Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions the Prime Minister's Office have had with representatives of the English Football League, including from lobbying firms, in relation to football since 5 July 2024.

Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

It is entirely routine for Government departments, including the Prime Minister’s Office, to engage with a broad range of stakeholders, businesses, and other relevant groups.

Relevant meetings with external organisations are published on gov.uk as part of the government’s transparency agenda. This follows the same approach as has been the case under the previous administration.

Sports policy making is led by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to help support the Northern Ireland Executive to prepare for extreme weather events.

Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The UK government is committed to working closely with the devolved governments to support climate adaptation across the UK and build resilience to risks such as those from extreme weather. Adaptation is a devolved matter, and the Northern Ireland Climate Change Adaptation Programme sets out the steps being taken to build resilience to climate risks in Northern Ireland. The policies and actions in the third National Adaptation Programme include those taken by the UK Government for the UK as a whole on reserved matters.

The UK government also has an important role to play in coordinating the response to the impacts of extreme weather on the UK as was most recently seen during and after Storm Éowyn. Where UK Ministers and officials were in close contact throughout the response with their counterparts in the Northern Ireland Executive to facilitate the deployment of support as needed.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislation to end male primogeniture for baronetage.

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

The Government recognises that baronetcies, like other hereditary titles, can usually only be inherited by male heirs. However, the Government is prioritising on delivering its manifesto commitments, including reform of the House of Lords.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the Government's policy is on regulatory alignment with the European Union's Artificial Intelligence Act (Regulation (EU) 2024/1689).

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

The UK is committed to establishing a proportionate AI regulatory approach which is grounded in science and supports growth and innovation, in the UK’s national interest. As we develop our approach to regulating AI, we recognise the need to engage with a range of international partners.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to encourage more cyber experts to work in government departments.

Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The Government has been delivering successful cyber programmes for many years.

We bring new talent into His Majesty’s government with our apprenticeship and graduate schemes and a new Government Cyber Skills Academy.

We attract cyber experts into Government with our new Cyber Resourcing Hub which is working to engage with talent pools and support recruiting line managers. The Civil Service Pay Remit Guidance also gives flexibility for departments to offer higher pay for hard-to-recruit-to roles.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the financial cost to the UK of the damage and disruption caused by Storm Eowyn.

Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

Since Storm Éowyn made landfall, His Majesty’s Government’s focus has rightly been on making sure that requests for support in response to its impacts across the UK, were managed quickly and effectively and delivered to whichever part of the UK they were required. It is too early to say what the financial costs of the impacts of the Storm have been.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of contracts awarded under the Government Major Projects Portfolio since 2020 have used single-source procurement.

Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

This information is not centrally held and would come at disproportionate cost to the Government/Department in producing this information.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of renaming London Heathrow Airport after Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

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

Royal Titles are granted very sparingly and there has always been an emphasis on the rarity of the honour. Permission to use protected Royal titles is given by the Sovereign on the advice of Ministers. The Royal Names Memorialisation Public Guidance is available on gov.uk, which confirms that the full title of Queen Elizabeth II will continue to be closely protected and only be granted for applications with strong Royal connections. Requests should be directed to the Cabinet Office (for requests in England and Northern Ireland), Scottish Government (for requests in Scotland) and Welsh Government (for requests in Wales). The Government also notes that Terminal 2 in Heathrow airport is already named after the late Queen.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department has commissioned opinion polling on public attitudes towards (a) Brexit, (b) the Trade and Cooperation Agreement with the EU, (c) the Windsor Framework and (d) the UK's relationship with the EU.

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

The Government Communication Service is not commissioning opinion polling on these topics.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 22 November 2024 to Question 14182 on Public Sector: Finance, whether local authorities will be able to bid to receive funds from the Public Sector Reform and Innovation Fund.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

I refer the hon Member to the answer given to Question UIN 11936 on 8 November 2024.

The Public Sector Reform and Innovation Fund allocated £165 million to a range of projects in 2025-26, including support for foster care, delivering apprenticeships and planning reforms.

Partnering with local leaders, the Budget allocated a further £100 million over the next three years to reform public services with a focus on experimentation and learning. To align with the Government’s manifesto commitment to step away from competitive bidding processes the programme will use an allocative approach to place selection. We are working with the Local Government Association to develop the programme and will announce more details in due course.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make an estimate of the cost to the public purse for supporting the a:gender network in each of the last five years.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

Data from the Equality, Diversity and Expenditure Review will be published in due course.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what changes have been made to the guidance entitled Additional information on Exemptions, Thresholds, Expectations and Compliance, and Breaches of Spend Controls, updated on 20 January 2025.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

Changes were made to the guidance entitled, Additional information on Exemptions, Thresholds, Expectations and Compliance, and Breaches of Spend Controls. These changes were to:

Remove the text below

• Threshold: Expenditure over £100,000 for the duration of the commitment (freehold acquisition cost or total rental expenditure to lease expiry)

Replace with new text showing an increased threshold figure -

• Threshold: Expenditure over £500,000 for the duration of the commitment (freehold acquisition cost or total rental expenditure to lease expiry)

• All transactions of £1m per annum or over will require Ministerial approval

These changes to the guidance were made to reflect changes to Cabinet Office controls which were made at the start of the 2023-24 financial year.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many new contracts, or extensions to existing contracts, have been awarded to Fujitsu over the past 12 months by each government department.

Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

Details of central government contracts where the contract value is above £12,000 are published on Contracts Finder: https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Search In addition to extensions available under Fujitsu’s existing contracts, Contracts Finder provides details of six services provided by Fujitsu that have been extended through direct awards since January 2024. These relate to services that Fujitsu was already providing and are in line with the contracts that they replaced, to ensure continuity of public services, whilst competitive procurements are being set up, as appropriate.

The Cabinet Office has reviewed cases for supplier service extensions in line with the commercial spend controls process in order to ensure continuity of public services.

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

Fujitsu's bid approach is detailed in this letter, deposited in Parliament. For more details, please see here.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what is the total value of contracts that they have awarded to Fujitsu over the past 12 months.

Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

Details of central government contracts where the contract value is above £12,000 are published on Contracts Finder: https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Search In addition to extensions available under Fujitsu’s existing contracts, Contracts Finder provides details of six services provided by Fujitsu that have been extended through direct awards since January 2024. These relate to services that Fujitsu was already providing and are in line with the contracts that they replaced, to ensure continuity of public services, whilst competitive procurements are being set up, as appropriate.

The Cabinet Office has reviewed cases for supplier service extensions in line with the commercial spend controls process in order to ensure continuity of public services.

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

Fujitsu's bid approach is detailed in this letter, deposited in Parliament. For more details, please see here.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Georgia Gould on 26 November 2024 (HC14635), what Ministerial gifts the Prime Minister has accepted which have since been returned or reimbursed, other than gifts where the Prime Minister has purchased the gift or the gift has been retained by the department.

Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

I refer the Noble Lady to my answer of 26 November 2024, PQ 14635.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Twycross on 20 January 2025 (HL3881), how is the position that (1) the government committee advises the Sovereign directly, and (2) the view of the Prime Minister’s principal private secretary carries equal weight to all other members on the government committee, compatible with the established constitutional position that the Prime Minister is the principal adviser to the Sovereign and the leader of His Majesty’s Government.

Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The Committee on the Grant of Honours, Decorations and Medals (HD Committee) was established by King George VI to provide objective advice to the Sovereign on the operation of the honours system.

The Sovereign is the fount of all honour and the honours system itself operates under the Royal Prerogative. The HD Committee is an advisory body only. The Committee’s advice does not carry the weight that is accorded to ministerial advice; nor does it have the power to take decisions as Ministers do. The Committee has historically recognised the need to reflect the position of the Government and the membership of the Prime Minister’s Principal Private Secretary ensures the Prime Minister's views can be properly represented.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Chapman of Darlington on 12 November 2024 (HL1945), whether Cabinet Office or Downing Street special advisers participated in campaigning in the recent US elections using annual leave.

Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

I refer the Noble Baroness to the written answer to Baroness Chapman of Darlington which highlighted that special advisers are required to follow the Code of Conduct for Special Advisers. We do not retain records on Special Adviser's use of Annual Leave.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how the Resilience Review has incorporated input from the voluntary and community sector; and what steps he plans to take to facilitate ongoing collaboration in resilience planning and response.

Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The Cabinet Office recognises the valuable role that the voluntary and community sector can play in all aspects of resilience. The Cabinet Office has ensured that contributions from a range of Voluntary, Community, and Faith sector representatives have been able to inform the resilience review, specifically to inform the understanding of disproportionate impacts to at-risk groups in emergencies. The Cabinet Office has ongoing engagement with the sector. The Head of Resilience in the Cabinet Office chairs the Voluntary and Community Sector Strategic Discussion Forum every six months. The Forum brings together senior leaders from national voluntary sector organisations and central government. We will continue to explore opportunities to further strengthen voluntary, community and faith sector engagement to build national resilience as part of the resilience review.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on long-term funding and resource allocations for cross-government resilience work; and how these agreements will support the delivery of the Government's Resilience Review recommendations.

Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The Spending Review will set resource or day-to-day departmental budgets until 2028-29 and capital departmental budgets until 2029-30. I and my Cabinet Office officials engage regularly with HM Treasury to support the Spending Review, the outcomes of which will inform the delivery of the Resilience Review. The resilience review is considering established practices and policies to support UK resilience against the full spectrum of risks we face. It is evidence based and is identifying what should be kept, changed or improved to ensure we are best prepared now and into the future.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he has taken to ensure that the findings of the Government's Resilience Review (a) reflect the specific needs of and (b) engage with (i) people on low incomes, (ii) people who face discrimination and (iii) other disproportionately impacted communities.

Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

Disproportionate impacts and vulnerability is a key focus of the Cabinet Office-led review of our approach to resilience. We are engaging with charitable, faith and other representative organisations to understand how the reduction and prevention of disproportionate impacts to at-risk groups and persons can be better considered in resilience planning and policy.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 14 January 2025 to Question 22191 on Public Bodies: Reviews, which reviews (a) are in progress and (b) have been paused; and what the status is of reviews in the 2024-25 financial year.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

Of the reviews planned for 2024/25, four are completed. Nine remain in progress and ten are paused.

The government has also announced the first zero-based review of government spending in 17 years, with departments expected to go line-by-line to find savings and efficiencies, including in bodies and agencies that they sponsor. The Chief Secretary to the Treasury has also announced regular, thematic reviews of areas of spending to ensure value for money.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make an estimate of the cost to the public purse of consultations conducted by the Government since July 2024.

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

The Cabinet Office does not centrally collect data nor monitor consultations across Government. The Cabinet Office provides high level advice on the Consultation Principles to help departments consider how they should manage their consultations. Each department is legally responsible for how they run their consultations.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will take steps to regulate the cost of Office for National Statistics surveys.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The Office of National Statistics is part of the UK Statistics Authority, a Non Ministerial Department which is directly accountable to the UK Parliament, Scottish Parliament, Senedd and Northern Ireland Assembly. Its budget is awarded directly from HM Treasury.

As per the Code of Practice for Statistics (including as referenced in the Ministerial Code), the UN’s Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics and the broader Nolan principles of propriety in public life, Ministers have no role in the decision making of the Authority Board or day-to-day management decisions of the Office of National Statistics.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to his Department's transparency data entitled Cabinet Office spend approvals: July to September 2024, published on 17 December 2024, who the payment with reference HMGP7103 is to; what the purpose is; and what period of time it covers.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The payment is to the landlord of offices occupied by government at 102 Petty France, London SW1H 9AJ. The purpose is for payment of rent. It covers the time period of June 2024 to June 2025

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent discussions he has had with his EU counterparts on a UK-EU youth mobility scheme.

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

The Government set out clear priorities for the reset with the EU in the manifesto. There are no plans for a Youth Mobility Scheme.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 30 January 2025 to Question 26089 on Ministers and Public Appointments, whether that legal advice was sought.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

I refer the Hon Member to the answer of 30 January in response to PQ 26089.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make it his policy to fly the Cross of St George from 10 Downing Street on Saint Crispin’s Day in 2025.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

I refer the Rt hon. Member to the answer of 18 December 2024, Official Report, PQ 21060. https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2024-12-18/21060

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will take steps to negotiate a six-month visa waiver scheme with the EU.

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

Both 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 short-term, visa-free travel for up to six months. Meanwhile, the Schengen Borders Code allows for certain third country nationals to travel within the Schengen Area for up to 90 days in any 180-day period; this is standard for third-country nationals travelling to the EU.  The UK Government will continue to listen to and advocate for UK nationals.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether there is a data sharing agreement between his Department and HM Revenue and Customs on the work of (a) the Independent Adviser on Ministerial Standards, (b) the Propriety and Ethics Team, (c) the Honours unit, and (d) the Public Appointments unit.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The Memorandum of Understanding between HMRC and the Cabinet Office for the purpose of accessing HMRC information to assist honours committees in making ​recommendations​​​​​ about awarding honours to individuals can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/sharing-hmrc-information-to-assist-honours-committees-recommendations/memorandum-of-understanding-accessing-hmrc-information-to-assist-honours-committees-in-making-recommendations-about-awarding-honours-to-individ

There is also a data sharing agreement in place between the Cabinet Office and HMRC as a departmental user of the Apply for a Public Appointment Service.

As was the case under the previous administration, there is no specific data sharing agreement between HMRC and the Independent Adviser on Ministerial Standards or the Propriety and Ethics team. Data sharing between departments is considered on a case-by-case basis, in line with UK GDPR.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 18 December 2024, to Question 21064, on Military Aircraft: Helicopters, if he will publish his Department's Commercial Transport Contract.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The Cabinet Office has a Contract in place with Corporate Travel Management (North) Limited (CTM). CTM provides a travel booking service for Cabinet Office staff when travel is permitted for business reasons. Information on this Contract can be found at the following Contracts Finder link:

https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/notice/da014209-47d7-4805-8097-e191d7d1077f?origin=SearchResults&p=1

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 15 November 2024 to Question 6100 on Civil Servants: Recruitment, if he will publish the (a) Department, (b) grade and (c) job title of each of the jobs advertised through Civil Service Jobs which were accessible only to civil servants since 5 July 2024.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

As per our response to PQ6100 we are not able to provide this level of detail without individuals being identifiable.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will have discussions with his European Union counterpart on the potential merits of establishing a six months visa waiver scheme for citizens visiting EU Member States in the Schengen area to replace the 90 day rule.

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

Both 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 short-term visa-free travel for up to six months. Meanwhile, the Schengen Borders Code allows for certain third country nationals to travel within the Schengen Area for up to 90 days in any 180-day period; this is standard for third countries travelling to the EU. The UK Government will continue to listen to and advocate for UK nationals.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when the Cabinet Office board operating framework was last updated; and if he will place a copy in the Library of the House.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The Board Operating Framework was last updated in December 2023. As was the case under the previous administration, it is not standard practice for this to be published as this is an internal document.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many and what proportion of the London properties managed by the Government Property Agency have shared-space gender-neutral toilets.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

This information is not held centrally.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent progress his Department has made on strengthening national resilience.

Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

As my Rt. Hon friend, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, set out in his statement to the House last week, we continue to make improvements to strengthen our national resilience.

• In April the UK Resilience Academy will be launched and will train over 4000 people a year and;

• Later this year we will undertake a full national pandemic response exercise.

The review of national resilience also continues. I will be inviting Members from across this House to attend drop-in sessions to discuss the review.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will list the members of the (a) Nominations Committee, (b) Investment Committee, (c) People and Operations Committee and (d) Resilience and Security Committee.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

1. The Nominations Committee currently has no members. Recruitment for Non-Executive Board Members is currently underway.

2. Members of the Investment Committee are as follows: Permanent Secretary to the Cabinet Office, Chief Operating Officer to the Cabinet Office, Chief Financial Officer to the Cabinet Office, Cabinet Office Commercial Director, Cabinet Office Chief Digital and Information Officer, Cabinet Office Chief People Officer and Cabinet Office Strategy Director.

3. Members of the People & Operations Committee are as follows: Cabinet Office Chief Operating Officer, Government Chief Property Officer, Cabinet Office Chief People Officer, Cabinet Office Chief Digital and Information Officer, Cabinet Office SCS Diversity & Inclusion Champion, Cabinet Office SCS Race Champion, Cabinet Office SCS Gender Champion, Cabinet Office SCS Disability Champion, Cabinet Office SCS Social Mobility Champion, Cabinet Office Strategy Director, National Security Strategy Director, Civil Service Strategy Director, Functional Strategy, Performance and Capability Director, Joint Intelligence Organisation Director.

4. Members of the Resilience and Security Committee are as follows: Cabinet Office Chief Operating Officer, Director General Propriety and Constitution, Group, Government Chief Security Officer, Cabinet Office Chief Digital and Information Officer, Chief Financial Officer to the Cabinet Office, Government Digital Service Chief Information Security Officer, Government Property Agency Chief Operating Officer, Cabinet Office Commercial Director, Intelligence and Security Director, Propriety and Ethics Director, No10 Corporate Services Deputy Director, Chief Digital Information Officer Crown Commercial Service

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what progress his Department has made on the review to look at government wide reform at a local level led by the Parliamentary Secretary.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The Government is committed to reforming the state to deliver better public services which revolve around the needs of the users. At the heart of those reforms is a place-based approach. A significant programme of work is underway with departments, local authorities, leaders, frontline staff and others to strengthen and embed this way of working across government.

The work underway includes the £100 million Public Service Reform and Innovation Fund, which will be deploying Test and Learns teams around the country over the next three years to design and test innovative solutions to our biggest public service challenges in partnership with local places – and ensuring that local learning informs national policy decisions.

The Government will also use the significant opportunity presented by the Spending Review to reform our public services.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the recipients of compensation payments from the Infected Blood Compensation Authority will be subject to any (a) legal conditions and (b) non-disclosure requirements when accepting such payments.

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

The legal conditions that recipients of compensation will be subject to are to enable the swift and effective delivery of compensation. Regulation 35 of the Infected Blood Compensation Scheme Regulations 2024 includes a duty on applicants to inform the Authority of any change in circumstances in relation to their application, and Regulation 41 includes powers to enable the Infected Blood Compensation Authority to carry out a review of a decision for the prevention of fraud or correction of error where this may be necessary. Recipients of compensation payments will not be subject to any non-disclosure requirements by the Infected Blood Compensation Authority.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 7 January 2025 to Question 21399 on Cabinet Office: Staff, how many staff were employed on EU relations before they were transferred to the EU Relations Secretariat.

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

Around 50 members of staff moved from the FCDO to the Cabinet Office on 6 November 2024 to continue work on EU relations. These officials have come together with the existing EU National Security Secretariat and Windsor Framework teams to form the new European Union Relations Secretariat. The data on this headcount will be published in due course.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 16 January 2025 to Question 23475 on 10 Downing Street: Shops, which items were manufactured in China; if he will provide a description of each item; and what the retail price is of each items.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

Many of the items sold in the 10 Downing Street gift shop are made in the UK. A very small number of items, such as water bottles from a well known British supplier, are made globally, including in China. This was the case under the previous government.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of joining the Pan-Euro-Mediterranean Convention.

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

We are always looking at ways to reduce barriers to trade - within our clear red lines - because having a smooth trading relationship with European partners is essential to driving growth at home.

This is one of the options we are open to looking at to reduce barriers, and it’s right and responsible that we are looking at it to determine what is in the UK’s national interest. But we do not currently have any plans to join PEM.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what guidance his Department has issued to the Government Property Agency on ensuring that accessible signs with (a) braille and (b) tactile symbols are available in all Government buildings.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

As part of the GPA’s Government Workplace Design Guide and Inclusive Design Standards, we are committed to improving the standard of inclusive and accessible signage across our estate including the quality and availability of braille and tactile symbols. Our Inclusive Design Standards state signs should be clear, use simple and concise text, and include raised text, braille, and raised pictograms when appropriate.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the cost to his Department of the proposed increase in employer National Insurance contributions for financial year 2025-26.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The Government will provide support for departments and other public sector employers for additional Employer National Insurance Contributions costs only. This funding will be allocated to departments in the usual way, in line with the approach taken under the previous Government’s Health and Social Care Levy.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when he plans to respond to Question 23666 on Cabinet Office: Media, tabled on 13 January 2025.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

I apologise to the Honourable Member for the delay in responding to her Parliamentary Question of 13 January. An answer has now been issued, as of 3 February.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Twycross on 28 January (HL4028), what are the (1) names or (2) job titles of the members of the Horticulture Working Group set up in relation to the implementation of the Windsor Framework.

Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The Horticulture Working Group is co-chaired by senior officials from DEFRA and the Cabinet Office, drawing on support from other officials in those departments and across Government as the focus of the agenda requires. Members of the group from outside Government include representatives of the Ulster Farmers’ Union, National Farmers’ Union, the Horticulture Trades Association and leaders of businesses which are members of this body, as well as a small number of other horticultural businesses.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will hold discussions with (a) Cabinet colleagues and (b) civil servants on the potential merits of introducing a scheme to enable (i) cultural exchange by and (ii) increased mobility of young people between the UK and EU.

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

The Government set out clear priorities for the reset with the EU in the manifesto. There are no plans for a Youth Mobility Scheme.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the Government's policy is on dynamic alignment with the European Union.

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

We are committed to resetting the relationship with our European friends to strengthen ties to deliver growth and security for the UK. We have been clear that there will be no return to the single market, the customs union, or freedom of movement.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 in relation to ensuring the transparency of private companies that deliver public services.

Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The Government is committed to Freedom of Information and will keep the coverage of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 under consideration.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will take steps to amend the Freedom of Information Act 2000 to include private companies.

Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The Government is committed to Freedom of Information and will keep the coverage of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 under consideration.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many official photographers are employed across government departments.

Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

Government departments have official photographers to support Government campaigns and communicate delivery of our Plan for Change.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many (a) away days and (b) leadership conferences for senior civil servants his Department organised between 4 July 2022 and 4 July 2024; and what the cost of these were.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

Between 4 July 2022 and 4 July 2024, the Cabinet Office has not organised any away days for Senior Civil Servants. During the same period, there were a total of seven leadership conferences for Senior Civil Servants.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what information his Department holds on the suicide rate amongst armed forces veterans in England and Wales for (a) 2019, (b) 2020, (c) 2021, (d) 2022, (e) 2023 and (f) 2024.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

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

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

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the estimated spending on Government (a) communications and (b) marketing is in 2024-25 (a) before and (b) after the Autumn Budget 2024.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

Historical data on communication and marketing spend is listed by department on the Government efficiency, transparency and accountability page on GOV.uk.

The Government Communications Service is expecting to save £85 million in 2024-25 from reducing unnecessary communications spend.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the email address is for correspondence from hon. Members to the Independent Adviser on Ministerial Standards.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

As was the case when the Rt Hon member was a Minister in the department, correspondence from Members of Parliament addressed to the Independent Adviser on Ministerial Standards can be submitted to the Cabinet Office using the contact details available in the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/government-ministers-and-responsibilities/list-of-ministerial-responsibilities-html

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will list (a) each (i) scheme and (ii) programme for the Civil Service Fast Stream and (b) how many people were recruited to the civil service through each in 2024.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

There were 15 separate Fast Stream schemes in 2024. The information requested is publicly available within the Fast Stream Annual Report 2024 linked below:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-fast-stream-recruitment-data-2024

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 27 January 2025 to Question 24650 on Special Advisers: Pay, what changes were made to special adviser pay policy since October 2024.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The updated pay ranges for Special Advisers will be published in the next Annual Report on Special Advisers, which will include the changes referenced in answer to Question 24650.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 21 January 2025 to Question 23481 on Government Departments: Directors, what steps his Department is taking to avoid conflicts of interest in relation to consultant lobbyists serving as a non-executive director of a Department.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The interests of non-executive board members and public appointments will continue to be updated and published bi-annually as part of an established process as set out in the Non-Executive Board Member declaration of interests process - GOV.UK.

All financial interests and all remunerated outside employment, work, memberships and appointments should be declared. Disclosure requirements and clear conflict of interest policies are detailed in the guidance to support the department in managing any conflicts of interest. These include recusal from relevant matters, limitations on any gifts, transparent lobbying practices and robust mechanisms for ethics enforcement within government.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much and what proportion of its budget the UK Integrated Security Fund has allocated for (a) conflict (i) prevention and (ii) resolution and (b) peacebuilding in the (A) 2024-25 and (B) 2025-26 financial years.

Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The Integrated Security Fund (ISF) came into operation on 1 April 2024 and has a budget of almost £1bn for Financial Year 2024-25.  The Fund prioritises spending on those geographies and thematic issues that pose the greatest direct threat to the UK. Activity focussed on conflict prevention, resolution and peacebuilding are embedded into programmes across the ISF. However, these are not tracked as individual or separate components. The annual ISF budget for 2025-26 will be published shortly.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the policy is of (a) his Department, (b) the Office for Equality and Opportunity and (c) the Civil Service People Group on transgender people’s use of single sex facilities.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The Government People Group’s policy and guidance in this area are currently being revised.

As a department, the Cabinet Office aligns with the Government People Group's model Civil Service policy. As such, the Cabinet Office policy will be revised in due course.

The Office for Equality and Opportunity is part of the Cabinet Office for operations and staffing purposes. As such, its policy is aligned with wider Cabinet Office policy.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs' policy paper entitled Environmental principles policy statement, published on 31 January 2023, whether his Department provides training further to section 19 of the Environment Act 2021 in the (a) statutory instrument capability programme, (b) parliamentary capability team training programme and (c) Policy Profession programme.

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

A range of guidance is available to civil servants when preparing legislation, including on section 19 of the Environment Act 2021.

Ahead of the duty coming into force on 1 November 2023, guidance was issued to civil servants working on legislation. In January 2024, the Guide to Preparing Explanatory Memoranda (EMs) to Statutory Instruments was published and included information on this duty. The next update to The Guide to Making Legislation, which will be published shortly, will include guidance on the policy statement.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many all-staff calls have been held in his Department since 4 July 2024; and how many staff attended each of those calls.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

There have been a total of 10 all-staff calls during this period.

The number of staff attending these calls were:

• 2552

• 2332

• 1926

• 2078

• 1885

• 1916

• 1702

• 3903

• 2725

• 3003

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 4 December 2024 to Question HL2719 on Legislation: Impact Assessments, if he will publish that letter.

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

It is a long-established precedent that internal government correspondence is not normally shared publicly, therefore we will not publish the letter. However, we continue to press Departments on their responsibility on these matters.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he plans to procure British manufactured vehicles for use by the Government Car Service.

Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The Government Car Service (GCS) is committed to supporting British businesses wherever possible, and approximately half of the vehicles in the GCS fleet are manufactured in the United Kingdom. However, public sector procurement is governed by clear principles, including value for money, transparency, and fair competition, which guide GCS purchasing decisions.

This approach ensures that all vehicles are assessed based on objective criteria such as quality, cost-effectiveness, and suitability for purpose. Where British manufactured vehicles meet GCS requirements and offer the best overall value, they are prioritised in line with procurement regulations.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 17 December 2024 to Question 18670 on DCMS: Official Visits and with reference to the guidance entitled Ministers’ gifts (given and received), travel, hospitality received and meetings with external organisations and individuals, published on 2 April 2024, for what reason data from 1 July to 30 September 2024 was not published by the end of December 2024.

Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

Transparency data for Ministers, Special Advisers and Senior Officials, including for the period of 1 July to 30 September 2024, was published on GOV.UK on 30 January 2025.

This data was published alongside the new monthly Register of Ministers' gifts and hospitality, which can be found at the following address - https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/register-of-ministers-gifts-and-hospitality.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what information his Department holds on the value of investments in the UK that are held by the sovereign wealth funds of each state in the Gulf Cooperation Council.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

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

A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 3rd February is attached.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when he plans to respond to the Fourth Report of the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee of Session 2023–24, Lobbying and Influence: post-legislative scrutiny of the Lobbying Act 2014 and related matters, published on 2 May 2024, HC 203.

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

I refer the Honorable Member to PQ UIN 20199.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the cost of helicopter travel by the Prime Minister is since 4 July 2024.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

None.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 27 November 2024, to Question 13759 on Business: Meetings, if he will take steps to publish supplementary guidance to the Ministerial Code on how Ministers should record meetings with business representatives who have paid money to the political party to which they belong to facilitate a meeting.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

Details of ministers' meetings with external individuals and organisations are published quarterly in arrears on GOV.UK. Published declarations include the purpose of the meeting and the names of external individuals and organisations in attendance.

Updated guidance on ministers' meetings was published to GOV.UK on 30 January 2025 at the following address: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ministers-overseas-travel-and-meetings-publication-guidance/ministers-overseas-travel-and-meetings-publication-guidance.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many civil servants in his Department have been disciplined for (a) plagiarism and (b) making false statements on a CV when applying for a job in the latest 12 month period for which figures are available.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The Cabinet Office has no record of any civil servants in the Department being disciplined in the latest 12 month period for plagiarism or making false statements on a CV when applying for a job.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the annual budget is for the UK Integrated Security Fund in the (a) 2024-25 and (b) 2025-26 financial years.

Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The Integrated Security Fund (ISF) came into operation on 1 April 2024 and has a budget of almost £1bn for Financial Year 2024/25. Exact spend for the Fund will be published in the 2024/25 ISF Annual Report later in the year. The annual ISF budget for 2025-26 will be published shortly.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 19 November to Question 6094 on Cabinet Office: Civil Servants, for what reason does the Government not publish details of appointments below SCS2 grade.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

Approval is required from the Civil Service Commission for any appointment by exception at SCS2 or above. A list of such appointments by exception (SCS2 and above) are published and updated regularly on the Commission’s website. Aggregated data is published on details of appointments by exception below SCS2 grade. There has been no change to these arrangements since the Rt Hon member was a minister in the department.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department has issued guidance on the publication of declarations of political activity for public appointees.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

I refer the Rt Honorable Gentleman to the answer to PQ 25696, answered on 30th January 2025.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Civil Service People Plan 2024–2027, published on 10 January 2024, what was the cost to central government departments of ensuring 100 per cent of Senior Civil Servants achieved Chartered FCIPD status and 100 per cent of G6/G7 officials achieved Chartered MCIPD status by 1 April 2024.

Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

There are several methods of gaining CIPD Membership including study options, apprenticeships and experiential routes. For experiential routes, there is a central Cabinet Office contract with the CIPD for departments to utilise. The costs associated with this accreditation to date are provided below:

Departments may also utilise other methods that are available for their SCS and Grade 6/7 HR professionals to gain CIPD membership that are not included in the central Cabinet Office contract

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government when the Office for National Statistics will publish their latest data on winter deaths; what criteria they will use to calculate them; and whether they have any plans to return to a static reporting date.

Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

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

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

The Lord Sikka

House of Lords

London

SW1A 0PW

31 January 2025

Dear Lord Sikka,

As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am responding to your Parliamentary Question asking when the Office for National Statistics (ONS) will publish their latest data on winter deaths; what criteria they will use to calculate them; and whether they have any plans to return to a static reporting date (HL4448).

The ONS previously published a regular release on winter mortality in England and Wales. However, following the recent consultation on health and social care statistical outputs[1], this release has been paused to enable a review of the methodology and timeliness of the statistics to be completed. Once the review is complete, a proposal on the future status of this output will be published.

The ONS does publish regular statistics on deaths registered each week[2] which may be of interest to you. This includes deaths registered over the winter period as well as estimates of excess deaths using the methodology that was implemented in February 2024[3].

Yours sincerely,

Professor Sir Ian Diamond

[1]https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/health-and-social-care-statistical-outputs/outcome/health-and-social-care-statistical-outputs-consultation-response

[2]https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/bulletins/deathsregisteredweeklyinenglandandwalesprovisional/previousreleases

[3]https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/causesofdeath/articles/estimatingexcessdeathsintheukmethodologychanges/february2024

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have held with EU officials regarding the UK joining the Pan-Euro-Mediterranean Convention.

Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

We are always looking at ways to reduce barriers to trade - within our clear red lines - because having a smooth trading relationship with European partners is essential to driving growth at home.

This is one of the options we are open to looking at to reduce barriers, and it’s right and responsible that we are looking at it to determine what is in the UK’s national interest. But we do not currently have any plans to join PEM.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Twycross on 28 January (HL4030), what are the (1) names or (2) job titles of the members of the Veterinary Medicines Working Group set up in relation to the implementation of the Windsor Framework.

Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The names and affiliations of members of the Veterinary Medicines Working Group are included in the Terms of Reference, which have been deposited in the House of Commons and House of Lords libraries.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Statement by Lord Hanson of Flint on 22 January (HLWS374), what plans they have to encourage other Departments to emulate the Home Office in (1) undertaking detailed post-legislative scrutiny of Acts, (2) engaging with key government and operational stakeholders, and (3) in making written statements when memoranda are produced and laid as Command Papers.

Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The Cabinet Office has written to departments reminding them of the importance of post-legislative scrutiny.

It is a matter for each department to determine whether a written statement should accompany publication, and which stakeholders to engage when conducting post-legislative scrutiny.

While all bills that have reached Royal Assent are eligible for post-legislative scrutiny, it can be agreed between the department and the relevant Commons departmental select committee that a memorandum is not required.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many flights using Government (a) owned and (b) chartered helicopters the Prime Minister has taken.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

None.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of banning the use of the DeepSeek artificial intelligence model (a) on government devices, (b) in government buildings and (c) by government employees.

Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

Everyone who works with government has a duty of confidentiality and a responsibility to safeguard any government information or data that they process, access or share, and all government departments are required to meet a range of mandatory security standards.

Government has a robust set of security policies in place to oversee how information is handled, within our buildings, on our IT and by our staff. We keep these policies under constant review to ensure they are applicable to new technologies.

In conjunction, the Government's Generative AI framework outlines that only corporately assured Generative AI tools should be used to process HMG information.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to page 176 of the National Risk Register 2025 and page 180 of the National Risk Register 2023, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of the (a) repeal of the Trade Union Act 2016 and (b) Employment Rights Bill on the risk metrics for the National Risk Register 2025 edition.

Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

All risks in the National Risk Register, which is the public-facing version of the internal, classified National Security Risk Assessment (NSRA) are kept under review to ensure that they are the most appropriate scenarios to inform emergency preparedness and resilience activity.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many government cyber security roles were vacant on 4 February 2025; and what steps he is taking to recruit more people into cyber security roles.

Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The Government Security Group gathers data from cyber security teams across government through planned bi-annual commissions, providing updates on vacant roles in our workforce. In 2023, 251 cyber roles were reported vacant.

The 2025 Government Security Workforce Commission, being undertaken currently, will provide updated data on current vacancy levels.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to improve the cyber security of government digital infrastructure.

Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

We are committed to strengthening security across all aspects of the Government digital estate.

The Government Cyber Security Strategy sets a clear target for all government organisations to be resilient to known vulnerabilities and common attack methods by 2030.

The recent report from the National Audit Office into Government Cyber Resilience showed that the response needs to be accelerated given the changing threat picture. Its recommendations include development of a whole of government approach, addressing the long-standing shortage of cyber skills, strengthening accountability for cyber risk, and better managing the risks posed by legacy IT. We welcome this report and are taking immediate steps to address its recommendations.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many civil servants funded by central government work in Bromsgrove constituency.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The location of civil servants is mapped and published at International Territorial Levels (ITLs) and Local Administrative Units (LAUs) only, and not by parliamentary constituency. However, the boundary for the parliamentary constituency of Bromsgrove aligns with the LAU of Bromsgrove. As of 31 March 2024 there were approximately 590 civil servants (headcount) employed and based in Bromsgrove. This information has been sourced from Annual Civil Service Employment Survey (ACSES) 2024, Cabinet Office.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he has made an assessment of the adequacy of the performance of the Infected Blood Compensation Authority in dealing with cases which involve the Scottish legal system.

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

I understand that the first group of claims included victims from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Claimants who live in Scotland can receive legal support from firms with particular expertise in Scots law, if they wish, and I have been assured that as the scheme expands, the Authority will increase legal capability across all the UK.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Civil Service People Plan 2024–2027, published on 10 January 2024, whether the Central Employee Identifier has been fully implemented across government.

Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

No, the Central Employee Identifier has not been fully implemented across government. The capability to issue IDs is available but changing the legacy ERPs across government departments to hold this has been deemed inefficient with the new cluster ERPs about to commence rollout. These will be following the data standards laid out in the Nova model which includes holding the Central Employee Identifier.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps the Government is taking to address additional (a) costs and (b) administration faced by small businesses in Northern Ireland as a result of the Irish Sea border; and whether he plans to support local businesses to access supplies from the rest of the UK.

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

Small businesses are the backbone of our economy and the Government will ensure the interests of small businesses are embedded into our Industrial and Trade Strategies, as part of a comprehensive approach to delivering on our economic growth mission. The Windsor Framework established a broad set of arrangements to support Great Britain-based businesses to move goods to Northern Ireland, including to small businesses based in Northern Ireland.

The Northern Ireland Retail Movement Scheme reduces checks and administrative burdens on retail agrifood movements. The Northern Ireland Plant Health Label scheme removes unnecessary costs and enables previously prohibited goods to enter Northern Ireland. The first stage of the UK internal market scheme was implemented in 2023, and ensures thousands of businesses can move goods without being subject to customs duties. The Government works closely with industry stakeholders and trade associations on the implementation of these arrangements and will continue to do so.

Found: function to keep us safe, secure and bio-secure, while allowing trade to flow (lead department, Cabinet Office

Found: The Future Flooding report (2004; Flooding Foresight) and Pitt Review (2008; Cabinet Office Pitt Review

Found: The Times newspaper said the UK government are considering a Minister for Resilience in the Cabinet Office

Found: Agency, DEFRA, National Nuclear Laboratory, Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, local councils, Cabinet Office

Found: adaptation across the UK is inadequately funded and poorly understood in the private sector. 10.The Cabinet Office

Found: Previous initiatives such as the Cabinet Office Social Action Fund provided valuable resources to enable

Found: Institute for Health Research, Department of Health, the former Central Drugs Co-ordination Unit (Cabinet Office

Found: division, and to outline how it ensures coherence between policies supporting EU trade in the Cabinet Office

Found: The Guardian, 28 December 2022. 10 Cabinet Office. (2022).

Found: consume alcohol for cultural, religious, or health reasons, including alcohol dependence. 9 Cabinet Office

Found: Over the last 15 months, CMI has worked with the Cabinet Office and KPMG to create the Line Management

Found: Standards in Public Life (CSPL) is an independent, non- departmental public body, sponsored by the Cabinet Office

Found: The Cabinet Office consultation principles should be reviewed and improved, especially Principle E

Found: lobbying transparency data for ministers was the first published since new guidance produced by the Cabinet Office

Found:  A private letter from Alex Chisholm, then Civil Service Chief Operating Officer and Cabinet Office

Found: The agri-food sector told us that the Cabinet Office border team’s coordination since the introduction

Found: is to establish stronger governance arrangements for adaptation; they have suggested that the Cabinet Office

Found: Please note that the OEO is the business unit against which expenditure is reported to the Cabinet Office

Found: Retrieved from Government Equalities Office (Cabinet Office), London, UK: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk

Found: Article 2 by higher courts in NI The Commissions recommend that the Northern Ireland Office, the Cabinet Office

Found: In Autumn 2023, the HTA and its members met with Cabinet Office and Defra officials.

Found: Cabinet Office; Central Digital & Data Office. Generative AI Framework for HMG.

Found: Cabinet Office; Central Digital & Data Office. Generative AI Framework for HMG.

Found: I am considering this matter and consulting with ministerial colleagues at the Cabinet Office.

Found: in FY 25/26 has been bid for in Spending Review 24 and is currently going through HMCTS and Cabinet Office

Found: There is responsibility for separate aspects of this in FCDO, the Home Office, the Cabinet Office and

Found: statement of the importance of building a cross-Whitehall commitment, anchored in No. 10 and the Cabinet Office

Found: The Cabinet Office no longer publishes standard KPIs for the UK’s voter registration website The Cabinet

Found: The Cabinet Office and the Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA) have been part of the business

Found: Cabinet Office, Cabinet Office, and Cabinet Office Oral Evidence

Found: Cabinet Office, Cabinet Office, and Cabinet Office Oral Evidence

Found: • Since September, we have been actively engaging with trade unions in DSIT and the Cabinet Office

Found: MP, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Jonathan Powell, National Security Adviser 1 Cabinet Office

Found: We are closely involved in that work with the Cabinet Office, HMRC and others, because if that could

Found: Cabinet Office f. HM Treasury/ HMRC g.

Found: Lack of departmental ‘ownership’ of geoscience: a Cabinet Office secondee in the Government Office for

Found: Q552 Wera Hobhouse: Then you need to intersect with Treasury, Cabinet Office and No. 10.

Found: Q552 Wera Hobhouse: Then you need to intersect with Treasury, Cabinet Office and No. 10.

Found: where you think it should sit because you have that infrastructure inside Whitehall and inside Cabinet Office

Found: Despite this, the Home Office assured the Cabinet Office it could manage the risks and proceeded with

Found: INCA encourages the Government to establish a cross-departmental working group led by the Cabinet Office

Found: Chair: Cabinet Office, or Women and Equalities. Jen Craft: It could be the Cabinet Office, yes.

Found: International Trade; Anton Spisak, Associate Fellow, Centre for European Reform, and former Cabinet Office

Found: Transparency and accountability The Spend Control Data published in December 2024 by the Cabinet Office

Found: Investment, which is the joint office between the Department for Business and Trade and the Cabinet Office

Found: The Prime Minister announced a Cabinet Office review about ensuring that companies do not get contracts

Found: It was a Cabinet Office-sponsored programme for disadvantaged groups in senior Civil Service roles.

Found: It was a Treasury and Cabinet Office-led initiative to, essentially, streamline and massively speed

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help the UK meet its commitments on climate change adaptation.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Defra is the lead department for domestic adaptation to climate change, responsible for coordinating requirements set out in the UK Climate Change Act 2008. This includes preparing a UK Climate Change Risk Assessment every five years, followed by a National Adaptation Programme. Defra works closely with the Cabinet Office in delivering this function.

• Our new pilot, the “Local Authority Climate Service” tool provides Met Office climate data to local authorities based on their specific geographic areas, empowering them to take more effective decisions based on their local risk landscape.

• Our new £15 million Defra-UKRI research programme ‘Maximising UK Adaptation to Climate Change’ (MACC) will fund world leading strategic research projects to help improve the UK’s resilience to climate change impacts.

• The Cabinet Office and Defra jointly chair the director-level Climate Resilience Steering Board with HM Treasury and key risk owning departments.

• Alongside delivering NAP3 we are committed to strengthening the nation’s resilience and are considering a range of options to better embed climate adaptation across the whole of government.

Defra has responsibility for around half of the 61 risks and opportunities identified in the third Climate Change Risk Assessment, with a further eleven government departments having responsibility for the remainder.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will publish the total cost to the public purse for the provision of diversity, equality and inclusion courses for staff in her Department in 2024.

Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

Ministry of Justice Headquarters spent £2,101 in 2024 on a course which includes the awareness of equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) in a leadership training series delivered via the Cabinet Office Learning Frameworks provision.

All Ministry of Justice staff have the opportunity to complete the free, central Civil Service Expectations online training, which replaced several EDI courses in 2023

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will publish the total cost to the public purse for the provision of diversity, equality and inclusion courses for staff in his Department in 2024.

Answered by Anneliese Dodds - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) does not have a centrally organised Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) training offer, instead we use courses provided via Civil Service Learning. A small discretionary budget is available to support EDI work in line with the Civil Service EDI Expenditure Guidance and value for money, including to arrange training programmes according to evidenced needs. The FCDO will follow guidance from the Cabinet Office on publishing details of EDI expenditure.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will publish the total cost to the public purse for the provision of diversity, equality and inclusion courses for staff in her Department in 2024.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

The cost of training which covers the statutory obligations of civil servants under the Equality Act 2010 cannot be disaggregated from wider training costs because it often forms part of a wider learning package.

The Cabinet Office last year audited the cost-effectiveness of all equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) activities and in response to that audit, new guidance was published on Civil Service EDI Expenditure, including an end to all external spending on EDI activity, unless cleared and authorised by Ministers.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what discussions her Department has had with stakeholders on insourcing court language interpretation services.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

Regarding insourcing, the Ministry of Justice received and considered feedback from various interested parties, including external stakeholders and court users. It was determined that the service that will best suit the wide-ranging needs of users of language services continues to be a national, centralised booking and matching service. I would like to provide assurance the project considered the potential for bringing the service fully or partially in-house when assessing its options. However, these proved to be unaffordable.

The Ministry of Justice established an external stakeholder forum in 2021 with external organisations with an interest in the Department’s work, with the first meeting held on 8 June 2021. The forum comprises members from organisations representing interpreters and visual and tactile communication practitioners, as well as voluntary regulator organisations, including the National Register for Public Sector Interpreters (NRPSI). The purpose is to share information, facilitate communication and understand key issues or concerns of their members. The Department informed forum members in 2023 that it planned to continue with an outsourced model after an assessment indicated it is the best model for our needs.

With all Government contracts, we must consider what is the best value for taxpayers’ money, taking account of quality, deliverability and cost. On balance, we think outsourcing these services provides the best value for money. The decision has been made with input from a number of functional departments within the Ministry of Justice and approved by the Cabinet Office and the Treasury.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, for what purposes the Insolvency Service has used artificial intelligence in the last 12 months.

Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is at the heart of the Government’s plan to kickstart an era of economic growth, transform how we deliver public services, and boost living standards for working people across the country.

The Insolvency Service has used AI for three Proof of Concepts of internal chatbots which utilise a Large Language Model.

It is working with the Cabinet Office to publish Algorithmic Transparency Reporting Standards (ATRS) on two of its services. These relate to our Director Conduct Reporting Service and our Redundancy Payments Service Calculation Engine.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans Ministers have to attend the Global Disability Summit, due to be held in Berlin in April.

Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The 2025 Global Disability Summit is an important moment for the UK to reinforce our commitment to galvanising international efforts on disability inclusion and launch the refresh of our Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) Disability Inclusion and Rights strategy (2022-30), setting out new priorities. The Cabinet Office and the FCDO are working closely together to draw up the UK's delegation and final decisions will be made soon.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, for what purposes the Veterinary Medicines Directorate has used artificial intelligence in the last 12 months.

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

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is at the heart of the Government’s plan to kickstart an era of economic growth, transform how we deliver public services, and boost living standards for working people across the country.

The Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) has not used AI within any business processes to aid decision making regarding the quality, safety or efficacy of the lifecycle of veterinary medicines within the last 12 months.

The VMD submitted a nil return to Cabinet Office regarding the Algorithmic Transparency Recording Standard (ATRS) on 30 August 2024.

The VMD can draw on a range of resources, published on GOV.UK, to inform AI usage. For example, the Generative AI Framework, the Ethics, Transparency and Accountability Framework, the Data Ethics Framework, the AI Opportunities Action Plan and the ATRS.

The Directorate also has access to the Government Digital Service, part of the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology, for expert advice.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Written Statement of 17 January 2025 on Machinery of Government, HCWS368, whether appointments to the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority will be included in the Public Bodies Order in Council; and whether she plans to classify the chair appointment as a significant appointment.

Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

The National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority (NISTA) will combine the functions of the National Infrastructure Commission and Infrastructure and Projects Authority. NISTA will bring oversight of strategy and delivery into one organisation, driving more effective delivery of infrastructure across the country.

On 17 January 2025, the Prime Minister announced in a Written Ministerial Statement that NISTA will be a joint unit of HM Treasury and Cabinet Office, effective from 1 April 2025. Further detail on the work and governance of NISTA will be announced in due course.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will conduct a review into the performance of the NHS Business Services Authority.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) underwent an independent review in 2023 as part of the Cabinet Office led Public Body Review programme, and was assessed as ‘a high performing Arm’s-Length Body’. The review is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nhs-business-services-authority-review-report/independent-review-of-the-nhs-business-services-authority-final-report-and-recommendations

As a Special Health Authority and Arm’s-Length Body of the Department, performance is reviewed regularly by Departmental policy teams who sponsor individual services, and a quarterly accountability meeting is held to assess the NHSBSA’s performance across all its services.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of items of correspondence from Parliamentarians received by (a) his Department, (b) himself and (c) his ministerial team have not received a substantive response in each month since August 2024.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department is committed to meeting the target of responding to at least 80% of correspondence from Hon. Members within 20 working days. Parliament has a right to hold ministers to account. The Leader of the House of Commons wrote to all Cabinet members in November to remind ministers of their responsibilities to provide helpful and timely responses to Members' Parliamentary Questions and correspondence.

The Department receives some of the highest, and most sensitive, volumes of correspondence. In 2024 alone we received over 65,000 queries, with over 15,000 of those from Hon. Members. Ministerial correspondence performance data by Department is published annually by the Cabinet Office on the GOV.UK website.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will take steps with Cabinet colleagues to secure a UK-EU defence and security agreement.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)

European security is this Government’s foreign and defence policy priority, and whilst NATO remains the cornerstone of Europe’s collective defence, we recognise the important role the EU plays in the security and prosperity of Europe.

At the informal European Council retreat on 3 February 2025, the Prime Minister reiterated our ambition to seek an ambitious UK-EU Security and Defence relationship, enhancing our collaboration in support of Ukraine and seeking opportunities for improved defence cooperation.

The Ministry of Defence will continue to work with the Cabinet Office and across Whitehall to progress this work.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has had discussions with the Cabinet Office on potential efficiency savings in his Department since 30 October 2024.

Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

There have been no discussions with Cabinet Office of potential efficiency savings since that date. However, this is an area that the Department takes extremely seriously. The Department is forecasting £3,376 million of efficiency savings this financial year, of which £171 million are new efficiencies and £3,205 million are in delivery.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority will be put on a statutory footing.

Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

The National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority (NISTA) will combine the functions of the National Infrastructure Commission and Infrastructure and Projects Authority. NISTA will bring oversight of strategy and delivery into one organisation, driving more effective delivery of infrastructure across the country.

On 17 January 2025, the Prime Minister announced in a Written Ministerial Statement that NISTA will be a joint unit of HM Treasury and Cabinet Office, effective from 1 April 2025. Further detail on the work and governance of NISTA will be announced in due course.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many and what proportion of items of correspondence from Parliamentarians received by (a) her Department, (b) her and (c) her Ministers in each month since August 2024 have not yet received a substantive response.

Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

In line with Cabinet Office guidance, HM Treasury aims to respond to ministerial correspondence from parliamentarians within 20 working days. Correspondence performance data is published within HM Treasury’s Annual Report and Accounts. The 2023-24 Report noted that 62% of replies to parliamentarians were answered within the timeframe.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, for what reason her Department publishes all Government Procurement Card transactions.

Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

MHCLG’s spend publication thresholds were set by an historic Ministerial decision. We have been reviewing this and all future spend data will be published in line with Cabinet Office requirements.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of items of correspondence from Parliamentarians received by (a) her Department, (b) her and (c) her Ministers in each month since August 2024 have not yet received a substantive response.

Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

For the months of August and September all correspondence from Parliamentarians have received a substantive response. The table below covers October-January.

These figures reflect correspondence sent directly to MoJ HQ from Parliamentarians, and do not include correspondence sent directly to its executive agencies such as HMCTS or HMPPS.

Ministers and the Department place great value on effective and timely handling of ministerial correspondence and keep performance of this under review.

The Cabinet Office publishes routine statistics on Departmental performance which can be found on GOV.UK (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/data-on-responses-to-correspondence-from-mps-and-peers(opens in a new tab).

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many and what proportion of items of correspondence from Parliamentarians received by (a) his Department, (b) him and (c) his Ministers in each month since August 2024 have not yet received a substantive response.

Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Government attaches significant importance to the effective and timely handling of correspondence from MPs, either directly or on behalf of their constituents. The Department’s correspondence team has already implemented an improvement plan that will deliver a more effective and streamlined process.

The correspondence performance of all Whitehall Departments is published quarterly. The full data for 2024 is due to be published soon by the Cabinet Office. Data for Quarter 1 of 2025 will be published in due course.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the potential cost to the public purse was of her Department's Islamic network in each of the last five years.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

The costs of individual faith and belief networks over the last five financial years are not held centrally in an accessible form, and could only be identified and verified for the purposes of answering this question at disproportionate cost. However, the Department has previously provided cost figures for all Staff Networks. The answer to this can be found here: PQ 26338

In addition, the Cabinet Office last year has audited the cost-effectiveness of all equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) activities and in response to that audit, new guidance was published on Civil Service EDI Expenditure, including an end to all external spending on EDI activity, unless cleared and authorised by Ministers.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority will retain independent commissioners.

Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

The National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority (NISTA) will combine the functions of the National Infrastructure Commission and Infrastructure and Projects Authority. NISTA will bring oversight of strategy and delivery into one organisation, driving more effective delivery of infrastructure across the country.

On 17 January 2025, the Prime Minister announced in a Written Ministerial Statement that NISTA will be a joint unit of HM Treasury and Cabinet Office, effective from 1 April 2025. Further detail on the work and governance of NISTA will be announced in due course.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she hold discussions with Cabinet colleagues on the potential impact of lead exposure on trends in the level of gross domestic product.

Answered by Emma Reynolds - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Treasury works closely with other government departments to manage risks to the UK economy and support economic stability, an essential foundation for long-run economic growth. This includes collaboration with colleagues from the Cabinet Office Civil Contingencies Secretariat and the UK Health Security Agency.

The UK Health Security Agency supports partners in identifying the pathway and source of lead exposure and implements public health interventions to reduce associated risks. By continuing to address lead exposure through source identification, remediation, and public awareness, efforts are being made to reduce the potential long-term economic impacts, improving public health outcomes and mitigating associated healthcare costs and productivity losses.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 6 January 2025 to Question 20760 on Pancreatic Enzyme Replacement Therapy, whether he has had recent discussions with Cabinet colleagues on increasing the UK's manufacturing capacity of pancreatic enzyme replacement therapies.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

There have been no recent discussions with Cabinet Office colleagues on increasing the United Kingdom’s manufacturing capacity of pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy (PERT) or increasing access to the raw ingredients required for the production of PERT. However, we have established incentives to encourage UK life sciences manufacturing, including via the Life Science Innovative Manufacturing Fund (LSIMF). The LSIMF is now live and open to Expressions of Interest from all life science manufacturers, with formal application windows open on a quarterly basis, the next being in February 2025. The Government has committed up to £520 million to support businesses investing in life science manufacturing projects in the UK, and this would be open to applicants interested in setting up PERT manufacture in the UK.

Department officials continue to engage with all suppliers of PERT to boost production to mitigate the supply issue. Increased volumes of PERT are expected for 2025, and specialist importers have sourced unlicensed stock to assist in covering the gap in the market. In December, the Department issued further management advice to healthcare professionals. This directs clinicians to unlicensed imports when licensed stock is unavailable and includes actions for integrated care boards to ensure local mitigation plans are implemented. The Department, in collaboration with NHS England, has created a public facing page to include the latest update on PERT availability and easily accessible prescribing advice.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 6 January 2025 to Question 20760 on Pancreatic Enzyme Replacement Therapy, whether he has had recent discussions with Cabinet colleagues on increasing access to the raw ingredients required for the production of pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

There have been no recent discussions with Cabinet Office colleagues on increasing the United Kingdom’s manufacturing capacity of pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy (PERT) or increasing access to the raw ingredients required for the production of PERT. However, we have established incentives to encourage UK life sciences manufacturing, including via the Life Science Innovative Manufacturing Fund (LSIMF). The LSIMF is now live and open to Expressions of Interest from all life science manufacturers, with formal application windows open on a quarterly basis, the next being in February 2025. The Government has committed up to £520 million to support businesses investing in life science manufacturing projects in the UK, and this would be open to applicants interested in setting up PERT manufacture in the UK.

Department officials continue to engage with all suppliers of PERT to boost production to mitigate the supply issue. Increased volumes of PERT are expected for 2025, and specialist importers have sourced unlicensed stock to assist in covering the gap in the market. In December, the Department issued further management advice to healthcare professionals. This directs clinicians to unlicensed imports when licensed stock is unavailable and includes actions for integrated care boards to ensure local mitigation plans are implemented. The Department, in collaboration with NHS England, has created a public facing page to include the latest update on PERT availability and easily accessible prescribing advice.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what discussions he has had with the Public and Commercial Services trade union on the proposed industrial action by workers in his Department.

Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The Public and Commercial Services (PCS) trade union members involved in industrial action are employees of G4S and ISS.

The Government Property Agency (an executive agency of the Cabinet Office) is the contracting authority for the facilities management services delivered through these contracts. No discussions have taken place between Secretary of State for Business and Trade and the PCS on this issue.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what her Department's target response time is for correspondence from Rt hon. and hon. Members.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Department for Work and Pensions follows the Cabinet Office Guide to Handling Correspondence which is published on Gov.uk. This guide sets out how departments should respond to correspondence from elected officials. The department aims to respond within 20 working days of receipt.

Found: a ministerial Child Poverty Taskforce in July 2024 (supported by a Child Poverty Unit in the Cabinet Office

Found: Boundary Commission for England Latest overviews Cabinet Office

Found: This is based on a Cabinet Office review of around 50 fraud and error estimates that included every

Found: To reduce duplication across departments, the government’s grants management team within the Cabinet Office

Found: maintenance as part of the estates programme; • a Machinery of Government transfer of £5.5m to Cabinet Office

Found: Under the Freedoms charter approved by HM Treasury and Cabinet Office in April 2023, the Royal Armouries

Found: -3,960,000 VII (Section K) Transfer out of Gold to Cabinet Office -5,500,000 VIII (Section K)

Found: for Civil Service Live - Admin. -158,000 (Sections A and C) Transfer from Cabinet Office for

Found: -25 Voted Total to date on which provision on account is based 2025-26 Required on Account Cabinet Office

Found: account is based Required on Account Table 2: Supply Estimates by Department, 2025-26 (Voted) Cabinet Office

Found: integral part of grants governance and financial decision making and has been adopted by the Cabinet Office

Found: Georgia Gould, Parliamentary Secretary at the Cabinet Office, said: Businesses tell me that the current

Found: These included the Japanese Cabinet Office, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and the Japan External

Found: provides a summary of MHCLG’s governance expectations of a Chair in Annex A in line with current Cabinet Office

Found: ) an indemnity which is contained in any commercial agreement issued by the Minister for the Cabinet Office

Found: (e) Staff turnover percentage - applying the Cabinet Office (CO) guidance for calculating turnover in

Found: Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006, equivalent statutory transfer schemes, or the Cabinet Office

Found: • Representatives from the Cabinet Office, academia, and PA who participated in a series of workshops

Found: With the agreement of Cabinet Office, the data for the 2020/21 and 2021/22 academic years has been represented

Found: This has been done with the agreement of the Cabinet Office to remove the impact of IFRS 16, which is

Found: Department for Energy Security and Net Zero Civil Nuclear Police Authority 2024-07-02 00:00:00 CABINET OFFICE

Found: Under the Freedoms charter approved by HM Treasury and Cabinet Office in April 2023, the Royal Armouries

Found: and other instructions and guidance issued from time to time by MHCLG, the Treasury and the Cabinet Office

Found: ETF-trained Academy staff delivering a customised version of the Academy in their departments: Cabinet Office

Found: Cabinet Office: GREAT Campaign DLUHC: Supported Housing MoJ: Reforms to HMCT Does investment promotion

Found: updated 6 February 2025 + show all updates 6 February 2025 Transferred the page from Cabinet Office

Found: In publishing the Lessons Management Best Practice Guidance, the Cabinet Office recognises the importance

Found: updated 6 February 2025 + show all updates 6 February 2025 Transferred the page from Cabinet Office

Found: updated 6 February 2025 + show all updates 6 February 2025 Transferred the page from Cabinet Office

Found: Cabinet Office Lexicon of Civil Protection Capability A demonstrable ability to respond and recover

Found: The Cabinet Office, through the National Exercising Programme (NEP), directs and coordinates the delivery

Found: , 2011-12)  Emergency Response and Recovery (Cabinet Office, 2013)  CONOPs (Cabinet Office,

Found: The Cabinet Office has produced a useful checklist covering a range of types of funding to guide this

Found: further guidance on these standards please contact the Counter Fraud Centre of Expertise at the Cabinet Office

Found: Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office, Georgia Gould, said: It’s great to see the Manchester

Found: Douglas Alexander MP jointly as a Minister of State in the Cabinet Office, in addition to his role as

Found: The College for National Security is based within the Government Skills Directorate of the Cabinet Office

Found: Portfolio (GMPP) and will continue to engage with the Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA), Cabinet Office

Found: It has been administratively classified by the Cabinet Office as a nondepartmental public

Found: Other ongoing work to improve understanding and analysis ➢ There is a Cabinet Office-led working group

Found: Ed previously served as Minister for the Cabinet Office in 2007 and then as Secretary of State for Energy

Found: There is a Cabinet Office-led working group on excess deaths, undertaking internal research on potential

Question

To ask the Scottish Government what system is being used to select the new head of the civil service in Scotland; who and which organisations are involved; whether it will set out the procedure in detail, and what the timespan for the appointment is.

Answered by McKee, Ivan - Minister for Public Finance

All civil service appointments are governed by the Civil Service Commission (Civil Service Commission (independent.gov.uk)) whose remit is to ensure that selections for appointment to the UK Civil Service are made on merit on the basis of fair and open competition. The Commission’s Recruitment Principles (paragraphs 44 – 48) explain that Permanent Secretary competitions are chaired by the First Civil Service Commissioner (or nominee), who will be responsible for ensuring that Ministers are fully involved in competitions in which they have an interest and that their views are relayed to the panel, and taken into account.

In the case of the appointment of the Scottish Government Permanent Secretary, the process is run by the Cabinet Office, with close co-operation from the Scottish Government People Director. The First Minister is consulted throughout the process and makes the final selection decision from the appointable candidates, in consultation with the Head of the Civil Service and the First Civil Service Commissioner. The recruitment process is currently underway and is expected to be concluded by the end of February 2025.