Asked by: Baroness Shawcross-Wolfson (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government (1) what the Civil Service headcount was in (a) 2023–24 and (b) 2024–2025; and; (2) what is the expected headcount for (a) 2025–26, (b) 2026–27, (c) 2027–28, (d) 2028–29, and (e) 2029–2030.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Please see the table below for 2024, 2025 and latest available figures on Civil Service employment sourced from ONS Public Sector Employment Statistics.
| 31 March 2024 | 31 March 2025 | 30 Sept 2025* |
Full-time equivalent | 510,720 | 516,470 | 520,440 |
Headcount | 543,530 | 550,150 | 554,315 |
*latest available
Each department will take a decision on its future size and shape as per the financial settlements that were agreed with HM Treasury in the Spending Review. These plans will take a whole workforce approach based on the cost of civil servants, Contingent Labour, Consultancy and Managed Services, and will be finalised through the business planning process that is currently underway.
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he has made an assessment of the adequacy of redundancy plans for civil servants working at grades (a) AA/AO, (b) EO, (c) HEO/SEO, (d) G6/G7 and (e) SCS in each Government department.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Each department will take a decision on its individual size and shape as per the financial settlements that have now been agreed with HMT in the Spending Review.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether ice cream vans parked on red lines on Westminster Bridge are monitored by the Government Secure Zone control room.
Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare
The Government can confirm that vehicles are monitored within the Government Secure Zone. However, the Government does not comment in detail on security arrangements within the Government Secure Zone.
Asked by: Baroness Shawcross-Wolfson (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what work they plan to undertake to make arm's-length bodies and the arm's-length body landscape more effective, efficient and accountable.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
As announced on 6th April 2025, the Government is conducting a full-scale review of arm's-length bodies in order to reduce the duplication of work by public bodies, improve efficiency, reduce unnecessary costs, and improve transparency. This review is ongoing, but some changes have already been announced such as the closure of NHS England to reduce bureaucracy, make savings and empower NHS staff to deliver better care for patients.
Asked by: Lord Kempsell (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the New Media Unit is fully staffed, and if not, whether further recruitment is planned to the unit.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Please refer to the table below for spend by the New Media Unit on third party suppliers, from 1 November 2024 to 13 November 2025.
Suppliers | Spend (£) |
OmniGov - MG OMD | 2,668,702.00 |
Pablo Unlimited | 733,512.93 |
The New Media unit includes employees from grade AO to SCS1 and the headcount is 28 FTE.
The New Media Unit is not currently recruiting.
Asked by: Lord Kempsell (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much has been spent on external contractors by the New Media Unit since its inception.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Please refer to the table below for spend by the New Media Unit on third party suppliers, from 1 November 2024 to 13 November 2025.
Suppliers | Spend (£) |
OmniGov - MG OMD | 2,668,702.00 |
Pablo Unlimited | 733,512.93 |
The New Media unit includes employees from grade AO to SCS1 and the headcount is 28 FTE.
The New Media Unit is not currently recruiting.
Asked by: Lord Kempsell (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what are the grades of the employees of the New Media Unit.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Please refer to the table below for spend by the New Media Unit on third party suppliers, from 1 November 2024 to 13 November 2025.
Suppliers | Spend (£) |
OmniGov - MG OMD | 2,668,702.00 |
Pablo Unlimited | 733,512.93 |
The New Media unit includes employees from grade AO to SCS1 and the headcount is 28 FTE.
The New Media Unit is not currently recruiting.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 15 December 2025 to Question 98184, whether meetings held by the Prime Minister with external individuals are routinely assigned a subject classification for record-keeping purposes.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
Guidance on management of records for official ministerial meetings is published on gov.uk, and available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-management-of-private-office-information-and-records/guidance-for-the-management-of-private-office-information-and-records-html.
The guidance in place in August 2019 is available in the National Archives: https://cdn.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documents/popapersguidance2009.pdf
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what guidance was guidance in place in August 2019 on keeping a written record of meetings between the Prime Minister and external individuals where public policy, procurement, or government contracts were discussed.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
Guidance on management of records for official ministerial meetings is published on gov.uk, and available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-management-of-private-office-information-and-records/guidance-for-the-management-of-private-office-information-and-records-html.
The guidance in place in August 2019 is available in the National Archives: https://cdn.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documents/popapersguidance2009.pdf
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Written Statement of 21 July 2025 on Government of service, HCWS870, whether the Prime Minister plans to issue a direction under section 17 of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010 to give the Civil Service Commission new statutory functions relating to Business Appointment Rules.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Minister for the Cabinet Office wrote to the First Civil Service Commissioner, Baroness Stuart, on behalf of the Prime Minister, on 9 July formally inviting the Civil Service Commission, under Section 17 of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010, to take on responsibility for the administration and advice on applications from the most senior civil servants (and equivalent special advisers) under the business appointment rules system.
The First Civil Service Commissioner wrote back to the Minister on 11 July on behalf of the Commission to formally agree to take on these additional responsibilities.
The relevant correspondence is published on the Civil Service Commission website. These changes will apply from 13 October.