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Written question asked by Nick Timothy (Conservative) on Tuesday, 13 October 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Friday, 16 October 2026 (named day). It was answered by Jake Richards (Labour) on Friday, 16 October 2026 on behalf of the Ministry of Justice.

Ministry of Justice: Performance Appraisal

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, in the past two years, how many Ministry of Justice civil servants have had a performance review, and how many were dismissed as a result of that performance review, or otherwise dismissed for poor performance.

Answer

The Ministry of Justice has an established performance management policy which provides for regular discussions between managers and employees about performance, objectives and development. Managers are expected to hold performance reviews generally every eight weeks. As these reviews are managed locally and are not required to be recorded centrally, the Department does not hold information on the number of employees who received a performance review during the period requested.

Where concerns about an employee's performance cannot be resolved through routine performance management, these may be addressed through the separate Managing Poor Performance procedures, which can ultimately result in dismissal.

During the two most recently completed financial years, the following numbers of employees were dismissed on the grounds of poor performance across the Ministry of Justice, including His Majesty's Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS):

Business Area

2024/25

2025/26

Total

MoJ (excl. HMPPS)

11

11

22

HMPPS

23

21

44

MoJ (incl. HMPPS)

34

32

66

Figures cover the period 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2026.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
34415
Session
2026-27
Subjects
Dismissal Ministry of Justice Performance appraisal
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk