questionText: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the speech Move fast. Fix things, delivered on 20 January 2026, whether Ministers will have the authority to prevent Senior Civil Servants subject to performance processes from taking up new posts secured through fair and open competition.
answerText: The Government is clear that issues surrounding underperformance in the Civil Service must be robustly managed and not left unaddressed. Any work undertaken does not conflict with the Civil Service Recruitment Principles.
heading: Senior Civil Servants: Recruitment