Asked by: Sarah Pochin (Reform UK - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the teacher workforce strategy includes consideration of aligning maternity (a) pay and (b) leave arrangements for classroom teachers more closely with the equivalent arrangements available to civil servants, in the context of efforts to improve teacher retention.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The government is committed to tackling recruitment and retention challenges and supporting teachers to stay in the profession and thrive.
We recognise women aged 30-39 are the largest group of leavers from the teacher workforce. To address this, we are taking action to promote and expand flexible working opportunities in schools, without impacting pupils’ education hours. This includes offering practical support on combining flexible working and career progression. We also provide support for those returning having taken an extended break following parental leave.
The Burgundy Book outlines how maternity provision applies in schools. This is a national agreement negotiated with employers by the six teachers’ organisations.
Further information can be found on the Local Government Association website and views can be fed in via the organisations involved in that negotiation.
Asked by: Sarah Pochin (Reform UK - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has assessed the potential impact of differences in maternity (a) pay and (b) leave arrangements between classroom teachers and Department for Education civil servants on teacher retention, with particular reference to teachers aged 30 to 39.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The government is committed to tackling recruitment and retention challenges and supporting teachers to stay in the profession and thrive.
We recognise women aged 30-39 are the largest group of leavers from the teacher workforce. To address this, we are taking action to promote and expand flexible working opportunities in schools, without impacting pupils’ education hours. This includes offering practical support on combining flexible working and career progression. We also provide support for those returning having taken an extended break following parental leave.
The Burgundy Book outlines how maternity provision applies in schools. This is a national agreement negotiated with employers by the six teachers’ organisations.
Further information can be found on the Local Government Association website and views can be fed in via the organisations involved in that negotiation.
Asked by: Caroline Johnson (Conservative - Sleaford and North Hykeham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many staff responsible for UK Foundation programme allocation process are (a) NHS employees, (b) civil servants and (c) people involved in direct clinical care.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The UK Foundation Programme Office (UKFPO) facilitates the operation and continuing development of the Foundation Programme. It is jointly funded and governed by NHS England and the four United Kingdom health departments.
All of the UKFPO’s administrative team are employees of the National Health Service, none are civil servants. Many of the team have wider experience of working in hospital settings directly with foundation doctors, or of working in foundation and medical education settings.
The UKFPO's National Clinical Director is a clinician, and the role of the Clinical Advisor for Recruitment is shared by two foundation school directors who are also both clinicians. The team is also directly responsible to medical directors in the four nation statutory education bodies (SEBs).
The UKFPO has a Foundation Recruitment Group which oversees its recruitment and allocation activity and processes. This group includes stakeholders like the Medical Schools Council, the British Medical Association, and medical school representatives, as well as the four nation SEBs.
Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Pursuant to the answer of 5 January 2026, to Question 96853, on NHS England: Costs what estimate he has made of the (a) gross and (b) net number of civil servants who will leave the Civil Service due to redundancy.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government’s ambition remains to reduce staff numbers by up to 50% across the Department, NHS England, and the integrated care boards, which is the equivalent to up to 18,000 posts, including a number of Civil Servants, through paid exits via voluntary exits and redundancies, natural attrition, and recruitment controls, combined together. These reductions will be made by March 2028. The overall cost of paid exits across organisations is estimated at approximately £1 billion to £1.3 billion. The calculations remain subject to ongoing policy development and refinement, and are also subject to actual take-up of exit schemes and calculated individual costs. Relevant, material financial information relating to this active policy development will be published in due course in line with transparency obligations. The Government remains committed to reducing unnecessary bureaucracy and duplication, to save more than £1 billion a year by the end of Parliament, which will go directly to improving patient outcomes.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, further to the written statement of 20 January 2026, on Rewiring the State, if he will place in the Library a copy of the revised Senior Civil Service performance management and recruitment guidance.
Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
The Senior Civil Service (SCS) Performance Management Framework is publicly available online on GOV.UK.
Departments and agencies have authority to determine their practices and procedures for the recruitment of staff to the Civil Service, including the Senior Civil Service. There are no plans to publish internal-facing guidance to the public domain, as it constitutes HR-to-HR guidance designed for departments to integrate into their respective policies and processes.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how he plans to change the hiring criteria for Senior Civil Servants.
Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
Our approach to hiring for the Senior Civil Service (SCS) is changing to place greater value on frontline delivery, innovation, and private sector experience.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he plans to set targets for the number of civil servants appointed based on their socio-economic background.
Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
As set out in the Civil Service People Plan 2024-2027, we are committed to ensuring we attract, develop and retain talented people from a diverse range of backgrounds to create a modern Civil Service, now and for the future. There are no plans to set targets for the recruitment of civil servants based on their socio-economic background.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 2 January 2026 to Question 100340 on Senior Civil Servants: Recruitment, how many senior civil servants have been recruited to posts not advertised externally in the last 12 months.
Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
Between 1 January 2025 and 31 December 2025, there were 90 provisional offers made for Senior Civil Service (SCS) posts (permanent and temporary) that were advertised across government but not advertised externally. This is data obtained from Civil Service Jobs and does not include internal recruitment, which might have been conducted within a department. As per our External by Default policy, SCS vacancies which are not advertised externally must be approved by a Minister or Permanent Secretary equivalent in non-Ministerial departments.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Our management section of the Cabinet Office website and further to his Department's document entitled Special advisers: code of conduct, updated on 6 November 2024, for what reason Jonathan Powell is listed in the management section.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The National Security Adviser sets direction – on behalf of the Prime Minister – for national security and foreign policy in the National Security Secretariat. Some leadership and corporate responsibilities – such as the line management of civil servants, accounting or matters affecting a civil servant’s career such as recruitment, promotion, reward and discipline – are not carried out by the National Security Adviser.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the guidance entitled Fast Stream and Emerging Talent (FSET) data privacy notice, updated on 13 November 2025, what questions are asked to ascertain an applicant's socio-economic background.
Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
The Fast Stream asks the questions recommended by the Social Mobility Commission which are published on gov.uk. This approach is the same as under the previous administration.