Written questions by O'Brien.

Food and Rural Affairs, how many (a) Equality Impact Assessments and (b) equality screenings have been produced by her Department in the last three months.

In line with the Equality Act 2010, Defra encourages and promotes the completion of Equality Impact Assessments to ensure our policies and decisions consider impacts on protected groups. Defra does not hold information centrally on Equality Impact Assessments that have been produced by the department and is therefore unable provide details on the number produced. We do not carry out Equality Screenings, instead requiring teams to always demonstrate due regard to the aims of the Act and use the Equality Impact Assessment form. To provide the information requested Defra would be required to contact all teams and this would incur disproportionate costs.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many staff in her Department have language proficiency in Mandarin at (a) CEFR level C1 and (b) higher.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer he was provided on 6 November in response to Question 86285.

Pursuant to the Answer of 9 October 2024 to Question 6462 on Driving Tests: Waiting Lists, what the monthly average waiting time for a car practical driving test was at each (a) driving test centre and (b) zone in each month since April 2015.

The answer to Question 6462 on 9 October 2024 provided data covering April 2015 to September 2024. The attached spreadsheet shows the monthly average waiting time for a car practical driving test at each driving test centre and zone for each month between October 2024 and October 2025.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 4 April 2025 to Question 40311 on Russia: Diplomatic Service, how many staff in her Department have language proficiency in Russian at (a) CEFR level C1 and (b) higher.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer he was provided on 6 November in response to Question 86285.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many staff in her Department have language proficiency in Ukrainian at (a) CEFR level C1 and (b) higher.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer he was provided on 6 November in response to Question 86285.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many and what proportion of staff in her Department left employment in the last 12 months following formal (a) performance and (b) capability procedures.

The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office's total staff headcount is approximately 17,500 employees, working in hundreds of different locations around the world, many with locally-managed HR arrangements and procedures. The requested information could therefore only be collated and verified for the purposes of answering this question at disproportionate cost.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many staff and what proportion in her Department were subject to formal performance management procedures as a result of unsatisfactory performance in the last 12 months.

The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office's total staff headcount is approximately 17,500 employees, working in hundreds of different locations around the world, many with locally-managed HR arrangements and procedures. The requested information could therefore only be collated and verified for the purposes of answering this question at disproportionate cost.

Pursuant to the Answer of 11 November 2025 to Question 87382 on Treasury: Employment Tribunals Service, how many employment tribunal claims have been lodged against her Department in the last 12 months.

HM Treasury have had one employment tribunal claim lodged against them in the last 12 months.

How many staff in his Department did not retain employment following the completion of their probationary period in the last 12 months.

The information requested is not held centrally and due to the additional activity that would be required to provide it, would incur disproportionate cost.

How many (a) Equality Impact Assessments and (b) equality screenings have been produced by his Department in the last three months.

Under the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED), all public authorities, including Government departments, are required by law to have due regard to certain equality considerations when carrying out their functions. While equality impact assessments and equality screenings may be produced, there is no legal requirement for these assessments to be compiled in a specific format or published. In accordance with section 149 of the Equality Act 2010, the Ministry of Justice ensures that assessment of the equality considerations of its policy proposals is integrated into the development, implementation, and review of its policies. We do not keep a central record of all equality impact assessments or screenings undertaken in recent months. However, and where relevant, the equality assessments undertaken are often published alongside policy consultations on the Ministry of Justice consultation hub, which is publicly available on GOV.UK: Ministry of Justice - Citizen Space.

How many staff in his Department had their probationary period extended in the last 12 months.

The information requested is not held centrally and due to the additional activity that would be required to provide it, would incur disproportionate cost.

How many employment tribunal claims alleging breaches of the Equality Act 2010 have been lodged against her Department in the last 12 months.

The information requested is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

How many employment tribunal claims relating to unfair dismissal have been lodged against her Department in the last 12 months.

The information requested is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

How many (a) Equality Impact Assessments and (b) equality screenings have been produced by his Department in the last three months.

The information requested is not held centrally and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

How many staff in her Department did not retain employment following the completion of their probationary period in the last 12 months.

In the last 12 months 59 Home Office employees were dismissed during their probationary period for efficiency reasons.

How many staff in her Department had their probationary period extended in the last 12 months.

The information requested is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many people in her Department have equality, diversity and inclusion responsibilities.

The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office's total staff headcount is approximately 17,500 employees. The number of full time equivalent (FTE) staff who cover diversity and inclusion issues among their wider human resources responsibilities is currently 2.6.

Pursuant to the Answer of 29 April 2025 to Question 45822 on Ministry of Justice: Equality, for what reason his Department no longer collects that information centrally.

The Ministry of Justice does not routinely collate information on specific words in job titles as there is no business or legal requirement to do so. Further information on staffing can be found in the Department's annual report and accounts.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many people work in the diversity and inclusion team in her Department's human resources department.

The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office's total staff headcount is approximately 17,500 employees. The number of full time equivalent (FTE) staff who cover diversity and inclusion issues among their wider human resources responsibilities is currently 2.6.

How many staff in (a) Defence Equipment and Support and (b) the Submarine Delivery Agency have job titles which include the words (i) equality, (ii) diversity, (iii) inclusion, (iv) gender, (v) LGBT and (vi) race.

Staff employed by Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S) and the Submarine Delivery Agency (SDA) have both a Success Profile and an Email Tally. Success Profiles provide outlines of roles, key responsibilities and formal qualifications needed, as well as required technical competences and behaviours, which are aligned to wider Civil Service behaviours. No DE&S or SDA Success Profile title includes the words ‘equality’, ‘diversity’, ‘inclusion’, ‘gender’, ‘LGBT’ or ‘race’. In DE&S Email Tallies comprise individual’s Profession, Skills Group and a unique number. In SDA Email Tallies are short summaries of an individual’s current team and role. In both cases these appear after individuals’ names in the MOD’s Global Address List. In total fewer than five members of staff across DE&S and SDA have Email Tallies that include either the word ‘diversity’ and/or the word ‘inclusion’, or abbreviations thereof. No Email Tallies in either DE&S or SDA include the words ‘equality’, ‘gender’, ‘LGBT’ or ‘race’.