Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what information the Civil Service HR Secondments Unit holds on the number of secondments (a) into the Civil Service from outside organisations and (b) from the Civil Service to outside organisations.

Secondments into the Civil Service from other sectors are a key route to bring essential skills and experience into the right roles and teams, enabling talented individuals from outside the Civil Service to contribute to the work of Government by sharing critical capabilities and innovative thinking for a set period of time.

A secondments data commission was introduced in April 2023 to provide insight on inward and outward secondments taking place across government. The Cabinet Office has worked closely with departments to increase the amount, detail and quality of the data available. Responses are now received from all ministerial departments. Data captured includes the number of secondments into and out of the Civil Service by Department, organisations seconded to and from, and secondees’ grades.