Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many unpaid (a) interns and (b) other staff work in the office of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in his Department, the hon. Member for Keighley.

None.

More broadly, the Department is committed to offering internships through a number of Whitehall and departmental programs. The majority of our interns are recruited from central Civil Service Diversity programs. This includes the Whitehall Internship, a 2 week funded residential placement aimed at improving workplace skills for students aged 16-18 from underrepresented groups, and the Fast Stream Summer Diversity Internship, which aims to encourage a more diverse mix of applicants for the Civil Service Fast Stream program. Our departmental internships are short-term development opportunities hosted by the Department, which are advertised on the Civil Service jobs website.