Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many civil servants across all departments were awarded performance bonuses in the financial year 2024-2025.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Departments are responsible for administering any in year and end of year performance bonuses to their staff. The majority of departments are in the process of finalising performance markings for the 2024/25 performance year, which will determine who will be eligible for an end of year performance bonus. Departments should therefore hold the information requested by Autumn 2025.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many civil servants were subject to formal disciplinary proceedings in each of the last three years.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Individual departments are responsible for their own discipline policies and guidance in place, which include details of formal processes and procedures. These will be aligned to the Civil Service Code and the Civil Service Management Code which set out the standards and behaviour expected from all employees. Departments will collect information as required in their own department in accordance with GDPR.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many and what proportion of civil servants have received formal performance ratings of underperforming or equivalent in each department in each of the last five years.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Departments have delegated responsibility for monitoring and reporting on civil servants performance ratings via their internal governance arrangements.
Information on how many civil servants in departments have received formal performance ratings of underperforming is therefore not held centrally.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make it his policy to require Departments to publish disaggregated statistics on public service usage by immigration status.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The Office for National Statistics collects and publishes just under 50% of our national statistics. The rest of our national statistics are collected and published by each relevant department.
There are no plans to change the current requirements for departments.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what plans he has to review the Government's provision of sex-specific (a) facilities and (b) services in government buildings, in the context of the UK Supreme Court judgement in the case of For Women Scotland v The Scottish Ministers of 16 April 2025.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
We will review and update policy wherever necessary to ensure it complies with the latest legal requirements.
We will consult with our Government Legal Department and Kings Counsel Lawyers who specialise in employment law.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the UK Supreme Court judgement in the case of For Women Scotland v The Scottish Ministers of 16 April 2025, if he will take steps to apply the biological definition of a woman to all (a) policies and (b) communications.
Answered by Nia Griffith
The Supreme Court’s ruling makes clear that for the purposes of the Equality Act, the term ‘woman’ refers to a biological woman. The ruling has provided clarity for women and service providers such as hospitals, refuges and sports clubs. This Government will continue to protect single-sex spaces based on biological sex.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission has already committed to supporting service providers with updated guidance; they will consult widely as they develop this. All government departments should follow the clarity the ruling provides.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department plans to issue guidance to civil servants on the use of sex-based language, in the context of the Supreme Court ruling on For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers.
Answered by Nia Griffith
The Supreme Court’s ruling makes clear that for the purposes of the Equality Act, the term ‘woman’ refers to a biological woman. The ruling has provided clarity for women and service providers such as hospitals, refuges and sports clubs. This Government will continue to protect single-sex spaces based on biological sex.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission has already committed to supporting service providers with updated guidance; they will consult widely as they develop this. All government departments should follow the clarity the ruling provides.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department has issued guidance on the (a) use of evidence and (b) status of the findings of (i) non-statutory and (ii) statutory inquiries into failures by public institutions.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Cabinet Office provides advice and guidance to Ministers and officials on statutory and non statutory public inquiries.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what plans he has to review Civil Service human resources policies, in the context of the UK Supreme Court judgement in the case of For Women Scotland v The Scottish Ministers of 16 April 2025.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The Cabinet Office review and update policy where necessary to ensure it complies with the latest legal requirements, including the UK Supreme Court Judgment in the case of For Women Scotland v The Scottish Ministers.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what (a) religious and (b) cultural holidays are observed by their Department.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
As a UK Civil Service department, the Cabinet Office only formally observes the government-set bank holidays.