Department of Health and Social Care written question – answered at on 13 April 2026.
Peter Bedford
Conservative, Mid Leicestershire
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many departmental employees were on performance management plans in (a) 2023, (b) 2024 and (c) 2025.
Karin Smyth
Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Although the Department holds data on performance markings, it does not centrally record the number of employees on performance management plans and therefore cannot provide figures for 2023, 2024, or 2025. Senior Civil Servants (SCS) and delegated grades, non-SCS, operate under different performance management frameworks.
SCS follow the Cabinet Office-prescribed SCS framework and should have at least quarterly performance conversations, at which ratings are provided. If an SCS receives the lowest performance rating for two consecutive quarters, a performance development plan is put in place with appropriate support. If the lowest rating continues, there is an expectation that the individual is placed on formal poor performance measures in line with the SCS framework.
Delegated grades follow the Department’s Performance Health Check policy and receive mid and end of year performance ratings, supported by monthly performance conversations. Where a delegated grade performance falls below the expected standard, managers must take early, supportive action through regular performance conversations, before deciding on whether any informal or formal action is required under the Supporting Performance Improvement policy and procedure.
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Secretary of State was originally the title given to the two officials who conducted the Royal Correspondence under Elizabeth I. Now it is the title held by some of the more important Government Ministers, for example the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
The cabinet is the group of twenty or so (and no more than 22) senior government ministers who are responsible for running the departments of state and deciding government policy.
It is chaired by the prime minister.
The cabinet is bound by collective responsibility, which means that all its members must abide by and defend the decisions it takes, despite any private doubts that they might have.
Cabinet ministers are appointed by the prime minister and chosen from MPs or peers of the governing party.
However, during periods of national emergency, or when no single party gains a large enough majority to govern alone, coalition governments have been formed with cabinets containing members from more than one political party.
War cabinets have sometimes been formed with a much smaller membership than the full cabinet.
From time to time the prime minister will reorganise the cabinet in order to bring in new members, or to move existing members around. This reorganisation is known as a cabinet re-shuffle.
The cabinet normally meets once a week in the cabinet room at Downing Street.
