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Written question asked by Neil O'Brien (Conservative) on Monday, 19 January 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 22 January 2026 (named day). It was answered by Angela Eagle (Labour) on Tuesday, 24 February 2026 on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.


Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Performance Appraisal

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will review the incomplete Answer her Department provided to Question 97203 on 6 January 2026.

Original answer

The incomplete answer to Question 97203 on 6 January 2026 was due to a processing and formatting error on the Written Parliamentary Questions website. This error has been corrected and the complete answer to Question 97203 is below:

In core Defra, high performance substantive senior civil servants are those with an end-year performance rating of “Exceeded”. The headcount and proportion of each grade for those employed during the period November 2024 – October 2025 were:

Grade*

Number of employees

Proportion of Grade who achieved ‘Exceeded’ as their end-year performance decision

Senior Civil Servant Pay Band 1

16

Senior Civil Servant Pay Band 2

* Where individuals changed substantive grade during the period, they are reported against their earliest substantive grade.

c. These numbers are suppressed in accordance with the Defra data protection policy.

End-year performance decisions were removed from the performance management framework for delegated staff grades in April 2023. Delegated staff grades are recognised through continuous recognition awards.

The answer was corrected by Angela Eagle (Labour)

on Wednesday, 25 February 2026 on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Corrected answer

The incomplete answer to Question 97203 on 6 January 2026 was due to a processing and formatting error on the Written Parliamentary Questions website. This error has been corrected and the complete answer to Question 97203 is below:

In core Defra, high performance substantive senior civil servants are those with an end-year performance rating of “Exceeded”. The headcount and proportion of each grade for those employed during the period November 2024 – October 2025 were:

Grade*

Number of employees

Proportion of Grade who achieved ‘Exceeded’ as their end-year performance decision

Senior Civil Servant Pay Band 1

16

c.

Senior Civil Servant Pay Band 2

c.

c.

* Where individuals changed substantive grade during the period, they are reported against their earliest substantive grade.

c. These numbers are suppressed in accordance with the Defra data protection policy.

End-year performance decisions were removed from the performance management framework for delegated staff grades in April 2023. Delegated staff grades are recognised through continuous recognition awards.


Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
106581
Session
2024-26
Related items
Subjects
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Performance appraisal
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk