We support the Prime Minister and ensure the effective running of government. We are also the corporate headquarters for government, in partnership with HM Treasury, and we take the lead in certain critical policy areas.
Andy Burnham
Prime Minister and First Lord of the Treasury
Oral Answers to Questions is a regularly scheduled appearance where the Secretary of State and junior minister will answer at the Dispatch Box questions from backbench MPs
Other Commons Chamber appearances can be:Westminster Hall debates are performed in response to backbench MPs or e-petitions asking for a Minister to address a detailed issue
Written Statements are made when a current event is not sufficiently significant to require an Oral Statement, but the House is required to be informed.
Cabinet Office does not have Bills currently before Parliament
A Bill to Make provision about the maximum number of salaries that may be paid under the Ministerial and other Salaries Act 1975 in respect of certain Ministerial offices.
This Bill received Royal Assent on 29th April 2026 and was enacted into law.
A Bill to remove the remaining connection between hereditary peerage and membership of the House of Lords; to make provision about resignation from the House of Lords; to abolish the jurisdiction of the House of Lords in relation to claims to hereditary peerages; and for connected purposes.
This Bill received Royal Assent on 18th March 2026 and was enacted into law.
A bill to Make provision for persons of the Roman Catholic faith to be eligible to hold the office of His Majesty’s High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland.
This Bill received Royal Assent on 3rd April 2025 and was enacted into law.
A Bill to extend the period within which vacancies among the Lords Spiritual are to be filled by bishops who are women.
This Bill received Royal Assent on 16th January 2025 and was enacted into law.
e-Petitions are administered by Parliament and allow members of the public to express support for a particular issue.
If an e-petition reaches 10,000 signatures the Government will issue a written response.
If an e-petition reaches 100,000 signatures the petition becomes eligible for a Parliamentary debate (usually Monday 4.30pm in Westminster Hall).
I would like there to be another General Election.
I believe the current Labour Government have gone back on the promises they laid out in the lead up to the last election.
We want an immediate general election to be held. We think the majority need and want change.
Apply for the UK to join the European Union as a full member as soon as possible
Gov Responded - 19 Nov 2024 Debated on - 24 Mar 2025I believe joining the EU would boost the economy, increase global influence, improve collaboration and provide stability & freedom. I believe that Brexit hasn't brought any tangible benefit and there is no future prospect of any, that the UK has changed its mind and that this should be recognised.
Capita is responsible for delivering the remaining 2015 Remedy work. The cases remaining to be processed are generally the most complex, involving intricate service histories, multiple retirements, or complex benefit structures.
All active and deferred Remedy-affected members receive this choice at retirement.
The McCloud remedy work is a bespoke and one-off piece of work that is not an ongoing part of the services for members who have not yet retired. As part of the remedy work, members, who had service during the remedy period, who retired and claimed benefits before 1st October 2023, receive an immediate choice remedial savings statement (RSS). The RSS confirms their options and asks them to confirm their choice of benefits between their legacy scheme and alpha for the remedy period. To date, 58,411 RSS’s have been distributed and 42,516 immediate choice elections have been implemented.
The Cabinet Office has now received Capita's Remedy Delivery plan for completion of the outstanding work. We are currently reviewing, challenging and assuring the Full Business Case and cost profile. The Civil Service Pensions Scheme website will be updated as this work progresses.
It is important to note that all impacted members in receipt of a pension are already receiving benefits and that the remedy is a potential adjustment, depending on the member’s choice, to benefits already in payment. As such the alternative scheme benefits does not automatically provide a member with a higher pension and lump sum. Where it does and the member makes an alternative scheme election, the difference between what has been paid and what is due, will be backdated to the original payment date and paid to the member inclusive of interest.
Capita is responsible for delivering the remaining 2015 Remedy work. The cases remaining to be processed are generally the most complex, involving intricate service histories, multiple retirements, or complex benefit structures.
All active and deferred Remedy-affected members receive this choice at retirement.
The McCloud remedy work is a bespoke and one-off piece of work that is not an ongoing part of the services for members who have not yet retired. As part of the remedy work, members, who had service during the remedy period, who retired and claimed benefits before 1st October 2023, receive an immediate choice remedial savings statement (RSS). The RSS confirms their options and asks them to confirm their choice of benefits between their legacy scheme and alpha for the remedy period. To date, 58,411 RSS’s have been distributed and 42,516 immediate choice elections have been implemented.
The Cabinet Office has now received Capita's Remedy Delivery plan for completion of the outstanding work. We are currently reviewing, challenging and assuring the Full Business Case and cost profile. The Civil Service Pensions Scheme website will be updated as this work progresses.
It is important to note that all impacted members in receipt of a pension are already receiving benefits and that the remedy is a potential adjustment, depending on the member’s choice, to benefits already in payment. As such the alternative scheme benefits does not automatically provide a member with a higher pension and lump sum. Where it does and the member makes an alternative scheme election, the difference between what has been paid and what is due, will be backdated to the original payment date and paid to the member inclusive of interest.
It is not routine to disclose correspondence between Ministers or Permanent Secretaries and any individual or organisation.
In line with usual practice, administrative costs to implement Machinery of Government changes will be met within existing departmental settlements, and should not affect the spending power of either the transferring or receiving department.
Unlawful activity within this zone is a matter for the police. The police monitor unlawful activity within the Government Secure Zone, and share information with relevant partners. Offences such as illegal street trading are the responsibility of relevant local authorities.
In line with policy under successive administrations, security arrangements within the Government Secure Zone are not subject to detailed public disclosure.
Engagement with a range of stakeholders is ongoing, including Civil Service networks. Feedback on internal HR policies and guidance are not published externally.
Section 36(2)(b)(i), and (c) of the Freedom of Information Act was applied based on the qualified opinion that communication, discussion and debate of the model Policy and Guidance: Supporting Trans and Non-binary Employees would inhibit free and frank internal advice. We concluded that safeguarding this space for robust consultation and engagement outweighs the public interest in disclosure.
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 8 September 2026 to Question UIN 26999.
The cost of severance payments will be published in the Annual Report on Special Advisers.
Young people have consistently expressed a strong desire for more education on climate change, so they are prepared for life and work in a changing world. Teachers have also highlighted previously that limited depth on environmental topics in the national curriculum has made it difficult to develop effective provision in this area.
The independent Curriculum and Assessment Review recommended earlier sequencing and updated environmental content within the subjects of citizenship, geography, science, and design and technology. The Secretary of State is considering the recommendations of the Review, and we expect there will be a public consultation on the proposals for the curriculum and assessment system in due course.
The department takes periods of hot weather and heatwaves seriously and has published a climate risk assessment and continues to support Responsible Bodies and schools to provide education in a safe environment. The department has published guidance on hot weather available via the Education Hub on www.gov.uk.
In addition to the recent guidance published by the Department for Education, on Friday 14 August, millions of people were sent wildfire emergency phone alerts warning against any activity that could start a fire. The Emergency Alerts system is used to amplify and complement other methods of warning and informing the public in emergency situations. In this case, we took the decision to use the system after a direct request from fire and rescue services on the front line of the fight against wildfires.
The Government furthermore released a press notice reminding the public not to light fires and to take litter home, and took action to implement a temporary ban on disposable barbecues. Various public information campaigns from the Fire and Rescue Services (national and local) include fire safety advice for the public.
Emergency Alerts in the UK will be sent where there is a risk to life in a defined area and the public must take immediate action. In the case of the recent activation regarding wildfires this was requested by the National Fire Chiefs Council, and the Alert content and broadcast area was coordinated between government and responding public bodies.
Each request is evaluated by the Cabinet Office on a rigorous, case-by-case basis to ensure it is necessary for public safety. While we strive to use this tool sparingly, the Cabinet Office remains committed to reviewing every alert request with the utmost care to balance public awareness with the potential for public fatigue. The Department conducts internal evaluation after each deployment of the capability and is committed to continuously improving this valuable service to keep people safe.
The Cabinet Office used two existing supplier frameworks to support the establishment of the National School of Government and Public Services.
Through the Learning Frameworks contracts, we engaged support to help us establish the National School as an organisation, including its operating model. Through the Government Communication Service call-off contract, we engaged Accenture Song to develop the brand proposition, visual identity and brand guidelines for the National School, and Omnicom to design a Civil Service-wide learning and development pilot campaign to drive a culture of learning and innovation following the National School's launch.
Following every activation of the Emergency Alert system, the Cabinet Office carries out an internal evaluation with key stakeholders. After the 14th August, the Chair of the National Fire Chiefs Council noted that the Emergency Alert heightened public awareness of the risks affecting firefighters. It was reported that there was a reduction in the number of wildfires in the 72 hours following the Emergency Alert.
The Cabinet Office is committed to continuously improving this valuable service to keep people safe. The government remains ready to deploy the capability at short-notice in response to risks that pose a danger to life, including but not limited to flooding, severe weather and wildfires.
I refer the Noble Lady to the Written Statement provided by Baroness Smith of Basildon on 21 July 2026, HLWS298. No such changes have been made.
The Special Reviewer on Global Finance and Cooperation will remain in their role. The Prime Minister has decided that responsibilities for women and girls policy is being led at Cabinet by the Minister for Women and Equalities. The role of the Prime Minister's Adviser on Women and Girls will therefore end. Halving violence against women and girls remains a priority for the Government.
The Church of England is by law the established Church in England and the Monarch is its Supreme Governor. There are no plans to change this.
Details of the No10 Flickr licensing arrangements are made available in the 'about' section of the page, where it says: “All content is Crown copyright and re-usable under the Open Government Licence v3.0, except where otherwise stated”.
This makes clear that OGL v3.0 applies.
I refer the Member to the answer to question 20821.
The Cabinet Office, as a department, is committed to protecting public resources and upholding financial integrity by maintaining and continuously improving its counter fraud measures. Details on cross-government fraud action can be sought from the Public Sector Fraud Authority, based in DWP.
For the department, fraud is addressed through a number of different lenses.
Detection:
Participation in the National Fraud Initiative (NFI) which is a biennial data-matching exercise run by the Public Sector Fraud Authority that matches electronic data within and between public and private sector bodies.
The department has established whistleblowing and reporting mechanisms for staff and members of the public to report concerns and allegations of fraud, which are considered in good faith.
System and operational controls have been established across financial systems to establish separation of duties, approvals and audit points.
Prevent and Deter:
Counter fraud training is a required learning module for all staff each year. Greater awareness of what fraud is better enables staff to identify risks and irregularities consistently and at earlier opportunities.
A communication strategy provides a rhythm of information on emerging threats, case studies, tools and guidance. This includes participation in International Fraud Awareness Week.
Initial Fraud Impact Assessments are required for all new spending decisions and grants where Full Risk Assessments are conducted where required. This enables the department to proactively consider appropriate controls.
Response:
The department responds to all substantiated allegations of fraud by seeking the most appropriate actions including, civil recovery and Police referral. The department is supported by the PSFA enforcement unit and internal debt recovery providers as and when required.
Governance and reporting
The department is subject to reporting and assurance processes governed by the PSFA.
The department has an accountable board member for counter fraud to represent the internal counter fraud agenda and to provide oversight at a senior level.
The Cabinet Office Counter Fraud team regularly reports to the department’s audit and risk committee who provide critical challenges to the scope, scale and depth of counter fraud arrangements in the department.
Ministers play an important role in maintaining the security of government business. New ministers receive security briefings in their first weeks in Government as a priority, which includes guidance on information security. In line with practices across successive Administrations, the Government does not otherwise comment on internal security arrangements.
NATO’s definition for 1.5% reporting sets out that spend should be to protect our critical infrastructure, defend our networks, ensure our civil preparedness and resilience, unleash innovation and strengthen our defence industrial base. The UK Government used these definitions to determine eligible spend. Specific sectors included within that definition are confidential.
Whilst the Emergency Alerts capability is an important tool for warning and informing the public, the system is intended to complement rather than supersede other tools available to responders to communicate with the public in emergency situations. Those unable to be notified by this new capability will therefore be alerted by other existing mechanisms, for example, by text or phone messages, social and broadcast media.
Furthermore, each region across the UK also has a group in place, whose role it is to warn, inform and advise the public in the event of an emergency. These are called Local Resilience Forums in England and Wales, Regional Resilience Partnerships in Scotland, and Emergency Preparedness Groups in Northern Ireland. These forums are made up of local authorities, the emergency services, the NHS & health bodies and environment-related government agencies.
The Government’s ambition is for all populated areas to have access to higher quality standalone 5G by 2030. This includes rural areas. The Government continues to work closely with the industry to ensure this is delivered, including through the identification and removal of barriers to deployment. Alongside the commercial rollout of mobile networks, the Government is delivering the Shared Rural Network, which is bringing new 4G coverage to rural and hard to reach communities across the UK through the upgrade of existing infrastructure and the delivery of new sites.
I refer the Honourable Member to the response to Question 16155 of 28 July 2026.
The government understands that individuals may be worried if they did not receive the recent Emergency Alert on 14th August and wants to reassure the public that if they are unable to receive Emergency Alerts due to handset incompatibility or living in a signal black spot, they will still be alerted by other existing mechanisms. For example, by text or phone messages, social and broadcast media. The Emergency Alerts capability is intended to complement rather than supersede other tools available to responders to communicate with the public in emergency situations.
Each region across the UK also has a group in place, whose role it is to warn, inform and advise the public in the event of an emergency. These are called Local Resilience Forums in England and Wales, Regional Resilience Partnerships in Scotland, and Emergency Preparedness Groups in Northern Ireland. These forums are made up of local authorities, the emergency services, the NHS & health bodies and environment-related government agencies.
The government’s ambition is for all populated areas to have access to higher quality standalone 5G by 2030. This includes rural areas. The Government continues to work closely with the industry to ensure this is delivered, including through the identification and removal of barriers to deployment. Alongside the commercial rollout of mobile networks, the Government is delivering the Shared Rural Network, which is bringing new 4G coverage to rural and hard to reach communities across the UK through the upgrade of existing infrastructure and the delivery of new sites.
Protecting victims of domestic abuse is always our priority. Both national tests of the Emergency Alerting capability were accompanied by a proactive public communications campaign. This included extensive engagement with charities and groups representing vulnerable communities, such as Refuge. Advice on how to opt-out of emergency alerts is available at all times of GOV.uk/alerts, and is included in the websites of a number of charities and organisations that support victims of domestic abuse.
As far as possible, the Cabinet Office engages with the media ahead of the transmission of an Alert to provide notice to the public. In a ‘live’ activation scenario, pre-planned public communications are difficult to ensure but will always be considered where possible. Please be assured that we are learning from each activation to ensure that the capability is being used in the most effective way.
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 15 April 2026 to Question UIN 125344.
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 15 April 2026 to Question UIN 125344.
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 15 April 2026 to Question UIN 125344.
The Cabinet Office Travel and Expenses policy covers civil service staff, special advisors and non-executive board and committee members in the Cabinet Office. The cost of hotels, train travel and subsistence will be funded by the Cabinet Office for official business travel. Ordinary commuting costs are not covered.
The list of the Cabinet on GOV.UK provides the current order of precedence of Cabinet ministers.
The list of the Cabinet on GOV.UK provides the current order of precedence of Cabinet ministers.
The list of the Cabinet on GOV.UK provides the current order of precedence of Cabinet ministers.
There is an established process whereby the No10 Appointments Unit and No10 Special Advisers are consulted on appointments that are on the published PM interest list. The previous Prime Minister was not consulted on these appointments and had previously recused himself from decisions relating to the Football Governance Act.
There is an established process whereby the No10 Appointments Unit and No10 Special Advisers are consulted on appointments that are on the published PM interest list. The previous Prime Minister was not consulted on these appointments and had previously recused himself from decisions relating to the Football Governance Act.
The Government does not regularly comment on matters of national security.
The Government does not regularly comment on matters of national security.
The Government does not regularly comment on matters of national security.
The Cabinet Office develops Emergency Alerts in collaboration with local responders and emergency services. Every Alert is carefully coordinated with responding public bodies and each request is evaluated by the Cabinet Office on a rigorous, case-by-case basis to ensure it is necessary for public safety.
All Emergency Alerts must meet the criteria for use and since the launch of the capability in April 2023, the Cabinet Office has authorised seven live activations, six of which were related to extreme weather.
The Government remains ready to deploy the capability at short-notice in response to risks that pose a danger to life, including but not limited to flooding, severe weather and wildfires.
All Emergency Alerts must meet an agreed set of criteria for use. Those criteria were met on the 14th August. On the day the Alert was issued, the National Fire Chiefs Council reported 43 active fires and 11 major incidents nationwide. Mutual aid was in play, with fire and rescue services across the country supporting each other. In south Wales, the military had been deployed to tackle major wildfires.
We took the decision working with fire and rescue services on the ground, in response to the latest understanding of the risk picture.
Encouragingly, in the 72 hours following the Emergency Alert, the Chair of the National Fire Chiefs Council Phil Garrigan noted there was a reduction in the number of wildfires. The Alert was effective in heightening the public’s awareness of the risk affecting the country.
The government remains ready to deploy the capability at short-notice in response to risks that pose a danger to life, including but not limited to flooding, severe weather and wildfires.
The Cabinet Manual update will ensure that it reflects the main laws, conventions and rules that affect the operation and procedures of the Government. This will include reflecting changes in legislation and practice since 2011. The Government will seek feedback from the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee in the House of Commons and the Constitution Committee in the House of Lords on draft text.
The temporary cover for the Director General, Propriety and Constitution Group has gone beyond the six-month period for operational reasons.
Under the Ministerial and Other Pensions and Salaries Act 1991, Ministers aged 65 and older are not entitled to a severance payment.
The Director General of the Future Civil Service was appointed through a level transfer managed move. The post-holder previously went through fair and open competition to attain that grade.
The Cabinet Office is committed to the responsible management of public money, ensuring that all exit arrangements represent value for the taxpayer. The terms of the Civil Service Compensation Scheme (CSCS) are set out in the 2010 Scheme Rules and apply to all civil servants regardless of grade, including Permanent Secretaries and Cabinet Secretaries.
Following a Royal Warrant issued on 30 October 2025, the entry relating to the Duke of York was removed from the Roll of the Peerage. The Royal Warrant is available on the College of Arms website at: https://www.college-of-arms.gov.uk/images/downloads/Royal_Warrant_re_Roll_of_the_Peerage_2025.pdf.
I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement of 7 September 2026 (HCWS314), which covers the OpenAI-Hugging Face case and similar recent examples of AI agents acting beyond their operators' intentions, and the actions this Government is taking in response.
The eligibility criteria for 2027 internship schemes in the United Kingdom Intelligence Community were or will be made publicly available on agency websites when the schemes are advertised.
We are striving wherever possible to ensure that people from backgrounds that are typically underrepresented in these industries are given opportunities they have previously been denied, so we make the most of all of our country’s brilliant talent.
Our interactions and equities decision making relating to China sits across a wide-range of Departments. All have responsibilities for assessing the priorities and trade-offs in their policy space, informed by deep expertise and analysis. As with many areas, this requires some central co-ordination through the Cabinet office to ensure a cohesive, whole-of-government approach that empowers departments to deliver while maintaining consistency. This includes supporting the National Security Council.
The campaign will be delivered through a low-cost strategy to drive national behaviour change. We are actively engaging local government, emergency services, utilities, industry, academia, and the voluntary and faith sectors to support the campaign to embed campaign messages into people's everyday lives (such as libraries, utility bills and via healthcare providers) and significantly amplify our overall reach.
We secured funding through the Spending Review process to design assets and to target priority audiences with paid advertising, where we have evidence that low/no cost communications activity had limited reach.