Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what total amount of money has been paid out by his Department in severance payments for former (a) Ministers and (b) special advisers since 29 June 2022; how much of that money has subsequently been repaid to his Department as a result of individuals (A) rejecting the payment or (B) returning to new roles; and in how many cases where individuals were in post for (I) 0-3 months, (II) 3-6 months, (III) 6-12 months and (IV) more than 12 months has their full severance payment been retained as of 2 November 2022.

The Provision of severance payments for Ministers is set out in legislation.

Details of the severance payments made to ministers when leaving office are published in departments’ annual reports and accounts.

Similarly, the provision of severance payments for special advisers is set out in the Model Contract, which is available on gov.uk, including provisions for repayment of severance if reappointed. The cost of severance payments made to special advisers across government is published annually by the Cabinet Office.