Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many and what proportion of civil servants in his Department are (a) on temporary contract and (b) consultants.
Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Information on the number of civil servants employed on temporary contracts is published quarterly by the Office for National Statistics as part of the quarterly Public Sector Employment statistics. Information can be accessed for September 2025 at the following:
Departmental expenditure on consultancy is published within the Annual Report and Accounts. The latest report for FY 2024/25 can be found at the following web address:
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many full-time equivalent staff in his Department have been employed for the purpose of making social media content in each of the past three years.
Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Due to the difficulty of disaggregating the number of staff who are employed to produce social media content from staff who are employed to work on broader digital communications, it is not possible to report exact figures in response to this question.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many (a) single sex and (b) gender neutral bathroom facilities his Department provides in its Whitehall premises.
Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The Northern Ireland Office is a tenant within Erskine House in Belfast, and 1 Horse Guards Road London. This building is managed by the Government Property Agency and as a tenant, the Northern Ireland Office does not hold information regarding bathroom facilities in respect of these offices.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many days the Union Flag was flown on his Department's main buildings in (a) 2024 and (b) 2025 to date.
Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The Northern Ireland Office is a tenant within two UK Government Hubs, one is located at Erskine House in Belfast, and the other at 1 Horse Guards Road London. Our Belfast office is managed by HM Revenue & Customs and our London office is managed by the Government Property Agency. As a tenant, the Northern Ireland Office does not hold information regarding flag flying in respect of these offices.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether his Department has spent money on promotion through social media influencers since July 2024.
Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The Northern Ireland Office has not spent money on social media influencers since July 2024.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how much his Department has spent on equipment for civil servants to work from home in each of the last three years.
Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The Northern Ireland Office has spent the following on the provision of equipment for use at home in order to facilitate workplace adjustments:
Year | Expenditure |
2022 | £2,103.23 |
2023 | £27.98 |
2024 | £22.09 |
The Northern Ireland Office has adopted the Civil Service Smarter Working model, with the majority of our staff designated as hybrid workers. As set out by the Cabinet Office, staff are expected to spend a minimum of 3 days a week, or 60% of their time in the office, or on official visits.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what steps he is taking to increase the number of apprenticeship starts in his Department.
Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The Northern Ireland Office remains committed to supporting the use of apprenticeships across all government departments to break down barriers to opportunity. This includes supporting the Government’s commitment to 2,000 digital apprenticeships through its TechTrack scheme by 2030 to improve digital skills and drive improvements and efficiency in public services.
Additionally, a new cross-Government Level 3 apprenticeship programme in Business Administration, The ‘Civil Service Career Launch Apprenticeship’ (CLA), will see new apprentices kickstart their careers, across various departments, starting from January 2026.
As a department, the Northern Ireland Office annually recruits a Communication Apprentice through the Government Communications Service.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what proportion of food procured by his Department is sourced in (a) the UK and (b) Northern Ireland.
Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The Northern Ireland Office does not operate any catering outlets, cafes or cafeterias within our office estate. Documentation provided by suppliers who cater official functions and events does not typically feature a proportional breakdown of food items per country of production.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, for what purposes (a) Ministers and (b) officials in his Department have used AI in the last 12 months.
Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is at the heart of the Government’s plan to kickstart an era of economic growth, transform how we deliver public services, and boost living standards for working people across the Country.
Northern Ireland Office Ministers do not use AI. A small number of officials in the department have carried out a time-limited test of the use of AI for taking meeting notes and summarising information. AI is not available to Northern Ireland Office officials at present and is the subject of ongoing discussions.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many times Ministers in his Department have visited the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland since 5 July 2024.
Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland Office Ministers have enjoyed visiting and engaging with communities, businesses, and organisations in many areas in Northern Ireland. This has included visiting the following areas close to the Border with the Republic of Ireland.
I visited Trinity Church in Clogh, Roslea Co Fermanagh where my great, great grandfather Dr. Thomas Graydon is remembered on a family gravestone; and I attended the Centre of Cross Border Studies Conference in Co Louth.
I have visited various businesses and organisations in Derry/Londonderry on 2 separate occasions.
Minister Anderson has visited communities in Newry and on two separate occasions has also visited organisations in Derry/Londonderry.