Asked by: John Glen (Conservative - Salisbury)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether the Director General for Digital Centre Design was interviewed by the civil service before her appointment; whether she formally applied for the job in writing; and if he will publish the letter authorising her appointment.
Answered by Feryal Clark
The appointment of the Director General Digital Centre Design was made as an approved exception to full external recruitment.
The creation of the role, recruitment approach and proposed candidate all received the appropriate approvals prior to confirmation of the appointment. We attach as an Annex approval from the Civil Service Commission on appointment via Exception 1 – Temporary Appointments.
Asked by: John Glen (Conservative - Salisbury)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how many people have been appointed to civil service positions without open competition in his Department since the general election; what their (a) job titles and (b) salary bands are; and on what basis each was appointed.
Answered by Feryal Clark
The Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010 requires that selection to the Civil Service must be on merit, on the basis of fair and open competition. There may be instances where a role may meet the requirements for use of a Civil Service Commission (CSC) exception. The Department for Science, Innovation & Technology (DSIT) uses these exceptions to draw on scientific and technical expertise and talent, including through the Expert Exchange Programme.
Since 5 July 2024, DSIT has made 34 appointments without open competition. Personal data such as salaries cannot be released under data processing policies.
Asked by: John Glen (Conservative - Salisbury)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what (a) direct ministerial and (b) other public appointments to his Department and associated bodies have (i) been (A) removed from their posts and (B) asked to resign and (ii) made since 4 July 2024.
Answered by Feryal Clark
Departments do not routinely record and collect the reasons why appointees leave their positions, so are not in a position to answer this part of the question. Additionally, the reasons why an appointee has left their role is the appointee’s personal information and identifiable and would elicit GDPR considerations.
I refer the Right Honourable Member to the answer I gave on Monday 9 September to Question UIN 2400. Additionally, since then Martha Lane Fox (Co-Chair), Poppy Gustafsson, Paul Willmott (Co-Chair), Jeni Tennison, Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon, Lou Cordwell, Aaron Maniam, David Eaves, Sarah Hunter, Lisa Harrington, Josie Cluer and Lord Richard Allan have been appointed as members of the Digital Centre Design Panel. An announcement containing further details is published here.
Public Appointments are routinely published in the public domain using the Cabinet Office digital service and the sites of the Public Bodies concerned.
Asked by: John Glen (Conservative - Salisbury)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what the salary is of the Director General for Digital Centre Design.
Answered by Feryal Clark
Director General salaries are published as part of standard transparency publications on the Gov.uk website. The next publication will be published in due course.
Asked by: John Glen (Conservative - Salisbury)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if she will publish the submission that authorised the appointment of Ms Emily Middleton.
Answered by Feryal Clark
Yes. The department will publish the submission relating to the approval of Emily Middleton's appointment in due course on the department’s GOV.uk pages in response to a Freedom of Information request.
Asked by: John Glen (Conservative - Salisbury)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what plans he has to revise the guidance entitled Non-corporate communication channels for government business, published on 30 March 2023, in relation to the use of WhatsApp on private devices.
Answered by Feryal Clark
The guidance “Using non-corporate communication channels (e.g. WhatsApp, private email, SMS) for government business” will be reviewed on or before 31 December 2025.
Asked by: John Glen (Conservative - Salisbury)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what his policy is on the use of digital ID; and whether he has received representations from (a) Tony Blair and (b) his representatives on digital ID.
Answered by Feryal Clark
The Department has not had any representations from Tony Blair or his representatives on digital identity.
The Government’s policy is to enable digital identity services – which already exist – to be more trusted and secure.
The Digital Information and Smart Data Bill, announced in the King’s Speech, will include measures to support the creation and adoption of secure and trusted digital identity products and services from certified providers to those who want to use them.
Asked by: John Glen (Conservative - Salisbury)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether the Government has plans to use AI to help read responses to consultations.
Answered by Feryal Clark
The Incubator for Artificial Intelligence (i.AI) is building an AI tool called Consult, which uses topic modelling to extract common themes from consultation responses. To ensure transparency for users, Consult presents these themes alongside the raw data. The tool is currently being tested with past consultations, whether it goes on to be used will depend on the outcomes of extensive testing and evaluation.
Asked by: John Glen (Conservative - Salisbury)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether he plans to use Al to (a) increase productivity and (b) reduce headcount in the civil service.
Answered by Feryal Clark
The Digital Centre and individual departments are exploring the potential benefits of AI to enhance productivity. CDDO has and will continue to assess the potential impacts of AI on public service productivity, and is collaborating with departments to explore AI opportunities aimed at enhancing Civil Service productivity, including trials to assess the real-world impact.
Decisions on the future size of the Civil Service will form a key part of the next comprehensive Spending Review. Therefore, a proper and full consideration, including AI, will be given to this in due course, and the Cabinet Office will work closely with HM Treasury on the development of these plans.