PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Department of Health and Social Care: Civil Servants (30 August 2024)

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has appointed civil servants who (a) previously (i) worked for and (ii) were seconded to the Labour Party, (b) previously donated to the Labour Party and (c) have been Labour parliamentarians since the general election.

Asked by:
Victoria Atkins (Conservative)

Previous political activity does not preclude appointment into the Civil Service. All civil servants are expected to support the Government of the day, in accordance with the values of the Civil Service Code, which includes impartiality. Routine recruitment processes are in place to allow candidates to declare any potential conflicts of interest, and to discuss how these should be handled, so that the individuals in question can uphold the Civil Service Code’s values.

From the general election to 3 September 2024, the Department has appointed one staff member at delegated grade, who declared on their declaration-of-interest form during the appointment process that they worked for the Labour Party. This appointment has been made by exception to the Civil Service Commission recruitment principles.

Answered by:
Karin Smyth (Labour)
16 September 2024