Written questions by Glen.

With reference to the planned discontinuation of the Rotary Wing Command Support Air Transport Helicopter Service, whether (a) the Prime Minister, (b) other Ministers, (c) members of the Royal Family and (d) senior defence staff will be permitted to use in sourced (i) Royal Air Force and (ii) Royal Navy helicopters for travel in their official capacities.

An alternative framework for VIP air transport and military command support air transport is being considered. The review will explore means of delivery and consider cost-effectiveness while ensuring the important military command function can be met appropriately.

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.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many people, other than special advisers, have been appointed to civil service posts in his 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.

At the delegated grades, the table below shows we have appointed the following since 4 July 2024 to civil service posts in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office without open competition in line with the Civil Service Recruitment Principles [https://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/02a_RECRUITMENT-PRINCIPLES-April-2018-FINAL-.pdf]. The exceptions we have used are:Exception 1: Temporary AppointmentsException 3: SecondmentsException 5: Former Civil ServantsException 7: Transfers of staff from other public bodiesExceptionBandSalary BandJob title1AO£26,500UKRI - Summer Intern 20241AO£26,500Finance Payments Officer1AO£26,500Credit Card Administrator1AO£26,500Finance Payments Officer1AO£26,500Consular Officer1AO£26,500Consular Officer1AO£26,500Consular Officer1AO£26,500Consular Officer1AO£26,500Consular Officer1AO£26,500Consular Officer1AO£26,500Pensions Administrator1EO£28000 - £30,500Leonard Cheshire - Summer Intern 20241EO£28000 - £30,500Leonard Cheshire - Summer Intern 20241EO£28000 - £30,500Desk Officer Team 4, Diplomatic Missions Team1AO£26,500Pensions Administrator7HEO£34,500 - £40,000Auditor3Grade 7£53,000 - £62,000Senior research Fellow3Grade 7£53,000 - £62,000Research Fellow3G7£53,000 - £62,000Senior Research Fellow3G7£53,000 - £62,000Senior Research Fellow3G7£53,000 - £62,000Senior Humanitarian Policy Advisor3G7£53,000 - £62,000Senior Research Fellow3G7£53,000 - £62,000Senior Research Fellow3G7£53,000 - £62,000Senior Research Fellow3G7£53,000 - £62,000Senior Research Fellow3G7£53,000 - £62,000Senior Research Fellow3G7£53,000 - £62,000Senior Research Fellow3HEO£34,500 - £40,000Security/Intelligence Analyst5G7£53,000 - £62,000Team Leader Indo Pacific Maritime Security, Engagement and CommunicationsThere have been no external appointments to SCS level civil service posts without open competition since 4 July 2024.There has been no ministerial involvement in appointments to civil service posts in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office since 4 July 2024.

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.

How many people, other than special advisers, have been appointed to civil service posts in his 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.

There are 10 exceptions to fair and open recruitment, details of which can be found within the Civil Service Commission’s published Recruitment Principles. DBT has appointed 6 individuals under these Exceptions since 4th July 2024 with 4 of these being previous Civil Servants who were reappointed.1x AO, 1x SEO and 2x Grade 7 under Exception 5 (Former Civil Servants)1x EO under Exception 2 (support for government employment schemes)1x SCS1 under Exception 4 (Highly Specialist Skills)Role titles could lead to individuals being identified therefore we are not able to provide this information.

Innovation and Technology, how many people have been appointed to civil service positions without open competition in his Department since the general election; 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 (CSC) exception. The Department for Science, Innovation & Technology (DSIT) uses these exceptions to draw on scientific and technical expertise and talent, including through the Expert Exchange Programme. Since 5 July 2024, DSIT has made 34 appointments without open competition. Personal data such as salaries cannot be released under data processing policies.

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 legal requirement for appointment to the Civil Service (CS) is for selection to be made on merit based on fair and open competition. Under section 12 of the 2010 Constitutional Reform and Governance Act, the CS Commission has the power to except a selection from the requirement to appoint on merit based on a fair and open competition. This must either be justified by the needs of the CS or be necessary to enable the CS to participate in a government employment initiative. Departments must be able to justify why, in any appointment, it has not been possible to select someone on merit through a fair and open competition. The Civil Service Recruitment Principles set out the circumstances in which appointments can be made as Exceptions to Fair and Open Merit-based appointments.Between 4th July and 4th October 2024, the Home Office made 109 appointments by exception to the Civil Service Commission’s published Recruitment Principles:78 were made under Exception 1 for temporary appointments;27 were made under Exception 10 for conversion to permanency of suitable candidates appointed under Exception 1 above, and Exception 2 (support for government employment programmes);Two were made under Exception 3 for secondments; andTwo were made under Exception 5 for the appointment of former civil servants.The roles appointed during the period requested were to grades AA to Grade7. Below is a summary of the salary bands for these appointments by grade and number of roles.GRADENUMBERPAY BANDIntern17£22,446AA23£22,180 (N), £26,180 (L)AO39£24,800 (N), £28,880 (L)PO39£24,800 (N), £28,880 (L)EO17£28,000 (N), £32,000 (L)HEO1£34,350 (N), £38,350 (N)SEO1£41,600 (N), £45,600 (L)G72£57,000(N), £61,000 (L)N = National, L = London

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, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education directly appointed Richard Pennycook as the Interim Chair of Skills EnglandThere have also been two public appointments made by exception over this period:Sir Kevan Collins was appointed as a non-executive board member at the Department for Education.David Behan was appointed as interim chair of the Office for Students’ board.Details of these exceptional public appointments and all other regulated public appointments at the department can be viewed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/department-for-education-non-executive-appointments/appointments-made-april-2024-to-march-2025.None of the department’s ministerial or public appointees have been removed from their posts or asked to resign over this period.

How many people, other than special advisers, have been appointed in civil servant posts 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 department has appointed four individuals to civil servant posts since 4 July 2024. Further details of the appointments can be seen in the attached spreadsheet.

Innovation and Technology, whether the Director General for Digital Centre Design was interviewed by the civil service before her appointment; whether she formally applied for the job in writing; and if he will publish the letter authorising her appointment.

The appointment of the Director General Digital Centre Design was made as an approved exception to full external recruitment.The creation of the role, recruitment approach and proposed candidate all received the appropriate approvals prior to confirmation of the appointment. We attach as an Annex approval from the Civil Service Commission on appointment via Exception 1 – Temporary Appointments.

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.

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 for Business and Trade has made three direct ministerial appointments since 04 July 2024: 1) Professor Sir Steve Smith, reappointed as International Education Champion, for a period of 12 months and 2) Lord Lancaster, reappointed as Defence and Security Advocate for a period of 3 months and 3) Clare Barclay as Chair of the Industrial Strategy Advisory Council.Departments do not routinely record and collect the reasons why appointees leave their positions. The reasons why an appointee has left their role is the appointee’s personal information and identifiable and would elicit GDPR considerations.

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.

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.

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.

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.