Written questions by Glen.

Whether the post of Executive Assistant to the Prime Minister's Chief of Staff was recruited through fair and open competition.

It is a longstanding policy not to comment on individuals.

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.

Innovation and Technology, what (a) direct ministerial and (b) other public appointments to his Department and associated bodies have (i) been (A) removed from their posts and (B) asked to resign and (ii) made since 4 July 2024.

Departments do not routinely record and collect the reasons why appointees leave their positions, so are not in a position to answer this part of the question. Additionally, the reasons why an appointee has left their role is the appointee’s personal information and identifiable and would elicit GDPR considerations.I refer the Right Honourable Member to the answer I gave on Monday 9 September to Question UIN 2400. Additionally, since then Martha Lane Fox (Co-Chair), Poppy Gustafsson, Paul Willmott (Co-Chair), Jeni Tennison, Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon, Lou Cordwell, Aaron Maniam, David Eaves, Sarah Hunter, Lisa Harrington, Josie Cluer and Lord Richard Allan have been appointed as members of the Digital Centre Design Panel. An announcement containing further details is published here.Public Appointments are routinely published in the public domain using the Cabinet Office digital service and the sites of the Public Bodies concerned.

How many civil servants, other than special advisers, his Department has appointed without open competition since 4 July 2024; what their (a) job titles and (b) salary bands are; and on what basis each was appointed.

Since 4 July 2024, there have been 30 civil servants in the Ministry of Defence who have been appointed on exemption. I am withholding the information about job titles and salary bands as it contains personal data which cannot be released as individuals could potentially be identified. I can confirm that of the 30, one was appointed under Exemption 5: Former Civil Servant, 27 under Exemption 1: Temporary appointments, and two under the Military Transition scheme. The appointments are based on a justifiable need of the Civil Service under Exemption 1: Temporary appointments; where either the urgency of the need or the short duration of the role make a full competition impracticable or disproportionate, Departments may appoint an individual for up to a maximum of two years, to provide managers with the flexibility to meet the short-term needs of the Civil Service, Exemption 5: Former civil servants; Former civil servants who were previously appointed on merit on the basis of fair and open competition may be re-appointed (to a permanent or fixed-term appointment) within a maximum of five years of leaving the Civil Service. The Military Transition scheme is a Going Forward into Employment (GFiE) scheme run through the Cabinet Office. In the summer of 2019 this became an accredited scheme to recruit veterans and their spouses into the Civil Service.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the implications for his policies of the recommendations of the Summary Report of the APPG on Afrikan reparations, published in October 2023.

Museums and galleries in England operate independently of the government. Decisions relating to the care and management of their collections are a matter for the trustees of each museum. The Arts Council published guidance in 2022 on the handling of restitution claims. The guidance sets out that, each claim should be considered on a case-by-case basis taking into consideration the individual circumstances, provenance, and historic and current contexts.

W hat (a) direct ministerial and (b) other public appointments to her Department and associated bodies have (i) been (A) removed from their posts and (B) asked to resign and (ii) made since 4 July 2024.

Departments do not routinely record and collect the reasons why appointees leave their positions. Since 4 July, no new direct ministerial appointments have been made.Since 4 July, the following new public appointments, as regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments, have been made: Appointment of six new members of the Biometrics and Forensics Ethics GroupNew appointments to the Biometrics and Forensics Ethics Group - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) Appointment of Police and National Crime Agency Remuneration Review Bodies memberNew member appointed to the police and NCA pay bodies - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Media and Sport, what (a) direct ministerial and (b) other public appointments to her Department and associated bodies have (i) been (A) removed from their posts and (B) asked to resign and (ii) made since 4 July 2024.

DCMS does not routinely record and collect the reasons for appointees leaving their positions and the reasons why an appointee leaves their role cannot be shared due to GDPR regulations.Appointments are routinely published and can be found on gov.uk.

How many people, other than special advisers, have been appointed to civil service posts in her Department 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 Ministry of Justice recruit on merit and on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's Recruitment Principles.The Ministry of Justice holds all the information requested. However, in line with statistical guidance and GDPR, we cannot release the data about individual appointments as this could lead to the identification of individuals, given the small sample sizes involved.I can confirm forty-three contracts were signed for roles in the Ministry of Justice (HQ, HMPPS, HMCTS, LAA, CICA and OPG) between the 5 July 2024 - 6 October 2024 inclusive. These contracts were issued as Exceptions, outside of fair and open competition. Twenty-seven appointments were made under Exception 1 – Temporary Appointments. These appointments were made where either the urgency of the need or the short duration of the role made a full competition impracticable or disproportionate. Six of the appointments were made under Exception 10 - Conversion to permanency. These appointments were for the conversion to permanency of suitable candidates appointed under Exceptions 1 and 2. For example, to convert roles to permanency following appointment through Life Chance Recruitment Schemes such as Going Forward into Employment. Ten of the appointments were made under Exception 5 – Former Civil Servants. These appointments were made to re-appoint former, experienced, civil servants who were previously appointed on merit on the basis of fair and open competition. The salary bands provided below incorporate both the national and London pay scales.Eight individuals were appointed at the Administrative Officer pay grade - £22,940 - £27,000.Six individuals were appointed at the Executive Officer pay grade - £27,223 - £32,760.Seven individuals were appointed at the Higher Executive Officer pay grade - £32,827 - £40,403.Twelve individuals were appointed at the Grade 7 pay grade - £54,358 - £66,670.

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.

Food and Rural Affairs, what (a) direct ministerial and (b) other public appointments to his Department and associated bodies have (i) been (A) removed from their posts and (B) asked to resign and (ii) made since 4 July 2024.

No direct ministerial appointees have been removed or asked to resign from their post since 4 July 2024. Two public appointees have been removed from post since 4 July. The reasons why an appointee has left their role is the appointee’s personal information and identifiable and would elicit GDPR considerations. All appointments, including those made since 4 July 2024 are routinely published on GOV.UK.

What (a) direct ministerial and (b) other public appointments to his Department and associated bodies have (i) been (A) removed from their posts and (B) asked to resign and (ii) made since 4 July 2024.

The Department has not removed any direct Ministerial appointees or public appointees from their posts. No direct Ministerial appointees or public appointees have been asked to resign. The Department has made no statutory direct Ministerial appointments. The Department has made eight non-statutory direct Ministerial appointments.These are as follows: Strategic Defence Review (SDR) 2024Lead reviewer- Lord Robertson of Port EllenReviewer - Dr Fiona HillReviewer - General Sir Richard BarronsReview Team Expert - Rt Hon Sir Jeremy QuinReview Team Expert - Edward DinsmoreReview Team Expert - Robin MarshallReview Team Expert - Grace Cassy AUKUS UK Government’s AUKUS Adviser - Sir Stephen Lovegrove The Department has made four other public appointments. These are as follows: Atomic Weapons Establishment Non-Executive Director - Mark Wild Defence Infrastructure Organisation Non-Executive Director - Sarah AlbonNon-Executive Director - Eloise Francis UK Hydrographic Office Non-Executive Director - Tom Betts

How many people have been appointed to civil service positions without open competition in his Department since 4 July 2024; what their (a) job titles and (b) salary bands are; and on what basis each was appointed

All recruitment into the Civil Service is governed by the CSC Recruitment Principles 2018. The recruitment principles are for departments to implement and set out how recruitment needs to be conducted, along with the exceptions that departments can apply to these principles. In the latest year for which data is available (year ending March 2023) around 9,000 people were hired through the different Exception routes across the civil service. Exceptions typically involve bringing in relevant skills into the department for a time limited period, and initiatives to increase the diversity of the department. These are long established routes to bring talent, potential and expertise into the department. In total, 24 people have been appointed to civil service positions in DESNZ through Exception routes since 4 July 2024. We are unable to provide job titles and salary bands as this could lead to individuals being identified due to the numbers being sufficiently low when broken down into these categories.

Media and Sport, how many people have been appointed to civil service positions without open competition in her Department since 4 July 2024; what their (a) job titles and (b) salary bands are; and on what basis each was appointed.

The Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010 requires that selection to the Civil Service must be on merit, on the basis of fair and open competition. There may be instances where a role may meet the requirements for use of a Civil Service Commission exception. As part of this, the Civil Service Commission 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.The information requested could lead to individuals being identified therefore we are not able to provide job titles and salary bands (due to the potentially low numbers of people in each).The information about the overall number of people who have been appointed to civil service posts in their Department without open competition will take a disproportionate amount of activity to analyse and provide.

What information his Department holds on the number of people that have been appointed to posts in her Department, other than special advisers, who have (a) worked for and (b) been seconded to (i) the Labour party and (ii) the office of a Labour hon. Member since 4 July 2024.

The Department for Work and Pensions does not keep a list of the former employment of each of its civil servants.

What (a) direct ministerial and (b) other public appointments to her Department and associated bodies have (i) been (A) removed from their posts and (B) asked to resign and (ii) made since 4 July 2024.

Since 4 July 2024:i. (A and B) Departments do not routinely record and collect the reasons why appointees leave their positions, so departments are not in a position to answer this part of the question. Additionally, the reasons why an appointee has left their role is the appointee’s personal information and identifiable and would elicit GDPR considerations. ii. Since 4 July 2024, 152 public appointments have been made. 144 of these are members of the Independent Monitoring Boards (139) and Lay Observers (5) and are exempt from publication. Details of the other 8 public appointments have been published on GOV.UK.

With reference to paragraph 56 of the report of the Seventh Report of the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Select Committee entitled The Role of Non-Executive Directors in Government, Session 2022-23, HC 318, what Government policy is on the replacement of departmental non-executive directors when new Ministers are appointed.

The Corporate Governance Code for Central Government Departments makes clear that Secretaries of State are responsible for appointing non-executive board members. When new Ministers are appointed, they may wish to review the balance of skills and experience the Board requires; the Code recommends that such reviews take place at least annually. There has been no change to the Code since when the Rt Hon member was a Minister in the department.

With reference to the oral answer of the Leader of the House of Lords of 4 September 2024, Official Report, House of Lords, col. 1157, what the Government's policy is on publicly announcing (a) direct ministerial appointments and (b) the appointments of (i) Directors and (ii) Director Generals in the Civil Service.

Direct ministerial appointments are publicly announced at the time of, or soon after, the point at which the appointment itself is made, except on rare occasions for very sensitive roles. There is no central policy or guidance around publicly announcing the appointment of Directors and Directors General. It is up to individual government departments to decide whether to make an official announcement.

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.

What (a) direct ministerial and (b) other public appointments to her Department and associated bodies have (i) been (A) removed from their posts and (B) asked to resign and (ii) made since 4 July 2024.

(i) The Department does not routinely record and collect the reasons why appointees leave their positions. Additionally, the reasons why an appointee has left their role is the appointee’s personal information and identifiable and would elicit GDPR considerations. (ii) Public appointments are routinely published on gov.uk. and in addition to the answer given to PQ 2389 the following have been made since 4 July 2024: Taalib Shaah was appointed on the 12 August 2024 as a Non-Executive Director. The details of the appointment was published on direct.gov.uk on the 8 October: Taalib Shaah - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). Andrew Tarrant was appointed via Direct Ministerial Appointment on the 9th September 2024 as a Pensions Expert Advisor.