Written questions by Glen.

For what reason the appointment of General Gwyn Jenkins as National Security Adviser has been cancelled; whether (a) the Prime Minister's former Chief of Staff had a role in and (b) the Attorney General had discussions with the Prime Minister on that decision; and whether the post will be advertised externally.

Sir Tim Barrow is the National Security Advisor. There will be an open and transparent process to appoint his successor. All senior appointments will be considered in the usual way.

Where the Director Generals in charge of the five Mission Delivery Boards will be based; and to whom they will report.

The lead Secretary of State for each mission chairs the relevant Mission Board, which brings together ministers from across government to drive progress on missions. Five Directors General (DG) have been selected as Senior Responsible Officers (SROs) for each of the missions. The DG SROs are based in the Department of the lead Secretary of State; their reporting arrangements are the responsibility of the relevant department.

What guidance the (a) Civil Service Commission, (b) Cabinet Office Ethics and Propriety Team and (c) Cabinet Secretary has given to (i) Ministers and (ii) Permanent Secretaries and Accounting Officers on (1) the involvement of Ministers in Civil Service recruitment and (2) declaring political donations as a Ministerial interest and avoiding related conflicts of interest since 4 July 2024.

The Civil Service Recruitment Principles set out the parameters for ministerial involvement in Civil Service appointments. These have not changed since the Rt Hon member was a minister in the department. In August 2024, the First Civil Service Commissioner and the Cabinet Secretary wrote to all ministers setting out this process under the Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles - https://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/letter-from-cabinet-secretary-and-first-civil-service-commissioner-to-new-ministers/ .There is an established process in place for the declaration and management of ministers’ private interests.

What the Government's policy is on the public advertisement of Civil Service appointments (a) at and (b) below SCS level.

In May 2022 the then Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster wrote to cabinet ministers outlining all Senior Civil Service (SCS) jobs must be advertised externally to the public unless an exemption is approved. This continues to be the policy. As under the previous Government, for appointments below SCS level, departments have the authority to determine how they recruit in line with the Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles.

Whether direct ministerial appointments by departmental Ministers require the prior approval of 10 Downing Street.

As was the case under the last administration, Number 10 should be consulted before a direct ministerial appointment is entered into.

With reference to page five of the report entitled Strengthening Ethics and Integrity in Central Government, published in July 2023, CP 900, whether he plans to publish (a) new guidance on direct ministerial appointments and (b) a list of unregulated public appointments.

We are currently considering whether the commitments made by the previous administration in that report, which have not yet been implemented, are sufficient and appropriate for meeting the Committees’ recommendations and the wider public’s expectations on transparency.

What the Government's policy is on (a) the total number of special advisers to be appointed across Government and (b) the gender balance of special advisers across Government.

Special Advisers are appointed in accordance with the Ministerial Code. Details on Special Adviser appointments are provided in the relevant Annual Report on Special Advisers.

If the Prime Minister will ask the Committee on Standards in Public Life to hold an inquiry on the application of the Civil Service Commission Recruitment Principles.

The Committee for Standards in Public Life (CSPL) is independent of the Cabinet Office. The Committee is currently carrying out a review looking at accountability within public bodies and will announce any future reviews in due course.

For what reason the Government lead non-executive director was removed from his position; and whether he held discussions with the Prime Minister on this matter prior to making this decision.

The Prime Minister accepted the resignation of the Government Lead Non-Executive Director on 9 August 2024.The Prime Minister and the Government Lead Non-Executive Director did not meet prior to the resignation being accepted.

If the Prime Minister will ask the Independent Adviser on Ministerial Interests to investigate the appointment of officials to the civil service without open and fair competition where Ministers may have previously benefited from (a) donations and (b) donations in-kind relating to those individuals.

As was the case under the previous Government, where over 9,000 such exceptions were used in the year ending March 2023, exceptions are a long-established part of bringing talent and expertise into the Civil Service. Often this is to fulfil specialist, short term or urgent requirements. Where appointments are made by exception to the principle of fair and open competition, in all such cases, the employing department must be satisfied that the use of the relevant exceptions route was justified and that the individuals in question could uphold the values of the Civil Service Code.

Whether he has received representations from (a) civil servants and (b) trade unions on the use of recruitment principles exemptions since 4 July 2024.

The Minister has received no such representations from (a) civil servants and (b) trade unions on the use of recruitment principles exceptions since 4 July 2024.

If he will publish copies of posts that have been advertised on the Civil Service jobs website since 4 July 2024 which have only been accessible to people with gov.uk email addresses.

As was the case when the Rt Hon member was a minister in the Cabinet Office, roles advertised through Civil Service Jobs can be categorised as ‘internal’ and therefore viewable by civil servants within the advertising department; ‘across government’ and therefore viewable by all those across the Civil Service; and ‘external’ and therefore viewable by the general public. As under the previous Government, for appointments below Senior Civil Service (SCS) level, departments have the authority to determine how they recruit in line with the Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles, while all SCS jobs must be advertised externally to the public unless an exemption is approved.As of 11 November 2024, :Approx. 73% (37,037) of jobs advertised through Civil Service Jobs were accessible by the general public; andApprox. 27% (13,478) of jobs advertised through Civil Service Jobs were accessible only to civil servants.Publishing copies of all these posts will take a disproportionate amount of activity to analyse and provide.

What role Lord Alli has had in decisions relating to (a) shortlists and (b) appointments to public posts; whether the Prime Minister sought advice from the Cabinet Office Propriety and Ethics team on that role in the context of Lord Alli's donations to the Labour Party; and if she will publish (i) terms of reference and (ii) other documents relating to the work of Lord Alli in relation to that role.

Lord Alli has played no role in public appointments processes.

How many and what proportion of roles advertised on the Civil Service jobs website have been accessible (a) to the general public and (b) only to people with gov.uk email addresses since 4 July 2024.

As was the case when the Rt Hon member was a minister in the Cabinet Office, roles advertised through Civil Service Jobs can be categorised as ‘internal’ and therefore viewable by civil servants within the advertising department; ‘across government’ and therefore viewable by all those across the Civil Service; and ‘external’ and therefore viewable by the general public. As under the previous Government, for appointments below Senior Civil Service (SCS) level, departments have the authority to determine how they recruit in line with the Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles, while all SCS jobs must be advertised externally to the public unless an exemption is approved.As of 11 November 2024, :Approx. 73% (37,037) of jobs advertised through Civil Service Jobs were accessible by the general public; andApprox. 27% (13,478) of jobs advertised through Civil Service Jobs were accessible only to civil servants.Publishing copies of all these posts will take a disproportionate amount of activity to analyse and provide.

What (a) direct ministerial and (b) other public appointments to (i) his Department, (ii) the Government Equalities Office and (ii) 10 Downing Street have (A) been (1) removed from their posts and (2) asked to resign and (B) been made since 4 July 2024.

The Cabinet Office does not routinely record and collect the reasons why appointees leave their positions.The following direct ministerial and public appointees have left their post since 5 July 2024: Michael Jary, Government Lead Non ExecutiveAnand Aithal, Cabinet Office Lead Non ExecutiveHenry de Zoete, Cabinet Office Non ExecutiveBernard Hogan-Howe, Cabinet Office Non ExecutiveJenni Miles, Cabinet Office Non ExecutiveJanette Beinart, Cabinet Office Non ExecutiveMarcus Boyle, Cabinet Office Non ExecutiveStephen Gordan-Dando, Cabinet Office Non ExecutiveLottie Moore, Policy Fellow to the former Minister for Women and Equalities. Details of direct ministerial and public appointments that have been made by Cabinet Office Ministers since 4 July 2024 are publicly available and can be found on gov.uk.

Whether the (a) Prime Minster, (b) Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff and (c) No10 appointments team played a role in decisions relating to the departure of (i) non-executive directors and (ii) chairs of public bodies since 4 July 2024.

As was the case under previous administrations, in order to ensure effective oversight and scrutiny of public bodies central to delivering government objectives, the Prime Minister's Office is consulted by the relevant departments on some appointments, as is normal practice for high profile issues.

How many people, other than special advisers, have been appointed to civil service posts in (a) his Department, (b) the Government Equalities Office and (c) 10 Downing Street without open competition since 4 July 2024; what their (a) job titles and (b) salary bands are; and on what basis each was appointed.

The Civil Service Commission (CSC) requires that departments provide a quarterly return on their use of Exceptions at SCS2 and above. This information can be found on the CSC website. Details of appointments below SCS2 are not published.

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.

What guidance his Department issues on ministerial (a) authorisation and (b) approval of a decision to appoint a civil servant under one of the Recruitment Principles exceptions.

Ministerial approval is not required to appoint a civil servant using an exception to the Recruitment Principles.

What the clearance process is for responses in the Prime Minister's name to written Parliamentary Questions.

It has been the case under all Administrations that ministers, including Prime Ministers, are responsible for written PQ answers in their names.