Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many civil service roles for the Mission Boards are unfilled.
Answered by Ellie Reeves - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
Delivering the Missions is a task for the entire government. The Prime Minister has established five Mission Boards which bring together ministers from across government to drive progress on missions. They are chaired by the respective lead Secretaries of State, and attendance varies depending on the topic being discussed by the Board. As such, there are no unfilled civil service roles for the Mission Boards.
Directors General (DGs) have been appointed as Senior Responsible Officers for each of the Missions. Relevant departments are responsible for resourcing the delivery of policies and programmes related to the Missions. The Cabinet Office’s Mission Delivery Unit works in partnership with the Missions to support delivery and drive progress.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many (a) Permanent Secretary and (b) Second Permanent Secretary roles are (i) being advertised through open and fair competition, (ii) have advertised but the recruitment is now closed and the appointment has not yet been made, (iii) are being advertised only internally and (iv) are unfilled with no recruitment process.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
There are six Permanent Secretary roles currently being advertised through fair and open competition: five have closed and waiting final interviews, and one is live on CS Jobs.
There is one Permanent Secretary level role that has been advertised internally only (Secret Intelligence Service).
There is one Second Permanent Secretary role (DSIT) that is currently unfilled with no recruitment process underway.
Asked by: Andrew Pakes (Labour (Co-op) - Peterborough)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the staff capacity is at the civil service hub building in Peterborough; and what the average staff occupancy is.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Quay House, in Peterborough, was opened in March 2023, bringing together approximately 1,200 civil servants from several government bodies to work in one shared building. Not all civil servants will be in the office at the same time. The building has a maximum safe occupancy of 1,082.
The Government publishes average occupancy data for all departmental HQs at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-hq-occupancy-data. The government does not publish data for any building that is not a departmental HQ.
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people (a) infected and (b) impacted by the infected blood scandal have (i) been invited to make a claim, (ii) been offered compensation and (iii) received compensation.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
As of 6 May 2025, 677 infected people have been contacted to begin the claims process, with 432 of those starting their claim. 160 offers of compensation have been made, totalling over £150m, and 106 payments have been made, totalling £96,608,906.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of retroactively awarding the Humanitarian Medal to qualifying people who served before 19 June 2023.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Humanitarian Medal was introduced in July 2023 to recognise those in public service and members of organisations that contribute on behalf of HM Government, which respond in support of human welfare during or in the aftermath of a crisis.
The Medal is not retrospective, and only incidents that occur from July 2023 are eligible as this is the date that His Majesty signed the Royal Warrant and the medal came into being under the previous government. However, operations which were live at that time but which commenced before the introduction of the Humanitarian Medal, may be eligible for the Humanitarian Medal with the clasp for that operation.
There are no plans to review the criteria to allow for retrospection.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department plans to review the eligibility criteria for the Humanitarian Medal to include service rendered before 19 June 2023.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Humanitarian Medal was introduced in July 2023 to recognise those in public service and members of organisations that contribute on behalf of HM Government, which respond in support of human welfare during or in the aftermath of a crisis.
The Medal is not retrospective, and only incidents that occur from July 2023 are eligible as this is the date that His Majesty signed the Royal Warrant and the medal came into being under the previous government. However, operations which were live at that time but which commenced before the introduction of the Humanitarian Medal, may be eligible for the Humanitarian Medal with the clasp for that operation.
There are no plans to review the criteria to allow for retrospection.
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what proportion of eligible people have received compensation from the Infected Blood Compensation Authority.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
Due to the nature of the Infected Blood scandal there is uncertainty over the number of people, especially those affected, who might be eligible for compensation. The final number of eligible people will ultimately depend on the number of victims who come forward.
As of 6 May 2025, 677 people have been contacted to begin the claims process, with 432 of those starting their claim. 160 offers of compensation have been made, totalling over £150m, and 106 payments have been made, totalling £96,608,906.
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many notifications under the National Security and Investment Act 2021 involving foreign acquirers have been (a) received and (b) cleared unconditionally in each month since the Act came into force.
Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Government publishes an annual report with details of activities under the National Security and Investment (NSI) Act each financial year. This includes the number of notifications received by month, number of final notifications (acquisitions which are called in for detailed review and then cleared), and notifications received by origin of investment. Annual reports can be viewed on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Tracy Gilbert (Labour - Edinburgh North and Leith)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department has undertaken preparatory work on a potential youth mobility scheme with the EU.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
We have agreed that we will work towards the establishment of a balanced youth experience scheme with the EU. We have agreed that any scheme will be time-limited and capped, and we have also been clear that it should be in line with the UK’s existing schemes with countries like Australia and New Zealand. The exact parameters will be subject to negotiation.
Asked by: Edward Argar (Conservative - Melton and Syston)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Prime Minister's oral contribution of 25 February 2025, Official Report, col. 631, (a) on what date the inquiry commenced, (b) on what date it concluded and (c) when its findings will be made public.
Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The investigation remains ongoing. I am unable to comment further on the progress or specifics of an ongoing investigation.