Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many staff are employed in the Policy Profession Unit; what the headcount allocation for that Unit is; what grades each civil servant who works in the Unit is; and how many of these are (a) policy professionals and (b) administrative support staff.

The Policy Profession Unit is the central unit supporting policy professionals across the UK civil service. The Unit holds the competency framework for the profession and supports policy professionals to build, maintain and grow their professional capability. The Unit also supports departments in reviewing the environment in which policy is made. Other examples of projects and initiatives the Unit runs are the new Government Policy Fast Stream, which launched in autumn 2024, the annual Policy Festival, with invited speakers from inside and outside government, and the Policy Awards, which aim to recognise high-quality contributions by individuals and teams across the civil service.

The Unit is hosted by the department, as the Permanent Secretary is the Deputy Head of the Government Policy Profession, although the Unit works across government with all departments, agencies and devolved governments.

The following table shows:

• How many staff are employed in the Policy Profession Unit on both a temporary and a permanent basis.
• The headcount for the Unit (there are currently 8 vacant posts).
• The grade mix of staff in the Unit.
• The profession mix of staff in the Unit.

The table below shows the primary government profession for each member of the Policy Profession Unit. Four of these staff provide administrative support across the Unit: