Asked by: Steve Barclay (Conservative - North East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will list all civil service roles that have been (a) internally and (b) externally-advertised between 4 July 2024 and 11 February 2025.
Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare
Between 4 July 2024 and 11 February 2025, approximately 8,000 vacancies were advertised through the Civil Service Jobs website. To note, an advertised vacancy may contain a number of posts, hence the variance between the number of vacancies and the number of roles in the table below. Listing all of these roles individually could only be done at disproportionate cost.
However, aggregate data is provided. Any recruitment conducted outside the Civil Service Jobs portal will not be included in these figures.
Approach | Number of vacancies | % of total | Number of roles | % of total |
External | 3749 | 47.47% | 15002 | 68.76% |
Internal/across government | 4149 | 52.53% | 6815 | 31.24% |
Total | 7898 |
| 21,817 |
|
Asked by: Steve Barclay (Conservative - North East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, to provide a breakdown by (a) department and (b) job title of senior civil service jobs (i) offered and (ii) appointed since 30 May 2024.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The information held by the Cabinet Office relating to the Senior Civil Service shows there have been 43 offers made and 41 candidates posted/taken up duty since 30th May 2024. Recruitment data from some departments is collected on a biannual basis by the Cabinet Office.
Please see the full breakdown of the data held centrally on the below table.
Department | VacancyTitle | Grade | Number of vacancies | Number of jobs | Offer Reached | Candidates Posted |
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs | DG Food Biosecurity and Trade | SCS 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
Department of Health and Social Care | DG NHS Ten Year Plan | SCS 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Department for Science, Innovation and Technology | DG Digital Centre | SCS 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Maritime and Coastguard Agency | Director of People & Safety | SCS Pay Band 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Department for Transport | Deputy Director Strategy and Programme, Euston Directorate (Maternity contract) | SCS Pay Band 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Department for Business and Trade | Director, Consumer and Competition Policy | SCS Pay Band 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Department for Transport | Deputy Director – Policy Sponsorship (Roads investment Strategy) | SCS Pay Band 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Department for Business and Trade | Director, Grants Delivery | SCS Pay Band 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Cabinet Office | SCS2 Director Digital Service Owner (Infected Blood Compensation Authority) - EOI (6-9 months initially) | SCS Pay Band 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
HM Treasury | Deputy Director - Government Financial Reporting (12 Month Fixed Term Appointment) | SCS Pay Band 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Department of Health and Social Care | Head of Statistics and Data Science team- Closing date extended to 28th May 23:55 | SCS Pay Band 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Department for Energy Security & Net Zero | Deputy Director Energy Security and Resilience Analysis Team (ESRA) | SCS Pay Band 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Department for Business and Trade | Deputy Director - Futures and Green Strategy Unit | SCS Pay Band 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science | Senior Responsible Owner – Cefas Future Delivery at Sea | SCS Pay Band 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Cabinet Office | Deputy Director Counter-Terrorism and Serious Organised Crime | SCS Pay Band 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Cabinet Office | Deputy Director, Public Services | SCS Pay Band 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Cabinet Office | Deputy Director, Defence | SCS Pay Band 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Cabinet Office | SCS1 Deputy Director Middle East Strategy Cell, National Security Secretariat - EOI (6 months) | SCS Pay Band 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Cabinet Office | SCS2 Director Communications (Infected Blood Compensation Authority) - EOI (6-9 months initially) | SCS Pay Band 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Cabinet Office | Deputy Director, i.AI Strategy and Business Engagement | SCS Pay Band 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (Internal) | Deputy Director, Legal Counsellor, Joint Head Sanctions and Asia Pacific Team | SCS Pay Band 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Department for Energy Security & Net Zero | Deputy Director for Operating Model & Organisational Capability Programmes | SCS Pay Band 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
Department for Work and Pensions | Deputy Director Talent and Apprenticeships (Part-Time)? | SCS Pay Band 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science | Director of Strategy and Delivery | SCS Pay Band 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Department for Energy Security & Net Zero | Deputy Director, Net Zero Strategy Directorate | SCS Pay Band 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 |
HM Treasury | Deputy Director, Financial Services Strategy | SCS Pay Band 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Department for Work and Pensions | Deputy Director, Group Strategy and Coordination | SCS Pay Band 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
National Crime Agency | Deputy Director HR Delivery Services | SCS Pay Band 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Department for Business and Trade | Senior Investment Partner, Office for Investment | SCS Pay Band 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Cabinet Office | SCS2 Director Operations (Infected Blood Compensation Authority) - EOI (6-9 months initially) | SCS Pay Band 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Department for Energy Security & Net Zero | Deputy Director for Shared Services, | SCS Pay Band 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Department for Business and Trade | UK Pavilion Director – Osaka World Expo 2025 | SCS Pay Band 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Department for Energy Security & Net Zero | Deputy Director, Smart Metering Implementation Programme, Stewardship Team | SCS Pay Band 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Department for Culture, Media and Sport | Deputy Director, BBC Policy | SCS Pay Band 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
Department for Science, Innovation and Technology | Deputy Director, Head of Office for Quantum Technologies | SCS Pay Band 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
HM Treasury | Deputy Director, Education & Skills | SCS Pay Band 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Cabinet Office | Deputy Director National Security Communications | SCS Pay Band 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
Asked by: Steve Barclay (Conservative - North East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many non-executive directors have had their contract of employment terminated since 5 July 2024.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster appoints Non-Executive Board Members to the Cabinet Office Board and most Non-Executive Directors to the Boards of its Arm’s Length Bodies in compliance with the Governance Code on Public Appointments. Non-Executives are not employees and therefore contracts of employment are not issued, Non-Executives receive terms of agreement for their roles instead.
Since 5 July 2024, seven Cabinet Office Non-Executive Board Members have been provided with one month’s written notice for the termination of their appointments before the end of the fixed period as set out in their terms of agreement.
It is normal practice for incoming Ministers to make decisions on their own departmental boards, including the skills and experience that membership brings.
Asked by: Steve Barclay (Conservative - North East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the contract of employment for non-executive directors has been fully complied with since 5 July 2024.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster appoints Non-Executive Board Members to the Cabinet Office Board and most Non-Executive Directors to the Boards of its Arm’s Length Bodies in compliance with the Governance Code on Public Appointments. Non-Executives are not employees, therefore contracts of employment are not issued. Non-Executives receive terms of agreement for their roles instead.
The Cabinet Office has been fully compliant with the terms of agreement between its Non-Executive Board Members since 5 July 2024.
Asked by: Steve Barclay (Conservative - North East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the Government's policy was on external by default for recruitment to senior civil service roles by (a) department and (b) organisation on (i) 30 May 2024 and (ii) 23 July 2024.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The Civil Service advertises all SCS vacancies on the principle of External by Default.
External by Default means that vacancies will be open to external candidates outside the Civil Service, as well as existing civil servants, unless an exception applies. Use of exemptions for any post must be approved by the Departmental Minister or Permanent Secretary in Non-Ministerial Departments.
This policy applies to all Ministerial departments, Non-Ministerial departments, Executive Agencies and Crown Non-Departmental Public Bodies.
This policy was applicable on 30 May 2024 and 23 July 2024.
On the 30 May 2024, in accordance with the General Election Guidance 2024, any appointments that required approval by the Prime Minister, and other Civil Service and public appointments likely to prove sensitive (including those where Ministers have delegated decisions to officials or other authorities) were frozen until after the election, except in exceptional circumstances (General Election Guidance, Section H, para 1-4).
Where an appointment was required to be made, because the role was urgent or critical, and including where necessary sensitive SCS positions, the role could be filled on a temporary basis by exception. The principle of external by default for all SCS recruitment was maintained during the pre-election period. Any temporary appointments were subject to approval via the exemption process (Civil Service Recruitment Framework 2022). During the pre-election period, approval for urgent exemptions to external by default could be made by Permanent Secretaries where Ministerial availability was limited.
Responsibility for adhering to pre-election guidance in relation to recruitment sat with the hiring department.