Cabinet Office Alert Sample


Alert Sample

View the Parallel Parliament page for the Cabinet Office

Information between 1st February 2026 - 11th February 2026

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Calendar
Monday 2nd February 2026
Cabinet Office
Keir Starmer (Labour - Holborn and St Pancras)

Ministerial statement - Main Chamber
Subject: China and Japan
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Tuesday 3rd February 2026
Cabinet Office
David Lammy (Labour - Tottenham)

Ministerial statement - Main Chamber
Subject: Separation Centres Review
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Parliamentary Debates
China and Japan
137 speeches (11,143 words)
Monday 2nd February 2026 - Commons Chamber
Cabinet Office
US Department of Justice Release of Files
92 speeches (9,333 words)
Monday 2nd February 2026 - Commons Chamber
Cabinet Office
Civil Service Pension Scheme: Administration
85 speeches (14,154 words)
Wednesday 4th February 2026 - Westminster Hall
Cabinet Office
Membership of the UK-EU Parliamentary Partnership Assembly
1 speech (100 words)
Wednesday 4th February 2026 - Written Statements
Cabinet Office
Lord Mandelson
523 speeches (54,989 words)
Wednesday 4th February 2026 - Commons Chamber
Cabinet Office
Oral Answers to Questions
113 speeches (9,650 words)
Wednesday 4th February 2026 - Commons Chamber
Cabinet Office
Russian Influence on UK Politics and Democracy
68 speeches (20,630 words)
Monday 9th February 2026 - Westminster Hall
Cabinet Office
Standards in Public Life
95 speeches (9,968 words)
Monday 9th February 2026 - Commons Chamber
Cabinet Office
State Threat Prevention and Investigation Measures: 20 September 2025 to 19 December 2025
1 speech (73 words)
Monday 9th February 2026 - Written Statements
Cabinet Office


Written Answers
Office for Statistics Regulation: Correspondence
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Monday 2nd February 2026

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when the head of the Office for Statistics Regulation plans to respond to the letter from the Rt hon. Member for Braintree of 8 January 2026 on business rates.

Answered by Josh Simons - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

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

A response to the Rt Hon. gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 26th January is attached.

Blue Badge Scheme: Reciprocal Arrangements
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Tuesday 3rd February 2026

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 15 January 2025 to Question 104268 on Blue Badge Scheme: EU Countries, if he will hold discussions with his EU counterparts at the next UK–EU summit on EU recognition of the UK-issued Blue Badges for disabled drivers.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

The majority of EU Member States already recognise Blue Badges. In 2025, the UK agreed further mutual recognition with France and agreed in the 2025 strategic bilateral framework with Spain to work to sign an arrangement to ensure mutual recognition of parking permits and Blue Badges for Disabled people. The Department for Transport will continue to engage bilaterally with Member States where they don't recognise Blue Badges.

Further information on Blue Badge recognition can be found here: Using a Blue Badge in Europe - GOV.UK.

Specialised Committee on Citizens' Rights
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Tuesday 3rd February 2026

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 19 January 2026 to Question 104802 on Specialised Committee on Citizens’ Rights, whether his Department retained a copy of that presentation.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

The Cabinet Office has retained a record of the contributions of the3million and British in Europe made at the Specialised Committee on 18 December. The3million and British in Europe can be contacted directly to discuss their assessment of citizens’ rights implementation. Information on matters discussed at the Specialised Committee on Citizens’ Rights is available here: Citizens’ Rights Specialised Committee meeting, 18 December 2025: joint statement - GOV.UK. As is stipulated by Rule 13 of Annex VIII of the Withdrawal Agreement, meetings of the Specialised Committee are confidential.

Mission Boards
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Tuesday 3rd February 2026

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 16 December 20254 to Question 98794 on Mission Boards, which Secretary of State leads each Mission Board.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

Missions Boards are the responsibility of each of the lead Secretaries of State:

Kickstarting Economic Growth - Chancellor of the Exchequer

An NHS Fit for the Future - Secretary of State for Health

Safer Streets - Secretary of State for the Home Department

Break Down Barriers to Opportunity - Secretary of State for Education and Minister for Women and Equalities

Make Britain a Clean Energy Superpower - Secretary of State for Energy and Net Zero

Youth Mobility Scheme
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Tuesday 3rd February 2026

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what is the status of the negotiations with the European Union on the Youth Experience Scheme, and whether the UK is discussing making financial contributions to 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 are committed to implementing the outcomes of the May 2025 Summit in a timely manner and so are working towards concluding negotiations by the time of the next EU-UK summit.

We have been clear that the scheme should be in line with the UK’s existing schemes, such as Australia and New Zealand, but the exact parameters are subject to ongoing negotiation. This will not include financial contributions to the European Union - that is not how youth mobility schemes operate.

Publications: Gender
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Tuesday 3rd February 2026

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 19 January 2026, to Question 104160, on Publications: Gender, how many published have been assessed and included in the inclusion list.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

The SAFE inclusion list currently comprises 607 sites. Following the most recent review, 55 of these sites were categorised as posing a medium risk, and 8 were assessed as high risk.

Although these sites are excluded from the active inclusion list because of the potential risks to the government. It is important to note that this may not completely prohibit use for government communications. A publisher may still be utilised for relevant campaigns, provided appropriate campaign-specific guardrails are implemented to mitigate potential risks.

Boris Johnson and Peter Thiel
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Tuesday 3rd February 2026

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 12 January to Question 103976 on Boris Johnson and Peter Thiel, what searches he conducted to determine whether there is any (a) physical and (b) other form of record of a meeting between the then Prime Minister, the Rt Hon Boris Johnson, and Mr Peter Thiel on 28 August 2019; which repositories and systems he searched (including but not limited to Private Office diaries, visitor logs, security access records, phone logs, ministerial red boxes, briefing packs, email archives, and officials’ notebooks); and which directorates or teams he consulted; what search terms and date ranges he used.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

All of the records of former Prime Ministers are held by the Cabinet Office Public Records and Archives unit. The unit searched both physical and digital records. The physical record of the meeting is brief, simply noting the timing of the meeting, and that it was a private meeting. No other details have been found.

Boris Johnson and Peter Thiel
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Tuesday 3rd February 2026

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 12 January 2026 to Question 103976 on Boris Johnson and Peter Thiel, if he will publish the physical record.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

All of the records of former Prime Ministers are held by the Cabinet Office Public Records and Archives unit. The unit searched both physical and digital records. The physical record of the meeting is brief, simply noting the timing of the meeting, and that it was a private meeting. No other details have been found.

10 Downing Street
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Tuesday 3rd February 2026

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department has negotiated a signed data sharing agreement with the Labour Party in relation to the operation of the Number 10 Political Office.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

I refer the Hon Member to the answer of 31 March 2025, Official Report, PQ 39119.

Publications: Gender
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Tuesday 3rd February 2026

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 19 January 2026, to Question 104160, on Publications: Gender, which publishers were assessed but not included in the inclusion list.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

The SAFE inclusion list currently comprises 607 sites. Following the most recent review, 55 of these sites were categorised as posing a medium risk, and 8 were assessed as high risk.

Although these sites are excluded from the active inclusion list because of the potential risks to the government. It is important to note that this may not completely prohibit use for government communications. A publisher may still be utilised for relevant campaigns, provided appropriate campaign-specific guardrails are implemented to mitigate potential risks.

Breakfast Clubs and Pay
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Tuesday 3rd February 2026

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 5 January 2026 to Question 99527 on Breakfast Clubs and Pay, if he will list the influencers who received funding from the Government.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

Influencers are selected based on their reach and alignment with the communications campaign.


To protect commercial confidentiality and interests, information relating to specific individuals will not be released.

Cabinet Office: Social Media
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Tuesday 3rd February 2026

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 2 December 2025, to Question 93745, on Cabinet Office: Social Media, if he will name the specific social media influencers who were paid to advertise the government in relation to the (a) Free School Breakfast Club, (b) National Living/Minimum Wage, (c) Warm Homes, (d) Audacious Kingdom and (e) Greater Together campaigns.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

These campaigns are used to raise awareness about government schemes and initiatives and promote the UK internationally.

The government recognises content creators as an important way to reach and engage audiences online.

Please note, some data has been withheld due to commercial and wider sensitivities.

Public Houses: Huntingdon
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Tuesday 3rd February 2026

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many pubs within the Huntingdon constituency are a) Free Houses and b) currently under a Pubco.

Answered by Josh Simons - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

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

A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 26th January is attached.

Ministers: Public Appointments
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Tuesday 3rd February 2026

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he plans to update the Announcements: Direct Ministerial Appointments portal with details of current post-holders.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

It is a requirement of the published Guidance on Making Direct Ministerial Appointments that departments should announce publicly such appointments generally at the time at which an appointment is made. The Direct Ministerial Appointments announcement portal, which went live in December 2025, brings together these announcements from across government. Direct Ministerial Appointment announcements prior to the creation of the portal were published on departmental news pages.

Public Appointments: Political Activities
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Tuesday 3rd February 2026

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 19 January 2026, to Question 103784, on Public Appointments: Political Activities, what the (a) name and (b) position is of each person who declared political activity.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

I refer the Hon. Gentleman back to PQ 103784.

Cabinet Office: Social Media
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Tuesday 3rd February 2026

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 2 December 2025, to Question 93745, on Cabinet Office: Social Media, what is the nature of the data withheld due to commercial and wider sensitivities.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

Disclosing specific contract details is likely to damage international relations and compromise the UK's interests abroad, and could prejudice commercial interests.

Civil Service: Apprentices
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Tuesday 3rd February 2026

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps the Government is taking to promote entry-level apprenticeships in the civil service.

Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

This government remains committed to apprenticeships as one pathway to break down barriers to opportunity. On 20th August we launched the application window for a new cross-Government Level 3 apprenticeship programme in Business Administration, The ‘Civil Service Career Launch Apprenticeship’ (CLA) will see new apprentices kick start their careers, across various departments in London, Manchester and Birmingham. In addition, each department is responsible for its own workforce planning and determining the capacity and capability that it needs to deliver its priorities.

Civil Service: Apprentices
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Tuesday 3rd February 2026

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment has been made of the reasons for the reduction in the number of Level 2 and Level 3 civil service apprenticeships since 2022.

Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

This government remains committed to apprenticeships as one pathway to break down barriers to opportunity. It is for individual departments to identify the need and assess effectiveness of apprenticeships, including the use of level 2 and 3 apprenticeships, within their workforce and development plans.

Civil Service: Apprentices
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Tuesday 3rd February 2026

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment has been made of the reasons for the reduction in the number of civil service apprentices since 2022.

Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

This government remains committed to apprenticeships as one pathway to break down barriers to opportunity. It is for individual departments to identify the need and assess effectiveness of apprenticeships, including the use of level 2 and 3 apprenticeships, within their workforce and development plans.

Cabinet Office: Facilities Agreements
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Tuesday 3rd February 2026

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many staff in his Department work on the team that collates trade union facility time data; and what databases are used to store the information (a) requested and (b) collected.

Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

The Cabinet Office team whose responsibilities previously included, amongst other duties, collating public sector trade union facility time data has five members of staff. Each year the data was published on gov.uk (here). The information is not stored on any databases maintained by the Cabinet Office.

Senior Civil Servants: Performance Appraisal and Recruitment
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Tuesday 3rd February 2026

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, further to the written statement of 20 January 2026, on Rewiring the State, if he will place in the Library a copy of the revised Senior Civil Service performance management and recruitment guidance.

Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

The Senior Civil Service (SCS) Performance Management Framework is publicly available online on GOV.UK.

Departments and agencies have authority to determine their practices and procedures for the recruitment of staff to the Civil Service, including the Senior Civil Service. There are no plans to publish internal-facing guidance to the public domain, as it constitutes HR-to-HR guidance designed for departments to integrate into their respective policies and processes.

Government Departments: Facilities Agreements
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Tuesday 3rd February 2026

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what is the total cost of facility time in the latest period for which reporting is available, across all Government bodies, broken down by body; and where that cost is paid by the public purse.

Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

The most recent public-sector trade union facility time data, including the total cost of facility time broken down by Government body, for the period 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025 is published here on .gov.uk.

Civil Servants: Incentives
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Tuesday 3rd February 2026

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what changes he plans to make to the cash bonus criteria for civil service servants.

Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

Pay and reward arrangements below the Senior Civil Service (SCS), including the operation of non-consolidated performance pay (cash bonuses), are delegated to individual departments to determine within the parameters set out in the Civil Service Pay Remit Guidance. Pay for the SCS is subject to an independent pay review body process.

The 2026-27 Pay Remit Guidance for delegated grades will be published in due course. For the SCS, the Government will respond to the Senior Salaries Review Body after it has received its report for 2026-27.

Public Bodies: Facilities Agreements
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Tuesday 3rd February 2026

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 16 January 2026, to Question 104159, on Trade Unions: Facilities Agreements, if he will place in the Library the names of the individual public sector organisations which were requested by Cabinet Office Trade Union Facility Time Reporting Service to submit trade union facility time data but which did not do so, for the (a) 2023-24 and (b) 2024-25 datasets.

Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

The answer provided to 104159 was inaccurate and has been corrected. The Cabinet Office does not hold the requested information.

Civil Service: Apprentices
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Tuesday 3rd February 2026

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many civil service apprentices in 2024 and 2025 were aged between 18 and 24.

Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

Civil Service data is not collected for the 18-24 age bracket. However, we can confirm that 3,010 of on-programme apprentices on 31 December 2024 were aged between 16 and 24. The Cabinet Office no longer collates cross-government data on apprenticeships beyond December 2024, so we are unable to provide data for 2025.

Cabinet Office: Facilities Agreements
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Tuesday 3rd February 2026

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 17 December 2025 to Question 99835 on Cabinet Office: Facilities Agreements, whether (a) his and (b) the Permanent Secretary's approval is required for the use of paid facility time for trade union activities in Arms Length Bodies.

Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

The Cabinet Office’s centrally issued facility time framework states that should a department wish to provide paid time off for activities, it will need to be agreed by the Secretary of State or Chief Executive. Chief Executive refers to the head of the organisation, e.g. Permanent Secretary or Chief Executive of an Arms Length Body.

The framework also states that these principles are expected to be applied across the Civil Service including all departments and agencies employing civil servants. NDPBs outside of this scope are also expected to adopt these principles.

Civil Servants
Asked by: Baroness Shawcross-Wolfson (Conservative - Life peer)
Tuesday 3rd February 2026

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent on 19 January (HL13271), whether they will detail their plans to reduce back-office costs in the Civil Service by 16 per cent over the next five years; and what savings will be achieved in each year up to 2030.

Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The Spending Review 2025 set each department’s yearly administration budget and committed to reduce them by 16% in total and in real terms by 2029-30. The Spending Review details the planned administration Budgets for each department for each year between 2025-26 and 2029-30.

The reductions will be delivered through savings and efficiencies, supported by the £150 million announced at Spring Statement 2025 to help deliver employee exit schemes, and with greater embedding of a cost-conscious culture across Whitehall, including reducing travel costs.

Greta Thunberg
Asked by: Lord Jackson of Peterborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Tuesday 3rd February 2026

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what correspondence the Prime Minister's office has had with Greta Thunberg since 4 July 2024.

Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

I refer the Noble Lord to the answer of 23 July 2025, Official Report, PQ HL9556:

PQ HL9556 Lord Jackson of Peterborough: To ask His Majesty's Government what correspondence the Prime Minister’s Office has had with Greta Thunberg since 4 July 2024. HL9556

Cabinet Office response: It is not routine to publish correspondence between the Prime Minister and any individual

Civil Servants: Media and Public Speaking
Asked by: Baroness Finn (Conservative - Life peer)
Tuesday 3rd February 2026

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by the Minister for the Cabinet Office on 21 November 2025 (HC91378), and with reference to paragraph 223 of the Cabinet Office Guide to Parliamentary Work and paragraph 1.6(d) of the Ministerial Code, and the MOD guidance "Contact with the media and communicating in public", why the Cabinet Office did not disclose to Parliament the updated guidance to Civil Servants on public speaking and speaking to the media, even though it is the ongoing policy of the Ministry of Defence to publish their equivalent guidance on gov.uk.

Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

There are currently no plans to publish this guidance as the area remains subject to ongoing policy development.

National School of Government and Public Services
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Tuesday 3rd February 2026

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to his speech of 20 January 2026, entitled “Move fast. Fix things”, whether the new National School of Government and Public Services will be part of the Cabinet Office, or a new Arm's Length Body; and what is its annual budget.

Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

The National School of Government and Public Services will be part of the Cabinet Office. Its annual budget will be defined through normal Cabinet Office processes with any relevant information published as part of the Cabinet Office annual report and accounts.

Arms Length Bodies
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Tuesday 3rd February 2026

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 19 January 2026 to Question HL13276 on Arms Length Bodies, what is his timetable for the completion of the review; and how will it report.

Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

The review is ongoing. Outcomes will be communicated in due course.

Civil Service: Unpaid Work
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Tuesday 3rd February 2026

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, on what date the summer internship scheme for 2026 will be open to applicants.

Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

The Civil Service Summer Internship Programme and Fast Stream campaigns run concurrently. The exact dates for this year’s campaigns are yet to be confirmed but we expect them to launch in mid-October 2026 and run for four weeks.

Civil Service: Equality
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Tuesday 3rd February 2026

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he plans to publish an updated Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy.

Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

Yes, we are developing a new Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy. An update on plans for publication will be provided in due course.

Cabinet Office: Remote Working
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Tuesday 3rd February 2026

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 6 January 2026 to Question 100885 on Cabinet Office: Remote Working, if he will set out the methodology for the (a) physical and (b) electronic data collation of the Civil Service headquarters occupancy data, including the use of (i) wifi log-ins associated with location, (ii) computer log-ins associated with location, (iii) swipe pass entry data, (iv) space booking systems, (v) desk booking systems and (vi) manual counting.

Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

There are four main methods used by departments to collect their Headquarter Occupancy data. It is for departments to determine the most appropriate method of collection. Methods used are:

  • Wifi and/or computer log-ins associated with location which track device connectivity to, or logins within, specific building locations.

  • Swipe pass entry data which counts arrival and/or exit at defined access points.

  • Space or desk booking system which records pre-booked workspaces.

  • Manual count which will involve the use of a member of staff physically counting people either at a specified time each day or as they enter and/or exit a building.

Senior Civil Servants: Redundancy Pay
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Tuesday 3rd February 2026

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 20 January 2026 to Question 104805 on Senior Civil Servants: Redundancy Pay, and with reference to deposited paper entitled Permanent secretary model employment contract, DEP2025-0830, deposited on 4 December 2025, for what business reason the former Cabinet Secretary was awarded the exit payment under the Compulsory Early Termination of Contract provision of paragraph 18.1 and not under the medical grounds or voluntary exit provisions of paragraph 14.

Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

I refer to my answer for PQs 104805 and 104161, the business case was made on the basis that the Cabinet Secretary departed the Civil Service, and it was calculated on the basis of the Civil Service Compensation Scheme i.e. 1 month’s pay (capped at £149,820 salary) for each year of service.

Government Communication Service: Marketing
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Wednesday 4th February 2026

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 4 September 2025, to Question 70489 on Government Communication Service: Marketing, and with reference to paragraph 211 of the Cabinet Office Guide to Parliamentary Work, for what reason the information was released under the Freedom of Information Act but not disclosed to Parliament.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

Influencers have proven to be effective in reaching audiences that traditional marketing channels find hard to reach.

Influencer work is supported primarily via the agencies OmniGov and Pablo Unlimited via the Campaign Solutions 2 framework, detailed at the following link:

https://www.crowncommercial.gov.uk/agreements/RM6125

While there were no immediate plans to release the guidance at the time of Question 70489, increased public interest in this topic has now led us to conclude that the public interest favours its release.

I can confirm that the Guidance for Influencer Marketing will be placed in the House Library.

Government Departments: Social Media
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Wednesday 4th February 2026

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 4 September 2025, to Question 74206, on Government Departments: Social Media, which external firms are used to procure social media influencers across government under CCS Framework RM6125 – Lot 1 End.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

Influencers have proven to be effective in reaching audiences that traditional marketing channels find hard to reach.

Influencer work is supported primarily via the agencies OmniGov and Pablo Unlimited via the Campaign Solutions 2 framework, detailed at the following link:

https://www.crowncommercial.gov.uk/agreements/RM6125

While there were no immediate plans to release the guidance at the time of Question 70489, increased public interest in this topic has now led us to conclude that the public interest favours its release.

I can confirm that the Guidance for Influencer Marketing will be placed in the House Library.

Government Communication Service: Marketing
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Wednesday 4th February 2026

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Freedom of Information response by the Cabinet Office, Ref: FOI2025/18068, of 5 December 2025, if he will publish the Guidance for Influencer Marketing.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

Influencers have proven to be effective in reaching audiences that traditional marketing channels find hard to reach.

Influencer work is supported primarily via the agencies OmniGov and Pablo Unlimited via the Campaign Solutions 2 framework, detailed at the following link:

https://www.crowncommercial.gov.uk/agreements/RM6125

While there were no immediate plans to release the guidance at the time of Question 70489, increased public interest in this topic has now led us to conclude that the public interest favours its release.

I can confirm that the Guidance for Influencer Marketing will be placed in the House Library.

Cars
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Tuesday 3rd February 2026

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department will publish updated data on the number of cars per household by UK parliamentary constituency.

Answered by Josh Simons - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

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

A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 27th January is attached.

Emergencies: Internet
Asked by: Roz Savage (Liberal Democrat - South Cotswolds)
Tuesday 3rd February 2026

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he plans to update or revise the public advice given on the prepare.campaign.gov.uk website.

Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

By following the advice on gov.uk/prepare, people can improve their preparedness for various types of disruption or emergency, irrespective of the cause. We also work closely with local and national partners to ensure they are aware of – and can share – this important advice with the public.

We regularly review the website's content and continue to explore options for improving it, and for increasing public awareness of emergency preparedness advice beyond the website.

Ministers: Official Cars
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Tuesday 3rd February 2026

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department has issued guidance on the provision of official cars to Ministers outside the Government Car Service by (a) the Metropolitan Police and (b) private contractors.

Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

The Government Car Service does not provide advice or guidance on the provision of cars outside its remit, including arrangements made by the Metropolitan Police or private contractors.

Intelligence and Security Committee
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Tuesday 3rd February 2026

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will update the Memorandum of Understanding between the Government and the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament.

Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

The Prime Minister values the independent and robust oversight which the Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) provides. Following discussions with the Committee, the Cabinet Office is conducting a review of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Prime Minister and the Committee. Any changes made to the MOU would need to be agreed by both the Prime Minister and the ISC.

Press
Asked by: Siân Berry (Green Party - Brighton Pavilion)
Monday 2nd February 2026

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Prime Minister has agreed a date to meet with victims of press abuse, following his remarks at the Liaison Committee on 15 December 2025.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

Officials from the Prime Minister’s Office are in contact to arrange a meeting.

10 Downing Street: Artworks
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Monday 2nd February 2026

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, for what reason the portrait of William Shakespeare was removed from the Pillared Room in 10 Downing Street.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

The Government Art Collection is a working collection, used across government buildings in the UK and the global estate, which means that artworks may change their display location from time to time. The portrait was pre-planned to be moved by the Government Art Collection prior to the General Election in July 2024.

Recall Petitions
Asked by: Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Monday 2nd February 2026

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of broadening the range of circumstances under which a recall petition takes place.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

The Government believes that the Recall of MPs Act 2015 is operating well and as intended. There are no plans to increase the number of conditions that can trigger a recall petition.

National Income
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Monday 2nd February 2026

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what the gross domestic product per capita was in (1) Wales, (2) England, (3) Scotland, (4) Northern Ireland, and (5) the United Kingdom, in (a) 2000, (b) 2005, (c) 2010, (d) 2015, (e) 2020, and (f) 2025.

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 below from the Permanent Secretary of the Office for National Statistics.

Lord Wigley

House of Lords

London

SW1A 0PW

28 January 2026

Dear Lord Wigley,

As Permanent Secretary of the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I am responding to your Parliamentary Question asking what the gross domestic product per capita was in (1) Wales, (2) England, (3) Scotland, (4) Northern Ireland, and (5) the United Kingdom, in (a) 2000, (b) 2005, (c) 2010, (d) 2015, (e) 2020, and (f) 2025 (HL13812).

The figures requested, shown in Table 1, are taken from the Regional economic activity by gross domestic product, UK 1998 to 2023 release, which is the latest annual publication of regional gross domestic product (GDP) estimates. We are unable to provide figures for 2025 currently, so we have given estimates for 2023 instead.

All the estimates in our regional GDP release are consistent with those for the UK published in the preceding UK National Accounts, the Blue Book. The current edition is consistent with Blue Book 2024, and for comparability we have reported UK figures from that edition in this response. Please note that more recent estimates for the UK have subsequently been published by the UK National Accounts, but those estimates will lack direct comparability with the estimates we have for nations of the UK.

GDP per capita is calculated by dividing the total GDP for a nation by its total resident population, using the ONS mid-year population estimates. GDP for the UK includes some activity that cannot be assigned to any region, which we call extra-regio. This activity includes offshore oil and gas extraction, the activities of UK embassies abroad and UK armed forces posted overseas. For direct comparability with estimates for individual UK nations we advise use of GDP per capita for the UK less extra-regio, which removes this unallocated element of UK GDP.

Yours sincerely,

Darren Tierney

Table 1: Gross domestic product per capita (£ pounds)

2000

2005

2010

2015

2020

2023

Wales

13,709

17,094

18,649

21,979

23,883

29,316

England

18,933

23,389

25,933

30,045

32,153

40,382

Scotland

16,455

21,387

24,076

27,797

28,996

37,192

Northern Ireland

15,086

18,949

19,857

22,830

25,040

32,944

UK less extra-regio

18,352

22,784

25,249

29,273

31,308

39,403

United Kingdom

18,693

23,153

25,630

29,434

31,491

39,845

Source: ONS, Gross domestic product per capita in current market prices

1. https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/grossdomesticproductgdp/bulletins/regionaleconomicactivitybygrossdomesticproductuk/1998to2023

2. GDP for the UK includes some activity that cannot be assigned to any region, which we call extra-region.


Senior Civil Servants: Redundancy Pay
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Monday 2nd February 2026

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 20 January 2026, to Question 104805, on Senior Civil Servants: Redundancy Pay, whether the former Cabinet Secretary’s exit payment was made through the (a) the Civil Service Compensation Scheme, (b) the Injury Benefit Scheme or (c) another Civil Service scheme.

Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

As set out in the Cabinet Office accounts (page 86), the payment for the former Cabinet Secretary was a severance payment, with the value calculated using the Civil Service Compensation Scheme tariff.

Equality: Codes of Practice
Asked by: Baroness Falkner of Margravine (Crossbench - Life peer)
Monday 2nd February 2026

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many times they have declined to lay before Parliament a draft statutory code submitted by an arm's-length body between January 2015 and December 2025, where that code has not been subject to litigation; and what were the titles of those draft statutory codes.

Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The information requested is not held centrally by the Cabinet Office.

Arms Length Bodies
Asked by: Baroness Shawcross-Wolfson (Conservative - Life peer)
Monday 2nd February 2026

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent on 19 January (HL13276), when the arm's length bodies (ALB) review will be completed; and whether its findings will be published.

Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The review is ongoing. Outcomes will be communicated in due course.

Ministers: Aviation
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Monday 2nd February 2026

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 13 January 2026 to Question 103794,on Ministers: Aviation, which business unit of his Department holds the data referenced in the VIP International Flights privacy notice.

Answered by Chris Ward - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The data referenced is held by Cabinet Office Commercial.

Government Departments: Procurement
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Monday 2nd February 2026

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 16 January 2025 to Question 22583 on Government Departments: Procurement, whether he has had further discussions with the Institution of Civil Engineers on releasing a new edition of the Construction Playbook.

Answered by Chris Ward - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

A refreshed Construction Playbook is now due to be published in Summer 2026.

Officials will engage with a wide range of stakeholders, including the Institute of Civil Engineers, to ensure that the Playbook continues to reflect procurement best practice in the usual way.

Specialised Committee on Citizens' Rights
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Monday 2nd February 2026

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 20 January 2026 to Question 104803, how much the two annual pay awards were; and whether the FDA is recognised as a trade union.

Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

As set out previously (UIN 54797), the government’s policy is that pay awards for special advisers are considered annually, and any such award is linked to the approach taken for the Senior Civil Service. In line with the headline award for senior civil servants, the 2024/25 pay award for special advisers was 5% and the 2025/26 pay award for special advisers was 3.25%.

The FDA is recognised as a trade union for special advisers.

Public Sector: Workplace Pensions
Asked by: Aphra Brandreth (Conservative - Chester South and Eddisbury)
Monday 2nd February 2026

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether full implementation of the McCloud judgement remedy will be completed by April 2027.

Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

Capita, having assumed responsibility for the Civil Service Pension Scheme in December 2025, is currently preparing a delivery plan for the remaining 2015 Remedy work.

The Cabinet Office expects the majority of the remaining Remediable Service Statements (RSS) will be issued by April 2027.

Senior Civil Servants: Recruitment
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Monday 2nd February 2026

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how he plans to change the hiring criteria for Senior Civil Servants.

Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

Our approach to hiring for the Senior Civil Service (SCS) is changing to place greater value on frontline delivery, innovation, and private sector experience.

Proof of Identity: Digital Technology
Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Wednesday 4th February 2026

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate she made of the cost to her Department of implementing the digital ID scheme since September 2024.

Answered by Josh Simons - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Costs in this Spending Review period will be met within the existing Spending Review settlement.

Civil Service: Workplace Pensions
Asked by: Euan Stainbank (Labour - Falkirk)
Wednesday 4th February 2026

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment his Department has made of the level of the gender pension gap within the civil service pension scheme.

Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

The gender pension gap can be measured in different ways. In order to answer this question, we have used the difference in average pension in payment for men and women, expressed as a percentage of the average pension for men. Based on the latest data available, from 2024, the gap has reduced from 47% in 2016 to 42%.

We fully expect this position to continue to improve as the equality employment legislation reduces historical differences in both the gap in pay and pensions accruing.

The Cabinet Office will be commissioning the Government Actuary’s Department to carry out further analysis of the current position and will then consider next steps.

Civil Service: Workplace Pensions
Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Wednesday 4th February 2026

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps his Department is taking to help close the gender pension gap in the Civil Service Pension Scheme.

Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

The gender pension gap can be measured in different ways. In order to answer this question, we have used the difference in average pension in payment for men and women, expressed as a percentage of the average pension for men. Based on the latest data available, from 2024, the gap has reduced from 47% in 2016 to 42%.

We fully expect this position to continue to improve as the equality employment legislation reduces historical differences in both the gap in pay and pensions accruing.

The Cabinet Office will be commissioning the Government Actuary’s Department to carry out further analysis of the current position and will then consider next steps.

Government Property Agency: Empty Property
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Wednesday 4th February 2026

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 16 January 2026 to Question 103795 on Government Property Agency: Empty Property, if he will list the addresses of the 13 vacant properties and their last Government occupier.

Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

Details of vacant space across the government estate, aggregated from departmental submissions, are published annually in the State of the Estate Report. This includes total square metre figures by department, but not individual property-level occupancy or address data.

Members of the public can view information on vacant or surplus government-owned properties via the Government Property Finder: https://www.gov.uk/find-government-property

Ministers: Official Cars
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Wednesday 4th February 2026

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 14 January 2026 to Question 103782 on Ministers: Official Cars, which team within the Government Car Service prepares the financial accounts for vehicles provided to Government Departments.

Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

The finance team.

Cabinet Office: Official Cars
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Wednesday 4th February 2026

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 14 January 2026 to Question 103782 on Ministers: Official Cars, what is the estimated, non-granular aggregate expenditure by the Government Car Service on official cars for civil servants in the Cabinet Office in the last 12 months.

Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

I refer the Honourable Gentleman to the answer provided to Question 103782. The Government Car Service (GCS) does not invoice separately for ministerial or civil servant use.

Tim Allen
Asked by: Alex Burghart (Conservative - Brentwood and Ongar)
Wednesday 4th February 2026

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 9 December 2025, to Question 94700, on Tim Allan, whether the records held by the Cabinet Office as part of the declaration of interests process for special advisers show that Tim Allan has any shareholdings or share options in lobbying firm, BB Partners Advisory Holdings Limited.

Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

There is an established system in place for the declaration and management of special advisers' interests, including their financial interests. As has been the case under successive administrations, interests deemed relevant for publication for special advisers in No10 and the Cabinet Office are published on an annual basis by the Cabinet Office. Mr Allan sought and received advice on his interests. He has followed every element of the advice received.

Varun Chandra
Asked by: Alex Burghart (Conservative - Brentwood and Ongar)
Wednesday 4th February 2026

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what is the remuneration and terms of reference of Varun Chandra as the Prime Minister’s special envoy to the US on trade and investment; and whether he is a special adviser, civil servant or direct ministerial appointment.

Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

I refer the Hon Member to the Special Adviser Annual Report, and the press release on gov.uk which sets out the responsibilities associated with the role. No additional remuneration will be made for the role of Special Envoy.

Admiralty House: Official Residences
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Wednesday 4th February 2026

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 16 January 2026 to Question 103786 on Admiralty House: Official Residence, which business unit of the Cabinet Office determines which individual civil servants may use Admiralty House for accommodation; and whether his Department holds data on those civil servants that have used the accommodation in Admiralty House, including the dates of such use.

Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

Admiralty House is occasionally used overnight by Civil Servants where there is operational need. This is in-line with the usage of Admiralty House across successive governments. Temporary overnight stays require permission from the Prime Minister’s Office.

Civil Servants: Workplace Pensions
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Wednesday 4th February 2026

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the trend in the levels of timeliness of Civil Service Pension payments since Capita took over administration of the MyCSP system on 1 December 2025.

Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

Capita took over the administration on 1 December 2025. Since then, Capita has completed pension payments to approximately 730,000 retired members on time. However, some civil servants and pension scheme members are facing unacceptable delays in accessing their pension payments.

While Capita inherited a significant backlog of cases from the previous provider, MyCSP, this is now worse and we are urgently addressing that. In response, we have set up a dedicated team to work urgently with Capita, with 650 full time staff across Government and Capita clearing critical cases by the end of February and restoring normal service as soon as possible.

We have agreed a clear recovery plan with Capita, which includes specific milestones and accountability targets for delivery. This includes specific commitments to restore service levels for priority cases, deploy additional resources, and improve communication with affected colleagues, so that staff, both former and serving, receive the quality of service and support they deserve.

Government Departments: Advertising
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Thursday 5th February 2026

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 19 January 2026 to Question 103787 on Governments Departments: Advertising, if he will provide a breakdown of spending by (a) programme and (b) campaign.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

Please see below for the category breakdown of the figure provided in Question 103787:

Digital - £144,968,019

Out of Home - £21,566,434

Press - £6,200,349

Radio - £10,760,710

Television - £31,404,544

This spend is across a number of government departments and a campaign breakdown is not readily available to the Cabinet Office.

Visas: EU Countries
Asked by: Chris Coghlan (Liberal Democrat - Dorking and Horley)
Thursday 5th February 2026

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps his Department is taking to help improve reciprocal visa-waiver arrangements with the EU.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

HMG officials and Ministers, including myself, regularly engage the EU and EU Member State counterparts on a range of issues affecting UK nationals. The UK and the EU allow for visa-free, short-term travel in line with their respective arrangements for third country nationals.

The UK allows EU citizens visa-free travel for up to six months; the EU allows for visa-free travel within the Schengen Area for up to 90 days in any rolling 180-day period which is standard for third nationals travelling visa-free to the EU. UK nationals planning to stay longer will need permission from the relevant Member State. The UK Government will continue to listen to and advocate for UK nationals.

Coronavirus: Mental Health
Asked by: Alex Burghart (Conservative - Brentwood and Ongar)
Thursday 5th February 2026

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, further to the Crown Commercial Service contractfinder entry, Provision of a Systematic evidence review on the impact of the pandemic on mental health, published March 2025, Procurement reference: CCZZ24A16, awarded to the Centre for Strategy and Evaluation Services, if he will publish the report.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

The UK Covid-19 Inquiry is independent of government. The systematic evidence review on the impact of the pandemic on mental health, commissioned by the UK Covid-19 Inquiry to support its investigation into the impact of the pandemic on society, will be published on the Inquiry's website during hearings for Module 10, to be held between 16th February 2026 and 5th March 2026.

EU Budget: Contributions
Asked by: Alex Burghart (Conservative - Brentwood and Ongar)
Thursday 5th February 2026

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the UK-EU Summit - Common Understanding, 22 December 2025, whether he plans to make additional financial contributions to the European Union as a consequence of the new provisions on Development and disaster cooperation.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

We have agreed to regular UK-EU dialogue on development issues and to seek to enhance our cooperation on international disaster and humanitarian response.The details of any agreements, including financial contributions, are subject to ongoing negotiations with the EU.

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Thursday 5th February 2026

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 19 January 2026 to Question 105247 on Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, who took the decision to recall the papers.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

The redactions to the information were agreed at the appropriate level by Cabinet Office officials, following engagement with The National Archives. Papers were not recalled from The National Archives, which is where the closed extracts remain.

National School of Government and Public Services
Asked by: Baroness Shawcross-Wolfson (Conservative - Life peer)
Thursday 5th February 2026

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, with regard to the speech by the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister on 20 January, which civil servants will have access to training from the National School of Government and Public Services; how many hours of training will be provided to civil servants; who will provide that training; and whether they will publish the proposed training curriculum.

Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

His Majesty’s Government is establishing the National School of Government and Public Services to strengthen the professional capability of the Civil Service.

The National School will serve over half a million civil servants. It will provide hundreds of thousands of hours of training as well as on-demand online learning. Training will be provided by a combination of civil service trainers, senior civil servants, and external providers and experts, including leading academic institutions.

We currently publish details of civil service training and will continue to do so as we expand the curriculum, focusing on priority skills including digital and AI. Further details of the proposed training curriculum will be published when the National School launches later in 2026.

Civil Service: Unpaid Work
Asked by: Baroness Finn (Conservative - Life peer)
Thursday 5th February 2026

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether individuals whose parents were middle class when the applicant was aged 14 seeking to apply to the Civil Service Summer Internship Scheme in 2026 will self-certify as working class to sidestep the new working-class requirements; and whether there will be any audit of self-certified declarations of the socio-economic background of summer interns to verify whether applicants are falsely claiming to be working class.

Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The Cabinet Office uses self-certification for the socio-economic data of applicants and we expect the highest levels of integrity from all Civil Servants. This is the same approach taken under the programme's predecessor - the Summer Diversity Internship Programme - from 2010 to 2023.

Any candidate who is found to have misrepresented their circumstances in their application will face a disciplinary investigation.

We will be assessing the impact of our changes at the end of this year's programme as part of our test and learn approach.

Senior Civil Servants: Performance Appraisal
Asked by: Baroness Shawcross-Wolfson (Conservative - Life peer)
Thursday 5th February 2026

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, with regard to the speech by the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister on 20 January, what plans they have to make changes to Civil Services human resources processes to reform performance management.

Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The delivery objectives of all Senior Civil Servants should be linked to the objectives of the department and minister they serve. The framework is regularly reviewed and updated in alignment with Government priorities.

Civil Servants
Asked by: Baroness Shawcross-Wolfson (Conservative - Life peer)
Thursday 5th February 2026

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent on 19 January (HL13271), when they expect to publish the Civil Service strategic workforce plan; and whether they will detail its objectives.

Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The Civil Service is committed to publishing a Civil Service Strategic Workforce Plan in the first part of this year once departments have finalised their workforce plans as per the financial settlements that were agreed with HMT in the Spending Review and the priorities set by Ministers, including those set out in the Autumn Budget.

The Civil Service Strategic Workforce Plan will set out how the Civil Service workforce will meet the Government’s policies of reducing back office costs by 16% by 2030, halving consultancy spend and targeting spending on front line services.

Emergencies
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Thursday 5th February 2026

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to paragraph 84 of the UK Government Resilience Action Plan, when the Lead Government Department Expectations will be published.

Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

We plan to publish the Lead Government Department Expectations in Spring 2026.

WPP Media: Contracts
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Thursday 5th February 2026

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 19 January 2026 to Question 104797 on WPP Media: Contracts, what the latest estimated value is of each individual Lot of the RM6364 framework between 2026 and 2030; and whether the total framework for government Media and Creative Services remains £2,340,000,000 including VAT.

Answered by Chris Ward - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

For the Crown Commercial Service (CCS) framework RM6364 Media and Creative Services, the estimated maximum values for each of the eight lots over the 2026-2030 period are available at the following links:

https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/003578-2026

https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/000238-2026?origin=Dashboard

The total estimated framework value remains £2,340,000,000 including VAT (calculated at the rate of 20%).

It should be noted that these are maximum estimated values; actual spend on each lot will be determined by individual public sector bodies based on their specific requirements over the life of the framework.

Telecommunications: Power Failures
Asked by: Andrew George (Liberal Democrat - St Ives)
Thursday 5th February 2026

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what discussions he has had with (a) local authorities and (b) Local Resilience Forums on supporting telecommunications resilience during power outages.

Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

From conversations with local MPs and organisations involved in the response to Storm Goretti, I understand their concerns around telecommunications resilience, particularly in rural areas.

I have asked my officials in the Cabinet Office and my ministerial colleagues in the relevant departments to look very carefully at the lessons being drawn from Storm Goretti and consider what further measures are needed.

Local Resilience Forums have access to the Resilient Voice System, a central government provided capability for use during significant disruption to the telecommunications network.

Subversion
Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Liberal Democrat - Tewkesbury)
Thursday 5th February 2026

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to help improve cross-government coordination to counter hostile state narratives promoted through domestic voices.

Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

The Defending Democracy Taskforce has a mandate to drive forward a whole-government response to the full range of threats to our democracy, including foreign information operations.

This response includes the Counter Political Interference and Espionage Action Plan, which I announced in the House in November.

Coordinated by the Cabinet Office with the support of Departments across Whitehall, this plan is designed to disrupt the ecosystem of proxy organisations and individuals used by foreign states to facilitate interference.

Public Sector: Reform
Asked by: Alex Burghart (Conservative - Brentwood and Ongar)
Thursday 5th February 2026

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 21 January 2026 to Question 105241 on Public Sector: Reform, what the nature is of the commercial confidentiality.

Answered by Chris Ward - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The transparency obligations under the Procurement Act only apply to the overarching contractual agreement between the Contracting Authority and the Supplier. It does not cover Statements of Work subsequently agreed under the contract.

This is in line with common practice across government procurement.

Cabinet Office: ICT
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Thursday 5th February 2026

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 27 November 2025 to Question 92996 on Cabinet Office: ICT, if he will publish the NISTA evaluation from March 2025.

Answered by Chris Ward - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

NISTA published its 2024-2025 annual report in August 2025, which included details on Project Falcon. The detailed gateway reports are shared with the SRO, Accounting Officers, HMT and CO to support delivery of the programme but are not routinely published.

National Security Adviser
Asked by: Baroness Finn (Conservative - Life peer)
Thursday 5th February 2026

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by the Minister for the Cabinet Office on 14 January 2026 (HC104152), what is the constitutional basis for the National Security Adviser to (1) act as management, and (2) issue directions on behalf of the Prime Minister, given the statutory prohibitions under Section 8(5)(c) of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010 on exercising any power under any Act or any power under His Majesty's prerogative.

Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The Code of Conduct for Special Advisers states that special advisers 'convey to officials ministers’ views, instructions and priorities' and that they may 'hold meetings with officials to discuss the advice being put to ministers'. In line with the Code, the National Security Adviser does not line manage civil servants.

Unemployment: Scotland
Asked by: Susan Murray (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dunbartonshire)
Friday 6th February 2026

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people were unemployed for over last 12 months in (a) Glasgow and (b) Edinburgh in each of the last 12 months; and what proportion of those people were unemployed for 18 months or more in each month.

Answered by Josh Simons - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

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

A response to the Hon lady’s Parliamentary Question of 30th January is attached.

Gender Based Violence
Asked by: Paul Kohler (Liberal Democrat - Wimbledon)
Friday 6th February 2026

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent assessment he has made of trends in the level of reported incidents of violence against women and girls in England and Wales.

Answered by Josh Simons - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

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

A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 28th January is attached.

Proof of Identity: Digital Technology
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Friday 6th February 2026

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether departments have been asked to make (a) operational and (b) efficiency savings to fund the new Digital ID programme.

Answered by Josh Simons - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Costs to departments in this Spending Review period will be met within the existing Spending Review settlement.

Civil Servants: Workplace Pensions
Asked by: Claire Young (Liberal Democrat - Thornbury and Yate)
Friday 6th February 2026

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will publish the (a) eligibility criteria for interest-free hardship loans and (b) process for applying for them for retired civil servants that are unable to access their civil service pension payments on time.

Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

The Cabinet Office awarded the contract to administer the Civil Service Pension Scheme to Capita in November 2023 under the previous government. The Civil Service Pension Scheme transferred to Capita on 1 December.

Transitional Help Loans are available to support those who may be facing hardship. These are interest free, will be provided by employers and available to those employees and to any partial retiree still in employment who retired from 1 January 2025 onwards. The pension member must be waiting for a delayed first pension payment. Loans of £5,000 will be made available and up to £10,000 in exceptional circumstances.

Civil Servants: Workplace Pensions
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Friday 6th February 2026

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department has the ability to issue penalties for performance in relation to Capita's contract for administering the Civil Service Pension.

Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

The Cabinet Office awarded the contract to administer the Civil Service Pension Scheme to Capita in November 2023 under the previous government. The Civil Service Pension Scheme transferred to Capita on 1 December 2025.

The contract includes key performance indicators that, if not met, include financial penalties. These have already been applied in respect of Capita’s performance in December.

Civil Servants: Workplace Pensions
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Friday 6th February 2026

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the oral evidence given by the Paymaster General and Minister for the Constitution and European Union Relations to the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee session on 28 January 2026, HC 463, whether his Department has conducted an economic impact assessment on the potential cost to the public purse of providing loans and compensations to people impacted by delays to the receipt of their civil service pensions.

Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

The Cabinet Office awarded the contract to administer the Civil Service Pension Scheme to Capita in November 2023 under the previous government. The Civil Service Pension Scheme transferred to Capita on 1 December 2025 and is experiencing significant performance issues in delivering services to members. The delays facing some civil servants and pension scheme members in accessing their pensions is unacceptable.

No former civil servant should be facing financial hardship as a result of delays to their pension. We are putting in place interest-free bridging loans of up to £5,000 (and up to £10,000 in exceptional cases) to recent retirees facing payment delays. These loans are to be repaid and will be met from existing departmental settlements. The provision of bridging loans and potential compensation does not require an economic impact assessment as this is not a new, revised or de-regulatory policy, bill or statutory instrument.

Civil Servants: Workplace Pensions
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Friday 6th February 2026

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many meetings Ministers in his department have had with CAPITA in regard to the administration of the civil service pension scheme.

Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

The Cabinet Office awarded the contract to administer the Civil Service Pension Scheme to Capita in November 2023 under the previous government. The Civil Service Pension Scheme transferred to Capita on 1 December 2025 and is experiencing significant performance issues in delivering services to members.The delays facing some civil servants and pension scheme members in accessing their pensions is unacceptable.

Cabinet Office officials are meeting with Capita on a daily basis to progress the recovery plan, agree priority actions and review performance in order to move to the expected timelines and standards of service for all members as soon as possible. The Minister for the Cabinet Office also meets with the Capita CEO on a regular basis.

Civil Servants: Workplace Pensions
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Friday 6th February 2026

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many Civil Service Pension Scheme payments to beavered spouses are outstanding.

Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

The Cabinet Office awarded the contract to administer the Civil Service Pension Scheme to Capita in November 2023 under the previous government. The Civil Service Pension Scheme transferred to Capita on 1 December 2025 and is experiencing significant performance issues in delivering services to members.The delays facing some civil servants and pension scheme members in accessing their pensions is unacceptable.

There are currently 6,300 open bereavement-related cases, with approximately 75% of cases inherited from the previous administrator. About 300 cases are death in service and are being treated as the highest priority. Many of these cases require the calculation and implementation of payments to surviving spouses or partners.

We are implementing a clear recovery plan with Capita, covering all aspects of the pension administration service. A specialist task force has been deployed with a commitment to restore all bereavement services and death in service by the end of February.

Civil Servants: Workplace Pensions
Asked by: Catherine Fookes (Labour - Monmouthshire)
Friday 6th February 2026

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent discussions he has had with Capita on ensuring newly retired civil servants receive pensions on time.

Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

The Cabinet Office awarded the contract to administer the Civil Service Pension Scheme to Capita in November 2023 under the previous government. The Civil Service Pension Scheme transferred to Capita on 1 December 2025 and is experiencing significant performance issues in delivering services to members. The delays facing some civil servants and pension scheme members in accessing their pensions is unacceptable.

Both Ministers and senior officials are meeting regularly with Capita leaders to track progress against agreed recovery plans. The recovery plan includes specific milestones and accountability targets. It includes commitments to deal with priority cases as quickly as possible, restore service levels for all, deploy additional resources, and improve communication with affected members.

Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman
Asked by: Graham Leadbitter (Scottish National Party - Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey)
Monday 9th February 2026

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many times has the Government rejected recommendations for compensation made by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman following a finding of maladministration since 2010.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

The Government does not centrally record information regarding Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman recommendations.

EU Budget: Contributions
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Monday 9th February 2026

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to his Department's policy paper entitled UK-EU Summit - Common Understanding, updated on 22 December 2025, whether he intends that the Government will make additional financial contributions to the European Union related to the provision of services through entry and temporary stay of natural persons for business purposes.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

The UK and EU have agreed to set up dedicated dialogues on short term business mobility and the recognition of professional qualifications. This will create a forum for us to address mobility barriers faced by UK services providers in the EU. This will not involve a financial contribution to the European Union.

Members: Correspondence
Asked by: Alex Burghart (Conservative - Brentwood and Ongar)
Monday 9th February 2026

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when he plans to reply to the letter of 6 November 2025 from the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

A reply was sent by Cat Little, Civil Service Chief Operating Officer and Cabinet Office Permanent Secretary, on 30th January 2026.

UK Trade with EU: Manufacturing Industries
Asked by: Alex Burghart (Conservative - Brentwood and Ongar)
Monday 9th February 2026

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, further to the UK-EU Summit - Common Understanding, 22 December 2025, what plans he has to align with the EU Single Market in relation to manufactured goods.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

This government remains committed to reducing barriers to trade and cutting red-tape. There are clear areas where closer alignment with the EU can benefit UK businesses, as demonstrated by our negotiations on a food and drinks agreement. However, the government’s red lines are clear: there will be no return to the Single Market, Customs Union or freedom of movement.

Cabinet Office: Languages
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Monday 9th February 2026

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether Ministers in his Department have received coaching in a foreign language funded by his Department since July 2024.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

No Cabinet Office Ministers have received any coaching in foreign languages funded by the department since July 2024.

House of Lords: Bishops
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Monday 9th February 2026

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he plans to review the (a) role and (b) voting rights of bishops in the House of Lords.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

There are no plans to review the role and voting rights of the Lords Spiritual in the House of Lords.

The Government has set out an ambitious programme of House of Lords reform in its manifesto, including a commitment to replace the House of Lords with an alternative second chamber that is more representative of the regions and nations. The Government will consult on proposals for an alternative second chamber, seeking the input of the British public on how politics can best serve them.

Cabinet Office: Storyzy
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Monday 9th February 2026

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 4 September 2025 to Question 70478 on Disinformation, if he will publish the (a) contract and (b) terms of reference for the Storyzy service.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

Please find contractual information relating to the Storyzy service at the following link:

https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/notice/57daa888-59d7-4ae2-8f9f-3977a4aa80a4?origin=SearchResults&p=1

Ethics and Integrity Commission
Asked by: Alex Burghart (Conservative - Brentwood and Ongar)
Monday 9th February 2026

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Cabinet Office has agreed a workplan, or commissioned any projects or programmes, with the Ethics and Integrity Commission.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

The Ethics and Integrity Commission (EIC), which launched on 13 October 2025, was established by strengthening and reforming the Committee on Standards in Public Life (CSPL).

Its purpose is to promote the highest standards in public life, as set out in its Terms of Reference. The EIC has published an implementation plan, which sets out an 18-24 month plan for the transition of the CSPL into the EIC, which can be found at the following link:

https://eic.independent-commission.uk/wp-content/themes/eic/download-document.php?file=EIC-Implementation-Plan.docx.pdf



Public Sector: Reform
Asked by: Alex Burghart (Conservative - Brentwood and Ongar)
Monday 9th February 2026

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will publish an update to the December 2024 Plan for Change, and updated statistics on the delivery of the missions and milestones.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

In the Plan for Change document, there are linked statistics in the final "Statistical Sources" section Plan for Change – Milestones for mission-led government. These continue to be published and updated in line with best practice guidance for statistical releases.

Church of England: Children
Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Liberal Democrat - Tewkesbury)
Monday 9th February 2026

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he has had recent discussions with the Church of England on taking steps to help ensure that senior appointments within the Church uphold (a) accountability and (b) safeguarding culture.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

Senior appointments within the Church are undertaken under the Standing Orders of the Church of England laid down by the Church’s elected body, the General Synod, which govern the Crown Nominations Commission, the committee which nominates Archbishops and diocesan Bishops. Safeguarding ability is an essential requirement for all senior positions, necessitating enhanced DBS checks and specialist training as well as being assessed as part of the application paperwork and at interview.

Government Departments: Advertising
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Monday 9th February 2026

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 7 November 2025 to Question 86666 on Government Departments: Advertising, and with reference to paragraph 223 of his Department's publication entitled Guide to Parliamentary Work, updated on 19 November 2024, if he will set out the public interest basis for not disclosing the full list of publications assessed under the SAFE framework.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer of PQ108665.

There are currently no plans to publish the full list of publications assessed under the SAFE framework as the area remains subject to ongoing policy development. Premature publication of the inclusion list would have negative impacts.

Publications: Gender
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Monday 9th February 2026

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 19 January 2026 to Question 104160 on Publications: Gender, which publishers were assessed but not included in the inclusion list.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer of PQ108665.

There are currently no plans to publish the full list of publications assessed under the SAFE framework as the area remains subject to ongoing policy development. Premature publication of the inclusion list would have negative impacts.

10 Downing Street: Official Hospitality
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Monday 9th February 2026

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 20 November 2025 to Question 90241 on 10 Downing Street: Official Hospitality, how much has been spent on hospitality by No10 since 4 July 2024.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

I refer the Hon Member to the answer of 20 May 2025, Official Report, PQ 49763.

Disinformation
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Monday 9th February 2026

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 5 January 2026, to Question 100882, on Disinformation, whether Storyzy is used to monitor content relating to gender issues.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

GCS does not use Storyzy to monitor content relating to gender issues.



Department Publications - News and Communications
Monday 2nd February 2026
Cabinet Office
Source Page: Joint statement on the Withdrawal Agreement Joint Committee and Trade and Cooperation Agreement Partnership Council meetings, 2 February 2026
Document: Joint statement on the Withdrawal Agreement Joint Committee and Trade and Cooperation Agreement Partnership Council meetings, 2 February 2026 (webpage)
Tuesday 3rd February 2026
Cabinet Office
Source Page: West Midlands to become Government centre for Transport and Infrastructure with new Campus to accelerate regional growth and delivery
Document: West Midlands to become Government centre for Transport and Infrastructure with new Campus to accelerate regional growth and delivery (webpage)
Monday 9th February 2026
Cabinet Office
Source Page: Updates on Standards in Public Life
Document: Updates on Standards in Public Life (webpage)
Monday 9th February 2026
Cabinet Office
Source Page: Government publishes Budget Information Security Review
Document: Government publishes Budget Information Security Review (webpage)
Monday 9th February 2026
Cabinet Office
Source Page: Intelligence agencies provide briefings on foreign interference
Document: Intelligence agencies provide briefings on foreign interference (webpage)
Monday 9th February 2026
Cabinet Office
Source Page: Civil Service Pension Recovery Plan Updates
Document: Civil Service Pension Recovery Plan Updates (webpage)


Department Publications - Transparency
Tuesday 3rd February 2026
Cabinet Office
Source Page: Data Protection Complaints Process
Document: Data Protection Complaints Process (webpage)


Department Publications - Policy paper
Wednesday 4th February 2026
Cabinet Office
Source Page: EM for UK participation in EU electricity market (COM(2025)804)
Document: EM for UK participation in EU electricity market (COM(2025)804) (webpage)
Wednesday 4th February 2026
Cabinet Office
Source Page: EM for UK participation in EU electricity market (COM(2025)804)
Document: (PDF)


Deposited Papers
Monday 2nd February 2026
Cabinet Office
Source Page: Letter dated 28/01/2026 from Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent to Baroness Finn regarding the debate on the Common Good Foundation and Centre for Policy Studies report 'Don't stop thinking about tomorrow' and implications of demographic growth: points relating to the environment. 2p.
Document: 26_01_28_BA_to_B_Finn_re_Common_Good_Foundation_Debate.pdf (PDF)
Monday 2nd February 2026
Cabinet Office
Source Page: Letter dated 22/01/2026 from Nick Thomas-Symonds MP to Lord Ricketts and Lord Carlile of Berriew enclosing provisional agendas for meetings of the Withdrawal Agreement Joint Committee and for the Partnership Council under the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement, 2 February 2026. 3p.
Document: 2026_01_22_MCO_letter_to_Parliament_PC_and_JC.pdf (PDF)



Cabinet Office mentioned

Calendar
Tuesday 10th February 2026 9 a.m.
Science, Innovation and Technology Committee - Oral evidence
Subject: Innovation showcase
At 9:30am: Oral evidence
Ridha Bentiba - Joint Chief Executive Officer at HR Wallingford
At 9:45am: Oral evidence
Dan Jarvis MP - Minister for Security at Home Office
Rt Hon Ian Murray MP - Minister for Digital Government and Data at Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
Aimee Smith - Government Chief Data Officer at Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
Vincent Devine - Government Chief Security Officer at Cabinet Office
View calendar - Add to calendar
Tuesday 10th February 2026 9:30 a.m.
Culture, Media and Sport Committee - Oral evidence
Subject: Protecting built heritage
At 10:00am: Oral evidence
The Baroness Twycross - Minister for Museums, Heritage and Gambling at Department for Culture, Media and Sport
Fazima Osborn - Deputy Director, Heritage at Department for Culture, Media and Sport
Mark Chivers - Government Chief Property Officer, Office of Government Property at Cabinet Office
View calendar - Add to calendar


Parliamentary Debates
Crime and Policing Bill
187 speeches (42,503 words)
Committee stage
Thursday 5th February 2026 - Lords Chamber
Home Office
Mentions:
1: Lord Katz (Lab - Life peer) The Cabinet Office issued the Government’s response to the EAC report Unfinished Business: Resetting - Link to Speech

Business of the House
111 speeches (12,455 words)
Thursday 5th February 2026 - Commons Chamber
Leader of the House
Mentions:
1: Alan Campbell (Lab - Tynemouth) The Cabinet Office is working hard to resolve the situation, and has put in place an expert recovery - Link to Speech
2: Martin Wrigley (LD - Newton Abbot) Yesterday the Cabinet Office denied me permission to even see the background papers on an hour-long meeting - Link to Speech

Oral Answers to Questions
146 speeches (10,022 words)
Thursday 5th February 2026 - Commons Chamber
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Mentions:
1: Alistair Carmichael (LD - Orkney and Shetland) Will she impress upon her colleagues in the Cabinet Office the need for that suitable implementation - Link to Speech

Sustainable Drainage Systems
17 speeches (7,103 words)
Thursday 5th February 2026 - Westminster Hall
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Mentions:
1: Aphra Brandreth (Con - Chester South and Eddisbury) Is the Minister working closely with her colleagues in the Cabinet Office to monitor the consequences - Link to Speech

Civil Service Pensions: Capita
17 speeches (1,559 words)
Thursday 5th February 2026 - Lords Chamber
Northern Ireland Office
Mentions:
1: Lord Pack (LD - Life peer) My Lords, the Cabinet Office told the Public Accounts Committee last year that it was aware of very significant - Link to Speech

US Department of Justice Release of Files
41 speeches (6,238 words)
Thursday 5th February 2026 - Lords Chamber
Leader of the House
Mentions:
1: Baroness Finn (Con - Life peer) Can the Lord Privy Seal tell the House why, in light of this, the internal Cabinet Office investigation - Link to Speech

Point of Order
3 speeches (143 words)
Tuesday 3rd February 2026 - Commons Chamber

Mentions:
1: Kirsty Blackman (SNP - Aberdeen North) A number of news outlets are reporting, alongside comment from Downing Street, that the Cabinet Office - Link to Speech

Crime and Policing Bill
85 speeches (20,334 words)
Committee stage: Part 2
Monday 2nd February 2026 - Lords Chamber
Northern Ireland Office
Mentions:
1: Lord Jackson of Peterborough (Con - Life peer) There is significant public consultation resulting from the Cabinet Office, as the noble Lord knows very - Link to Speech

Single-Sex Spaces: EHRC Guidance
23 speeches (1,339 words)
Monday 2nd February 2026 - Lords Chamber
Leader of the House
Mentions:
1: Baroness Falkner of Margravine (XB - Life peer) My Lords, the Minister is a Minister in the Cabinet Office. - Link to Speech
2: Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab - Life peer) I am a Minister with many responsibilities, and I am not sure that I am in the Cabinet Office at the - Link to Speech



Select Committee Documents
Tuesday 10th February 2026
Estimate memoranda - Ministry of Justice Supplementary Estimate Memorandum 2025-26

Justice Committee

Found: Special Adviser Costs -£0.539m -£0.539m Cabinet Office Heads of Place Programme -£0.205m -

Tuesday 10th February 2026
Estimate memoranda - HM Procurator General and Treasury Solicitor Supplementary Estimate Memorandum 2025-26

Justice Committee

Found: due to a budget cover transfer to cover Special Advisor costs which are accounted for by the Cabinet Office

Tuesday 10th February 2026
Estimate memoranda - Department for Business and Trade Supplementary Estimate Memorandum 2025-26

Business and Trade Committee

Found: funding for Strategy and Growth is mainly due to receiving the departments’ allocation from the Cabinet Office

Tuesday 10th February 2026
Estimate memoranda - Ministry of Defence Supplementary Estimates 2025-26

Defence Committee

Found: Afghan Relocation Programme from Home Office 10.000   10.000     Transfer in of Rent from Cabinet Office

Tuesday 10th February 2026
Written Evidence - Professor Sylvester Kaczmarek
GDA0014 - Government's use of external consultants

Public Accounts Committee

Found: Recommendation 1 Cross-government analytics assurance standard 2.1 Scope and applicability The Cabinet Office

Tuesday 10th February 2026
Written Evidence - Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission
RAI0038 - Human Rights and the Regulation of AI

Human Rights and the Regulation of AI - Human Rights (Joint Committee)

Found: Yours sincerely, 11 Cabinet Office, ‘Specialised Committee on the Implementation of the Windsor Framework

Monday 9th February 2026
Correspondence - Letter from the Chair of the Public Accounts Committee to the Permanent Secretary at the Cabinet Office relating to the Administration of the Civil Service Pensions Scheme, 09 February 2026

Public Accounts Committee

Found: Letter from the Chair of the Public Accounts Committee to the Permanent Secretary at the Cabinet Office

Monday 9th February 2026
Correspondence - Letter from the General Secretary at the Civil Service Pensioners’ Alliance relating to the administration of the Civil Service Pension Scheme, 27 January 2026

Public Accounts Committee

Found: The CSPA is recognised by the Cabinet Office as a stakeholder for the purposes of consultation on behalf

Monday 9th February 2026
Correspondence - Letter from the Director for Finance Strategy and Partnerships at the Ministry of Justice relating to the Committee’s evidence session on 26 January 2026 on Accountability in small government bodies, 04 February 2026

Public Accounts Committee

Found: MoJ also operates a central sponsorship and assurance function, in line with the Cabinet Office Sponsorship

Monday 9th February 2026
Correspondence - Letter from the Permanent Secretary at the Cabinet Office relating to the Civil Service Pensions Scheme recovery plan, 02 February 2026

Public Accounts Committee

Found: Letter from the Permanent Secretary at the Cabinet Office relating to the Civil Service Pensions Scheme

Monday 9th February 2026
Government Response - Government response to Northern Ireland after Brexit: Strengthening Northern Ireland's voice in the context of the Windsor Framework, 6 February 2026

Northern Ireland Scrutiny Committee

Found: We will undertake a mapping exercise between the Cabinet Office and Executive

Monday 9th February 2026
Report - 3rd Report - Operation Kenova: naming Stakeknife

Northern Ireland Affairs Committee

Found: MI5, Centenary History Policy on Disclosure, accessed 27 January 2026; and Operation Kenova/ Cabinet Office

Friday 6th February 2026
Correspondence - Letter from the Permanent Secretary of the Cabinet Office regarding Civil Service Pensions, 11 November 2025

Public Accounts Committee

Found: Letter from the Permanent Secretary of the Cabinet Office regarding Civil Service Pensions, 11 November

Thursday 5th February 2026
Minutes and decisions - Monday 8 December 2025 - Minutes

Restoration and Renewal Client Board Committee

Found: Lord Purvis of Tweed Jack Holden (Client Team) Baroness Scott of Needham Market Danielle Nash (Cabinet Office

Thursday 5th February 2026
Minutes and decisions - Monday 8 December 2025 - Minutes

Restoration and Renewal Client Board Committee

Found: Lord Purvis of Tweed Jack Holden (Client Team) Baroness Scott of Needham Market Danielle Nash (Cabinet Office

Thursday 5th February 2026
Report - Delivering restoration and renewal of the Palace of Westminster: the costed proposals

Restoration and Renewal Client Board Committee

Found: Officials and Counsel in both Houses should work with the Cabinet Office to review the 2019 Act during

Thursday 5th February 2026
Report - Large Print - Delivering restoration and renewal of the Palace of Westminster: the costed proposals

Restoration and Renewal Client Board Committee

Found: Officials and Counsel in both Houses should work with the Cabinet Office to review the 2019 Act during

Thursday 5th February 2026
Minutes and decisions - Monday 24 November 2025 - Minutes

Restoration and Renewal Client Board Committee

Found: Berry (Lords) Baroness Smith of Basildon Jack Holden (Client Team) Nick Smith MP Danielle Nash (Cabinet Office

Thursday 5th February 2026
Minutes and decisions - Monday 3 November 2025 - Minutes

Restoration and Renewal Client Board Committee

Found: Basildon Michael Berry (Lords) Nick Smith MP Jack Holden (Client Team) Lord True Danielle Nash (Cabinet Office

Thursday 5th February 2026
Minutes and decisions - Monday 8 December 2025 - Minutes

Restoration and Renewal Client Board Committee

Found: Lord Purvis of Tweed Jack Holden (Client Team) Baroness Scott of Needham Market Danielle Nash (Cabinet Office

Thursday 5th February 2026
Report - 5th Report - UK-EU agritrade: making an SPS agreement work

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee

Found: Session 2024–26, UK-EU trade: towards a resilient border strategy, HC1927, 15 September 2025 2 Cabinet Office

Wednesday 4th February 2026
Report - 14th Report - Toward a new doctrine for economic security: Government Response

Business and Trade Committee

Found: NEP and the Cabinet Office work closely with departmental leads to deliver exercises which are designed

Wednesday 4th February 2026
Report - 14th Report - Toward a new doctrine for economic security: Government Response

Business and Trade Sub-Committee on Economic Security, Arms and Export Controls

Found: NEP and the Cabinet Office work closely with departmental leads to deliver exercises which are designed

Wednesday 4th February 2026
Correspondence - Correspondence from Minister for the Cabinet Office, HM Paymaster General, re, Social Media Platform X and AI Chatbot Grok, dated 26.01.2026

Women and Equalities Committee

Found: Correspondence from Minister for the Cabinet Office, HM Paymaster General, re, Social Media Platform

Wednesday 4th February 2026
Written Evidence - HM Official Opposition
WRP0014 - Written Parliamentary Questions

Written Parliamentary Questions - Procedure Committee

Found: The Cabinet Office is the worst offender.

Wednesday 4th February 2026
Correspondence - Letter from the Director of Fujitsu relating to the awarding of a new public contract, 26 January 2026

Business and Trade Committee

Found: of our voluntary bidding guidelines and reports on all bidding activity transparently to the Cabinet Office

Wednesday 4th February 2026
Correspondence - Letter from the Director of Fujitsu relating to government contract extensions, 19 January 2026

Business and Trade Committee

Found: activity for new customers in the public sector, this was further clarified in our letter to the Cabinet Office

Wednesday 4th February 2026
Written Evidence - Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO)
CMS0117 - Child Maintenance Service

Child Maintenance Service - Work and Pensions Committee

Found: have shared our data on the impacts of the legislative requirement for MP referral with the Cabinet Office

Wednesday 4th February 2026
Correspondence - Letter from the Security Minister following his appearance on 20 Januaury relating to the inquiry on Combatting new forms of extremism 02.02.2026

Home Affairs Committee

Found: Very best wishes, Dan Jarvis MBE MP Security Minister Cabinet Office and Home Office

Tuesday 3rd February 2026
Written Evidence - Progress Together
FIS0076 - Financial Inclusion Strategy

Treasury Committee

Found: The Social Mobility Commission, working alongside the Cabinet Office, has a critical role in providing

Tuesday 3rd February 2026
Written Evidence - Xero
FIS0068 - Financial Inclusion Strategy

Treasury Committee

Found: A dedicated ministerial lead — ideally in the Cabinet Office with Prime Ministerial backing — should

Tuesday 3rd February 2026
Written Evidence - Mencap
FIS0061 - Financial Inclusion Strategy

Treasury Committee

Found: We recommend the strategy engages more clearly with the Disability Unit in the Cabinet Office.

Tuesday 3rd February 2026
Written Evidence - OneFamily
FIS0055 - Financial Inclusion Strategy

Treasury Committee

Found: The Department for Work and Pensions, the Ministry of Justice, the Cabinet Office, the Department for

Tuesday 3rd February 2026
Written Evidence - Ofsted
RAG0004 - Regulators and growth

Regulators and growth - Industry and Regulators Committee

Found: using-the-algorithmic-transparency-recording-standard. 7 ‘The People Factor: A human-centred approach to scaling AI tools’, Cabinet Office

Tuesday 3rd February 2026
Written Evidence - Ministry of Defence
AUKUS0039 - AUKUS

AUKUS - Defence Committee

Found: Fur ther information regarding the Lovegrove Report will be provided from the Cabinet Office. 2.

Tuesday 3rd February 2026
Correspondence - Letter from Mark Bourgeois, Chief Executive, Government Property Agency, Cabinet Office, regarding Protecting built heritage oral evidence follow-up, 23 January 2026

Culture, Media and Sport Committee

Found: Letter from Mark Bourgeois, Chief Executive, Government Property Agency, Cabinet Office, regarding Protecting

Tuesday 3rd February 2026
Government Response - Government response to Financing and Scaling UK S&T Inquiry Report - Bleeding to death: the science and technology growth emergency

Science and Technology Committee

Found: A cross- government committee that brings together the Minister for Procurement in the Cabinet Office

Tuesday 3rd February 2026
Government Response - Minister of State for Science, Innovation, Research and Nuclear response to Financing and Scaling UK S&T Inquiry Report - Bleeding to death: the science and technology growth emergency

Science and Technology Committee

Found: Science, Innovation & Technology, the Department for Education, His Majesty’s Treasury, the Cabinet Office

Tuesday 3rd February 2026
Report - 13th Report - Priorities of the Business and Trade Committee for 2026

Business and Trade Committee

Found: Government, Integrated Review Refresh: Responding to a More Contested and Volatile World, March 2023; Cabinet Office

Monday 2nd February 2026
Correspondence - Letter from the Permanent Secretary at the Cabinet Office relating to the Committee’s findings and recommendations on the audit of the Civil Service Pensions, 22 January 2026

Public Accounts Committee

Found: Letter from the Permanent Secretary at the Cabinet Office relating to the Committee’s findings and recommendations

Monday 2nd February 2026
Correspondence - Letter from the Permanent Secretary at the Cabinet Office relating to the Committee’s evidence session on 15 December 2025 on the Government’s use of external consultants, 23 January 2026

Public Accounts Committee

Found: Letter from the Permanent Secretary at the Cabinet Office relating to the Committee’s evidence session

Monday 2nd February 2026
Oral Evidence - Department for Business and Trade at UK Government, and Department for Business and Trade at UK Government

Promoting Wales for inward investment - Welsh Affairs Committee

Found: board I think in a couple of weeks—is the Office for the Impact Economy, which now sits in the Cabinet Office

Wednesday 28th January 2026
Oral Evidence - 2026-01-28 14:00:00+00:00

Malvern Hills Bill [HL] Committee

Found: wise, actually, but I assume, if that is the case, there is some mechanism, maybe within the Cabinet Office

Wednesday 28th January 2026
Oral Evidence - Office for Environmental Protection, Office for Environmental Protection, and Office for Environmental Protection

Environment and Climate Change Committee

Found: latest assessment builds on earlier assessments by various parts of government, including the Cabinet Office

Tuesday 27th January 2026
Oral Evidence - 2026-01-27 10:30:00+00:00

Malvern Hills Bill [HL] Committee

Found: spend £25,000 on public relations consultants to facilitate the passage of this Bill without Cabinet Office



Written Answers
Sustainable Development: Education
Asked by: Terry Jermy (Labour - South West Norfolk)
Tuesday 10th February 2026

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what dedicated funding streams exist across Departments to support food, nature, and sustainability education.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The majority of grant schemes administered by the department relate to Food or Nature outcomes, with grant funding being the primary funding stream used to support these outcomes.

Details of all Defra grant schemes are recorded on the Government Grants Information System (GGIS), in line with cross‑government transparency requirements.

Government grants data and statistics are published annually by the Cabinet Office in Official Statistics and are publicly available. These statistics include the full Defra portfolio.

The most recent publication covers Financial Year 2023/24, and is available on GOV.UK, at the following link: Government grants data and statistics - GOV.UK.
Data for Financial Year 2024/25 will be published later this year.

Department for Science, Innovation and Technology: Public Expenditure
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Monday 9th February 2026

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to (a) SOPS 1.1. in the Department's 2024/5 Annual Report, a breakdown of the £209,590,000 spent in gross administration costs on capability and (b) Table 1, Annex A: Common Core Tables in the Department's 2020/21 Annual Report, a breakdown of the £118,965,000 spent on Capability in 2019/20, on what basis there is a difference between the two figures.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The 2024-25 outturn for Capability gross administration costs is broken down as below:

Staff costs*

£84.078m

Other operating costs

£43.484m

Purchase of goods and services*

£40.218m

Matrix programme*

£28.295m

Depreciation and other non-cash expenditure

£11.455m

Other costs, including finance costs and grants

£2.059m

Total

£209.590m

*As one of DSIT’s major projects, Matrix programme costs have been presented separately i.e. deducted from other totals above.

2019-20 outturn for the Capability line as shown within the 2020-21 Annual Report and Account was prepared for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, DSIT’s predecessor department. Since then, multiple Machinery of Government (MoG) changes have taken place, resulting in significant movements of policy responsibilities across government departments, including DSIT, DESNZ, DBT, DCMS and the Cabinet Office.

It should be highlighted that the Matrix programme - representing a material element of 2024-25 expenditure has only come into operation in more recent years. For these reasons, the two financial years are therefore not readily comparable.

Leader of the House of Lords: Written Questions
Asked by: Lord Jackson of Peterborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Monday 9th February 2026

Question

To ask The Leader of the House when she expects a Written Answer to be given to the question asked by Lord Jackson of Peterborough on 3 December 2025 (HL12630).

Answered by Baroness Smith of Basildon - Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal

I regret that the question for written answer HL12630 remains unanswered by the Cabinet Office. My officials have reminded the department that a response is overdue and they have apologised for the delay. I have been assured that a response will be issued as soon as possible.

Asylum: Temporary Accommodation
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Friday 6th February 2026

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the contract, Provision of Bridging Accommodation and Travel Services, procurement reference CCTM22A01, what the annual cost is of the requirement that transport requests will be taken at short notice, all day every day.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

Prior to receiving internal, Home Office Commercial approvals, to award this contract supplier performance was reviewed and due diligence was carried out. Necessary external approvals from Cabinet Office Spend Controls were also obtained prior to the contract award. The guidance for Cabinet Office Spend Controls applies to commercial activities costing £20 million or more, and is published on gov.uk at: Commercial spend controls (version 7) - GOV.UK.

The final contract signature was completed on 24 March 2023.

All Home Office contracts are procured in line with public sector procurement regulations. As part of these regulations, robust checks are carried out on suppliers’ ability to deliver the contract in question and, in certain circumstances, it may be necessary to exclude bidders in line with relevant regulations.

CCTM22A01 Provision of Bridging Accommodation and Travel Services Contract was a direct award under the CCS Travel and Venue Solutions Framework Agreement (RM6217) – Lot 2. CTM were the sole supplier within Lot 2.

Financial information cannot be provided in the granular detail requested.

Asylum: Temporary Accommodation
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Friday 6th February 2026

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the contract, Provision of Bridging Accommodation and Travel Services, procurement reference CCTM22A01, what expenditure has been incurred on the booking of transport services for those who wish to travel beyond the local area.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

Prior to receiving internal, Home Office Commercial approvals, to award this contract supplier performance was reviewed and due diligence was carried out. Necessary external approvals from Cabinet Office Spend Controls were also obtained prior to the contract award. The guidance for Cabinet Office Spend Controls applies to commercial activities costing £20 million or more, and is published on gov.uk at: Commercial spend controls (version 7) - GOV.UK.

The final contract signature was completed on 24 March 2023.

All Home Office contracts are procured in line with public sector procurement regulations. As part of these regulations, robust checks are carried out on suppliers’ ability to deliver the contract in question and, in certain circumstances, it may be necessary to exclude bidders in line with relevant regulations.

CCTM22A01 Provision of Bridging Accommodation and Travel Services Contract was a direct award under the CCS Travel and Venue Solutions Framework Agreement (RM6217) – Lot 2. CTM were the sole supplier within Lot 2.

Financial information cannot be provided in the granular detail requested.

Asylum: Temporary Accommodation
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Friday 6th February 2026

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the contract, Provision of Bridging Accommodation and Travel Services, procurement reference CCTM22A01, what was the total number of contracts between the Department and Corporate Travel Management (North) Limited in the last ten years.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

Prior to receiving internal, Home Office Commercial approvals, to award this contract supplier performance was reviewed and due diligence was carried out. Necessary external approvals from Cabinet Office Spend Controls were also obtained prior to the contract award. The guidance for Cabinet Office Spend Controls applies to commercial activities costing £20 million or more, and is published on gov.uk at: Commercial spend controls (version 7) - GOV.UK.

The final contract signature was completed on 24 March 2023.

All Home Office contracts are procured in line with public sector procurement regulations. As part of these regulations, robust checks are carried out on suppliers’ ability to deliver the contract in question and, in certain circumstances, it may be necessary to exclude bidders in line with relevant regulations.

CCTM22A01 Provision of Bridging Accommodation and Travel Services Contract was a direct award under the CCS Travel and Venue Solutions Framework Agreement (RM6217) – Lot 2. CTM were the sole supplier within Lot 2.

Financial information cannot be provided in the granular detail requested.

Asylum: Temporary Accommodation
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Friday 6th February 2026

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the contract, Provision of Bridging Accommodation and Travel Services, procurement reference CCTM22A01, what the cost is of providing adequate transport links to enable service users to access the local area.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

Prior to receiving internal, Home Office Commercial approvals, to award this contract supplier performance was reviewed and due diligence was carried out. Necessary external approvals from Cabinet Office Spend Controls were also obtained prior to the contract award. The guidance for Cabinet Office Spend Controls applies to commercial activities costing £20 million or more, and is published on gov.uk at: Commercial spend controls (version 7) - GOV.UK.

The final contract signature was completed on 24 March 2023.

All Home Office contracts are procured in line with public sector procurement regulations. As part of these regulations, robust checks are carried out on suppliers’ ability to deliver the contract in question and, in certain circumstances, it may be necessary to exclude bidders in line with relevant regulations.

CCTM22A01 Provision of Bridging Accommodation and Travel Services Contract was a direct award under the CCS Travel and Venue Solutions Framework Agreement (RM6217) – Lot 2. CTM were the sole supplier within Lot 2.

Financial information cannot be provided in the granular detail requested.

Asylum: Temporary Accommodation
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Friday 6th February 2026

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the contract entitled Provision of Bridging Accommodation and Travel Services with procurement reference CCTM22A01, what the annual cost is of the requirement that service users are taken to and returned from medical appointments.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

Prior to receiving internal, Home Office Commercial approvals, to award this contract supplier performance was reviewed and due diligence was carried out. Necessary external approvals from Cabinet Office Spend Controls were also obtained prior to the contract award. The guidance for Cabinet Office Spend Controls applies to commercial activities costing £20 million or more, and is published on gov.uk at: Commercial spend controls (version 7) - GOV.UK.

The final contract signature was completed on 24 March 2023.

All Home Office contracts are procured in line with public sector procurement regulations. As part of these regulations, robust checks are carried out on suppliers’ ability to deliver the contract in question and, in certain circumstances, it may be necessary to exclude bidders in line with relevant regulations.

CCTM22A01 Provision of Bridging Accommodation and Travel Services Contract was a direct award under the CCS Travel and Venue Solutions Framework Agreement (RM6217) – Lot 2. CTM were the sole supplier within Lot 2.

Financial information cannot be provided in the granular detail requested.

Asylum: Temporary Accommodation
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Friday 6th February 2026

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the contract, Provision of Bridging Accommodation and Travel Services, procurement reference CCTM22A01, what the cost is of providing assistance to service users to make contact with a local GP surgery and dentist.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

Prior to receiving internal, Home Office Commercial approvals, to award this contract supplier performance was reviewed and due diligence was carried out. Necessary external approvals from Cabinet Office Spend Controls were also obtained prior to the contract award. The guidance for Cabinet Office Spend Controls applies to commercial activities costing £20 million or more, and is published on gov.uk at: Commercial spend controls (version 7) - GOV.UK.

The final contract signature was completed on 24 March 2023.

All Home Office contracts are procured in line with public sector procurement regulations. As part of these regulations, robust checks are carried out on suppliers’ ability to deliver the contract in question and, in certain circumstances, it may be necessary to exclude bidders in line with relevant regulations.

CCTM22A01 Provision of Bridging Accommodation and Travel Services Contract was a direct award under the CCS Travel and Venue Solutions Framework Agreement (RM6217) – Lot 2. CTM were the sole supplier within Lot 2.

Financial information cannot be provided in the granular detail requested.

Asylum: Temporary Accommodation
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Friday 6th February 2026

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the contract, Provision of Bridging Accommodation and Travel Services, procurement reference CCTM22A01, what the annual cost is of the house-keeping laundry service with a maximum 48-hour turnaround.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

Prior to receiving internal, Home Office Commercial approvals, to award this contract supplier performance was reviewed and due diligence was carried out. Necessary external approvals from Cabinet Office Spend Controls were also obtained prior to the contract award. The guidance for Cabinet Office Spend Controls applies to commercial activities costing £20 million or more, and is published on gov.uk at: Commercial spend controls (version 7) - GOV.UK.

The final contract signature was completed on 24 March 2023.

All Home Office contracts are procured in line with public sector procurement regulations. As part of these regulations, robust checks are carried out on suppliers’ ability to deliver the contract in question and, in certain circumstances, it may be necessary to exclude bidders in line with relevant regulations.

CCTM22A01 Provision of Bridging Accommodation and Travel Services Contract was a direct award under the CCS Travel and Venue Solutions Framework Agreement (RM6217) – Lot 2. CTM were the sole supplier within Lot 2.

Financial information cannot be provided in the granular detail requested.

Asylum: Temporary Accommodation
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Friday 6th February 2026

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the contract, Provision of Bridging Accommodation and Travel Services, procurement reference CCTM22A01, what the annual cost is of delivering a programme of organised recreational activities.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

Prior to receiving internal, Home Office Commercial approvals, to award this contract supplier performance was reviewed and due diligence was carried out. Necessary external approvals from Cabinet Office Spend Controls were also obtained prior to the contract award. The guidance for Cabinet Office Spend Controls applies to commercial activities costing £20 million or more, and is published on gov.uk at: Commercial spend controls (version 7) - GOV.UK.

The final contract signature was completed on 24 March 2023.

All Home Office contracts are procured in line with public sector procurement regulations. As part of these regulations, robust checks are carried out on suppliers’ ability to deliver the contract in question and, in certain circumstances, it may be necessary to exclude bidders in line with relevant regulations.

CCTM22A01 Provision of Bridging Accommodation and Travel Services Contract was a direct award under the CCS Travel and Venue Solutions Framework Agreement (RM6217) – Lot 2. CTM were the sole supplier within Lot 2.

Financial information cannot be provided in the granular detail requested.

Asylum: Temporary Accommodation
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Friday 6th February 2026

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the contract, Provision of Bridging Accommodation and Travel Services, procurement reference CCTM22A01, what cost is incurred by the requirement that where a service user arrives late and misses the evening meal, a light snack must be provided.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

Prior to receiving internal, Home Office Commercial approvals, to award this contract supplier performance was reviewed and due diligence was carried out. Necessary external approvals from Cabinet Office Spend Controls were also obtained prior to the contract award. The guidance for Cabinet Office Spend Controls applies to commercial activities costing £20 million or more, and is published on gov.uk at: Commercial spend controls (version 7) - GOV.UK.

The final contract signature was completed on 24 March 2023.

All Home Office contracts are procured in line with public sector procurement regulations. As part of these regulations, robust checks are carried out on suppliers’ ability to deliver the contract in question and, in certain circumstances, it may be necessary to exclude bidders in line with relevant regulations.

CCTM22A01 Provision of Bridging Accommodation and Travel Services Contract was a direct award under the CCS Travel and Venue Solutions Framework Agreement (RM6217) – Lot 2. CTM were the sole supplier within Lot 2.

Financial information cannot be provided in the granular detail requested.

Asylum: Temporary Accommodation
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Friday 6th February 2026

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the contract, Provision of Bridging Accommodation and Travel Services, procurement reference CCTM22A01, what the annual cost is of the cleaning programme delivered to the standards set by the British Institute of Cleaning Science required under the contract.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

Prior to receiving internal, Home Office Commercial approvals, to award this contract supplier performance was reviewed and due diligence was carried out. Necessary external approvals from Cabinet Office Spend Controls were also obtained prior to the contract award. The guidance for Cabinet Office Spend Controls applies to commercial activities costing £20 million or more, and is published on gov.uk at: Commercial spend controls (version 7) - GOV.UK.

The final contract signature was completed on 24 March 2023.

All Home Office contracts are procured in line with public sector procurement regulations. As part of these regulations, robust checks are carried out on suppliers’ ability to deliver the contract in question and, in certain circumstances, it may be necessary to exclude bidders in line with relevant regulations.

CCTM22A01 Provision of Bridging Accommodation and Travel Services Contract was a direct award under the CCS Travel and Venue Solutions Framework Agreement (RM6217) – Lot 2. CTM were the sole supplier within Lot 2.

Financial information cannot be provided in the granular detail requested.

Asylum: Temporary Accommodation
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Friday 6th February 2026

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the contract, Provision of Bridging Accommodation and Travel Services, procurement reference CCTM22A01, what the per-person daily cost is of providing a varied daily menu, taking into account all religious needs as specified.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

Prior to receiving internal, Home Office Commercial approvals, to award this contract supplier performance was reviewed and due diligence was carried out. Necessary external approvals from Cabinet Office Spend Controls were also obtained prior to the contract award. The guidance for Cabinet Office Spend Controls applies to commercial activities costing £20 million or more, and is published on gov.uk at: Commercial spend controls (version 7) - GOV.UK.

The final contract signature was completed on 24 March 2023.

All Home Office contracts are procured in line with public sector procurement regulations. As part of these regulations, robust checks are carried out on suppliers’ ability to deliver the contract in question and, in certain circumstances, it may be necessary to exclude bidders in line with relevant regulations.

CCTM22A01 Provision of Bridging Accommodation and Travel Services Contract was a direct award under the CCS Travel and Venue Solutions Framework Agreement (RM6217) – Lot 2. CTM were the sole supplier within Lot 2.

Financial information cannot be provided in the granular detail requested.

Asylum: Temporary Accommodation
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Friday 6th February 2026

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the contract, Provision of Bridging Accommodation and Travel Services, procurement reference CCTM22A01, what the cost per service user is of the requirement that cabins are cleaned on a twice weekly basis.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

Prior to receiving internal, Home Office Commercial approvals, to award this contract supplier performance was reviewed and due diligence was carried out. Necessary external approvals from Cabinet Office Spend Controls were also obtained prior to the contract award. The guidance for Cabinet Office Spend Controls applies to commercial activities costing £20 million or more, and is published on gov.uk at: Commercial spend controls (version 7) - GOV.UK.

The final contract signature was completed on 24 March 2023.

All Home Office contracts are procured in line with public sector procurement regulations. As part of these regulations, robust checks are carried out on suppliers’ ability to deliver the contract in question and, in certain circumstances, it may be necessary to exclude bidders in line with relevant regulations.

CCTM22A01 Provision of Bridging Accommodation and Travel Services Contract was a direct award under the CCS Travel and Venue Solutions Framework Agreement (RM6217) – Lot 2. CTM were the sole supplier within Lot 2.

Financial information cannot be provided in the granular detail requested.

Asylum: Temporary Accommodation
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Friday 6th February 2026

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the contract, Provision of Bridging Accommodation and Travel Services, procurement reference CCTM22A01, what due diligence was undertaken on Corporate Travel Management (North) Limited, including financial capacity, relevant experience, and subcontracting arrangements, prior to contract award.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

Prior to receiving internal, Home Office Commercial approvals, to award this contract supplier performance was reviewed and due diligence was carried out. Necessary external approvals from Cabinet Office Spend Controls were also obtained prior to the contract award. The guidance for Cabinet Office Spend Controls applies to commercial activities costing £20 million or more, and is published on gov.uk at: Commercial spend controls (version 7) - GOV.UK.

The final contract signature was completed on 24 March 2023.

All Home Office contracts are procured in line with public sector procurement regulations. As part of these regulations, robust checks are carried out on suppliers’ ability to deliver the contract in question and, in certain circumstances, it may be necessary to exclude bidders in line with relevant regulations.

CCTM22A01 Provision of Bridging Accommodation and Travel Services Contract was a direct award under the CCS Travel and Venue Solutions Framework Agreement (RM6217) – Lot 2. CTM were the sole supplier within Lot 2.

Financial information cannot be provided in the granular detail requested.

Asylum: Temporary Accommodation
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Friday 6th February 2026

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the contract, Provision of Bridging Accommodation and Travel Services, procurement reference CCTM22A01, on what date Corporate Travel Management (North) Limited was notified that it had been awarded the contract, and which Minister approved the award.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

Prior to receiving internal, Home Office Commercial approvals, to award this contract supplier performance was reviewed and due diligence was carried out. Necessary external approvals from Cabinet Office Spend Controls were also obtained prior to the contract award. The guidance for Cabinet Office Spend Controls applies to commercial activities costing £20 million or more, and is published on gov.uk at: Commercial spend controls (version 7) - GOV.UK.

The final contract signature was completed on 24 March 2023.

All Home Office contracts are procured in line with public sector procurement regulations. As part of these regulations, robust checks are carried out on suppliers’ ability to deliver the contract in question and, in certain circumstances, it may be necessary to exclude bidders in line with relevant regulations.

CCTM22A01 Provision of Bridging Accommodation and Travel Services Contract was a direct award under the CCS Travel and Venue Solutions Framework Agreement (RM6217) – Lot 2. CTM were the sole supplier within Lot 2.

Financial information cannot be provided in the granular detail requested.

Asylum: Temporary Accommodation
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Friday 6th February 2026

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the contract, Provision of Bridging Accommodation and Travel Services, procurement reference CCTM22A01, what procurement route was used to award the contract; and whether it was subject to open competition, emergency procurement, or direct award.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

Prior to receiving internal, Home Office Commercial approvals, to award this contract supplier performance was reviewed and due diligence was carried out. Necessary external approvals from Cabinet Office Spend Controls were also obtained prior to the contract award. The guidance for Cabinet Office Spend Controls applies to commercial activities costing £20 million or more, and is published on gov.uk at: Commercial spend controls (version 7) - GOV.UK.

The final contract signature was completed on 24 March 2023.

All Home Office contracts are procured in line with public sector procurement regulations. As part of these regulations, robust checks are carried out on suppliers’ ability to deliver the contract in question and, in certain circumstances, it may be necessary to exclude bidders in line with relevant regulations.

CCTM22A01 Provision of Bridging Accommodation and Travel Services Contract was a direct award under the CCS Travel and Venue Solutions Framework Agreement (RM6217) – Lot 2. CTM were the sole supplier within Lot 2.

Financial information cannot be provided in the granular detail requested.

Voluntary Organisations: Northern Ireland
Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Wednesday 4th February 2026

Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what recent discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the voluntary sector in Northern Ireland.

Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

I meet regularly with Cabinet colleagues on a range of issues, including matters relating to the voluntary sector in Northern Ireland. Most recently, my officials have been working in partnership with the Grants Management Function of Cabinet Office for the delivery of the Northern Ireland Office Connect Fund, supporting the work of voluntary organisations in sectors directly affecting Northern Ireland communities and encouraging civic East-West collaboration across the UK.

Home Office: Contracts
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Wednesday 4th February 2026

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department will publish an annual summary of due diligence outcomes and contract performance for its highest-value suppliers.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

Home Office meets Cabinet Office transparency arrangements to ensure consistency across Government. There is no current requirement to meet the scope suggested.

Cabinet Office publishes quarterly KPI data from returns supplied by Departments.

Armed Conflict: Health Services
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Wednesday 4th February 2026

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on the mobilisation of the National Health Service in the event of UK involvement in an armed conflict.

Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)

The Cabinet Office leads the Government's Home Defence Programme, in which Defence plays an integral role. The programme is enhancing the UK’s national security and resilience through bolstering civilian-military coordination and planning and enhancing public and private preparedness.

In a new era of threat, the defence and security of the UK requires a whole-of-society approach: the NHS and private healthcare is no exception.

A series of joint exercises involving the Ministry of Defence (MOD), the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), NHS England (NHSE), the Devolved Administrations, Voluntary Aid Societies and allies (USA and Canada) have explored the UK’s ability to deal with casualties across a range of scenarios up to and including warfighting.

NHS(E) will lead a further exercise in February 2026 to consider where pressure would be felt most acutely in the NHS system from an increased number of MOD patients.

Space Weather
Asked by: Lord Lucas (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Tuesday 3rd February 2026

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the level of preparedness for a Carrington-class event, in particular whether (1) a warning of an event can be received in good time to act, (2) the people receiving the warning can authorise the disconnection of all grid transformers, (3) the people operating those transformers are aware of that authorisation, and (4) plans are in place to inform the public and ensure access to food and water for the duration of the grid shutdown.

Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

Government works with Met Office Space Weather Operations Centre (MOSWOC), National Energy System Operator (NESO) and DESNZ to issue early alerts, providing awareness calls as soon as severe activity is suspected and formal storm watches at least 12 hours before impact.

The UK is a global leader in space weather forecasting, MOSWOC deliver 24/7 forecasts to operators, including NESO, enabling timely protective actions.

NESO and industry are developing the Space Weather Industry Protocol to set out how forecasts are received and acted upon to manage electricity system risks.

The Government has robust contingency plans for major disruptions. While no plans exist specifically for a Carrington scale event, any large-scale outage would follow established national arrangements, including public preparedness guidance, Pre-Agreed Written Science (PAWS) scientific advice, and Cabinet Office planning to support access to essential services

Migrant Help: Contracts
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Tuesday 3rd February 2026

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which (a) Ministers and (b) Senior Civil Servants approved the award of the contract titled AIRE - Advice Issue Reporting and Eligibility to Migrant Help and CCTM22A01 Provision of Bridging Accommodation and Travel Services Contract - Contracts Finder Contract, with a start date of 26 February 2023; and on what date that approval was given.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

This information cannot be disclosed as the detailed financial breakdown of the AIRE contract is commercially sensitive.

This contract was approved by the Commercial Approval Board where it gained approval within Home Office. It was also approved by Cabinet Office Spend Controls and HMT approvals.

The AIRE - Advice Issue Reporting and Eligibility was procured as part of a restricted procedure under the PCR15 regulations.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and service standards are contained within the contract titled AIRE publicly available information: AIRE - Advice Issue Reporting and Elligibility - Contracts Finder

Asylum: Advisory Services
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Tuesday 3rd February 2026

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what Key Performance Indicators and service standards are contained within the contract titled AIRE - Advice Issue Reporting and Eligibility, including any KPIs relating to call handling times, resolution rates, and complaint outcomes.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

This information cannot be disclosed as the detailed financial breakdown of the AIRE contract is commercially sensitive.

This contract was approved by the Commercial Approval Board where it gained approval within Home Office. It was also approved by Cabinet Office Spend Controls and HMT approvals.

The AIRE - Advice Issue Reporting and Eligibility was procured as part of a restricted procedure under the PCR15 regulations.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and service standards are contained within the contract titled AIRE publicly available information: AIRE - Advice Issue Reporting and Elligibility - Contracts Finder

Asylum: Advisory Services
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Tuesday 3rd February 2026

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the cost of the 24-hour service provision under the contract titled AIRE - Advice Issue Reporting and Eligibility is; and what assessment was made of the value for money of providing a 24-hour service.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

This information cannot be disclosed as the detailed financial breakdown of the AIRE contract is commercially sensitive.

This contract was approved by the Commercial Approval Board where it gained approval within Home Office. It was also approved by Cabinet Office Spend Controls and HMT approvals.

The AIRE - Advice Issue Reporting and Eligibility was procured as part of a restricted procedure under the PCR15 regulations.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and service standards are contained within the contract titled AIRE publicly available information: AIRE - Advice Issue Reporting and Elligibility - Contracts Finder

Asylum: Advisory Services
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Tuesday 3rd February 2026

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what procurement route was used for the contract titled AIRE - Advice Issue Reporting and Eligibility; and whether it was awarded via open tender.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

This information cannot be disclosed as the detailed financial breakdown of the AIRE contract is commercially sensitive.

This contract was approved by the Commercial Approval Board where it gained approval within Home Office. It was also approved by Cabinet Office Spend Controls and HMT approvals.

The AIRE - Advice Issue Reporting and Eligibility was procured as part of a restricted procedure under the PCR15 regulations.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and service standards are contained within the contract titled AIRE publicly available information: AIRE - Advice Issue Reporting and Elligibility - Contracts Finder

Migrant Help: Contracts
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Tuesday 3rd February 2026

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the breakdown of costs by financial year is for the contract with Migrant Help entitled AIRE - Advice Issue Reporting and Eligibility since 1 March 2019.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

This information cannot be disclosed as the detailed financial breakdown of the AIRE contract is commercially sensitive.

This contract was approved by the Commercial Approval Board where it gained approval within Home Office. It was also approved by Cabinet Office Spend Controls and HMT approvals.

The AIRE - Advice Issue Reporting and Eligibility was procured as part of a restricted procedure under the PCR15 regulations.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and service standards are contained within the contract titled AIRE publicly available information: AIRE - Advice Issue Reporting and Elligibility - Contracts Finder

Asylum: Advisory Services
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Tuesday 3rd February 2026

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of spending under the contract entitled AIRE - Advice Issue Reporting and Eligibility has been paid to subcontractors; which subcontractors have received payments; and what services those payments were for.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

This information cannot be disclosed as the detailed financial breakdown of the AIRE contract is commercially sensitive.

This contract was approved by the Commercial Approval Board where it gained approval within Home Office. It was also approved by Cabinet Office Spend Controls and HMT approvals.

The AIRE - Advice Issue Reporting and Eligibility was procured as part of a restricted procedure under the PCR15 regulations.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and service standards are contained within the contract titled AIRE publicly available information: AIRE - Advice Issue Reporting and Elligibility - Contracts Finder

Valuation Office Agency: Conditions of Employment
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Monday 2nd February 2026

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether Valuation Office Agency staff will have their contractual terms amended following its merger with HMRC.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Valuation Office Agency will close from 1 April 2026 with all colleagues transferring into HMRC. Colleagues will transfer under the Cabinet Office Statement of Practice (COSoP) with which HMRC and the VOA have complied in full.

All contractual terms currently held by colleagues working for the VOA have been protected as a matter of principle during this process and will be honoured in full on transfer to HMRC.

HMRC and VOA have consulted with VOA’s recognised Trade Unions during the COSoP process to ensure that meaningful engagement and discussion has taken place concerning all matters relating to the transfer.

Identity Cards: Digital Technology
Asked by: Lord Kempsell (Conservative - Life peer)
Monday 2nd February 2026

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government what the full responsibilities of the Minister for Digital ID are.

Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

Josh Simons MP has been appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, serving as a joint Minister between the Cabinet Office and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT).

Minister Simons is responsible for supporting and providing assurance to the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster in the Cabinet Office and the Secretary of State for DSIT on the design and cross-government delivery of the digital ID programme. He will work closely with Minister Murray, Minister of State for Digital Government and Data, who retains ownership of related areas including data policy and other Government Digital Products.

Equality: Codes of Practice
Asked by: Baroness Falkner of Margravine (Crossbench - Life peer)
Monday 2nd February 2026

Question

To ask His Majesty's Government whether the draft Code of Practice for Services, Public Functions and Associations was submitted to the Cabinet Office on 8 April 2025; and if not, on what date that draft was submitted.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The EHRC revised its Code of Practice for Services, Public Functions and Associations following its consultation after the UK Supreme Court ruling in For Women Scotland, and submitted it to the Minister for Women and Equalities on 4 September 2025.

The Government is considering the draft updated Code and, if the decision is taken to approve it, the Secretary of State will lay it before Parliament. Parliament will then have a 40 day period to consider the draft Code.

The Minister is following the process in the Equality Act 2006 and consulted the Devolved Governments at the relevant stages, as required under section 14(9). Consultation with Welsh and Scottish Ministers is required if, or in so far as, the Code relates to a duty imposed by or under the Public Sector Equality Duty. As part of the consultation, the draft Code has been shared with the Devolved Administrations.

We have always been clear that there is a due process that needs to be followed by all. Our priority is getting this right. We will continue to work with the EHRC to ensure Ministers are able to make a fully informed decision.



Parliamentary Research
Pelvic mesh and sodium valproate - CBP-10487
Feb. 05 2026

Found: We are working with colleagues in the Cabinet Office in particular to make sure we have a consistent



Early Day Motions
Monday 2nd February

Museum ecommerce sales to Northern Ireland

3 signatures (Most recent: 3 Feb 2026)
Tabled by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
That this House notes a number of the nation's most prestigious museums have not been supplying online purchases to Northern Ireland based consumers for some time; further notes the written records of each of them to the hon. Member for East Londonderry indicating their willingness to do so; welcomes the …


National Audit Office
Feb. 10 2026
Step change needed in government financial management (webpage)

Found: The Treasury and Cabinet Office have also set out a new approach to the public spending control and accountability



Department Publications - Policy and Engagement
Tuesday 10th February 2026
Department of Health and Social Care
Source Page: Proposed changes to the health service products information regulations 2018
Document: (PDF)

Found: Cabinet Office.

Tuesday 10th February 2026
Department of Health and Social Care
Source Page: Proposed 2026 changes to the statutory scheme for branded medicines pricing
Document: (PDF)

Found: position has been confirmed previously by the Economic and Domestic Affairs Secretariat at the Cabinet Office

Monday 9th February 2026
HM Treasury
Source Page: Budget Information Security Review
Document: (PDF)

Found: 11 Chapter 4 The steps HM Treasury is taking to tighten Budget information security and the Cabinet Office

Monday 2nd February 2026
Department for Science, Innovation & Technology
Source Page: EM on proposal to amend EU regulations on AI rules (COM(2025)836)
Document: (webpage)

Found: The Minister for the Cabinet Office has responsibility for EU policy and relations, including the Windsor



Department Publications - Transparency
Tuesday 10th February 2026
HM Treasury
Source Page: Vote on Account 2026-27
Document: (PDF)

Found: 26 † Voted Total to date on which provision on account is based 2026-27 Required on Account Cabinet Office

Tuesday 10th February 2026
HM Treasury
Source Page: Vote on Account 2026-27
Document: (PDF)

Found: account is based Required on Account Table 2: Supply Estimates by Department, 2026-27 (Voted) Cabinet Office

Tuesday 10th February 2026
HM Treasury
Source Page: Supplementary Estimates 2025-26
Document: (PDF)

Found: (CO) for Special adviser costs (Admin) -116,000 (Section A) BCT (IN) from Cabinet Office (CO)

Tuesday 10th February 2026
HM Treasury
Source Page: Supplementary Estimates 2025-26
Document: (PDF)

Found: (CO) for Special adviser costs (Admin) -116,000 (Section A) BCT (IN) from Cabinet Office (CO)

Tuesday 10th February 2026
Ministry of Justice
Source Page: Use of closed material procedure report: 25 June 2023 to 24 June 2024
Document: (PDF)

Found: National Security and Investment Act 2021 16.02.2023 application by Secretary of State in the Cabinet Office

Tuesday 10th February 2026
Ministry of Justice
Source Page: Use of closed material procedure report: 25 June 2023 to 24 June 2024
Document: (PDF)

Found: Security and Investment Act 2021 16.02.2023 application by Secretary of State in the Cabinet Office

Tuesday 10th February 2026
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
Source Page: MHCLG: spending over £25,000, December 2025
Document: View online (webpage)

Found: class="govuk-table__cell">CFO & Corporate

CABINET OFFICE

Tuesday 10th February 2026
Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport
Source Page: BFI Annual Report and Accounts 2024 to 2025
Document: (PDF)

Found: Governors are required to comply with the Principles of Public Life as described in the Cabinet Office

Tuesday 3rd February 2026
Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport
Source Page: FOI2024 /07615 : Government Art Collection - Installed and De-Installed Artworks
Document: (webpage)

Found: March 2020; XUK Cabinet Office 7864 British 19th century unknown Shipbuilding at Rye, Sussex Cabinet

Tuesday 3rd February 2026
Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport
Source Page: FOI2024 /07615 : Government Art Collection - Installed and De-Installed Artworks
Document: (webpage)

Found: 18386 Mel Brimfield On Board Cabinet Office 17644 George Robson Marching Out Cabinet Office 6511



Department Publications - Guidance
Thursday 5th February 2026
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
Source Page: AI for climate-smart agriculture and food security in Kenya
Document: Volume 1: Invitatation to tender instructions and evaluation criteria (webpage)

Found: information provided in your Tender.Digital SpendThe Government Digital Service (GDS), on behalf of Cabinet Office

Thursday 5th February 2026
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
Source Page: AI for climate-smart agriculture and food security in Kenya
Document: Volume 5.2: Contract section 2, standard terms and conditions (webpage)

Found: staff and/or any appointed representatives of the National Audit Office; (d) HM Treasury or the Cabinet Office



Department Publications - Research
Thursday 5th February 2026
Department for Transport
Source Page: The Report of the Cranston Inquiry
Document: (PDF)

Found: INQ006136/51/ln14. 15 INQ006136/19/par6.4.2-6.4.3.The Cranston Inquiry report | 99 5.12 The Cabinet Office



Department Publications - Consultations
Thursday 5th February 2026
Ministry of Justice
Source Page: A new Victims’ Code
Document: (PDF)

Found: should adopt for engaging stakeholders when developing policy and legislation are set out in the Cabinet Office



Department Publications - Policy paper
Wednesday 4th February 2026
Department of Health and Social Care
Source Page: National Cancer Plan for England
Document: (PDF)

Found: Latest National Results. ncpes.co.uk (viewed on 08 January 2026) 55 Cabinet Office.



Department Publications - Statistics
Wednesday 4th February 2026
Ministry of Justice
Source Page: Independent Review of the Criminal Courts: Part 2
Document: (PDF)

Found: public-facing AI assistants could improve access to justice (Justice AI Unit). 379 DSIT: GOV.UK Chat (Cabinet Office

Wednesday 4th February 2026
Ministry of Justice
Source Page: Independent Review of the Criminal Courts: Part 2
Document: (PDF)

Found: Home Office, the Attorney General’s Office, the Department of Health and Social Care and the Cabinet Office



Department Publications - News and Communications
Monday 2nd February 2026
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
Source Page: Change of His Majesty’s Ambassador to the United States of America: Sir Christian Turner KCMG
Document: Change of His Majesty’s Ambassador to the United States of America: Sir Christian Turner KCMG (webpage)

Found: North Africa 2008 to 2009 FCO, Deputy Director, Middle East and North Africa 2007 to 2008  Cabinet Office



Non-Departmental Publications - News and Communications
Feb. 10 2026
Government Office for Science
Source Page: Social science for national resilience
Document: Social science for national resilience (webpage)
News and Communications

Found: Partnering with the Cabinet Office, they produced clear, easy-to-use guidance to help planners think

Feb. 09 2026
Independent Adviser on Ministerial Standards
Source Page: John Glen - Paymaster General at the Cabinet Office - advice under the government's Business Appointment Rules
Document: John Glen - Paymaster General at the Cabinet Office - advice under the government's Business Appointment Rules (webpage)
News and Communications

Found: John Glen - Paymaster General at the Cabinet Office - advice under the government's Business Appointment

Feb. 05 2026
Infected Blood Compensation Authority
Source Page: IBCA Community Update, 5 February
Document: (PDF)
News and Communications

Found: of concerns from the community, including those we have raised with the Cabinet Office



Non-Departmental Publications - Transparency
Feb. 09 2026
College of Policing
Source Page: College of Policing Limited: annual report and accounts, 2024 to 2025
Document: (PDF)
Transparency

Found: The Cabinet Office has provided additional funding to expand the project to track offenders’ behaviour

Feb. 05 2026
Ofgem
Source Page: Ofgem framework document
Document: (PDF)
Transparency

Found: Ofgem has been administratively classified by the Cabinet Office as a non-ministerial department. 6Purposes



Non-Departmental Publications - Policy paper
Feb. 04 2026
NHS England
Source Page: National Cancer Plan for England
Document: (PDF)
Policy paper

Found: Latest National Results. ncpes.co.uk (viewed on 08 January 2026) 55 Cabinet Office.



Non-Departmental Publications - Guidance and Regulation
Feb. 04 2026
Natural England
Source Page: Yorkshire Wolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty: proposed designation
Document: (PDF)
Guidance and Regulation

Found: Wolds AONB designation, and their response has been considered in this analysis report. 2.2.4 Cabinet Office



Deposited Papers
Tuesday 10th February 2026
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
Source Page: Consultation documents: Proposals for local government reorganisation in: Cambridgeshire and Peterborough; Derby and Derbyshire; Devon, Plymouth and Torbay; Gloucestershire; Hertfordshire; Kent and Medway; Lancashire, Blackburn with Darwen and Blackpool; Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland; Lincolnshire, North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire; Nottingham and Nottinghamshire; Oxfordshire; Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent; Warwickshire; and Worcestershire. 14 docs.
Document: Consultation_document_for_Cambridgeshire_and_Peterborough.pdf (PDF)

Found: document outlines that the consultation adheres to the Consultation Principles issued by the Cabinet Office

Tuesday 10th February 2026
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
Source Page: Consultation documents: Proposals for local government reorganisation in: Cambridgeshire and Peterborough; Derby and Derbyshire; Devon, Plymouth and Torbay; Gloucestershire; Hertfordshire; Kent and Medway; Lancashire, Blackburn with Darwen and Blackpool; Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland; Lincolnshire, North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire; Nottingham and Nottinghamshire; Oxfordshire; Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent; Warwickshire; and Worcestershire. 14 docs.
Document: Consultation_document_for_Leicestershire_Leicester_and_Rutland.pdf (PDF)

Found: Consultation:** Details how this consultation adhere to the Consultation Principles issued by the Cabinet Office

Wednesday 4th February 2026

Source Page: Letter dated 03/02/2026 from Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent to Baroness Hoey regarding questions raised following the debate on the Control of Mercury (Enforcement) (Amendment) Regulations 2025: status of the Commission notice, the constitutional foundations of the Regulation, 3p.
Document: 2026_02_03_BA_to_Baroness_Hoey_re_DEFRA_Debate.pdf (PDF)

Found: Batoness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent Baroness-in-Waiting [Government Whip} and Spokesperson for the Cabinet Office

Wednesday 4th February 2026

Source Page: Independent Review of the Criminal Courts. Part II: overview, volume 1 and 2 [Review by Sir Brian Leveson]. 3 docs.
Document: Independent_Review_of_the_Criminal_Courts_Part_2_Volume_2.pdf (PDF)

Found: public-facing AI assistants could improve access to justice (Justice AI Unit). 379 DSIT: GOV.UK Chat (Cabinet Office

Wednesday 4th February 2026

Source Page: Independent Review of the Criminal Courts. Part II: overview, volume 1 and 2 [Review by Sir Brian Leveson]. 3 docs.
Document: Independent_Review_of_the_Criminal_Courts_Part_2_Volume_1.pdf (PDF)

Found: Home Office, the Attorney General’s Office, the Department of Health and Social Care and the Cabinet Office

Wednesday 4th February 2026

Source Page: Guidelines for influencer and content creator marketing: guidance for working effectively and transparently with influencers, as part of government communications campaigns. 15p.
Document: Guidelines_for_influencer_and_content_creator_marketing.docx (webpage)

Found: Case study: One Step Greener The Cabinet Office worked with influencers to increase awareness of the




Cabinet Office mentioned in Scottish results


Scottish Government Publications
Monday 9th February 2026
Communications and Ministerial Support Directorate
Source Page: Hybrid Working team correspondence: FOI release
Document: FOI 202500492365 - Information Released - Documents 1-26 (PDF)

Found: Civil Service experiences of the 60/40 mandate In 2023, the Cabinet Office mandated that civil servants

Monday 9th February 2026

Source Page: Oracle Cloud comments and Oracle information and correspondence: FOI release
Document: FOI 202500492124 - Information released - Annex (PDF)

Found: I believe the People Survey is coordinated by the Cabinet Office so not a channel we could insert a

Monday 9th February 2026
Financial Management Directorate
Source Page: Details of payments to suppliers more than 30 days late: FOI release
Document: FOI 202500495045 - Information Released - Annex (PDF)

Found: Days (from received date in Accounts Payable)27/04/2025 292.95 13/05/2025Information not held CABINET OFFICE

Wednesday 4th February 2026
Energy and Climate Change Directorate
Source Page: Flat roof insulation criteria and compliance (Warmer Homes Scotland): EIR release
Document: EIR 202500491714 - Information Released - Annex (PDF)

Found: Responsibility for national security and investment policy has gone to the Cabinet Office. 2 of 72

Tuesday 3rd February 2026
Chief Economist Directorate
Economic Development Directorate
Source Page: Early Evaluation of the Techscaler Programme 2022-24 Main Report
Document: Early Evaluation of the Techscaler Programme 2022-24 (PDF)

Found: Source: Developing a Theory of Change, Cabinet Office 2025 In the case of the Techscaler Programme this




Cabinet Office mentioned in Welsh results


Welsh Government Publications
Wednesday 4th February 2026

Source Page: Progress on Public Appointments in Wales (4 February 2026)
Document: Progress on Public Appointments in Wales (4 February 2026) (webpage)

Found: Strengthening relationships with key partners, including the Commissioner for Public Appointments and the Cabinet Office

Tuesday 3rd February 2026

Source Page: Green Paper: Shaping the Future of Water Governance in Wales
Document: Consultation document (PDF)

Found: Transformation Authority) is a joint UK Government unit that reports to HM Treasury and the Cabinet Office



Welsh Senedd Debates
2. Scrutiny of Accounts - Welsh Government 2024-25: evidence session with Dr Andrew Goodall, Permanent Secretary - Welsh Government

Wednesday 4th February 2026
Mentions:
1: None All matters relating to the senior civil service are regulated by the Cabinet Office, it's not devolved - Link to Speech
2: None We are still waiting for the final detail to come through from the Cabinet Office and, in particular, - Link to Speech
3: None So, in relation to the national school for government, we are working closely with the Cabinet Office - Link to Speech
4: None I've been having regular discussions with the Cabinet Office leads who are responsible for Permanent - Link to Speech