Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many former hon. Members hold (a) paid and (b) unpaid roles within his Department as of 17 July 2018.

Nicola Blackwood and Laura Sandys both hold paid roles as the Chair of the Human Tissue Authority and Deputy Chair of the Food Standards Agency, respectively. Both were appointed on merit following open competition, and in line with the Governance Code on Public Appointments. Nicola Blackwood was previously the hon. Member for Oxford West and Abingdon (2010-17) and Laura Sandys was the hon. Member for South Thanet (2010-2015).

The Department does not hold central information on the former roles of its employees. All recruitment within the Department is conducted in line with the Civil Service Commissioner’s recruitment principles and all civil servants adhere to the Civil Service code.