Neil O'Brien MP: written questions

864 published records · newest first.

Written questions

  • Department for Business and Trade: Senior Civil ServantsDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 16 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 100379More

    Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 12 December 2025 to Question 96808 on Department for Business and Trade: Career Development, how many and what proportion of Senior Civil Servants were rated in each of the bo

    Answer: The last complete performance year for SCS ran between 1st April 2024 and 31st March 2025. The proportion of ratings against each performance rating (Exceeding, High Performing, Achieving and Partially Met) are detailed below.Rating%Number of SCS Exceedin...

    Answered 5 Jan 2026

    Original Parliament record
  • Met Office: FinanceDepartment for Science, Innovation and TechnologyTabled 15 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 99882More

    Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to the DSIT Main Estimate memoranda for the years 2024 to 2025 and 2025 to 2026, for what reason there has been an increase in the capital spending allocated to the Met O

    Answer: The movement in capital spending allocated to the Met Office reflected the latest plans for the delivery of the new supercomputer milestones.

    Answered 18 Dec 2025

    Original Parliament record
  • Department for Science, Innovation and Technology: Public ExpenditureDepartment for Science, Innovation and TechnologyTabled 15 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 99881More

    Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to DSIT Main Estimate memorandum 2025 to 2026, if she will provide a breakdown of past and planned capital spending in the category of 'Science and Society'; and for what

    Answer: For 2024/25 the total capital spend on Research and Development (R&D) in the category of Science and Society was £111.4m and for 2023/24 was £109.9m. £216.8m spend is planned for 2025/26 as presented within the Main Estimate for 2025/26. Science and S...

    Answered 18 Dec 2025

    Original Parliament record
  • Ministry of Defence: Disciplinary ProceedingsMinistry of DefenceTabled 15 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 99856More

    Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, 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 t

    Answer: It is taking time to collate the required information to answer the hon. Member's Question. I will write to him when the information is available, and a copy of this letter will be placed in the Library of The House.

    Answered 23 Dec 2025

    Original Parliament record
  • Ministry of Defence: Redundancy PayMinistry of DefenceTabled 15 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 99855More

    Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the cost was of (a) settlement agreements and (b) special severance payments made to departing staff in the last year.

    Answer: It is taking time to collate the required information to answer the hon. Member's Question. I will write to him when the information is available, and a copy of this letter will be placed in the Library of The House.

    Answered 23 Dec 2025

    Original Parliament record
  • Ministry of Defence: Performance AppraisalMinistry of DefenceTabled 15 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 99853More

    Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many and what proportion of staff in each grade were rated in the top performance category in the last year.

    Answer: It is taking time to collate the required information to answer the Hon. Member's Question. I will write to him when the information is available, and a copy of this letter will be placed in the Library of The House.

    Answered 23 Dec 2025

    Original Parliament record
  • Ministry of Defence: Career DevelopmentMinistry of DefenceTabled 15 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 99851More

    Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many and what proportion of staff were promoted (a) in-grade and (b) to a higher grade in the last year by (i) performance marking in the previous year and (ii) grade.

    Answer: It is taking time to collate the required information to answer the hon. Member's Question. I will write to him when the information is available, and a copy of this letter will be placed in the Library of The House.

    Answered 23 Dec 2025

    Original Parliament record
  • Ministry of Defence: Sick LeaveMinistry of DefenceTabled 15 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 99849More

    Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, 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

    Answer: It is taking time to collate the required information to answer the hon. Member's Question. I will write to him when the information is available, and a copy of this letter will be placed in the Library of The House.

    Answered 23 Dec 2025

    Original Parliament record
  • Department for Culture, Media and Sport: Disciplinary ProceedingsDepartment for Culture, Media and SportTabled 15 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 99847More

    Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many disciplinary cases were concluded against civil servants in (a) her Department and (b) its agencies by (i) outcome and (ii) whether the primary allegation related to (A) performance and

    Answer: In the last 12 months, there have been 6 disciplinary cases that have concluded within DCMS. All related to an allegation of misconduct. We cannot provide the outcome of closed disciplinary cases. Doing so would breach the Data Protection Act and risk ide...

    Answered 18 Dec 2025

    Original Parliament record
  • Department for Culture, Media and Sport: Redundancy PayDepartment for Culture, Media and SportTabled 15 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 99845More

    Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what the cost was of (a) settlement agreements and (b) special severance payments made to departing staff in the last year.

    Answer: For the last financial year, the total cost to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport of payments associated with settlement agreements is set out in Annual Report and Accounts. Where relevant, this includes special severance payments that have assoc...

    Answered 18 Dec 2025

    Original Parliament record
  • Department for Culture, Media and Sport: Performance AppraisalDepartment for Culture, Media and SportTabled 15 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 99844More

    Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many and what proportion of staff in each grade were rated in the top performance category in the last year.

    Answer: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport operates a continual performance management approach throughout the year, which includes data on those not meeting performance expectations through the Managing Poor Performance process. There is no common defin...

    Answered 8 Jan 2026

    Original Parliament record
  • Department for Culture, Media and Sport: Career DevelopmentDepartment for Culture, Media and SportTabled 15 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 99843More

    Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many and what proportion of staff were promoted (a) in-grade and (b) to a higher grade in the last year by (i) performance marking in the previous year and (ii) grade.

    Answer: This information is not held centrally. This data is difficult to present due to there being no definition of an “in-grade promotion” and limited data on staff who go on promotion to another department. Collation and presentation of this data could potent...

    Answered 18 Dec 2025

    Original Parliament record
  • Department for Culture, Media and Sport: Sick LeaveDepartment for Culture, Media and SportTabled 15 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 99842More

    Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, 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 f

    Answer: Sickness absence data for the Civil Service, including departmental breakdowns is published annually, and is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/sickness-absence.The next update will be for the year ending 31st March 2025.

    Answered 18 Dec 2025

    Original Parliament record
  • Treasury: Disciplinary ProceedingsTreasuryTabled 11 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 99246More

    Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many disciplinary cases were concluded against civil servants in (a) her Department and (b) its agencies by (i) outcome and (ii) whether the primary allegation related to (A) performance and (B) conduct in the l

    Answer: HMT don’t hold the information for disciplinary cases in agencies. Where there is an issue in staff performance, HMT have a managing poor performance policy to manage any concerns. Our disciplinary policy covers issues with conduct. In the last twelve mon...

    Answered 19 Dec 2025

    Original Parliament record
  • Treasury: Redundancy PayTreasuryTabled 11 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 99245More

    Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the cost was of (a) settlement agreements and (b) special severance payments made to departing staff in the last year.

    Answer: There have been zero settlement agreements made to departing staff in the last year.

    Answered 18 Dec 2025

    Original Parliament record
  • Treasury: Performance AppraisalTreasuryTabled 11 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 99244More

    Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many and what proportion of staff in each grade were rated in the top performance category in the last year.

    Answer: Performance management reviews are conducted in accordance with the relevant policies and procedures within HM Treasury. The table below presents the percentage of staff in each grade who achieved the highest performance rating in the 2024–25 end-of-year ...

    Answered 19 Dec 2025

    Original Parliament record
  • Treasury: Career DevelopmentTreasuryTabled 11 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 99243More

    Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many and what proportion of staff were promoted (a) in-grade and (b) to a higher grade in the last year by (i) performance marking in the previous year and (ii) grade.

    Answer: (a) This information is not held centrally due to there being no definition of an “in-grade promotion”.(b) Please see below a table which sets out promotions in the year 2024-25 by box marking in the previous year (2023-24) . Promotions in year 2024-25 b...

    Answered 19 Dec 2025

    Original Parliament record
  • Treasury: Sick LeaveTreasuryTabled 11 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 99242More

    Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, 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 wa

    Answer: Information on the average number of working days lost to sickness within the department for 2024 - 2025 is published annually through the HM Treasury annual report and accounts at the following web address: HM Treasury annual report and accounts 2024 to ...

    Answered 18 Dec 2025

    Original Parliament record
  • Department for Work and Pensions: Disciplinary ProceedingsDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 11 Dec 2025WithdrawnUIN 99241More

    Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many disciplinary cases were concluded against civil servants in (a) his Department and (b) its agencies by (i) outcome and (ii) whether the primary allegation related to (A) performance and (B) con

    Answer: No published answer in this record yet.

    Original Parliament record
  • Department for Work and Pensions: Redundancy PayDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 11 Dec 2025WithdrawnUIN 99240More

    Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the cost was of (a) settlement agreements and (b) special severance payments made to departing staff in the last year.

    Answer: No published answer in this record yet.

    Original Parliament record
  • Department for Work and Pensions: Performance AppraisalDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 11 Dec 2025WithdrawnUIN 99239More

    Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of staff in each grade were rated in the top performance category in the last year.

    Answer: No published answer in this record yet.

    Original Parliament record
  • Department for Work and Pensions: Career DevelopmentDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 11 Dec 2025WithdrawnUIN 99238More

    Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, 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.

    Answer: No published answer in this record yet.

    Original Parliament record
  • Department for Work and Pensions: Sick LeaveDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 11 Dec 2025WithdrawnUIN 99237More

    Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, 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) his Department's executive agencies in the last year; and how

    Answer: No published answer in this record yet.

    Original Parliament record
  • Motability: VATTreasuryTabled 10 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 98869More

    Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate she has made of the cost of VAT relief for Motability in (a) 2025 and (b) each year of the Budget forecast.

    Answer: HMRC publishes estimates of the costs of tax reliefs in its annual publication: Non-structural tax reliefs - GOV.UK. The VAT relief “Vehicles and other supplies to disabled people (vehicles only)” includes the cost of VAT reliefs for supplies of vehicles ...

    Answered 15 Dec 2025

    Original Parliament record
  • Department for Work and Pensions: Disciplinary ProceedingsDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 9 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 98542More

    Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, in the past twelve months, 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

    Answer: As of 30 November 2025, the current figure for disciplinary cases stands at 1,342, covering the period from 1 December 2024 to 30 November 2025. This total includes both concluded and ongoing cases. Unfortunately, we are unable to provide a more detailed ...

    Answered 5 Jan 2026

    Original Parliament record

Published records only — not a full account of an MP’s work. How we work →