Asked by: Lord Norton of Louth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Statement by the Baroness Smith of Basildon on 19 June (HLWS717) on nominations to the House of Lords, what is the limit on the number of recommendations they will make directly each year of candidates to sit as crossbench peers.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Basildon - Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
It is established practice that the Prime Minister can appoint individuals with a record of service to the public to the crossbenches. As set out in the written statement, the Prime Minister will continue to make a limited number of appointments via this route.
The number of appointments to the House of Lords is a matter for the Prime Minister and any future appointments will be announced in the normal way.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 21 May 2025 to Question HL7244 on Prime Minister: Staff, when the No10 Implementation Unit was disbanded; and whether it was replaced.
Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
There has not been an Implementation Unit in 10 Downing Street for at least 15 years. It would not be appropriate to comment on the decision made by a previous government to disband the unit. This Government has established the Mission Delivery Unit.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 29 January 2025 to Question 25449 on Government Communication Service, what his Department's planned timetable is for publishing its review of the size of the Government Communications Service as part of Phase 2 of the Spending Review.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Government Communications Service (GCS) regularly evaluates communications teams to ensure value for money and operational effectiveness. GCS is currently recruiting a Director of Government Communications who will lead the redesign of the service to ensure it reflects both the evolving communications landscape and government priorities.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, Pursuant to the Answer of 26 June 2025 to Question 60479 on Deputy Prime Ministers: Official Residences, whether broadband is provided to the ministerial residence.
Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
We do not routinely set out what services are provided at official residences, as doing so might compromise their security.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 30 June 2025 to Question 62283 on Cabinet Office: Pay, whether the Civil Service Statistics 2025 document will publish the annual wage costs of the EU relations secretariat.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Salary data for the Civil Service is published annually as part of Civil Service Statistics. This statistical bulletin presents mean and median salary data for Civil Service departments and their Executive Agencies overall. A detailed breakdown for the structure and associated payscales for the European Relations Secretariat is available as part of the Cabinet Office organogram of Staff Roles & Salaries on gov.uk.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 18 June 2025 to Question 58776 on National Armaments Director: Public Appointments, when he expects the permanent National Armaments Director to be in place.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
I refer to my answer given on 25 June to HC60825 and HC60826.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many contracts held by Serco were extended or renewed between 2020 and 2025; and whether any of those extensions were granted despite outstanding performance concerns.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The government has taken significant steps to increase transparency in the delivery of public services. Cabinet Office regularly publish a list of the most significant contracts held by central government on Gov.uk. This list includes up to four Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for each contract, along with the supplier's performance against those KPIs.
Serco’s contract performance information is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/key-performance-indicators-kpis-for-governments-most-important-contracts.
In 2019, the government introduced a new approach to the monitoring and management of strategic suppliers through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the government and each of its strategic suppliers. Strategic Suppliers have agreed to provide government with the information it needs to monitor and manage risks across their supply chains. Details of the current policy can be found here:
The Government does not routinely release information relating to formal warnings issued to suppliers as this may prejudice a supplier’s commercial interests.
Contracting Authorities are responsible for the award of contracts in line with the procurement regulations at the time of the award. This would include undertaking due diligence on suppliers as required by those regulations. It would not be appropriate for the Cabinet Office to comment on any specific procurements, that would be for the relevant Contracting Authority to respond.
Details of central government contracts above £12,000 and public sector contracts above £30,000 for procurements commenced before 24 February 2025 are published on Contracts Finder (https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finder). Contracts procured under the Procurement Act 2023, which came into force on 24 February 2025, are published on the Central Digital Platform Find a Tender service (https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Search/Results).
The government must ensure that there are sufficient safeguards in place to allow the prevention of suppliers with a history of serious contractual failures from being awarded public contracts. The recently launched Procurement Act 2023 has strengthened our ability to respond where issues arise and address poor performance. The Act makes it easier for contracting authorities to exclude suppliers from bidding for public contracts for past poor performance or where there has been breach of contract. Cabinet Office has published extensive guidance to support contracting authorities, in addition to a robust and wide reaching training offer to support the implementation of the Procurement Act.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the government has ever issued a formal warning to Serco under the Strategic Supplier Risk Management Policy.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The government has taken significant steps to increase transparency in the delivery of public services. Cabinet Office regularly publish a list of the most significant contracts held by central government on Gov.uk. This list includes up to four Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for each contract, along with the supplier's performance against those KPIs.
Serco’s contract performance information is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/key-performance-indicators-kpis-for-governments-most-important-contracts.
In 2019, the government introduced a new approach to the monitoring and management of strategic suppliers through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the government and each of its strategic suppliers. Strategic Suppliers have agreed to provide government with the information it needs to monitor and manage risks across their supply chains. Details of the current policy can be found here:
The Government does not routinely release information relating to formal warnings issued to suppliers as this may prejudice a supplier’s commercial interests.
Contracting Authorities are responsible for the award of contracts in line with the procurement regulations at the time of the award. This would include undertaking due diligence on suppliers as required by those regulations. It would not be appropriate for the Cabinet Office to comment on any specific procurements, that would be for the relevant Contracting Authority to respond.
Details of central government contracts above £12,000 and public sector contracts above £30,000 for procurements commenced before 24 February 2025 are published on Contracts Finder (https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finder). Contracts procured under the Procurement Act 2023, which came into force on 24 February 2025, are published on the Central Digital Platform Find a Tender service (https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Search/Results).
The government must ensure that there are sufficient safeguards in place to allow the prevention of suppliers with a history of serious contractual failures from being awarded public contracts. The recently launched Procurement Act 2023 has strengthened our ability to respond where issues arise and address poor performance. The Act makes it easier for contracting authorities to exclude suppliers from bidding for public contracts for past poor performance or where there has been breach of contract. Cabinet Office has published extensive guidance to support contracting authorities, in addition to a robust and wide reaching training offer to support the implementation of the Procurement Act.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on Serco’s compliance with contractual obligations for electronic monitoring installations.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
As the Contracting Authority for the electronic monitoring services contract, the Ministry of Justice is responsible for overseeing the supplier’s performance.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he is reviewing the (a) risk and (b) accountability of outsourcing contracts for offender management services.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
As the Contracting Authority for the electronic monitoring services contract, the Ministry of Justice is responsible for overseeing the supplier’s performance.