Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to his Department's press release entitled New DHSC Permanent Secretary Appointed, published on 22 April 2025, whether the new Permanent Secretary was appointed by (a) open and fair competition, (b) temporary appointment and (c) exception.

The Department launched a fair and open competition to appoint a Permanent Secretary in January 2025. As a result of this process, Samantha Jones was found to be an appointable candidate for this role. However, during the recruitment process it was announced that NHS England would be brought back into the Department. This significantly changed the scale and objectives required of this role. In light of these changes the Civil Service Commission agreed a three-year fixed term appointment by exception, on the Senior Civil Service Model contract.