Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he plans to take to improve reporting on LGBT+ inclusion in the civil service.

The Civil Service is committed to being an LGBT+ inclusive employer. Information about the composition of the Civil Service workforce, including representation by sexual orientation, is published on gov.uk. Results of the annual Civil Service People Survey, including a breakdown by sexual orientation, are also published.

The Civil Service Diversity & Inclusion Strategy (2017) committed to increasing the number of civil servants who record their sexual orientation data on HR systems. Reporting rates are steadily increasing, and have risen to 57% in 2019. In addition, the Civil Service People Survey has since 2018 included questions to allow analysis of the experiences of transgender civil servants.

The Civil Service is also working with the Office for National Statistics and the Government Equalities Office to develop standardised questions to collect data on sexual orientation and gender identity, ensuring that data on LGBT inclusion is collected by all departments, and can be reported centrally, in a consistent way.