Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the longest duration an individual has been employed under an off-payroll engagement contract within his Department is.

The majority of off payroll engagements within the Department are short term in nature. In respect to engagements >£245 day rate reported in 2022-23, 86% of these engagements were less than two years. Engagement of individuals under off-payroll terms for longer periods of time are therefore unusual but do arise where the Department is unable to recruit deep specialists on a permanent basis.

As at 31 March 2023, the longest duration an individual paid more than £245 per day, had been employed under an off-payroll engagement contract was 14 years and seven months. This relates to an engagement in the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE).

Such individuals are specialist contractors who hold niche skill sets such as in the AWE case. Having specialist contractors can also be a determining factor for long standing collaborative programmes with international partners.