Every parliamentary written question tabled by Neil O'Brien this session, with the full answer and department. Back to the MP page.
Showing 21–40 of 68 · Home Office
What the average number of working days lost to sickness absence per full-time equivalent member of staff was in (a) the Department and (b) its executive agencies in the last year; and how many formal performance warnings were issued to staff whose absence exceeded departmental triggers.
The current Average Working Days Lost (AWDL) is 8.12. Regarding the number of performance warnings issued to staff, this can only be obtained through disproportionate effort.
How many and what proportion of staff in each grade in her Department were rated in the top performance category in the last year.
The Home Office introduced a no-rating performance management system for delegated grades in 2021 in line with external good practice. Therefore, the department cannot compare progression with performance markings / categories.The performance management framework for Senior Civil Servants is a Cabinet Office policy, applied across the Civil Service departments including the Home Office.In the last performance year, the proportion of staff rated in the top performance category (“Exceeding”) for Senior Civil Servants is 25.Senior Civil Service 1: 17 individuals (representing 6% of all SCS1 Home Office staff)Senior Civil Service 2: 6 individuals (representing 10% of all SCS2 Home Office staff)Senior Civil Service 3: <5 individuals (representing >20% of all SCS3 Home Office staff)
In the past twelve months, how many disciplinary cases were concluded against civil servants in (a) her Department and (b) its agencies broken down by (i) outcome and (ii) whether the primary allegation related to (A) performance and (B) conduct.
Please find table below outlining disciplinary cases by performance and conduct. Discipline Outcome HeadcountPerformance Dismissal - Poor Performance20Dismissal - Probation50Conduct Dismissals with leaving reason containing Gross Misconduct132Final Written Warning8First Written Warning10No Formal Action<5
How many and what proportion of staff in her Department were promoted (a) in-grade and (b) to a higher grade in the last year broken down by (i) performance marking in the previous year and (ii) grade.
The Home Office introduced a no-rating performance management system for delegated grades in 2021 in line with external good practice. Therefore, the department cannot compare progression with performance markings / categories.For the SCS grade please see table below. Promotions from PB1 (SCS1) to PB2 (SCS2)Performance markings from the previous year:Achieved: <5High Performing: <5Exceeding: <5 Promotions from Grade 6 to PB1 (SCS1)Performance markings from the previous year:Achieved: 8Partially Met: <5Not in scope for a performance marking: 8
How many staff in her Department had their probationary period extended in the last 12 months.
The information requested is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
How many employment tribunal claims alleging breaches of the Equality Act 2010 have been lodged against her Department in the last 12 months.
The information requested is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
How many employment tribunal claims relating to unfair dismissal have been lodged against her Department in the last 12 months.
The information requested is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
How many staff in her Department did not retain employment following the completion of their probationary period in the last 12 months.
In the last 12 months 59 Home Office employees were dismissed during their probationary period for efficiency reasons.
How many people have been employed by the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner in each year since 2005; and what the annual budget was for the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner in each of those years.
As an Executive Non-Departmental Public Body of the Home Office, the Immigration Advice Authority (IAA), formerly known as the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner (OISC), is operationally independent and responsible for the service it provides.Details of its staffing levels and its budget are published online in its Annual Report and Accounts (ARAs). A list of annual reports and financial accounts, and business plans published by the Office of the Immigration Service Commissioner from 2005 to 2021 can be found here.For more recent ARAs, the 2022/23 report can be found here and the 2023/24 report can be found here.
How many staff left her Department in each of the last five years, broken down by grade.
Information on the number of civil servants leaving each government department and organisation by responsibility level for the years 2021 to 2025 is published annually through the ‘Civil Service data browser’ as part of Civil Service Statistics 2025, an accredited official statistics publication.Information can be accessed through the Civil Service data browser for 2021 through 2025 at the following web address: https://civil-service-statistics.jdac.service.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/
How many employment tribunal claims have been lodged against her Department in each of the last five years, broken down by (a) unfair dismissal and (b) claims under the Equality Act 2010.
The Home Office has 205 Employment Tribunal claims in the last 5 years (01/10/2021 to 30/09/2025), however, to determine those which relate to unfair dismissals and/or the Equality Act 2010 can only be obtained via disproportionate cost.Employment Tribunals decisions are published and can be found in the link below.Employment tribunal decisions - GOV.UK
How many staff in her Department are recorded as having a (a) mental health condition and (b) physical disability, broken down by grade.
While the self-declaration field for disability and absence data will indicate a mental health condition or a physical disability, this will not confirm the presence of either and therefore this information is not held.However, the number of staff who have declared they have a disability by grade is published and can be found via the link below.Home Office workforce diversity statistics - GOV.UK
How many staff were involved in conducting the Equality Impact Assessment of the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill, published in February 2025; and how many hours were spent by (a) Departmental staff and (b) external consultants in its preparation.
Impacts on vulnerable individuals and equalities considerations are at the front and centre of our work. As required through the Public Sector Equality Duty, the Home Office considers equality impacts in detail throughout the policy development process. It is not possible to estimate how many departmental staff hours were spent as part of this process due to the continuing nature of this work when designing policy. No external consultants were involved in the preparation of the Equality Impact Assessment.
How many staff in his Department (a) did not retain employment following completion of their probationary period and (b) had their probationary period extended in each of the last five years.
The Home Office’s probation policy and guidance advises managers on the steps to take to assess a new employee’s suitability for the post and to provide support to enable them to succeed. It also advises on the steps to take where performance, attendance or conduct are not satisfactory. This can include exiting the employee or extending their probation to provide further evidence for a final decision on their suitability. However, the information requested can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
How many performance reviews were undertaken for staff in (a) her Department and (b) its agencies in each of the last five years; in how many cases performance was rated as unsatisfactory or below; how many staff left as a result of such a rating; and what proportion of full-time equivalent staff this represented.
This information can only be obtained via disproportionate cost.
With reference to the Answer of 12 March 2024 to Question 17707 on Home Office: Equality, how many and what proportion of people work in her Department's equality, diversity and well-being team.
There are 34 members of staff (31.56 FTE) working in the central Equality, Diversity and Wellbeing Team based on headcount, this represents 0.07% of the total staff (paid Civil Servants) working for the Home Office. The small increase compared to the answer of 12 March 2024 reflects a combination of factors includingConsolidation of standalone EDI roles within business areas into the central HR EDW Team following the publication of the Civil Service EDI Expenditure Guidance: Civil Service Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Expenditure Guidance - GOV.UKTeam members returning to the team who were previously on secondments or temporary roles outside of the team.
How many spousal visa applicants were exempted from the standard income threshold because their partner in the UK was receiving disability benefits in the last 12 months.
Data on the number of spousal visa applications which have been exempted from the standard income threshold does not form part of our data sets and is not published.Obtaining the specific information requested would involve collating and verifying information and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.A range of processing data including case outcomes on spousal visa applications, can be found at: Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK and Migration transparency data - GOV.UK.
How many staff in her Department have job titles that include the words (a) equality, (b) diversity, (c) inclusion, (d) gender, (e) LGBT and (f) race.
I refer the Honourable Member to the answer he was given by my predecessor on 4 March 2024 in response to the same question (PQ UIN 15470).
If she will make an estimate of the number of people that (a) applied for asylum, (b) were granted asylum and (c) were granted other forms of leave to stay in each year between 1995 and 2001.
The Home Office publishes data on asylum claims and initial decisions in the ‘Asylum applications, initial decisions and resettlement detailed datasets’ as part of the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Pre-2002 data on asylum claims and initial decisions for main applicants and dependants is published in tables as_01 and as_02 in volume 1 of the Asylum data tables.
How many FNO appeals against Deportation were (a) lodged, (b) Allowed and (c) Allowed, Human Rights grounds only in each Financial Year since 2008-09.
The Home Office does not regularly publish information about FNO appeals against deportation. However, in February 2022 an ad-hoc transparency piece on FNO lodged and allowed appeals, covering the period 2008 to 2021, was released. This provides numbers of appeals regarding the deportation of FNOs lodged, and the numbers of those which are subsequently allowed, and of those how many were allowed on human rights grounds only, broken down by financial year of the appeal lodged date.