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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the government transparency data, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for government’s most important contracts, Data for October to December 2025 for all departments, published on 31 March 2026, for what reasons the ICF Consulting Services Limited contract for Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Services requires the supplier to ensure that 50% or more of professional staff within the core team for service orders are female or non-binary.

The referenced KPI in Defra’s contract with ICF does not require the supplier to ensure that 50% or more of professional staff within the core team for service orders are female or non-binary, nor does it impose any minimum staffing requirement.

Instead, the KPI reports the proportion of professional staff within the core team who are female or non-binary, assessing performance against three published bands: below 25%, 25–49%, and 50% or above. The supplier reported within the highest band in the published data, which is likely the source of the 50% figure cited.

This form of reporting is intended to provide transparency on workforce composition within significant contracts and reflects both Defra’s approach to considering diversity as part of its wider procurement framework and the supplier’s own stated values.