Asked by: Lord Bassam of Brighton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether, in relation to the operation of the civil service pension scheme, loss of data has been reported to the Information Commissioner's Office.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Cabinet Office maintains strict oversight of data security within the Civil Service Pension Scheme. No incidents of data loss have been identified or reported. As no data breach has occurred, the Department has had no requirement to inform the Information Commissioner's Office
Asked by: Stephen Gethins (Scottish National Party - Arbroath and Broughty Ferry)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when he plans to answer written question 110026, submitted on 2 February 2026.
Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
A response has been issued here.
Asked by: Lord Redwood (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many industrial plants employing over 200 people have closed in the last year.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
Please see the letter attached from the Permanent Secretary of the Office for National Statistics.
Lord Redwood
House of Lords
London
SW1A 0PW
26 March 2026
Dear Lord Redwood,
As Permanent Secretary of the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I am responding to your Parliamentary Question asking how many industrial plants employing over 200 people have closed in the last year (HL15771).
It is not possible to answer the question as asked because these data are not available by the number of employees. However, by using the quarterly business demography dataset[1], it is possible to make an estimate of the number of businesses within the production industries which have closed in the last year.
The number of businesses within the production industries which have closed in the year 2025 is estimated to be 12,510.
The quarterly business demography statistical release is regarded as ‘official statistics in development’.
Yours sincerely,
Darren Tierney
[1] https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/business/activitysizeandlocation/bulletins/businessdemographyquarterlyexperimentalstatisticsuk/latest
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he has made changes to the Approvals Process for the Creation of New Arm's-Length Bodies since July 2024.
Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
The Approvals Process for creating new Arm's-Length Bodies (ALBs) has not changed since July 2024. Approval for setting up a new ALB must be sought formally from Cabinet Office ministers and the Chief Secretary to the Treasury before any decision about any new ALB is made. It is government policy that arm’s length bodies should only be set up as a last resort, when there is no viable alternative. New bodies are also being considered under the same principles as the wider ALB review, as announced on 6 April 2025.
Asked by: Lord Norton of Louth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made with the establishment of a National School for Government; and when they plan to launch it.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The creation of the National School for Government and Public Services was announced by Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister, Darren Jones on 20 January 2026. The purpose of the school is to support ambitions for a world-class, professional Civil Service. It is scheduled to be launched later this year.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 16 September 2025, to Question 70559, on Special Advisers: Elections, and with reference to May 2026 Elections: guidance on conduct for civil servants, published on 2 March 2026, and the new provisions in paragraphs 17 and 41, whether special advisers can provide party political support to Ministers in relation to (a) arranging visits or (b) writing speeches, using official government equipment, (1) outside office hours or (2) using paid or unpaid leave.
Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The guidance on conduct for civil servants in relation to the May 2026 elections makes clear that civil servants - including special advisers - should not use official resources for party political purposes. This guidance is available on gov.uk. The Code of Conduct for Special Advisers sets out the rules for special advisers in relation to local political activity. This is also available on gov.uk.
Asked by: Lord Bassam of Brighton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether, in the provisions relating to the Capita contract, sufficient scope was made for the transfer of personal data relating to civil service pensions scheme.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Cabinet Office ensured that the contract with Capita provided a comprehensive scope for the transfer of all necessary data. Throughout the two-year transition period, the Cabinet Office, MyCSP, and Capita worked in close partnership to monitor data-sharing protocols. This approach ensured all of the scheme data, including personal data, was successfully transferred to Capita on the go-live of their administration of the scheme.
Asked by: Lord Bassam of Brighton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Capita pensions management contract requires a streamlined process for emails from claimants to go directly to the relevant case, rather than having to be processed by a separate team.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Capita, the pension scheme administrator, provides a dedicated 'Contact Us' facility within the member portal, which utilises some automated sifting to categorise and direct inquiries. This process allows for both automated allocation and targeted manual review to ensure that correspondence is accurately routed to the appropriate specialist teams for resolution.
To further streamline the member experience, Capita is currently rolling out enhanced online tracking functionality. This will allow members to view the real-time progress of their retirement cases directly, reducing the requirement for manual correspondence and providing a more transparent, self-service digital journey. This functionality is in the process of being rolled out to members.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment the Government has made of Ukraine’s approach to maintaining civil resilience and continuity of government during sustained attacks on critical infrastructure.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
Ukraine continues to show great determination and ability to defend itself against Russia’s illegal invasion. Russia has gained less than 1.5% of Ukrainian territory since the frontlines stabilised in November 2022, suffering over 1 million casualties since the start of the full-scale invasion, and its economy is stagnating.
The UK will stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes. The Prime Minister has met with and spoken to President Zelenskyy on numerous occasions since taking office, most recently on March 17th to agree an Enhanced Security and Defence Industrial Collaboration Declaration. We are incorporating lessons relating to CNI, continuity of government and wider resilience from Ukraine’s extraordinary experience as outlined in the Resilience Action Plan and National Security Strategy.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether Yoti has any current contracts for cross-Government digital identity programmes.
Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Details of central government contracts above £12,000 for procurements commenced before 24 February 2025 are published on 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.