Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 4 April 2025 to Question 40311, if she will provide an updated figure for the number of staff in her Department who currently hold valid Russian-language examination passes at C1 level or above.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Almost 100 valid Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) qualifications in Russian are currently held at C1 level or above by FCDO staff, and almost 75 in Mandarin. Exam passes are valid for five years. Some staff may concurrently hold a valid C1 and C2 pass. As previously explained to the Hon. Member, these figures alone do not provide an accurate measure of FCDO staff language capabilities as staff may hold a non-FCDO language qualification or be a native speaker.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many people have been employed by the (a) Charity Commission and (b) Gambling Commission in each year since 2005.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Information regarding employment levels at the Charity Commission and Gambling Commission is included in each public body’s annual report and accounts. These are published annually on GOV.UK.

The average number of employees in each year since 2005 is detailed in the following table:

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 28 March 2025 to Question 40312 on China: Diplomatic Service, how many staff in her Department have achieved Mandarin qualifications at (a) C1 and (b) C2 level under the CEFR scale in the past five years for which the latest data is available.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Almost 100 valid Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) qualifications in Russian are currently held at C1 level or above by FCDO staff, and almost 75 in Mandarin. Exam passes are valid for five years. Some staff may concurrently hold a valid C1 and C2 pass. As previously explained to the Hon. Member, these figures alone do not provide an accurate measure of FCDO staff language capabilities as staff may hold a non-FCDO language qualification or be a native speaker.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the annual budget was for (a) Natural England, (b) the Environment Agency, and (c) the Office for Environmental Protection in each year since 2005.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The annual budget figures for Natural England, the Environment Agency, and the Office for Environmental Protection in each year since 2005 can be found as follows.

Natural England’s actual spend data can be found in their Annual Report and Accounts, which are published here: Natural England annual reports and accounts - GOV.UK.

Environment Agency’s actual spend data can be found in their Annual Report and Accounts, which are published here: Environment Agency annual reports and accounts - GOV.UK.

The Office for Environmental Protection’s actual spend data can be found in their Annual Report and Accounts, which are published here: Our reports and publications | Office for Environmental Protection.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many (a) Equality Impact Assessments and (b) equality screenings have been produced by her Department in the last three months.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Department does not maintain a central record of the number of EIAs produced.

Equality screenings are a requirement under Northern Ireland’s Section 75 framework and are not part of standard equality assessment practice in Great Britain.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many employment tribunal claims have been lodged against his Department for (a) unfair dismissal and (b) claims under the Equality Act 2010 in each of the last five years.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department has defined an employment tribunal claim as a formal submission which includes claims made against the Department, excluding arm's-length bodies, and submitted to an Employment Tribunal, for which the Department has responded by submitting a grounds for resistance. Early conciliations, which are the step ahead of a claim submission, are not included in this definition.

Employment Tribunal data is not readily available prior to 2023. As such, the Department only has access to employment tribunal information for the period of 2023 to 2025. During this period, six employment tribunal claims have been lodged citing unfair dismissal. Our records do not show claims listed with a specific reference to the Equality Act 2010.

We are unable to provide further information about specific years due to the low numbers involved in each year which could lead to the identification of individuals.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many PIP claimants had active contracts with the Motability Scheme in (a) the East Midlands, (b) the West Midlands and (c) the East of England in March of each of the last five years up to 2025.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The information requested is provided in the table below as a snapshot of the PIP caseload with active Motability contracts in July of each of the last 5 years.

Notes

- Figures have been rounded to the nearest 100.

- Figures include both Normal Rules and Special Rules for End of Life claimants.

- Yearly figures are a snapshot of the PIP caseload with an active Motability contract in July of each of the last 5 years.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many PIP claimants had active contracts with the Motability Scheme in (a) the North East, (b) the North West and (c) Yorkshire and the Humber in March of each of the last five years up to 2025.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The information requested is provided in the table below as a snapshot of the PIP caseload with active Motability contracts in July of each of the last 5 years.

Notes

- Figures have been rounded to the nearest 100.

- Figures include both Normal Rules and Special Rules for End of Life claimants.

- Yearly figures are a snapshot of the PIP caseload with an active Motability contract in July of each of the last 5 years.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many PIP claimants had active contracts with the Motability Scheme in (a) London, (b) the South East, (c) the South West and (d) Wales in March of each of the last five years up to 2025.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The information requested is provided in the table below as a snapshot of the PIP caseload with active Motability contracts in July of each of the last 5 years.

Notes

- Figures have been rounded to the nearest 100.

- Figures include both Normal Rules and Special Rules for End of Life claimants.

- Yearly figures are a snapshot of the PIP caseload with an active Motability contract in July of each of the last 5 years.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many people have been employed by (a) the Water Services Regulation Authority and (b) the Forestry Commission in each year since 2005.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Water Services Regulation Authority (Ofwat) publishes figures on staff numbers and budget in its annual report and accounts. These can be found listed on GOV.UK or among Ofwat’s other publications on its website. The sharp rise in both budget and staffing from 2023 reflects Ofwat’s expanded regulatory role, including oversight of water companies’ commitments for 2025-2030.

The Forestry Commission publishes figures on staff numbers and budget in its annual report and accounts. These are publicly available on GOV.UK. Forestry England, an agency of the Forestry Commission, self-generates a significant proportion of its income.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the annual budget was for the (a) Water Services Regulation Authority and (b) Forestry Commission in each year since 2005.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Water Services Regulation Authority (Ofwat) publishes figures on staff numbers and budget in its annual report and accounts. These can be found listed on GOV.UK or among Ofwat’s other publications on its website. The sharp rise in both budget and staffing from 2023 reflects Ofwat’s expanded regulatory role, including oversight of water companies’ commitments for 2025-2030.

The Forestry Commission publishes figures on staff numbers and budget in its annual report and accounts. These are publicly available on GOV.UK. Forestry England, an agency of the Forestry Commission, self-generates a significant proportion of its income.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many (a) Equality Impact Assessments and (b) equality screenings have been produced by her Department in the last three months.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

In line with the Equality Act 2010, Defra encourages and promotes the completion of Equality Impact Assessments to ensure our policies and decisions consider impacts on protected groups.

Defra does not hold information centrally on Equality Impact Assessments that have been produced by the department and is therefore unable provide details on the number produced. We do not carry out Equality Screenings, instead requiring teams to always demonstrate due regard to the aims of the Act and use the Equality Impact Assessment form.

To provide the information requested Defra would be required to contact all teams and this would incur disproportionate costs.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Disability Living Allowance claimants had active contracts with the Motability Scheme in (a) the East Midlands, (b) the West Midlands, and (c) the East of England in March of each of the last five years up to 2025.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Information on Disability Living Allowance claimants with an active Motability Scheme is not held centrally for analytical purposes. Such information could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Disability Living Allowance claimants had active contracts with the Motability Scheme in (a) the North East, (b) the North West, and (c) Yorkshire and the Humber in March of each of the last five years up to 2025.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Information on Disability Living Allowance claimants with an active Motability Scheme is not held centrally for analytical purposes. Such information could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Disability Living Allowance claimants had active contracts with the Motability Scheme in (a) London, (b) the South East, (c) the South West, and (d) Wales in March of each of the last five years up to 2025.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Information on Disability Living Allowance claimants with an active Motability Scheme is not held centrally for analytical purposes. Such information could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 8 May 2025 to Question 45822 on Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Equality, for what reason her Department no longer holds that information centrally.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs does not hold information centrally on job titles and has not done so in the past. Collating this information would come at a disproportionate cost.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many performance reviews were undertaken for staff in (a) his Department and (b) its agencies in each of the last five years; in how many of those cases performance was rated as unsatisfactory or below; how many staff left as a result of such a rating; and what proportion of full-time equivalent staff this represented.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Senior civil servants (SCS) and delegated grades, non-SCS staff, follow different performance management frameworks. SCS staff operate within the framework for SCS performance management prescribed by the Cabinet Office. For delegated performance there is a flexible framework that requires departments to reflect a number of core elements in their approach, including differentiating performance, addressing under and poor performance, and addressing diversity and inclusion.

In the Department of Health and Social Care, the policy is that all individuals should have monthly reviews and performance ratings that are collated and returned to human resources mid-year, in October, and at the end of the year, in April. Whilst the Department of Health and Social Care only collected data for delegated grades for the 2024/25 performance year, it has complete data for SCS staff for the last five years. The following table shows the number of end of year performance ratings returned from 2020/21 to 2024/25:

Furthermore, the following table shows how many were rated as unsatisfactory or below, or the equivalent ratings used by the relevant organisations, on each occasion, from 2020/21 to 2024/25:

Note: *[c] means confidential and suppressed due to small numbers of less than five.

The Department of Health and Social Care does not hold data on how many staff left as a result of an unsatisfactory performance rating.

In the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), the policy is that all individuals should have monthly performance conversations, and performance ratings are collated and returned to human resources at end of year in April. The UKHSA only collected data for delegated grades for the 2024/25 performance year but has complete data for SCS staff for the last five years. The MHRA did not collect data for delegated grades or SCS staff for the 2020/21 and 2021/22 performance years. The following table shows the number of performance reviews undertaken by the UKHSA and the MHRA in the last five years:

In addition, the following table shows how many were rated as unsatisfactory or below, or the equivalent ratings used by the relevant organisations, on each occasion, for each of the last five years:

Note: *[c] means confidential and suppressed due to small numbers of less than five.

The UKHSA does not hold data on how many staff left as a result of an unsatisfactory performance rating. The following table shows the number of full time equivalent (FTE) staff at the MHRA and the percentage of the staff who left due to unsatisfactory ratings, for each of the last five years:

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many staff in his Department (a) did not retain employment following the completion of their probationary period and (b) had their probationary period extended in each of the last five years.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department’s probation policy and guidance advises managers on the steps to take to assess a new employee’s suitability for the post and to provide support to enable them to succeed. It also advises on the steps to take where performance, attendance, or conduct are not satisfactory. This can include exiting the employee or extending their probation to provide further evidence for a final decision on their suitability.

The number of staff in the Department who did not retain employment following the completion of their probationary period, and those whose probationary period was extended, in each of the last five years is set out below:

- in 2025, four staff did not retain employment and four had their probationary period extended;

- in 2024, two staff did not retain employment and two had their probationary period extended;

- in 2023, there were no staff who did not retain employment and no staff had their probationary period extended;

- in 2022, four staff did not retain employment and three had their probationary period extended;

- in 2021, one staff member did not retain employment and one had their probationary period extended.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the average number of working days lost to sickness absence per full-time equivalent member of staff was in (a) the Department and (b) its executive agencies in the last year; and how many formal performance warnings were issued to staff whose absence exceeded departmental triggers.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The figures below are calculated as a rolling 12-month period up until 31st October 2025.

1. The Average Working Days Lost for the Department is currently 4.2.

2. The table below shows the average working days lost for the Department’s Executive Agencies

The total number of formal performance warnings issued to staff who exceeded departmental triggers for the Department for Transport and its Executive Agencies for the rolling 12-month period up until 31st October 2025 is 21.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many and what proportion of staff were promoted (a) in-grade and (b) to a higher grade in the last year broken down by (i) performance marking in the previous year and (ii) grade.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many disciplinary cases were concluded against civil servants in (a) the Department and (b) its agencies broken down by (i) outcome and (ii) whether the primary allegation related to (A) performance and (B) conduct.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Over the past 12 months (1^st November 2024 to 31^st October 2025), a total of 247 ‘Discipline’ cases and 58 ‘Managing Poor Performance’ cases have been concluded in the Department for Transport’s central department and its Executive Agencies. A breakdown of the outcomes for these cases is captured in the 2 tables below.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many and what proportion of staff in each grade were rated in the top performance category in the last year.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The table below shows the number and proportion of each non-Senior Civil Service (SCS) grade receiving the top performance category at the end of 2024/25 for DfTc.

The SCS have a separate performance management system. For the 2024/25 performance year, 20.3% of Group DfT SCS received a top performance category, following departmental moderation processes.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the total cost was of (a) settlement agreements and (b) special severance payments made to departing staff in the last year.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

For the last year (1^st November 2024 to 31^st October 2025), there have been no settlement agreements or special severance payments made to departing Department for Transport central staff outside of statutory, contractual or other requirements.

Found: Letter dated 18/11/2025 from Louise Sandher-Jones MP to Neil O'Brien MP in response to a Written Parliamentary