Asked by: Lord Agnew of Oulton (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many arm’s-length bodies are sponsored by more than one department; and for each such body, what is the name and sponsoring department.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
An arm’s-length body (ALB) is formally sponsored by a single department, with accountability provided through a responsible Accounting Officer. While some ALBs maintain important policy relationships with multiple government departments, this is typically governed by Memoranda of Understanding or defined in their Framework Documents. The Cabinet Office does not keep a central record of these relationships.
Asked by: Lord Agnew of Oulton (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government why the Cabinet Office has not yet published updated lists of senior civil servants and senior officials earning £150,000 and above, which was due as of 30 September 2023; and when this information will be made available.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The previous administration did not update this list prior to the General Election. The Cabinet Office will publish a new 2025 list in due course.
Asked by: Lord Agnew of Oulton (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Cabinet Office exercises oversight or control over the location of arm’s-length bodies; and if so, what form that oversight or control takes.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
As part of the Places for Growth programme, the Cabinet Office engages with departments that have arm's-length bodies (ALBs) based in London, to encourage them to be located outside of London, increasing the geographic diversity of the Civil Service. In addition, newly created bodies are not headquartered in London, unless there are exceptional circumstances which mean this is necessary.
Asked by: Lord Agnew of Oulton (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the full cost of employing a civil servant at (1) grade 6, (2) senior civil service pay band 1, and (3) senior civil service pay band 2, including salary, employer pension contributions, National Insurance, estates, and other overhead costs, in each year since 2016.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Mean and median salaries for civil servants are published for delegated grades as part of the Civil Service Statistics publication, and for SCS paybands as part of the Government Evidence to the Senior Salaries Review Body. Figures on estimated total costs are not routinely published.
Asked by: Lord Agnew of Oulton (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many arm’s-length bodies are currently headquartered in (1) inner London, and (2) outer London; and what they are, disaggregated by sponsoring department and location.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Information at this level of detail is not held by the Cabinet Office. The ALB landscape analysis captures data on ALB locations by region, and can be found on gov.uk here. Sponsoring departments will be able to provide more precise location information for individual ALBs.
Asked by: Lord Agnew of Oulton (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent on 17 March (HL5387), what the estimated cost was of answering that Question in full; whether an assessment of that cost was conducted in accordance with the guidance in the Guide to Parliamentary Work; and whether they will now place a copy of that assessment in the Library of the House.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Assessing what constitutes a project's original baseline would require making a case by case assessment for each of the 227 major projects in order to determine which baseline should be used as a reference point. Making this case by case assessment would have exceeded the current disproportionate cost threshold as set out in the Guide to Parliamentary Work. We have no plans to place a copy of this assessment in the Library of the House.
Asked by: Lord Agnew of Oulton (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent on 7 April (HL6018), and to the Written Answer by the Parliamentary Secretary at the Cabinet Office on 21 October 2019 (HC463), why it was possible, in the case of the latter, to provide a full list of Permanent Secretary-level appointments, but not in the case of the former; and whether they will now provide a corresponding list of current Permanent Secretary-level appointments, including whether each appointment is fixed-term and its expiry date.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Since 2014, permanent secretary appointments have been made on the basis of a five year fixed tenure; this is set out in contracts of employment. There is no automatic presumption in favour of renewal, but renewals are possible at the discretion of the Prime Minister.
The table below sets out the tenure end dates of the current permanent secretary group.
Permanent Secretary | Role | Appointment to current post | Tenure end date |
Susan Acland-Hood | Permanent Secretary DFE | 01/09/2020 | 6/12/2025 |
Madeleine Alessandri | Chair Joint Intelligence Committee | 01/07/2023 | 30/06/2026 |
Sam Beckett | Second Permanent Secretary HMT | 31/05/2023 | 30/05/2028 |
Graeme Biggar | Director General NCA | 15/08/2022 | 14/08/2027 |
James Bowler | Permanent Secretary HMT | 17/10/2022 | 16/10/2027 |
Gareth Davies | Permanent Secretary DBT | 07/02/2023 | 06/02/2028 |
Jessica DeMounteney | First Parliamentary Counsel | 01/05/2024 | 30/04/2029 |
Ian Diamond | Permanent Secretary ONS | 20/08/2019 | 31/03/2028 |
Nick Dyer | Second Permanent under Secretary FCDO | 03/07/2023 | 02/07/2028 |
Michael Ellam | Second Permanent Secretary European Union and International Economic Affairs CO | 13/01/2025 | 12/01/2030 |
Tamara Finkelstein*** | Permanent Secretary Defra | 19/06/2019 | 18/06/2029 |
Andrew Goodall* | Permanent Secretary Welsh Government | 01/11/2021 | 31/10/2026 |
Joe Griffin | Permanent Secretary Scottish Government | 06/04/2025 | 05/04/2030 |
Jenny Harries*** | Chief Executive UKHSA | 01/04/2021 | 31/03/2026 |
Julie Harrison | Permanent Secretary NIO | 06/09/2023 | 05/09/2028 |
Sarah Healey | Permanent Secretary MHCLG | 07/02/2023 | 06/02/2028 |
Anne Keast-Butler | Director GCHQ | 12/05/2023 | 11/05/2028 |
Bernadette Kelly | Permanent Secretary DFT | 18/04/2017 | 13/06/2025 |
Cat Little | Permanent Secretary CO | 02/04/2024 | 01/04/2029 |
Angela MacDonald | Second Permanent Secretary HMRC | 01/08/2020 | 31/07/2025 |
JP Marks | Permanent Secretary HMRC | 06/04/2025 | 05/04/2030 |
Clive Maxwell | Second Permanent Secretary DESNZ | 06/02/2023 | 11/11/2027 |
Ken McCallum | Director General Security Service | 25/04/2020 | 24/04/2030 |
Susanna McGibbon | Treasury Solicitor and Permanent Secretary GLD | 08/03/2021 | 07/03/2026 |
Angela McLean | Government Chief Scientific Adviser | 01/04/2023 | 31/03/2028 |
Maddy McTernan | Chief of Defence Nuclear MoD | 06/09/2023 | 05/09/2028 |
Richard Moore | Chief Secret Intelligence Service | 01/10/2020 | 30/09/2025 |
Sarah Munby*** | Permanent Secretary DSIT | 02/02/2023 | 01/02/2028 |
Stephen Parkinson | Director of Public Prosecutions CPS | 01/11/2023 | 31/10/2028 |
Jeremy Pocklington | Permanent Secretary DESNZ | 07/02/2023 | 06/02/2028 |
Simon Ridley | Second Permanent Secretary HO | 18/04/2023 | 17/04/2028 |
Tom Riordan | Second Permanent Secretary DHSC | 23/09/2024 | 22/09/2029 |
Oliver Robbins | Permanent under Secretary FCDO | 13/01/2025 | 12/01/2030 |
Antonia Romeo | Permanent Secretary MoJ | 14/04/2025 | 13/04/2030 |
Beth Russell | Second Permanent Secretary HMT | 17/10/2022 | 17/10/2027 |
Peter Schofield | Permanent Secretary DWP | 16/01/2018 | 15/01/2026 |
Jo Shanmugalingam | Second Permanent Secretary DFT | 30/05/2023 | 29/05/2028 |
Andy Start** | Chief Executive DE&S | 05/09/2022 | 04/09/2025 |
Susannah Storey | Permanent Secretary DCMS | 10/07/2023 | 09/07/2028 |
Clara Swinson | Second Permanent Secretary Mission Delivery Unit, CO | 16/09/2024 | 15/09/2029 |
Chris Whitty | Chief Medical Officer DHSC | 01/10/2019 | 30/09/2029 |
David Williams | Permanent Secretary MOD | 06/04/2021 | 05/04/2026 |
Chris Wormald | Cabinet Secretary | 16/12/2024 | 15/12/2029 |
*Andrew Goodall is on secondment from NHS Wales
**Andy Start is on a Fixed Term contract
*** Tamara Finkelstein, Jenny Harries and Sarah Munby are leaving the Civil Service in Summer 2025, and therefore before their tenure end date
Asked by: Lord Agnew of Oulton (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent on 7 April (HL6019), whether the Cabinet Office holds unpublished internal guidance on the performance management process for Permanent Secretaries; and, if so, whether they will place a copy of that guidance in the Library of the House.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
There is no unpublished internal guidance on the performance management process for Permanent Secretaries. The process follows the principles outlined in the performance management guidance for Senior Civil Servants which is published on GOV.UK: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67a391127da1f1ac64e5ff25/Final_2025-26_SCS_PM_Framework_published.pdf
Asked by: Lord Agnew of Oulton (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent on 15 April (HL6395), whether the Cabinet Office holds a central record of the names of the secretaries assigned to support each Cabinet committee listed in the List of Cabinet Committees, published on 21 October 2024; and, if so, whether they will place a copy of that record in the Library of the House.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Cabinet Secretariat works on behalf of the Cabinet Secretary to support Cabinet committees. The Cabinet Office has no plans to place a list of all the officials working in the Secretariat in the Library of the House.
Asked by: Lord Agnew of Oulton (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent on 6 March (HL5057), whether they will place in the Library of the House a copy of the comprehensive fraud risk assessments undertaken for the Infected Blood Compensation Scheme.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Infected Blood Compensation Authority (IBCA) is committed to being open and transparent, however, fraud risk assessments are sensitive documents, therefore they are not intended for public release.