DBS check is returned with a positive marker (an unspent convention in a basic check, any conviction in a standard check), the vacancy holder/department undertakes a risk assessment to decide whether to make a final offer.
Asked by: Lord Marlesford (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many people employed by the Home Office have been convicted of abuse of public office and given custodial sentences in each of the past 20 years; and how many of those individuals have subsequently been re-employed in the Home Office or other departments or agencies in central government.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
In the last twenty years there have been 24 Home Office officials who have been convicted of Misconduct in Public Office. All received a custodial sentence, and all were convicted before 2015. Since then, the Crown Prosecution Service have moved towards using more specific charges such as theft, assisting unlawful immigration and bribery.
A breakdown for each year is provided below:
Year | Convicted of abuse of position | Custodial sentence received |
2006 | 1 | 1 |
2007 | 1 | 1 |
2008 | 3 | 3 |
2009 | 2 | 2 |
2010 | 5 | 5 |
2011 | 5 | 5 |
2012 | 3 | 3 |
2013 | 1 | 1 |
2014 | 1 | 1 |
2015 | 2 | 2 |
The Home Office conducts robust pre-appointment checks in accordance with the HMG Baseline Personnel Security Standards prior to employment being offered. The Home Office also carries out National Security Vetting on all its employees, which considers both spent and unspent convictions for this and all other offences.
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