Written questions by Bedford.

What the total running costs of the office of the Civil Service Commission was for the last full year in which data is available.

Awaiting answer.

How many civil servants in their Department were found to have broken the Civil Service Code in (a) 2024 and (b) 2025.

The Cabinet Office is committed to the highest standards of integrity. Allegations of breaches of the Civil Service Code are investigated thoroughly in line with our departmental disciplinary procedures. The Department’s systems are not configured to aggregate this data in the specific format requested. Extracting this information would require an extensive manual auditing exercise of personnel records, which cannot be completed within the required timeframe.

How many apprentices the Department recruited in 2025, compared with (a) 2022, (b) 2023, and (c) 2024.

YearNumber of New Apprentices RecruitedTotal Apprenticeship Starts (New Recruits and Internal Conversions)2022369520233512620244210120252965 The Department had a greater number of apprenticeship starts overall during this period, as the total figures include existing members of staff converting to an apprenticeship in addition to the new recruits shown above. These total apprenticeship starts were primarily composed of existing staff upskilling rather than new external recruitment.

How many civil service employees were on performance management plans in 2023, 2024 and 2025.

Data on how many civil servants have a performance management plan in place is not captured centrally.

Whether he plans to review his decision as outlined in his answer to me within UIN 110638.

As outlined in the previous answer, there are no plans to abolish the House of Lords Appointments Commission.

What recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of abolishing the House of Lords Appointments Commission.

There are no plans to abolish the House of Lords Appointments Commission.

Whether the number of arms-length bodies across Government departments has increased since July 2024.

Since July 2024, 10 Arms Length Bodies have been announced to deliver the manifesto the Government was elected on. In conjunction with this, the government is conducting a comprehensive review of the entire ALB landscape, as announced on 6 April 2025, this has already made progress with announcements of the closure of Building Digital UK and LocatED amongst others. This aims to streamline the state and increase ministerial accountability, a vital step toward creating a more productive and agile state.

How many civil servants have salaries over (a) £150,000, (b) £200,000 and (c) £250,000.

Information on the number of civil servants by salary band is published annually as part of the Cabinet Office accredited official statistics publication, Civil Service Statistics. Information on the number of civil servants earning more than £150,000 and £200,000 as at 31 March 2025 can be found at Table 26 of the statistical tables published here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/civil-service-statistics-2025 Across the Civil Service, there are five earning over £250,000. All outputs are rounded to the nearest five in accordance with the disclosure control protocols for these accredited official statistics.

With reference to the Comprehensive Spending Review 2025, what estimate he has made of the number of new Quasi-Autonomous Non-Governmental Organisations which will be created.

Proposals for new bodies are subject to the ongoing ALB review, announced by the Chancellor for the Duchy of Lancaster on 6 April, to ensure their existence can be strongly justified against key principles.

Whether he has made an assessment of the potential financial impact of applying the Government commercial function terms and conditions of employment to the wider civil service.

No such assessment has been made. Decisions on terms and conditions of employment are made by the employing department, depending on their specific business requirements and nature of the role and as set out in the Civil Service Management Code.

What assessment he has made of the adequacy of the transparency of the House of Lords Appointments Commission.

The House of Lords Appointments Commission is an independent, advisory non-departmental public body. The Commission publishes an Annual Report on its website, the most recent of which was published on 14 May, along with other information about the Commission’s activity and processes.

What assessment he has made of the adequacy of the transparency of the Commissioner for Public Appointments.

The Commissioner for Public Appointments is a statutory office holder and provides independent assurance that public appointments are made in accordance with the government’s Governance Code on Public Appointments. The Governance Code is built on the principles of ministerial responsibility, selflessness, integrity, merit, openness, diversity, assurance and fairness.The Commissioner’s functions are set out in the Public Appointments Order in Council. Under the Order in Council, the Commissioner must publish an annual report on public appointments. All annual reports, as well as the outcome of complaints and investigations, are published on the Commissioner’s website.

Whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of abolishing the Home Office.

There are no plans of this kind.

When he plans to respond to Question 46599, tabled by the hon. Member for Mid Leicestershire on 17 April 2025.

With apologies to the Hon. member, a response has now been issued.

What the average number of sick days was per employee in each Government department in (a) 2022-23, (b) 2023-24 and (c) 2024-25.

The Cabinet Office publishes sickness absence data for the Civil Service on an annual basis on gov.uk. We do not report the average number of sick days per employee. Our preferred measure is Average Working Days Lost (AWDL) per staff year which accounts for workforce size and composition, in a way that average number of sick days per employee does not. In 2022-23, overall AWDL per staff year in the Civil Service was 8.3 days in the year ending 31 March 2023. AWDL per staff year by main departments is available in Table 3a of the data tables available at: Civil Service sickness absence, 2023: report. In 2023-24, overall AWDL per staff year in the Civil Service was 7.8 days in the year ending 31 March 2024. AWDL per staff year by main departments is available in Table 3a of the data tables available at: Civil Service sickness absence, 2024: report. Data for 2024-25 is not yet available, but will be published in early 2026.

How many permanent civil servants had contracts of employment terminated for poor performance in (a) 2022-23, (b) 2023-24 and (c) 2024-25.

Departments have delegated responsibility for managing poor performance. Information on how many civil servants in departments have had their contracts of employment terminated for poor performance is therefore not available centrally.

If he will make an assessment of the potential impact of requiring full-time office working in the civil service on public sector productivity.

In October 2024, Heads of Departments across government announced that guidance on office attendance will remain in place, with most civil servants expected to spend at least 60% of their time at a Government building or on official business, such as visiting stakeholders. Senior managers will continue to be expected to be in the office more than 60% of the time. This is the same expectation on office attendance as was introduced under the previous administration. The approach will allow teams and departments to maximise the benefits of hybrid working and getting the best from being together.

If he will make an assessment of the potential impact of changing the civil service pension scheme to a defined contribution model on costs to the public purse.

Any assessment of moving the Civil Service Pension Scheme, or any other Public Service Pension Scheme, to a defined contribution model is the responsibility of HM Treasury. The Cabinet Office has responsibility for the Civil Service Pension Scheme only in respect of changing scheme rules to align with or ensure legal compliance with HM Treasury policy.

With reference to the press release entitled Hundreds of quangos to be examined for potential closure as Government takes back control, published on 7 April 2025, what estimate he has made of the potential reduction in Government spending arising from this review.

The review of all arms length bodies is ongoing. Further information, including on savings, will be announced in due course.

Whether they have made an estimate of the potential impact of abolishing diversity, equity and inclusion roles in their Department on annual staffing costs.

The Civil Service Equality Diversity and Inclusion Expenditure Guidance was issued on the 14th May 2024. The Cabinet Office complies with the guidance. The Cabinet Office has not undertaken an estimate of the impact of abolishing diversity, equity and inclusion roles in the department on annual staff costs.