Cabinet Office

I refer the Noble Lord to the Register of Members' Financial Interests.

The Government is committed to transparency and has already taken a number of steps to restore trust in politics. The Government currently has no plans to bring Special Advisers within the scope of the Lobbying Act, although it continues to keep transparency and lobbying under review.

Records relating to the above matter will be reviewed in accordance with the requirements of the Public Records Act 1958.

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 capped as well as time-limited. 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 discussion in the next phase of the negotiations.

The visit in question was initially designated as an official event. It was subsequently rescheduled and redesignated as a political event. No further support was provided by permanent civil servants after this point.

The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. The CS Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Expenditure guidance remains in place.

The annual written statement on charges incurred by departments for the use of official government cars for Ministers ceased in 2018 under the previous administration. There are no plans to resume it.

The Government continues to keep transparency around lobbying under review, and we will factor into consideration the recommendations from PACAC's report as any policy reforms are considered. However, the report was conducted and published under the previous administration, and framed in the context of policy restraints imposed by that administration, therefore the Government will not be providing a full report response.

Special advisers routinely travel with the Prime Minister and did so on 10 April, including so as to provide support in the conduct of any official duties, which can arise at any time.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the Rt. Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 16th July is attached.

The timeline for completing assessments of suppliers who have engaged in poor performance or professional misconduct is dependent on the circumstances of each individual case.

The impact of the Horizon scandal on postmasters and their families has been horrendous. The Government is determined to hold those responsible to account and will continue to seek to make rapid progress on compensation and redress. Fujitsu’s role in Horizon is one of the issues currently being reviewed by Sir Wyn Williams’s statutory inquiry. The Government are carefully considering volume 1 of the report. Once the inquiry has established the full facts, we will review its final report and consider any further action, where appropriate.

In January 2024, Fujitsu committed to withdraw from bidding for contracts with new government customers until the Post Office Horizon inquiry concludes. It will bid for work with existing government customers only where it already has a contract with them or where there is an agreed need for Fujitsu’s skills and capabilities.

Individual contracting authorities are responsible for the award and management of contracts. With regard to scrutiny during procurement processes, the Procurement Act 2023 enables and, where appropriate, requires the exclusion of suppliers where they pose particular risks to public procurement. The Cabinet Office has issued substantial guidance for departments, available on gov.uk. The exclusions regime provides a framework within which contracting authorities must consider a supplier’s recent past behaviour and circumstances (or their presence on the debarment list) to determine whether it should be allowed to compete for or be awarded a public contract.

The National Procurement Policy Statement asks contracting authorities to ensure they have the appropriate procurement and contract management skills and capability necessary to deliver public contracts and encourages the use of collaborative procurement frameworks, where appropriate, to deliver value for money.

To provide transparency, the government regularly publishes Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for its most important contracts, and the performance of the vendor against those KPIs.

The timeline for completing assessments of suppliers who have engaged in poor performance or professional misconduct is dependent on the circumstances of each individual case.

The impact of the Horizon scandal on postmasters and their families has been horrendous. The Government is determined to hold those responsible to account and will continue to seek to make rapid progress on compensation and redress. Fujitsu’s role in Horizon is one of the issues currently being reviewed by Sir Wyn Williams’s statutory inquiry. The Government are carefully considering volume 1 of the report. Once the inquiry has established the full facts, we will review its final report and consider any further action, where appropriate.

In January 2024, Fujitsu committed to withdraw from bidding for contracts with new government customers until the Post Office Horizon inquiry concludes. It will bid for work with existing government customers only where it already has a contract with them or where there is an agreed need for Fujitsu’s skills and capabilities.

Individual contracting authorities are responsible for the award and management of contracts. With regard to scrutiny during procurement processes, the Procurement Act 2023 enables and, where appropriate, requires the exclusion of suppliers where they pose particular risks to public procurement. The Cabinet Office has issued substantial guidance for departments, available on gov.uk. The exclusions regime provides a framework within which contracting authorities must consider a supplier’s recent past behaviour and circumstances (or their presence on the debarment list) to determine whether it should be allowed to compete for or be awarded a public contract.

The National Procurement Policy Statement asks contracting authorities to ensure they have the appropriate procurement and contract management skills and capability necessary to deliver public contracts and encourages the use of collaborative procurement frameworks, where appropriate, to deliver value for money.

To provide transparency, the government regularly publishes Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for its most important contracts, and the performance of the vendor against those KPIs.

The timeline for completing assessments of suppliers who have engaged in poor performance or professional misconduct is dependent on the circumstances of each individual case.

The impact of the Horizon scandal on postmasters and their families has been horrendous. The Government is determined to hold those responsible to account and will continue to seek to make rapid progress on compensation and redress. Fujitsu’s role in Horizon is one of the issues currently being reviewed by Sir Wyn Williams’s statutory inquiry. The Government are carefully considering volume 1 of the report. Once the inquiry has established the full facts, we will review its final report and consider any further action, where appropriate.

In January 2024, Fujitsu committed to withdraw from bidding for contracts with new government customers until the Post Office Horizon inquiry concludes. It will bid for work with existing government customers only where it already has a contract with them or where there is an agreed need for Fujitsu’s skills and capabilities.

Individual contracting authorities are responsible for the award and management of contracts. With regard to scrutiny during procurement processes, the Procurement Act 2023 enables and, where appropriate, requires the exclusion of suppliers where they pose particular risks to public procurement. The Cabinet Office has issued substantial guidance for departments, available on gov.uk. The exclusions regime provides a framework within which contracting authorities must consider a supplier’s recent past behaviour and circumstances (or their presence on the debarment list) to determine whether it should be allowed to compete for or be awarded a public contract.

The National Procurement Policy Statement asks contracting authorities to ensure they have the appropriate procurement and contract management skills and capability necessary to deliver public contracts and encourages the use of collaborative procurement frameworks, where appropriate, to deliver value for money.

To provide transparency, the government regularly publishes Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for its most important contracts, and the performance of the vendor against those KPIs.

The Government continues to closely monitor the impact on Northern Ireland of any potential changes in global tariff rates, and notes the US letter of 12 July to the EU and subsequent pausing of any EU retaliatory measures until at least August.

Should EU countermeasures come into effect, in line with the agreed protection measures of both the UK and EU markets, a limited subset of US goods moving into Northern Ireland may be impacted. Where these goods do not subsequently enter the EU, the Duty Reimbursement Scheme enables traders to reclaim or remit any additional duties, without any limit on total claims. The UK remains fully committed to implementing the Windsor Framework in good faith and protecting the UK internal market.

The IBCA Framework Document, published in March, sets out the timelines agreed between IBCA and Cabinet Office; namely for the bulk of infected people to be paid no later than the end of 2027 and the bulk of affected people to be paid no later than the end of 2029.

Due to the nature of the Infected Blood scandal there is uncertainty over the number of people who might be eligible for compensation. The final number of eligible people will ultimately depend on the number of victims who come forward and there is no limit or target on the amount announced for the scheme. Therefore these timescales have been agreed with IBCA to ensure that the door is kept open for those who have not yet identified themselves as being infected or affected.

IBCA has opened the service to those who are living with infection, registered with a support scheme, and are prioritising those who are nearing the end of their lives within this cohort. IBCA is contacting an average of 100 people every week to start their claim. Nearly two-thirds of those who are living with infection and registered with a support scheme have now been asked to start their claim, and IBCA expect to start claims for everyone in this group within the next few months.

As part of the deal we secured at the first UK-EU summit in May, we agreed to dynamically align with the EU in specific areas where it makes sense, and where there is a benefit to the UK economy. Exporters have been clear that this will reduce the regulatory burden. This deal includes an SPS (sanitary and phytosanitary) agreement, which will make it easier for food and drink to be imported and exported by reducing the red tape, and linking our respective Emissions Trading Systems. Together these measures are set to add nearly £9 billion to the UK economy by 2040.

The Common Understanding is clear that where the UK Government decides to align with EU rules as part of a new agreement this will give due regard to the UK’s constitutional and Parliamentary procedures. The UK will be involved, as a sovereign nation outside of the European Union, at an early stage and contribute to the decision-shaping process of European Union legal acts.

The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) will have a limited role in assisting an independent arbitration tribunal responsible for deciding a dispute between the UK and the EU. The CJEU does not rule on the substantive outcome of the dispute - that is a matter for the independent arbitration panel.

As appointments are for life, the second chamber has become too big. The Government’s manifesto therefore included a commitment to introduce a retirement age for members of the House of Lords.

The Government intends to propose the establishment of a dedicated select committee in the House of Lords to look at how best to implement the manifesto commitments on a retirement age and participation requirement, following the passage of the House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill.

The Cabinet Office works closely with the Ministry of Defence to track and monitor risks to national security supply chains. The forthcoming Defence Industrial Strategy will set out the government's approach to defence supply chain security and resilience.

The delivery of compensation is a matter for the Infected Blood Compensation Authority (IBCA). IBCA publishes regular updates on its website of the progress made in delivering compensation, including how many individuals have received compensation payments.

The first payments were made in December 2024. You can find the statistics published by IBCA on their website here: https://ibca.org.uk/statistics

The Government is committed to tackling misconduct in public procurement. All contracting authorities and suppliers are expected to act, and be seen to act, with integrity. The debarment regime came into effect on 24 February 2025.

A supplier may only be added to the debarment list if an investigation conducted by the Debarment Review Service (DRS), on behalf of the Minister, establishes that a mandatory or discretionary exclusion ground (as outlined in Schedules 6 and 7 of the Procurement Act 2023) applies and that the circumstances leading to the exclusion ground are continuing or likely to occur again.

The Minister's decision and the outcomes of all debarment investigations, will be publicly available on gov.uk. Currently, there are no suppliers on the debarment list

The National Security Strategy concluded that state-sponsored cyberattacks represent a persistent and intensifying threat to the UK’s national security, with hostile actors using cyber operations to undermine our democratic institutions, economic stability and critical infrastructure.

The Government is taking decisive action to counter this threat by strengthening the UK’s cyber resilience, expanding the capabilities of the National Cyber Security Centre, the National Crime Agency and the National Cyber Force, and introducing the Cyber Security Resilience Bill to enhance protections for critical national infrastructure. We are also deepening cooperation with international partners to deter hostile activity and respond collectively to malicious cyber operations.

I refer the Noble Lord to the answer given by the Parliamentary Secretary to the Cabinet Office on 10 July, Official Report, PQ HC64454.

PQ 64454 Kevin Hollinrake: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Government plans to establish an Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. 64454

Minister Oppong-Asare response, published 10 July: Deputy Prime Ministers are rightly supported in their role to deliver the additional responsibilities.

The Deputy Prime Minister’s responsibilities are set out on Gov.uk and any such plans would be set out in the usual way.

HMT has Bloomberg terminals and subscriptions to support the provision of economic advice to the Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer.

The Prime Minister will continue to invite nominations from HOLAC, and future appointments will be announced in the usual way.

The United Kingdom has two established churches, the Church of England and the Church of Scotland. The church was disestablished in Ireland in 1871 and in Wales in 1920. There are no plans to change the current arrangements.

The Government is committed to ensuring that all those eligible to receive compensation receive an award as quickly as possible. As of 15 July, the Infected Blood Compensation Authority (IBCA) has contacted 2,215 people to begin their claim for compensation, with 1,934 having started the claim process. 808 offers of compensation have been made, with a total value of over £602 million. 587 people have accepted their offer and received payment, with over £411 million paid in compensation. This means approximately 60% of infected people registered with a support scheme have been contacted to begin their claim.

For other groups, IBCA will continue their test and learn approach, bringing different people in at different stages to start their compensation claim. They set out further details of this in their community update on 21st July.

It is not routine to publish correspondence between the Prime Minister and any individual or organisation.

The Government Communications Service (GCS) undertakes assessments of platforms, such as X and Bluesky, when there are significant platform updates. The last assessment on X was made in April 2023.

SAFE is the single, comprehensive framework that the government uses for these assessments, providing thorough guidance and processes to ensure appropriate use of digital advertising environments.

The platform X is currently used for non-paid communications activity only (also known as 'organic' activity). There are currently no government or ministerial accounts on Bluesky and no SAFE Framework assessment has been completed.

The Government Communications Service (GCS) undertakes assessments of platforms, such as X and Bluesky, when there are significant platform updates. The last assessment on X was made in April 2023.

SAFE is the single, comprehensive framework that the government uses for these assessments, providing thorough guidance and processes to ensure appropriate use of digital advertising environments.

The platform X is currently used for non-paid communications activity only (also known as 'organic' activity). There are currently no government or ministerial accounts on Bluesky and no SAFE Framework assessment has been completed.

The Government Communications Service (GCS) undertakes assessments of platforms, such as X and Bluesky, when there are significant platform updates. The last assessment on X was made in April 2023.

SAFE is the single, comprehensive framework that the government uses for these assessments, providing thorough guidance and processes to ensure appropriate use of digital advertising environments.

The platform X is currently used for non-paid communications activity only (also known as 'organic' activity). There are currently no government or ministerial accounts on Bluesky and no SAFE Framework assessment has been completed.

The delivery of compensation is a matter for the Infected Blood Compensation Authority (IBCA).

IBCA has opened the service to those who are living with infection, registered with a support scheme, and prioritising those who are nearing the end of their lives within this cohort. IBCA is contacting an average of 100 people every week so start their claim. At that rate, they expect to have contacted all those who are living with infection and registered with a support scheme this calendar year.

IBCA is taking a ‘test and learn’ approach to the delivery of compensation. By starting small, they are able to improve the service they deliver, which means that compensation can be paid to everyone faster.

As of 15th July, IBCA has contacted 2, 215 people to start their compensation claim, and 1,934 people have started the claim process. 808 offers of compensation have been made, totalling over £602 million, and so far 587 people have accepted their offers with more than £411 million paid in compensation.

The impact of the Horizon scandal on postmasters and their families has been horrendous. The Government is determined to hold those responsible to account and will continue to seek to make rapid progress on compensation and redress. Fujitsu’s role in Horizon is one of the issues currently being reviewed by Sir Wyn Williams’s statutory inquiry. The Government are carefully considering volume 1 of the report. Once the inquiry has established the full facts, we will review its final report and consider any further action, where appropriate.

In January 2024, Fujitsu committed to withdraw from bidding for contracts with new government customers until the Post Office Horizon inquiry concludes. It will bid for work with existing government customers only where it already has a contract with them or where there is an agreed need for Fujitsu’s skills and capabilities.

Individual contracting authorities are responsible for the award and management of contracts. With regard to scrutiny during procurement processes, the Procurement Act 2023 enables and, where appropriate, requires the exclusion of suppliers where they pose particular risks to public procurement. The Cabinet Office has issued substantial guidance for departments, available on gov.uk. The exclusions regime provides a framework within which contracting authorities must consider a supplier’s recent past behaviour and circumstances (or their presence on the debarment list) to determine whether it should be allowed to compete for or be awarded a public contract.

The National Procurement Policy Statement asks contracting authorities to ensure they have the appropriate procurement and contract management skills and capability necessary to deliver public contracts and encourages the use of collaborative procurement frameworks, where appropriate, to deliver value for money.

To provide transparency, the government regularly publishes Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for its most important contracts, and the performance of the vendor against those KPIs.

The impact of the Horizon scandal on postmasters and their families has been horrendous. The Government is determined to hold those responsible to account and will continue to seek to make rapid progress on compensation and redress. Fujitsu’s role in Horizon is one of the issues currently being reviewed by Sir Wyn Williams’s statutory inquiry. The Government are carefully considering volume 1 of the report. Once the inquiry has established the full facts, we will review its final report and consider any further action, where appropriate.

In January 2024, Fujitsu committed to withdraw from bidding for contracts with new government customers until the Post Office Horizon inquiry concludes. It will bid for work with existing government customers only where it already has a contract with them or where there is an agreed need for Fujitsu’s skills and capabilities.

Individual contracting authorities are responsible for the award and management of contracts. With regard to scrutiny during procurement processes, the Procurement Act 2023 enables and, where appropriate, requires the exclusion of suppliers where they pose particular risks to public procurement. The Cabinet Office has issued substantial guidance for departments, available on gov.uk. The exclusions regime provides a framework within which contracting authorities must consider a supplier’s recent past behaviour and circumstances (or their presence on the debarment list) to determine whether it should be allowed to compete for or be awarded a public contract.

The National Procurement Policy Statement asks contracting authorities to ensure they have the appropriate procurement and contract management skills and capability necessary to deliver public contracts and encourages the use of collaborative procurement frameworks, where appropriate, to deliver value for money.

To provide transparency, the government regularly publishes Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for its most important contracts, and the performance of the vendor against those KPIs.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

Please see the letter attached from the National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority.

Emma Rourke | Acting National Statistician

The Lord Davies of Gower

House of Lords

London

SW1A 0PW

16 July 2025

Dear Lord Davies of Gower,

As Acting National Statistician, I am responding to your Parliamentary Question asking what assessment has been made of the impact of the levels of immigration in the last year on employment rates among UK-born workers (HL9326).

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimates the employment rates of people born in the UK and people not born in the UK from the Labour Force Survey (LFS), which is a survey of people resident in households in the UK.

According to LFS estimates, the employment rate for people born in the UK for the three-month period January to March 2025 was 74.6%. This was 0.2 percentage points higher than the equivalent employment rate one year earlier. Meanwhile, the employment rate for people born outside of the UK increased by 1.7 percentage points to 76.6% over the same period.

As the LFS does not collect information on the length of time people born outside of the UK have been residents, it is not possible to provide estimates of the employment rate for recent immigrants.

The ongoing challenges with response rates, response levels and weighting approach mean that labour market statistics based on the LFS are subject to increased volatility and are considered ’official statistics in development’ until further review.

Yours sincerely,

Emma Rourke

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

Please see the letter attached from the National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority.

Emma Rourke | Acting National Statistician

The Lord Birt

House of Lords

London

SW1A 0PW

16 July 2025

Dear Lord Birt,

As Acting National Statistician, I am responding to your Parliamentary Question asking how the productivity of London’s economy compares with the UK’s economy as a whole (HL9313).

According to our latest regional labour productivity publication for 2023, titled Regional and subregional labour productivity, UK: 2023[1], London remains by far the most productive region in the UK. The headline measure, output per hour worked, shows that London’s productivity was 28.5% higher than the UK average in 2023.

Yours sincerely,

Emma Rourke

[1]https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/economicoutputandproductivity/productivitymeasures/bulletins/regionalandsubregionallabourproductivityuk/2023

All information relating to the value of council tax bills for Westminster are published on Westminster City Council’s Website at https://www.westminster.gov.uk/council-tax/council-tax-bands-and-charges.

The Government does not provide a running commentary on ongoing disputes.

All invitations were sent by the Government.

The Civil Service People Plan 2024 - 2027 outlines our commitment to ensuring we attract, develop and retain talented people from a diverse range of backgrounds. Appointment to the Civil Service must be based on merit on the basis of fair and open competition.

To support this, and reduce the potential for bias in the recruitment process, the Cabinet Office uses name-blind recruitment where applications are anonymised during sifting. Information on candidates' socio-economic background and race is collected for monitoring and reporting purposes, but hiring managers are not provided with access to this information for individual candidates.

The Cabinet Office also uses the Disability Confident Scheme (DCS), ensuring disabled candidates who meet the minimum criteria for a role are given a fair opportunity to demonstrate their skills at interview.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 8th July is attached.

The provision of equipment by Crown Commercial Service (CCS) for staff to use when working at home is made in line with Health and Safety legislation and workplace adjustment requirements.

Information on how much has been spent specifically to facilitate home working could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

The Government Property Agency uses the Cabinet Office's policy on Office Workstation Safety which includes the purchase of equipment for working at home. We do not have any formal home working contracts at the GPA.

IT equipment is purchased for the Government Property Agency (GPA) via Cabinet Office IT and recharged annually. However, to extract the relevant information would incur disproportionate costs.

Heads of departments have agreed that 60% minimum office attendance for most staff continues to be the best balance of working for the Civil Service.

It is the long-standing policy of successive British Governments that judgement as to whether genocide has occurred is for a competent national or international court. Genocide is a crime and whether it has occurred should be decided after consideration of all the evidence available in the context of a credible judicial process.

The UK Government is committed to upholding international law and promoting human rights in all its operations, including procurement. We expect all suppliers to uphold the highest of ethical standards and to comply with all applicable laws and regulations.

Public sector procurement is subject to a legal framework set out by the Procurement Act 2023 which came into force in February 2025. Individual contracting authorities are responsible for their own procurement and contract award decisions under the Act.