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Cabinet Office: Public Appointments

Asked by Mike WoodConservativeCabinet OfficeTabled Answered 9 April 2026UIN 113122

The question

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what advice the Civil Service Commission provides on departures and appointments of Cabinet Secretaries.

Answered by Satvir Kaur

The Cabinet Manual, sets out that the Cabinet Secretary is appointed by the Prime Minister on the advice of the First Civil Service Commissioner.

In the Government response to the House of Lords Constitution Committee report into the appointment and removal of Permanent Secretaries, the First Civil Service Commissioner confirmed that the Civil Service Commission does not play a role in Permanent Secretary departures.

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