Every parliamentary written question tabled by Neil O'Brien this session, with the full answer and department. See how every department answers, or back to the MP page.
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What the total cost was of (a) settlement agreements and (b) special severance payments made to departing staff in the last year.
For the last financial year, the total cost to the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) of payments associated with settlement agreements and special severance payments was £60,000.
What the total cost was of (a) settlement agreements and (b) special severance payments made to departing staff in his Department in the last year.
For the last financial year, the total cost to the Ministry of Justice of payments associated with settlement agreements is set out in Annual Report and Accounts. Where relevant, this includes special severance payments that have associated settlement agreements.
In the past twelve months, how many disciplinary cases were concluded against civil servants in (a) his Department and (b) its agencies broken down by (i) outcome and (ii) whether the primary allegation related to (A) performance and (B) conduct.
The Ministry of Justice holds all staff to high standards of professional conduct. Where behaviour falls short of those standards, appropriate action is taken in line with established policies and procedures.Number of Conduct and Discipline cases in the Ministry of Justice broken down by agency and outcome (1st April 2024 to 31st March 2025) Not a penaltyAny other penaltyDismissalMOJ HQ010~HMPPS250939405HMCTS~5529Office of the Public Guardian~10~Legal Aid Agency0~0CICA0~0MoJ Overall2661017442 The central ePM case management system cannot identify the main allegation in a case or distinguish whether each allegation concerns performance or conduct. Its categorisation structure does not allow disciplinary data to be separated into conduct versus performance cases. Additionally, poor performance issues are handled through a separate policy and system, which is not included in the disciplinary case data. Caveats1. The above table is created from Conduct and Discipline records held in the ePM case management system. This only includes formal disciplinary actions and will exclude any local disciplinary actions taken.2. Due to differences in the data matching processes, very slightly different methodologies have been used to calculate the figures for HMPPS compared to the non-HMPPS agencies.3. This information only includes cases that concluded between 1st April 2024 and 31st March 2025 where the case had a known and recorded outcome and where the agency of the individual could be determined.4. Cases can have multiple outcomes, and therefore the highest level penalty has been used to determine the outcome in the table. If the outcome was appealed, the outcome of the appeal has been taken as the final outcome of the case. The 'Dismissal' category includes summary dismissals and 'Any other penalty' includes both disciplinary action and financial penalties.5. Within the centrally held ePM case management system, it is not possible to determine the primary allegation made against the individual or whether each allegation is specifically related to performance or conduct.6. This data is based on the latest information available as at the end of June 2025. Further data regarding the 2024 - 2025 financial year may be received in future data provisions and therefore these figures may be subject to change.7. For some cases, information is incomplete and we have conducted data cleaning to improve data quality where possible. We are in the process of improving the ePM data pipeline. Figures may change slightly in the future as data quality improves.~ denotes values of 2 or fewer, suppressed for reasons of data protection, or values suppressed for reasons of secondary suppression to prevent disclosure in cases where totals would reveal suppressed values8. The case categorisations on the system does not allow the breakdown of figures into conduct and performance groups. There is a separate poor performance policy and case management system which is separate to the disciplinary cases presented in the table
How many and what proportion of staff in each grade in his Department were rated in the top performance category in the last year.
The Ministry of Justice operates a continuous performance management approach based on a rolling cycle of regular performance conversations between line managers and staff members. As such, the Department does not hold the data requested.
What the average number of working days lost to sickness absence per full-time equivalent member of staff was in (a) his Department and (b) its executive agencies in the last year; and how many formal performance warnings were issued to staff whose absence exceeded departmental triggers.
The Ministry of Justice annual report and accounts include information on the average number of working lost across the Department including its executive agencies. The report is available here with the relevant information on page 141 - Ministry of Justice annual report and accounts: 2024 to 2025 - GOV.UK. The Ministry of Justice does not issue performance warnings to employees whose sickness absence exceeds departmental trigger points. Under the supporting attendance policy, sickness absence is managed through a separate attendance management process.
How many disciplinary cases were concluded against civil servants in (a) the Department and (b) its agencies in the past twelve months, broken down by (i) outcome and (ii) whether the primary allegation related to (A) performance and (B) conduct.
There were 24 concluded disciplinary cases recorded in the past twelve months in the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. Data is not held centrally for Departmental Agencies and ALBs. Broken down by outcome (i):*Final written warning – ^First written warning – 6Informal action – ^No action – 9Resignation – ^Withdrawn – ^No outcome provided – ^ Primary allegation (ii)Performance: 0Conduct: 24 *Volumes which are five or fewer have been redacted to avoid potential identification of individuals.
Food and Rural Affairs, what the average number of working days lost to sickness absence per full-time equivalent member of staff was in (a) her Department and (b) its executive agencies in the last year; and how many formal performance warnings were issued to staff whose absence exceeded departmental triggers.
In relation to the average number of working days lost to sickness absence, as of year ending 31 October 2025, Defra can confirm the following: Department/AgencyAverage Working Days Lost Core Defra4.4APHA5.7RPA7.6VMD2.4Cefas3.83 The Cabinet Office publishes statistics on Civil Service average working days lost in regular reports, which can be found here: Sickness absence in the Civil Service - GOV.UK. The next update will be for the year ending 31 March 2025. These figures are published for core Defra, but not for the other organisations. The data requested regarding ‘formal performance warnings’ is not captured centrally for Defra so it is not available for reporting here.
How many and what proportion of staff in each grade in her Department were rated in the top performance category in the last year.
The Home Office introduced a no-rating performance management system for delegated grades in 2021 in line with external good practice. Therefore, the department cannot compare progression with performance markings / categories.The performance management framework for Senior Civil Servants is a Cabinet Office policy, applied across the Civil Service departments including the Home Office.In the last performance year, the proportion of staff rated in the top performance category (“Exceeding”) for Senior Civil Servants is 25.Senior Civil Service 1: 17 individuals (representing 6% of all SCS1 Home Office staff)Senior Civil Service 2: 6 individuals (representing 10% of all SCS2 Home Office staff)Senior Civil Service 3: <5 individuals (representing >20% of all SCS3 Home Office staff)
Food and Rural Affairs, what the total cost was of (a) settlement agreements and (b) special severance payments made to departing staff in the last year.
For the last financial year, the total cost to Defra of payments associated with settlement agreements is set out in pg. 167 of Annual Report and Accounts. Where relevant, this includes special severance payments that have associated settlement agreements.
What the average number of working days lost to sickness absence per full-time equivalent member of staff was in (a) the Department and (b) its executive agencies in the last year; and how many formal performance warnings were issued to staff whose absence exceeded departmental triggers.
The current Average Working Days Lost (AWDL) is 8.12. Regarding the number of performance warnings issued to staff, this can only be obtained through disproportionate effort.
In the past twelve months, how many disciplinary cases were concluded against civil servants in (a) her Department and (b) its agencies broken down by (i) outcome and (ii) whether the primary allegation related to (A) performance and (B) conduct.
Please find table below outlining disciplinary cases by performance and conduct. Discipline Outcome HeadcountPerformance Dismissal - Poor Performance20Dismissal - Probation50Conduct Dismissals with leaving reason containing Gross Misconduct132Final Written Warning8First Written Warning10No Formal Action<5
What the total cost was of (a) settlement agreements and (b) special severance payments made to departing staff in her Department in the last year.
The Home Office does not publish specific information on settlement agreements and special severance payments for departing staff.The Home Office does publish the overall payments made to staff exiting the department each year and this is outlined in the annual report and accounts. For 2024-25 this is featured on page 170. Home Office Annual Report and Accounts 2024 to 2025
Food and Rural Affairs, how many and what proportion of staff in each grade were rated in the top performance category in the last year.
In core Defra, high performance substantive senior civil servants are those with an end-year performance rating of “Exceeded”. The headcount and proportion of each grade for those employed during the period November 2024 – October 2025 were: Grade*Number of employeesProportion of Grade who achieved ‘Exceeded’ as their end-year performance decisionSenior Civil Servant Pay Band 116 Senior Civil Servant Pay Band 2 * Where individuals changed substantive grade during the period, they are reported against their earliest substantive grade.c. These numbers are suppressed in accordance with the Defra data protection policy. End-year performance decisions were removed from the performance management framework for delegated staff grades in April 2023. Delegated staff grades are recognised through continuous recognition awards.
Food and Rural Affairs, how many and what proportion of staff were promoted (a) in-grade and (b) to a higher grade in the last year broken down by (i) performance marking in the previous year and (ii) grade.
With regards to a) the in-grade promotions: We are unclear how “in-grade promotion” should be defined in relation to the data we do hold. Information on b) promotions to a higher grade is not held centrally. In particular, the information held centrally on outward secondments and loans does not record whether the secondment/loan is a promotion or whether it would be in-grade or not. Collation and presentation of this data could potentially require significant manual work and data linking across departments and would come at a disproportionate cost and we are, therefore, unable to provide the information requested.
Food and Rural Affairs, how many disciplinary cases were concluded against civil servants in (a) the Department and (b) its agencies broken down by (i) outcome and (ii) whether the primary allegation related to (A) performance and (B) conduct in the past 12 months.
In the last 12 months the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs concluded 51 disciplinary cases. All 51 disciplinary cases were conduct related and not performance related. Outcomes from these cases were: DismissalFinal written warningInformal actionWarningWithdrawnNo action In the last 12 months the Animal and Plant Health Agency, Veterinary Medicines Directorate, Rural Payments Agency and the Centre for Environment Fisheries and Aquaculture Science concluded a total of 48 disciplinary cases. All 48 disciplinary cases were conduct related and not performance related. Outcomes from these cases were: DismissalWritten warningInformal actionOral warningNo actionWithdrawnFinal written warningMediationOther/not recorded
How many and what proportion of staff in her Department were promoted (a) in-grade and (b) to a higher grade in the last year broken down by (i) performance marking in the previous year and (ii) grade.
The Home Office introduced a no-rating performance management system for delegated grades in 2021 in line with external good practice. Therefore, the department cannot compare progression with performance markings / categories.For the SCS grade please see table below. Promotions from PB1 (SCS1) to PB2 (SCS2)Performance markings from the previous year:Achieved: <5High Performing: <5Exceeding: <5 Promotions from Grade 6 to PB1 (SCS1)Performance markings from the previous year:Achieved: 8Partially Met: <5Not in scope for a performance marking: 8
Media and Sport, what the net expenditure of her Department was on projects related to cultural diplomacy in the last financial year.
DCMS works with a range of partners and ALBs to deliver on the Government’s cultural diplomacy and soft power objectives, including the FCDO, British Council, and GREAT Britain & Northern Ireland campaign. As such, the department’s direct spending on cultural diplomacy is limited to a small number of cultural diplomacy-related projects each year, including those delivered through the Government Art Collection. Net expenditure for the last financial year on projects related to cultural diplomacy stood at £66,329.
How many and what proportion of staff in each grade were rated in the top performance category in the last year.
The information provided below relates to the recorded ratings on the Department’s HR information system for the period of 1st April 2024 to 31st March 2025, in line with the Department’s performance cycle.Delegated grades within the Department have two performance ratings - Met and Not Met.Delegated Grades Performance Ratings Distribution for 2024/25 MetNot MetProportion in Met (of those with a recorded rating)AO230100.00%EO198896.12%HEO5371297.81%FS000%SEO8741298.65%G7853699.30%G62670100.00%Total27523898.64% Senior Civil Servants (SCS) have four box ratings ‘Exceeding’, High Performing’ ‘Achieving’ and ‘Partially Met’. Exceeding is the top box rating. Total Top Rating (Exceeding)Total EligibleProportion in Exceeded (out of total Eligible)SCS13022114%SCS285714%SCS311010%Total3928814%
What the average number of working days lost to sickness absence per full-time equivalent member of staff was in (a) the Department and (b) its executive agencies in the last year; and how many formal performance warnings were issued to staff whose absence exceeded departmental triggers.
A) The table shows the average number of working days lost (AWDL) to sickness absence per staff in DBT and its executive agencies in the last year (between 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025) OrganisationAWDLDepartment for Business and Trade3.58 daysExecutive agenciesCompanies House7.6 daysInsolvency Service6.9 days B) In the previous year (1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025) there were the following in relation to formal warnings issued to staff whose absence exceeded departmental triggers:DBT: 11 formal warnings.Insolvency Service: 12 formal warnings.Companies House: 6 formal warnings.
In the past twelve months, how many disciplinary cases were concluded against civil servants in (a) her Department and (b) its agencies broken down by (i) outcome and (ii) whether the primary allegation related to (A) performance and (B) conduct.
The requested information is available in the table below: Disciplinary Cases ConcludedTotals Department of EducationAgencies32<5OutcomesAlternative role<5<5Dismissal<5<5Final Written<5<5Final Written - 24 months<5<5First Written<5<5Informal8<5No Action5<5No Outcome Provided5<5AllegationsPerformance**Conduct29<5Other<5<5 *Footnote – cases relating to performance are managed separately through the department’s performance management policy and are excluded from the above table