Written questions by O'Brien.

What discussions she had with the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) on the risk that OBR productivity growth forecasts would be revised down before the (a) Autumn Budget 2024 and (b) Spring Statement 2025.

The Chancellor engages regularly with the OBR including in preparation for fiscal events. As the Government’s independent official forecaster, the OBR has full discretion over the judgements underpinning its forecasts. In the OBR's March Economic and Fiscal Outlook, the OBR included two scenarios for trend productivity, reflecting both upside and downside risks.

How many staff in his Department are recorded as having a (a) mental health condition and (b) physical disability, broken down by grade.

In the Ministry of Justice (including its executive agencies: HMCTS, CICA, LAA, OPG, and HMPPS), along with the wider Civil Service, information about a disability or long-term condition, including mental health conditions, is completed by staff on a voluntary basis, on HR systems. Data on mental health conditions is only available as a subset of those who have voluntarily indicated they considered themselves to have disability or long-term condition. As there is no single category for physical disability, we have provided data on all those who have indicated a disability or long-term condition.The data provided covers the Ministry of Justice, including its executive agencies: MoJ HQ, HMCTS, CICA, LAA, OPG, and HMPPS.The table below shows data for the number of staff in post in the department who have self-reported a disability or long-term condition, broken down by grade, as of 31 March 2025.Grade Number of self-reported disabled staff SCS39G6132G7389SEO1,023HEO1,231EO1,626AO3,798AA1,088Unknown4,780Total14,106The total will not exactly match that used in Civil Service Statistics as we have used a different methodology applicable to internal data in order to answer this question.The table below shows data for the number of staff in post in the department who have self-reported the HR data management systems category mental health conditions, broken down by grade, as of 31 March 2025.Grade Number of self-reported disabled staff with mental health conditions SCSLess than 10G612G739SEO111HEO151EO171AO427AA118Unknown658Total1,691*Data includes those who have selected a single category mental health conditions. We do not capture those who may have multiple conditions or include information provided as free text.

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 left his Department in each of the last 5 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: Civil Service Statistics data browser.

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.

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 staff were involved in conducting the Research and Development tax relief reform and intensive support Screening Equality Impact Assessment, published on 18 September 2025; and how many hours were spent by (a) Departmental staff and (b) external consultants in its preparation.

Tax policy reforms are implemented by HMRC through projects, to ensure efficient and accurate implementation taking account of customer needs. Projects follow set procedures, monitoring and governance. As part of the governance process, screening equality impact assessments (EQIAs) are delivered by the Project Team to determine whether full assessments are needed. The screening assessment for the R&D reforms published on 18 September concluded that a full assessment was not necessary. The resource and time used for the screening EQIA is part of the policy project delivery resource and not tracked separately. No external consultants were engaged.

How many people work in her Department's (a) Human Resources and Transformation Directorate and (b) Public Sector Equality Duty team.

As at the end of October 2025, the full-time equivalent (FTE) headcount of the department’s Human Resources Directorate was 139.Public Sector Equality Duty work in the department sits within the department's central Strategy Group and is resourced by 1.7 FTE staff. In addition, the department has a model of maintaining dispersed capacity across the department to comply with its duties.

What performance indicators are used in the Civil Service; and how frequently performance is assessed.

A summary of the performance indicators used for Senior Civil Servants in the civil service and the timeline setting out how frequently performance is assessed is published on gov.uk at the following webpage: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/senior-civil-service-performance-management/performance-management-framework-for-the-senior-civil-service-2025-to-2026-performance-year For departmental grades (AA - G6), departments have the flexibility in their performance management approach under the Performance Management Framework. Departments will set performance standards and box marks, where these are used.

How many employment tribunal claims have been lodged against his Department in each of the last five years by (a) unfair dismissal and (b) claims under the Equality Act 2010.

The proportion of Employment Tribunals claims which include Unfair Dismissal as a reason for the claim is 25.1%, and 62.5% of Employment Tribunals lodged against the Department are brought under the Equality Act 2010. 3.9% of cases lodged against the Department cite both Unfair Dismissal and claims under the Equality Act 2010.Employment Tribunals lodged against the Department for Unfair Dismissal 01 Oct – 31 Dec 2020202120222023202402 Jan – 28 Oct 2025Total01744665661244 Employment Tribunals lodged against the Department under the Equality Act 2010 *A breakdown of protected characteristics where Employment Tribunals have been brought has been included. Please note, Employment Tribunal claims often include multiple reasons when lodging a claim e.g. race discrimination and disability discrimination etc. This means that, total Employment Tribunals lodged against the department under the Equality Act 2010 will not reflect the total claims under the different protected characteristics. 01 Oct – 31 Dec 2020202120222023202401 Jan – 28 Oct 2025TotalAge3131026172089Disability47885110104103484Gender Reassignment0001012Marriage & Civil Partnership0000123Pregnancy & Maternity01424819Sex1102018132385Sexual Orientation146421027Total Employment Tribunals Brought Under the Equality Act 2010918127145153155607 Employment Tribunals lodged under both Unfair Dismissal and a claim under the Equality Act 2010 against the Department*Figures below are included in the previous tables.01 Oct – 31 Dec 2020202120222023202401 Jan – 28 Oct 20250725453338The Ministry of Justice headcount is circa 82,000 in total.

How many staff were involved in conducting the Equality Impact Assessment of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, published in March 2025; and how many hours were spent by (a) Departmental staff and (b) external consultants in its preparation.

The department published an equality impact assessment for the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill upon introduction of the Bill to Parliament. This was last updated 21 March 2025, to reflect changes to the Bill during its Commons passage.This assessment was prepared by officials responsible for the measures in the Bill. Given the broad scope of this Bill, it is not possible to provide the number of hours spent preparing this document.No external consultants were involved in the preparation of the equality impact assessment. The department will continue to monitor the equalities impact of all policies as the Bill progresses through Parliament and update the published impact assessment.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many staff were involved in conducting the Equality Impact Assessment of Official Development Assistance programme allocations for 2025 to 2026, published on 22 July 2025; and how many hours were spent by (a) Departmental staff and (b) external consultants in its preparation.

The requested information is not readily available, and could only be obtained for the purposes of answering this question at disproportionate cost.

How many performance reviews were undertaken for staff in (a) his 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.

The Ministry of Justice operates a continuous performance management approach based on a rolling cycle of regular performance conversations between line managers and staff members. The Department does not operate a set reporting year for performance reviews and does not use performance ratings or box markings. As such, the Ministry of Justice does not hold the data requested.

How many staff (a) did not retain employment in the Department following completion of their probationary period and (b) had their probationary period extended in each of the last 5 years.

The Ministry of Justice’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.The table below shows data for the number of staff who left the Department for the leaving reason "Discharged Probation", in the 12 months to 31 March 2021 - 31 March 2025.12 months to… Number of leavers 31st March 20257231st March 20249731st March 20233231st March 20223631st March 202116Notes to table 1:Information on the number of staff who have left the department is published in the Civil Service Statistics but not broken down by the leaving reason "Discharged Probation". Therefore, we have used leavers data from the MOJ’s central HR system, SOP, to answer this PQ.Data for MoJ staff (excluding HMPPS) includes only on-strength payroll leavers, whereas data for HMPPS includes all leavers. Information for the second part of this question, relating to the number of staff that had their probationary period extended in each of the last 5 years, is not published and is not held in the central HR system. Therefore, this information cannot be provided.

How many employment tribunal claims have been lodged against her Department in each of the last five years by (a) unfair dismissal and (b) claims under the Equality Act 2010.

The table below shows the number of Employment Tribunal claims made against the department in the last five years.Year (calendar)Number of claims(a) Claiming unfair dismissal(b) Claims under the Equality Act2025*<5Nil<52024<5Nil<520239<5520228<5<5202113<57*For the period 1 January 2025 to 30 September 2025.

How many staff left her Department in each of the last five years 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 as part of Civil Service Statistics, an accredited official statistics publication.Information can be accessed through the Civil Service Statistics collection for 2021 through 2025, available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/civil-service-statistics.

How many staff in her Department are recorded as having a (a) mental health condition and (b) physical disability by grade.

The department collects diversity and inclusion data through its internal HR system, and encourages staff to update their data voluntarily to support effective monitoring and inclusion. Whilst the system records whether an individual has declared a disability or permanent/long-term health condition, it does not capture the specific nature of that condition. As a result, it is not possible to provide separate figures for staff declaring a mental health condition and those declaring a physical disability.The table below shows the number of staff in the department who have declared a disability or permanent/long-term health condition, broken down by grade, as at 30 September 2025. Figures are rounded to the nearest five, and values fewer than five have been withheld to protect anonymity. GradeCount of staff that have declared a disability or permanent/long-term health conditionEA10EO100HEO180SEO305Grade 7230Grade 690SCS25 Information on the number of people declaring a disability in each government department is published annually as part of Civil Service Statistics 2025, an accredited official statistics publication. The latest published data are as at 31 March 2025 and can be found in Table 29 of the statistical tables at the following web address: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/civil-service-statistics-2025.Information for 31 March 2026 is due for publication in July 2026.

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.

The department’s approach to performance management includes monthly check-in conversations held between employees and their line managers, which allow performance and progress to be discussed regularly. Under-performance is recorded through the monthly check-in process.Information on the number of monthly conversations undertaken in the department in the last five financial years and the number where under-performance was recorded is set out in the following table. Note that, as conversations are held monthly, these figures do not represent the number of unique staff marked as under-performing in any year.Financial yearNumber of monthly conversationsNumber of monthly conversations where under-performance was recorded2020-2021*246914132021-2022513736412022-2023604636192023-2024594953982024-202573035516*Data is only available from September 2020, therefore, the 2020/21 financial year does not include April to August 2020.The information has been provided in respect of the core department plus its three executive agencies Education and Skills Funding Agency, Standard and Testing Agency and Teaching Regulation Agency, combined.The department does not hold a central dataset of the reasons for a dismissal in respect of those years.​ A development has been made to our HR system so that we can identify the number of dismissals due to unsatisfactory performance from July 2025 onwards.

How many staff in her 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 department’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. The department does not hold complete information on probation outcomes centrally, and this information could only be obtained at a 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.