Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what recent discussions have taken place at Cabinet level on the issue of large-scale housing development being accompanied by social and community infrastructure and access to green space.

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

It is a long-established precedent that information about the discussions that have taken place in Cabinet and its committees is not normally shared publicly.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the guidance published on 21 October 2024, List of Cabinet Committees and their membership, what are the names of the secretariats who support those committees, and which committee each secretariat supports.

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

Cabinet committees are supported by the relevant Secretariat that sit across the Economic and Domestic Secretariat, the National Security Secretariat and the European and Global Issues Secretariat as most relevant according to the Terms of Reference of the committee.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will publish a timeline for subsequent House of Lords reform after the House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill has concluded.

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

Alongside the passage of the House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill, the government has been engaged in a dialogue with the House on how we can best implement the Government’s other manifesto commitments. I look forward to continuing that dialogue and considering how to approach it in a more structured way.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the tariffs imposed on the United Kingdom and European Union by the United States of America with regard to the Windsor Framework.

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

We continue to closely monitor the impact on Northern Ireland of any tariffs. This government will always act in the best interests of all UK businesses which of course includes those in Northern Ireland.

Northern Ireland is a part of the United Kingdom customs territory and internal market. Northern Ireland exporters will face 10% US tariffs like exporters elsewhere in the UK.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government when they will review the right of Church of England bishops to sit in the House of Lords.

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

The Government is supportive of the inclusion of individuals from all backgrounds in the House of Lords and believes the second chamber is enriched by members who bring diverse experience. This includes the Lords Spiritual.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to tackle the delay in former civil servants receiving their occupational pensions.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

In October 2023, system and process changes were implemented to rectify the pension position of those members impacted by the McCloud judgment, a legal ruling impacting approximately 420,000 Civil Service pension members. This had a significant impact on business as usual ‘retirement quotes’ and ‘finalisations’ as the new systems and processes went live and were embedded over the following months. This led to a dip in performance in providing retirement quotes and paying lump sum payments at retirement. The delay in lump sum payments for some members was up to 20 days; however, monthly retirement benefit payments were not affected and paid on time.

The Cabinet Office, as Scheme Manager, has worked closely with MyCSP to rectify this position and return to meeting contractual performance levels. This was achieved at the end of September last year. For the last six months, up to and including March this year, MyCSP is back to achieving over 99.7% of their service level agreements. We continue to monitor performance carefully and work to ensure that any complaints or errors are identified and addressed as quickly as possible.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 29 January 2025 to Question 25452 on Cabinet Office: Staff, how many staff were attached to the Skills Match Hub on 1 February 2025.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

At any point in time, there is likely to be a small number of individuals who have been displaced due to restructures within their business units or, for example, have returned from a loan from another department and their role no longer exists. The exact number changes on a day-to-day basis.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many Senior Civil Service roles in the Cabinet Office have been permanently filled by people who were initially appointed on an interim or temporary basis by grade in the last 12 months.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

Since 24 March 2024, 7 Senior Civil Service roles in the Cabinet Office have been permanently filled by people who were initially appointed on an interim or temporary basis in the last 12 months.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the name is of the division of the Cabinet Office formerly known as the clearing house.

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

Matters relating to the Freedom of Information Act 2000 sit with the Freedom of Information Policy Team in the Cabinet Office.

Further information about the role Cabinet Office plays in ensuring compliance with the Freedom of Information Act across government is published here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cabinet-office-and-freedom-of-information

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many standalone equality, diversity and inclusion roles are employed by (a) his Department and (b) the Office for Equality and Opportunity.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

There are 6 full-time equivalents working in standalone EDI roles. These sit in HR teams across the different Cabinet Office functions and the central HR team in line with the EDI Expenditure guidance published in May 2024, delivering statutory obligations and government priorities. In May 2024, the Cabinet Office had 7 full time equivalent working in standalone EDI roles.

The Office for Equality and Opportunity is responsible for external government policy on equality. It does not have any internal roles focused on equality, diversity, and inclusion.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 16 October 2024 to Question 7760 on Marian Mazzucato, whether she is an adviser to the Government in any other capacity.

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

Ministers regularly liaise with a wide range of stakeholders. Mariana Mazzucato is not employed within government as a special adviser. Nor does she hold a position in a role as a regulated public appointee.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to improve visa requirements for UK citizens with homes in both the UK and in a country in the Schengen Area.

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

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 EU allows for travel within the Schengen Area for up to 90 days in any rolling 180-day period; this is standard for third countries travelling visa-free to the EU. Applications for visas to visit or stay for longer periods of time would be processed according to the rules of individual Member States. 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, if he will take steps to undertake an audit of whether other Government departments are meeting the publication requirements outlined in the then Prime Minister's letter entitled Government transparency and open data, published on 14 December 2017.

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

I refer the honourable member to my response to PQ 30681.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many times the Committee on the Grant of Honours, Decorations and Medals has met since 4 July 2024; and when those meetings occurred.

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

Since 4 July 2024, the Committee on the Grant of Honours, Decorations and Medals has met on two occasions - 1st August and 19th November.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Public and Commercial Services Union's press notice entitled PCS demands Cabinet Office meeting over Gaza, published on 26 July 2024, what discussions his Department has had with PCS.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The Cabinet Office regularly holds discussions with trade unions including the Public and Commercial Services Union. These discussions relate to Civil Service workforce matters. Information about Cabinet Office ministers' meetings are released quarterly on .gov.uk as part of the department’s transparency publications and can be found here.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he plans to reduce spending on (a) civil service communications staff, (b) external marketing and (c) external advertising.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The Government regularly evaluates the effectiveness of all communication activities to ensure they are delivering and providing the best value for money for taxpayers. An example of this is the recent comprehensive communications Spending Review that delivered savings of £85 million in 2024-25 and up to £96 million in 2025-26.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what meetings his Department has had with members of the Scottish Fishermen's Federation on the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement.

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

I have met representatives of the Scottish Fishermen's Federation twice to discuss their interests in our fisheries relationship with the EU. The Scottish Fishermen's Federation is a member of the UK Domestic Advisory Group established under the Trade and Cooperation Agreement and Cabinet Office officials regularly engage with them in this capacity.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many Cabinet Office staff appointed by exception on a temporary basis were subsequently made full-time employees in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

In the last 12 months, no Cabinet Office employees have been made permanent using Exception 10 (conversion to permanency of suitable candidates appointed under Exception 1 and 2) of the Civil Service Recruitment Principles.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to his Department's guidance entitled Freedom of Information - FOI clearing house review, updated on 14 December 2023, when he plans to publish the guidance on cross-cutting themes that are specific to central government.

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

The Cabinet Office has published guidance on ‘Freedom of Information and the Role of Special Advisers’ and on ‘Communication by Spreadsheet’ on GOV.UK at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cabinet-office-and-freedom-of-information.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps his Department is taking to increase funding for security vetting.

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

United Kingdom Security Vetting (UKSV) is funded by its customers (government departments, the police, industry) through a burden-sharing model. Funding is agreed with customers on an annual basis, and in parallel with Cabinet Office business planning.

In line with the practice followed by successive administrations, the Government does not otherwise comment on security matters.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what is the salary level or grade of seniority of a (1) permanent civil servant, (2) direct ministerial appointment, (3) public appointment and (4) special adviser at which there is a policy of public transparency on the individual public servant’s remuneration.

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

In the Civil Service, the Senior Civil Service (SCS) is subject to pay transparency arrangements. Departments publish the remuneration of their staff operating at Board level in their Annual Accounts (Remuneration and staff report). Departments also publish the salaries of their SCS staff in quarterly 'organograms' on GOV.UK.

The Cabinet Office also publishes an annual ‘high earner’ list of senior officials in departments, agencies and non-departmental public bodies. The previous administration did not update this list prior to the General Election. The Cabinet Office will publish a new 2025 list in due course.

Below SCS, delegated grades are not subject to pay transparency arrangements as pay and grading below the SCS has been delegated to departments since 1996, and the publication of permanent civil servants’ remuneration within these grades is at the discretion of each organisation.

Direct ministerial appointees and public appointees are officeholders rather than employees, and do not have a grade of seniority. Most such roles are unremunerated. Where an individual role does attract remuneration, this would usually be made public either in the recruitment advertisement, when made via an open competition, or in the announcement of the appointed individual.

The salaries of special advisers earning equivalent to senior civil servants (£75,000 and above) are given in bands of £5,000 and are published in the Special Adviser Annual Report.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 21 October 2024 to Question 6074 on Special advisers, whether his Department has set a maximum cap on the number of special advisers who can be appointed.

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

In line with the Ministerial Code, Cabinet Ministers and, with the authorisation of the Prime Minister, Ministers who regularly attend Cabinet, may appoint special advisers. All special adviser appointments require approval of the Prime Minister.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of establishing a UK-wide Future Generations Commissioner to promote (a) long-term policy planning and (b) intergenerational fairness across Government departments.

Answered by Ellie Reeves - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

All children should have every opportunity to succeed, no matter who they are, where they’re from, or how much their parents earn. The Opportunity Mission will give the next generation the best start in life, help them achieve and thrive in excellent schools, and build skills for opportunity and growth. The mission has taken a number of steps to help ensure every child has the opportunity to succeed. These include expanding government-funded childcare, allocating £1.4bn to rebuild our schools, launching the curriculum review, announcing the creation of Foundation Apprenticeships and launching the first round of funding for 300 school-based nurseries. The government has also set-up a Ministerial Taskforce on Child Poverty, bringing in academia, local government and other sectors to develop a joint strategy on child poverty. There has been no specific assessment by the Cabinet Office of establishing a UK-wide Future Generations Commissioner.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the report entitled Security and Intelligence Agencies Financial Statement 2023-24, published on 2 December 2024, whether he has considered publishing the individual governance statements for the security and intelligence agencies.

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

As has been the policy of successive governments, the government does not comment on matters relating to the intelligence agencies. The Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament scrutinises the policies, expenditure, administration and operations of the intelligence agencies on behalf of Parliament.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to reduce the (a) number and (b) administrative costs of arms length bodies.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The Prime Minister has commissioned departments to assess all current and proposed arms length bodies against new principles to determine which should continue, close, merge, or have functions returned to departments. This is part of the government's mission to create a more productive and agile state, as demonstrated by NHS England's integration into the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC).

Additionally, the Chancellor has initiated Phase 2 of the Spending Review, which will zero-base all public spending, including ALBs. This involves a detailed evaluation to assess priorities and value for money for taxpayers. Departments and ALBs are tasked with identifying a minimum of 5% savings against their day-to-day spending, building on the previous 2% target.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will list the monetary levels of the each of the special adviser pay bands.

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

Special adviser pay bands are published in the Annual Report on Special Advisers.

The most recent publication which includes the payband for the previous administration is availbale at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/674844e62ac8a6da3072393a/Annual_Report_on_Special_Advisers_2024.docx.pdf

The current special adviser paybands will be published as part of the 2025 annual report in the summer.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many Whitehall civil service jobs were relocated outside London in each year since 2015.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The Places for Growth Programme has been gathering data on relocation of Government roles from London since September 2021. Since then, latest published data shows 21,002 roles have been relocated from London. By year:

• 3,999 roles were relocated in 2021.

• 7,113 roles were relocated in 2022.

• 7,171 roles were relocated in 2023.

• 2,719 roles were relocated in Quarter 1 of 2024 (the latest published data).

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how his Department is supporting the (a) delivery and (b) expansion of apprenticeship programmes across Government departments.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The Cabinet Office is committed to supporting the use of apprenticeships across all government departments to break down barriers to opportunity. This includes supporting the Government's commitment to 2,000 digital apprenticeships by 2030 to improve digital skills and drive improvements and efficiency in public services.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department has received recent representations from firms involved in transactions referred to his Department under the National Security and Investment Act since 5 July 2024.

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

Parties with an interest in acquisitions being reviewed under the National Security and Investment (NSI) Act 2021 can submit representations via the Investment Security Unit in the Cabinet Office.

Given potential commercial and security sensitivities, the Government will not generally comment on review of specific acquisitions under the NSI Act, including what, if any, representations have been received.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 17 December 2024 to Question 18822 on Government Departments: Social Media, how much his Department has spent on social media advertising, by individual firm since 5 July 2024.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

Please see below Cabinet Office spend by social platform from 5 July 2024 to 8 April 2025:

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by the Parliamentary Secretary to the Cabinet Office on 15 November 2024 (HC11596), whether there is a quadrilateral meeting to discuss government business.

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

Various forms of Ministerial meetings take place.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Spring Statement 2025 on 26 March 2025, whether changes have been made to the Government’s missions’ (a) metrics and (b) methodology.

Answered by Ellie Reeves - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

The Plan for Change set out clear and transparent milestones, and our plan to achieve them. These milestones allow the public to track our progress and hold the government to account for their delivery. There have been no changes to these milestones since the publication of the Plan for Change.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he is encouraging employees in his Department's Scottish offices to attend in person.

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

The Government renewed its commitment to the 60% office attendance expectation on 24 October, emphasising the importance of collaboration through face-to-face interactions. This applies to all of the department's offices, including our offices in Glasgow and Edinburgh.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 30 January 2025 to Question 25674 on Prime Minister: Senior Civil Servants, if he will publish the Principal Private Secretary candidate pack.

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

Between 13 November and 1 December 2024 the candidate pack for the Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister was published and available to download via the Civil Service Jobs website.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department provides guidance to (a) Ministers and (b) officials on engagement with non-statutory inquiries.

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

The Cabinet Office provides advice and guidance to Ministers and officials on statutory and non statutory public inquiries.

In response to the House of Lords Statutory Inquiries Committee’s Report on “Public Inquiries: Enhancing Public Trust”, the Government has committed to publishing the Cabinet Office Public Inquiries Practitioners Handbook. We will publish this in due course.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether allegations of bullying under paragraph 1.5 of the Ministerial Code are assessed by the impact of behaviour on individuals; whether an absence of awareness of any harm caused is a relevant factor in determining whether a breach has occurred; and whether the Government has a definition of bullying for the purposes of interpreting the Code.

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

I refer the Hon Member to PQ43119.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the written statement of 3 February 2025, HCWS408, on transparency data, if he will ensure that the gov.uk transparency data is published in accessible open data formats, including via public APIs.

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

Transparency data is published according to the standard and best practice guidance from the Government Digital Service and Central Digital and Data Office. Accessible open data formats are already used.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what guidance his Department has issued on whether the requirement to record informal lobbying approaches applies to special advisers.

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

The expectations surrounding the conduct of special advisers are outlined in the Code of Conduct for Special Advisers. No additional guidance has been issued by the Department to special advisers concerning the requirement to record informal lobbying approaches.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the UK Statistics Authority has offered apprenticeships in each year since 2010.

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 7th March is attached.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many Departments hire official photographers as staff members.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

Information on how many departments hire official photographers as staff members is not held centrally by the Cabinet Office.

The Cabinet Office Communications team employs two Digital Media Officers who support government work in Departments and undertake photography as a small part of their duties.

There are also 2 full time, dedicated photographers in the No10 team. Although they are funded by the Cabinet Office, their work is managed by No10.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to encourage public service bodies to buy British-made products.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The Government is committed to supporting British businesses and the products they produce, ensuring they have the best opportunities to win UK public contracts and deliver high-quality goods and services.

The new Procurement Act contains measures that help British businesses and manufacturers by creating a simpler and more transparent system that will deliver better value for money, giving small businesses greater access to £385 billion of annual spend.

Our new National Procurement Policy Statement encourages contracting authorities to consider how procurement can foster economic growth, support small businesses, strengthen UK supply chains and drive delivery of the Government’s Industrial Strategy and missions.

We have also recently announced a package of further measures to demonstrate how central government will implement the NPPS, further helping British firms succeed.

Furthermore, our modern Industrial Strategy will set out how public procurement can support growth and investment in key sectors of the economy by encouraging innovation and the development of new technologies.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to ensure that Government procurement policies promote British (a) manufacturers and (b) suppliers.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The Government is committed to supporting British businesses, ensuring they have maximum opportunities to win UK public contracts and deliver high-quality goods and services.

The new Procurement Act contains measures that help British businesses and manufacturers by creating a simpler and more transparent system that will deliver better value for money, giving small businesses greater access to nearly £400billion of yearly spend.

Our new National Procurement Policy statement also encourages contracting authorities to consider how procurement can foster economic growth, support small businesses, strengthen UK supply chains and drive delivery of the Government’s Industrial Strategy and missions.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of requiring the Infected Blood Compensation Scheme to distinguish between people subjected to deliberate, non-consensual trials and other people.

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

The Infected Blood Inquiry Report highlights many ethical failings that happened as part of the Infected Blood Scandal. The impact of these ethical failings on infected people has been recognised in the compensation scheme's core autonomy award.

In his summer 2024 report Sir Robert Francis recommended that an additional autonomy award be made available specifically to infected people subjected to unethical research. The Government accepted this recommendation, which led to the development of the Unethical Research Practices award as part of the Compensation Scheme's supplementary route. The award focuses specifically on research that has failed to meet established ethical standards.

Specifically, the eligibility for the award is determined by the presence of documented unethical research. This includes a lack of informed consent, inadequate oversight, and other breaches of ethical obligations in research settings.

In December last year, the Government engaged with key representatives and organisations in the community on the particular eligibility criteria for the Unethical Research Practices Award. The Government was grateful for the submissions and feedback it received from key stakeholders and considered the evidence provided in each one carefully. The Regulations which became law on 31 March 2025, detailed, specifically the criteria and centres that will be covered as part of this award. The Government is able, through further secondary legislation, to add additional centres or studies to the list if new evidence is presented. The Government wants to ensure that those who were subject to unethical research are provided with the additional autonomy award.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the potential impact of the GREAT campaign on economic growth.

Answered by Ellie Reeves - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

The GREAT Britain & Northern Ireland campaign remains an effective tool in driving economic growth and we will continue to work closely with partners to optimise the campaign’s resources to deliver growth across the UK as part of our Plan for Change.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he has made an assessment of the contribution of the GREAT campaign to economic growth.

Answered by Ellie Reeves - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

The GREAT Britain & Northern Ireland campaign remains an effective tool in driving economic growth and we will continue to work closely with partners to optimise the campaign’s resources to deliver growth across the UK as part of our Plan for Change.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, for what reason he has cut funding for the GREAT programme by 41%.

Answered by Ellie Reeves - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

The GREAT Britain & Northern Ireland campaign remains an effective tool in driving economic growth and we will continue to work closely with partners to optimise the campaign’s resources to deliver growth across the UK as part of our Plan for Change.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of recognising mono-HCV haemophiliacs as a separate cohort under the Infected Blood Compensation Scheme.

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

In March, Parliament approved the Infected Blood Compensation Scheme Regulations 2025, which established the Infected Blood Compensation Scheme in full and gave the Infected Blood Compensation Authority the powers it needs to begin making payments to all people eligible for compensation under the Scheme.

In line with the recommendations from the Infected Blood Inquiry’s second interim report and Sir Robert’s compensation framework study, the Infected Blood Compensation Scheme takes a tariff based approach to compensation based on infection severity bands. The Government sought advice on the infection severity bandings and consequent tariffs from the Infected Blood Inquiry Response Expert Group.

In regards to an additional award for haemophiliacs, the scope of the scheme’s supplementary route is in line with the recommendations Sir Robert Francis KC made to the Government in August 2024. The Government accepted Sir Robert’s recommendation that, with the exception of autonomy awards to victims of unethical research, supplementary route awards should only be available for care and financial loss.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 25 March 2025 to Question 39591 on Crown Commercial Service and Government Property Agency: Equality, which diversity and inclusion (a) days and (b) weeks have been recognised by (i) Government Property Agency and (ii) the Crown Commercial Service since 4 July 2024.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

I refer the honourable member to the answer given on 2 April 2025 in response to question 41107.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people will be eligible for compensation under the Infected Blood Compensation Scheme in (a) Montgomeryshire and Glyndwr constituency, (b) Wales and (c) the UK.

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

Due to the nature of the Infected Blood scandal there is uncertainty over the number of people who might be eligible for compensation. The final number of eligible people will ultimately depend on the number of victims who come forward. While there is no way of knowing exactly how many people were infected as a result of this scandal, the findings of the Statistical Expert Group, established by the Infected Blood Inquiry, has provided valuable insight into the numbers of infections from blood and blood products in the UK between 1970 and 1991. The central estimates approximately total 30,000, which includes both living and deceased victims. This information is not available on a constituency basis.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, on what evidential basis the level of compensation for people with (a) Hepatitis C and (b) haemophiliacs infected with HIV under the Infected Blood Compensation scheme was determined.

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

As recommended by the Inquiry, the Infected Blood Compensation Scheme has been designed as a tariff-based framework. The proposed tariffs were developed on the advice of the Infected Blood Inquiry Response Expert Group, which included clinical and legal advisors assisted by social care specialists. You can find more information about the work of the Infected Blood Inquiry Response Expert Group on gov.uk here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/infected-blood-inquiry-response-expert-group-summary-report

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he has undertaken an impact assessment for the decision to reduce GREAT programme funding.

Answered by Ellie Reeves - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

The GREAT Britain & Northern Ireland campaign remains an effective tool in driving economic growth and we will continue to work closely with partners to optimise the campaign’s resources to deliver growth across the UK as part of our Plan for Change.

The policy game predicts outcomes and provides real-time data to guide decision-making. Participants could earn Universal Basic Income based on performance, fostering civic engagement and improving policy outcomes. AI would score the decisions based on economic, environmental, and social outcomes

Top leaders in the public sector have wages higher than the average earner. Some earn more the £100k for jobs that we think the tax payer deem unfit for purpose. If these wages were paid in the private sector, we think they would be scrutinised under performance of the business.

I am starting a petition to stop to ex-prime ministers from claiming the PDCA (public duty cost allowance). The PDCA allows a former prime minister to claim up to £115,000 a year- for life - for the 'necessary office costs and secretarial costs arising from their special position in public life'.

Found: Seema Malhotra MP Minister for Equalities Cabinet Office 70 Whitehall London SW1A 2AS

Found: Companies House is required to set delegated pay arrangements within the framework of the Cabinet Office

Found: Seema Malhotra MP Minister for Equalities Cabinet Office 70 Whitehall London SW1A 2AS

Found: Correspondence from the Cabinet Office on the Office for National Statistics, dated 2 April 2025 Correspondence

Found: A piece of work has been done by the Cabinet Office over the past year to connect that long-standing

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Timpson on 9 April (HL6405), whether they have taken steps to assess the potential for reducing costs and increasing productivity from retaining Gov Facilities Services Limited in-house.

Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

Government Facility Services Limited was created in 2018 as a government company to ensure continuity of facilities management services to prisons in the South and East of England following the collapse of the previous contracted supplier, Carillion. This was always planned to be a transient organisation whilst the Department decided on how the Prison and Probation estate would be maintained in the future.

A 2023 assessment conducted in partnership with the Cabinet Office determined that an insourced solution was not the preferred option for future prison maintenance services. The assessment was conducted in line with Cabinet Office guidance and was consistent with the options appraisal approach prescribed by HM Treasury Green Book. Financial analysis determined that an outsourced option would be more cost effective and deliver the best value for money. The value and performance of the Department’s service providers are subject to ongoing contract management and are reviewed and changed, where appropriate, to align with the business requirements.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions she has had with the EU on touring artists.

Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

The UK Government remains in constructive dialogue with the EU on tackling the challenges facing UK musicians and their support staff when touring in the EU, as well as other EU reset priorities. Cabinet Office Minister Nick Thomas-Symonds and European trade commissioner Maroš Šefčovič have been tasked with moving discussions forward and leaders will take stock at the UK-EU Summit in May.

On 7 April, the Minister for Creative Industries, Arts and Tourism, Chris Bryant, attended the Informal Meeting for EU Culture Ministers in Warsaw, as a guest of the Polish Presidency of the Council of the European Union. This is the first time a UK minister has been invited to such a meeting since the UK’s exit from the EU. Minister Bryant used the opportunity to forge closer, more cooperative ties with his EU counterparts, including on matters related to touring. The Minister and senior DCMS officials had previously engaged EU counterparts on this bilaterally, including from the EU Commission, Poland, France, Germany, Italy, Denmark and Sweden.

Our aim is to identify practical solutions to ensure that UK artists can continue to perform across Europe with minimal barriers while respecting the regulatory frameworks on both sides.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the proposed reduction in funding for the GREAT Britain and Northern Ireland programme on the Starring GREAT Britain campaign.

Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

The GREAT Britain and Northern Ireland campaign has played and continues to play an important role in promoting the UK as a top global destination and supporting growth in the visitor economy. While decisions around the overall GREAT programme budget sit with the Cabinet Office, DCMS continues to work closely with the Minister for the Cabinet Office and other relevant departments to ensure that tourism remains a core focus of the campaign. Discussions are ongoing on how to maximise impact within available resources. We remain committed to working with VisitBritain and the wider sector to support the UK’s international tourism recovery, grow the visitor economy, and deliver on our ambition to attract 50 million inbound visitors by 2030.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the proposed reduction in funding for the GREAT Britain and Northern Ireland programme on the visitor economy.

Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

The GREAT Britain and Northern Ireland campaign has played and continues to play an important role in promoting the UK as a top global destination and supporting growth in the visitor economy. While decisions around the overall GREAT programme budget sit with the Cabinet Office, DCMS continues to work closely with the Minister for the Cabinet Office and other relevant departments to ensure that tourism remains a core focus of the campaign. Discussions are ongoing on how to maximise impact within available resources. We remain committed to working with VisitBritain and the wider sector to support the UK’s international tourism recovery, grow the visitor economy, and deliver on our ambition to attract 50 million inbound visitors by 2030.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the proposed reduction in funding for the GREAT Britain and Northern Ireland programme on VisitBritain.

Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

The GREAT Britain and Northern Ireland campaign has played and continues to play an important role in promoting the UK as a top global destination and supporting growth in the visitor economy. While decisions around the overall GREAT programme budget sit with the Cabinet Office, DCMS continues to work closely with the Minister for the Cabinet Office and other relevant departments to ensure that tourism remains a core focus of the campaign. Discussions are ongoing on how to maximise impact within available resources. We remain committed to working with VisitBritain and the wider sector to support the UK’s international tourism recovery, grow the visitor economy, and deliver on our ambition to attract 50 million inbound visitors by 2030.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the reduction in VisitBritain's budget.

Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

The GREAT Britain and Northern Ireland campaign has played and continues to play an important role in promoting the UK as a top global destination and supporting growth in the visitor economy. While decisions around the overall GREAT programme budget sit with the Cabinet Office, DCMS continues to work closely with the Minister for the Cabinet Office and other relevant departments to ensure that tourism remains a core focus of the campaign. Discussions are ongoing on how to maximise impact within available resources. We remain committed to working with VisitBritain and the wider sector to support the UK’s international tourism recovery, grow the visitor economy, and deliver on our ambition to attract 50 million inbound visitors by 2030.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the proposed reduction in funding for the GREAT Britain and Northern Ireland programme on her target for international tourism visitors.

Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

The GREAT Britain and Northern Ireland campaign has played and continues to play an important role in promoting the UK as a top global destination and supporting growth in the visitor economy. While decisions around the overall GREAT programme budget sit with the Cabinet Office, DCMS continues to work closely with the Minister for the Cabinet Office and other relevant departments to ensure that tourism remains a core focus of the campaign. Discussions are ongoing on how to maximise impact within available resources. We remain committed to working with VisitBritain and the wider sector to support the UK’s international tourism recovery, grow the visitor economy, and deliver on our ambition to attract 50 million inbound visitors by 2030.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the potential contribution of the GREAT Britain and Northern Ireland programme to the economy.

Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

The GREAT Britain and Northern Ireland campaign has played and continues to play an important role in promoting the UK as a top global destination and supporting growth in the visitor economy. While decisions around the overall GREAT programme budget sit with the Cabinet Office, DCMS continues to work closely with the Minister for the Cabinet Office and other relevant departments to ensure that tourism remains a core focus of the campaign. Discussions are ongoing on how to maximise impact within available resources. We remain committed to working with VisitBritain and the wider sector to support the UK’s international tourism recovery, grow the visitor economy, and deliver on our ambition to attract 50 million inbound visitors by 2030.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions she has had with the Minister for the Cabinet Office on the GREAT campaign.

Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

The GREAT Britain and Northern Ireland campaign has played and continues to play an important role in promoting the UK as a top global destination and supporting growth in the visitor economy. While decisions around the overall GREAT programme budget sit with the Cabinet Office, DCMS continues to work closely with the Minister for the Cabinet Office and other relevant departments to ensure that tourism remains a core focus of the campaign. Discussions are ongoing on how to maximise impact within available resources. We remain committed to working with VisitBritain and the wider sector to support the UK’s international tourism recovery, grow the visitor economy, and deliver on our ambition to attract 50 million inbound visitors by 2030.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to his Department’s publication entitled Defra: spending over £500, January 2025, published on 21 March 2025, what the Environment Agency purchased in the 95 transactions to Calders in January 2025.

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

In January 2025 the 95 transactions to Calders by the Environment Agency relate to its corporate contract for the provision of external meeting rooms and conference facilities. The dates in January relate to payment date and the provision of meeting rooms in these cases covered dates in October, November and December 2024.

The Cabinet Office has recently announced measures to cut down on this kind of expenditure. This is to correct the lack of respect for public money by the previous government, which allowed this type of spend to be entirely unchecked and unmonitored, including for the time that he was a minister in that department.

The policy detail can be found here: Government-branded merchandise and away days banned - GOV.UK

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to his Department’s publication entitled Defra: spending over £500, January 2025, published on 21 March 2025, what Natural England purchased from Sumup Event Bar Spar in January 2025.

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

The expenditure detailed relates to a Christmas meal hospitality event held to recognise the contributions of volunteers at Fenn’s, Whixall, and Bettisfield Mosses National Nature Reserve. The total cost of £1,462.50 was processed for payment in January 2025, and it was attended by 65 volunteers invited to a celebratory event to thank them for their volunteering over the previous year. This is a total spend of approximately £22 per attendant.

This National Nature Reserve has the most volunteers (over 100 registered volunteers) for any Natural England National Nature Reserve in the West Midlands . The volunteers contribute to many aspects of the running of the National Nature Reserve. These include:

• Outreach / Engagement /Education - Leading guided walks, Giving talks, assisting with School/College groups, helping with public events, and ensuring that those with disabilities can still enjoy nature
• Assisting with practical works including habitat management, maintenance & access works
• Research / surveys / monitoring – carrying out & assisting with research projects, carrying out surveys / monitoring (inc. species & hydrology)

The volunteers in 2024/25 contributed over 6,000 hours to the National Nature Reserve.

The Cabinet Office has recently announced measures to cut down on this kind of expenditure. This is to correct the lack of respect for public money by the previous government, which allowed this type of spend to be entirely unchecked and unmonitored, including for the time that he was a minister in that department.

The policy detail can be found here:

Government-branded merchandise and away days banned - GOV.UK

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had on a (1) bilateral basis, or (2) EU-wide basis, about cabotage for UK musicians who are touring in the EU.

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

We are working closely with the music industry, and engaging with the EU and EU Member States to tackle the challenges facing UK musicians and their support staff, including reduced access due to restrictions on the number and type of permitted transport movements when touring in the EU. Our aim is to identify practical solutions to ensure that UK artists can continue to perform across Europe with minimal barriers while respecting the regulatory frameworks on both sides.

On 7 April, Sir Chris Bryant attended the Informal Meeting for EU Culture Ministers in Warsaw as a guest of the Polish Presidency of the Council of the European Union. This is the first time a UK minister has been invited to such a meeting since the UK’s exit from the EU. The Minister used the opportunity to forge closer, more cooperative ties with his EU counterparts, including on matters related to touring. The Minister and senior DCMS officials have previously engaged the EU on this matter bilaterally, including during an introductory call with EU Commissioner for Intergenerational Fairness, Culture, Youth and Sport Glenn Micallef and in recent engagements with Polish, French, German, Italian, Danish and Swedish counterparts.

The UK Government remains in constructive dialogue with the EU on this and other EU reset priorities. Cabinet Office Minister Nick Thomas-Symonds and Maroš Šefčovič have been tasked with moving discussions forward and leaders will take stock at the UK-EU Summit in May.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to his Department’s publication entitled Defra: spending over £500, January 2025, published on 21 March 2025, what Natural England purchased from Amazon Marketplace on 30 January 2025.

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

The expenditure detailed relates to the purchase of equipment for public use (binoculars and a spotting scope) for a project at Goss Moor. The connecting people with nature project enables the public a closer view and experience of wildlife on the National Nature Reserves, it is funded through the national health and environment budget. The scope was necessary to be inclusive for people who would struggle to hold the binoculars for health reasons. The total amount of £625.42, including VAT, was processed for payment in February 2025.

This transaction is in line with our standard financial procedures, and the expenditure was reviewed and approved accordingly.

The Cabinet Office has recently announced measures to cut down on this kind of expenditure. This is to correct the lack of respect for public money by the previous government, which allowed this type of spend to be entirely unchecked and unmonitored, including for the time that he was a minister in that department.

The policy detail can be found here:

Government-branded merchandise and away days banned - GOV.UK

Found: bill would introduce new powers to enable the Public Sector Fraud Authority (PSFA) within the Cabinet Office

Found: Cabinet Office, UK Government (2021). The benefits of Brexit. 190.

Found: (2), this Act comes into force on such day as the Secretary of State or the Minister for the Cabinet Office

Found: is not included in this release due to a review of spend control transparency conducted by the Cabinet Office

Found: regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments and the reappointment process complies with the Cabinet Office

Found: response rate of 70%, as advised by the European Human Rights Commission (and endorsed by the Cabinet Office

Found: response rate of 70%, as advised by the European Human Rights Commission (and endorsed by the Cabinet Office

Found: response rate of 70%, as advised by the European Human Rights Commission (and endorsed by the Cabinet Office

Found: response rate of 70%, as advised by the European Human Rights Commission (and endorsed by the Cabinet Office

Found: All appointments are made in accordance with the Cabinet Office Code of Governance for Public Appointments

Found: was because of Baroness Finn's role of Opposition Spokesperson for the Cabinet Office

Found: upskilling of contract managers arising from Procurement Lifecycle Review Q3 Q4 Q3 - Completion of Cabinet Office

Found: 79,240.00 Y Division A Mr Sean Larkin Kc 325855 27,802.50 Y Departmental Security Office Cabinet Office

Found: -66,676.00 5100003717 11/02/2025 Secondment Costs Corporate CABINET OFFICE -30,756.00 5100003783

Found: This consultation has been conducted in accordance with the Cabinet Office Consultation Principles.6.2

Found: Cabinet Office. 2022. COVID-19 Response: Living with COVID -19.

Found: or alleged to have transferred, under TUPE and/or COSOP to the Sub-Contractor COSOP means the Cabinet Office

Found: Cabinet Office. 2022. COVID-19 Response: Living with COVID -19.

Found: disability pay gap reporting Government consultation C P 1288 A consultation produced by the Cabinet Office

Found: training.In progress – NES would provide an update for the April OAG meeting.The OAG was informed that Cabinet Office

Found: Schedule 13; “Security Policy Framework” means the Security Policy Framework published by the Cabinet Office

Found: Schedule 13; “Security Policy Framework” means the Security Policy Framework published by the Cabinet Office

Found: Officials are also continuing to engage with BEIS, Scotland Office and Cabinet Office on the potential