Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 15 December 2025 to Question 98184, whether meetings held by the Prime Minister with external individuals are routinely assigned a subject classification for record-keeping purposes.

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

Guidance on management of records for official ministerial meetings is published on gov.uk, and available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-management-of-private-office-information-and-records/guidance-for-the-management-of-private-office-information-and-records-html.

The guidance in place in August 2019 is available in the National Archives: https://cdn.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documents/popapersguidance2009.pdf

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what guidance was guidance in place in August 2019 on keeping a written record of meetings between the Prime Minister and external individuals where public policy, procurement, or government contracts were discussed.

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

Guidance on management of records for official ministerial meetings is published on gov.uk, and available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-management-of-private-office-information-and-records/guidance-for-the-management-of-private-office-information-and-records-html.

The guidance in place in August 2019 is available in the National Archives: https://cdn.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documents/popapersguidance2009.pdf

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government how much has been spent on external contractors by the New Media Unit since its inception.

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

Please refer to the table below for spend by the New Media Unit on third party suppliers, from 1 November 2024 to 13 November 2025.

The New Media unit includes employees from grade AO to SCS1 and the headcount is 28 FTE.

The New Media Unit is not currently recruiting.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether the New Media Unit is fully staffed, and if not, whether further recruitment is planned to the unit.

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

Please refer to the table below for spend by the New Media Unit on third party suppliers, from 1 November 2024 to 13 November 2025.

The New Media unit includes employees from grade AO to SCS1 and the headcount is 28 FTE.

The New Media Unit is not currently recruiting.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what are the grades of the employees of the New Media Unit.

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

Please refer to the table below for spend by the New Media Unit on third party suppliers, from 1 November 2024 to 13 November 2025.

The New Media unit includes employees from grade AO to SCS1 and the headcount is 28 FTE.

The New Media Unit is not currently recruiting.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government (1) what the Civil Service headcount was in (a) 2023–24 and (b) 2024–2025; and; (2) what is the expected headcount for (a) 2025–26, (b) 2026–27, (c) 2027–28, (d) 2028–29, and (e) 2029–2030.

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

Please see the table below for 2024, 2025 and latest available figures on Civil Service employment sourced from ONS Public Sector Employment Statistics.

*latest available

Each department will take a decision on its future size and shape as per the financial settlements that were agreed with HM Treasury in the Spending Review. These plans will take a whole workforce approach based on the cost of civil servants, Contingent Labour, Consultancy and Managed Services, and will be finalised through the business planning process that is currently underway.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what work they plan to undertake to make arm's-length bodies and the arm's-length body landscape more effective, efficient and accountable.

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

As announced on 6th April 2025, the Government is conducting a full-scale review of arm's-length bodies in order to reduce the duplication of work by public bodies, improve efficiency, reduce unnecessary costs, and improve transparency. This review is ongoing, but some changes have already been announced such as the closure of NHS England to reduce bureaucracy, make savings and empower NHS staff to deliver better care for patients.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he has made an assessment of the adequacy of redundancy plans for civil servants working at grades (a) AA/AO, (b) EO, (c) HEO/SEO, (d) G6/G7 and (e) SCS in each Government department.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

Each department will take a decision on its individual size and shape as per the financial settlements that have now been agreed with HMT in the Spending Review.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether ice cream vans parked on red lines on Westminster Bridge are monitored by the Government Secure Zone control room.

Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare

The Government can confirm that vehicles are monitored within the Government Secure Zone. However, the Government does not comment in detail on security arrangements within the Government Secure Zone.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Written Statement of 21 July 2025 on Government of service, HCWS870, whether the Prime Minister plans to issue a direction under section 17 of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010 to give the Civil Service Commission new statutory functions relating to Business Appointment Rules.

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

The Minister for the Cabinet Office wrote to the First Civil Service Commissioner, Baroness Stuart, on behalf of the Prime Minister, on 9 July formally inviting the Civil Service Commission, under Section 17 of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010, to take on responsibility for the administration and advice on applications from the most senior civil servants (and equivalent special advisers) under the business appointment rules system.

The First Civil Service Commissioner wrote back to the Minister on 11 July on behalf of the Commission to formally agree to take on these additional responsibilities.

The relevant correspondence is published on the Civil Service Commission website. These changes will apply from 13 October.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to paragraph 3.16 of the report by the National Audit Office entitled Investigation into the administration of the Civil Service Pension Scheme, published on 16 June 2025, HC 951, by when he expects fixed (a) innovation and (b) digitalisation milestones to be provided.

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

The government expects fixed (a) innovation and (b) digitalisation targets to be provided when Capita submits its continuous improvement strategy and, for each contract year, an annual continuous improvement plan, once the services have gone live (post December 2025).

I want a legal safeguard in all digital-ID laws that guarantees no one can be denied work, healthcare, banking, housing, or any other service for not having a government digital ID. Use must remain voluntary, and non-digital alternatives must always be available to prevent exclusion or pressure..

Found: Department of Culture Media and Sport chaired cross-government meetings including No10, the Cabinet Office

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the (a) effectiveness of the role of BBC Radio 4 in national emergency communications and (b) the resilience of its transmission network to power loss.

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

The BBC has specific requirements under its Framework Agreement in relation to broadcast security and resilience, and works closely with DCMS in ensuring its networks are able to support emergency communications. DCMS has full oversight of these plans and works with Cabinet Office and other lead Government Departments to ensure BBC’s capabilities are integrated into wider resilience planning.

Detailed planning and preparations for a range of risks including power outages is an operational matter for the BBC. The BBC has informed the Government that its plan for maintaining emergency communications to the public in an extended national power outage includes a detailed assessment of back up power generation capacity and capabilities at key BBC sites and transmitter sites operated by third-party providers. The plan for this risk is designed to maintain broadcasts of key BBC radio channels nationally to both urban and rural communities. The BBC regularly tests its plan and procedures including live tests of its broadcast systems.

The loss of broadcast coverage to a specific geographic area is an operational matter for the BBC. The BBC collects and holds detailed information about the disruption of its radio services from individual transmitters.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to ensure that at least one UK-wide emergency radio service remains accessible to the public during extended power outages.

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

The BBC has specific requirements under its Framework Agreement in relation to broadcast security and resilience, and works closely with DCMS in ensuring its networks are able to support emergency communications. DCMS has full oversight of these plans and works with Cabinet Office and other lead Government Departments to ensure BBC’s capabilities are integrated into wider resilience planning.

Detailed planning and preparations for a range of risks including power outages is an operational matter for the BBC. The BBC has informed the Government that its plan for maintaining emergency communications to the public in an extended national power outage includes a detailed assessment of back up power generation capacity and capabilities at key BBC sites and transmitter sites operated by third-party providers. The plan for this risk is designed to maintain broadcasts of key BBC radio channels nationally to both urban and rural communities. The BBC regularly tests its plan and procedures including live tests of its broadcast systems.

The loss of broadcast coverage to a specific geographic area is an operational matter for the BBC. The BBC collects and holds detailed information about the disruption of its radio services from individual transmitters.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what contingency arrangements exist if local radio transmission infrastructure becomes unavailable during a national emergency.

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

The BBC has specific requirements under its Framework Agreement in relation to broadcast security and resilience, and works closely with DCMS in ensuring its networks are able to support emergency communications. DCMS has full oversight of these plans and works with Cabinet Office and other lead Government Departments to ensure BBC’s capabilities are integrated into wider resilience planning.

Detailed planning and preparations for a range of risks including power outages is an operational matter for the BBC. The BBC has informed the Government that its plan for maintaining emergency communications to the public in an extended national power outage includes a detailed assessment of back up power generation capacity and capabilities at key BBC sites and transmitter sites operated by third-party providers. The plan for this risk is designed to maintain broadcasts of key BBC radio channels nationally to both urban and rural communities. The BBC regularly tests its plan and procedures including live tests of its broadcast systems.

The loss of broadcast coverage to a specific geographic area is an operational matter for the BBC. The BBC collects and holds detailed information about the disruption of its radio services from individual transmitters.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the availability and duration of backup power supplies for radio broadcast transmission sites during prolonged power outages.

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

The BBC has specific requirements under its Framework Agreement in relation to broadcast security and resilience, and works closely with DCMS in ensuring its networks are able to support emergency communications. DCMS has full oversight of these plans and works with Cabinet Office and other lead Government Departments to ensure BBC’s capabilities are integrated into wider resilience planning.

Detailed planning and preparations for a range of risks including power outages is an operational matter for the BBC. The BBC has informed the Government that its plan for maintaining emergency communications to the public in an extended national power outage includes a detailed assessment of back up power generation capacity and capabilities at key BBC sites and transmitter sites operated by third-party providers. The plan for this risk is designed to maintain broadcasts of key BBC radio channels nationally to both urban and rural communities. The BBC regularly tests its plan and procedures including live tests of its broadcast systems.

The loss of broadcast coverage to a specific geographic area is an operational matter for the BBC. The BBC collects and holds detailed information about the disruption of its radio services from individual transmitters.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what proportion of radio broadcast transmission masts are equipped with on-site backup power capable of operating for more than (a) 12 hours, (b) 24 hours and (c) 72 hours without mains electricity.

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

The BBC has specific requirements under its Framework Agreement in relation to broadcast security and resilience, and works closely with DCMS in ensuring its networks are able to support emergency communications. DCMS has full oversight of these plans and works with Cabinet Office and other lead Government Departments to ensure BBC’s capabilities are integrated into wider resilience planning.

Detailed planning and preparations for a range of risks including power outages is an operational matter for the BBC. The BBC has informed the Government that its plan for maintaining emergency communications to the public in an extended national power outage includes a detailed assessment of back up power generation capacity and capabilities at key BBC sites and transmitter sites operated by third-party providers. The plan for this risk is designed to maintain broadcasts of key BBC radio channels nationally to both urban and rural communities. The BBC regularly tests its plan and procedures including live tests of its broadcast systems.

The loss of broadcast coverage to a specific geographic area is an operational matter for the BBC. The BBC collects and holds detailed information about the disruption of its radio services from individual transmitters.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the level of difference in emergency radio broadcast resilience between urban areas and rural or remote communities.

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

The BBC has specific requirements under its Framework Agreement in relation to broadcast security and resilience, and works closely with DCMS in ensuring its networks are able to support emergency communications. DCMS has full oversight of these plans and works with Cabinet Office and other lead Government Departments to ensure BBC’s capabilities are integrated into wider resilience planning.

Detailed planning and preparations for a range of risks including power outages is an operational matter for the BBC. The BBC has informed the Government that its plan for maintaining emergency communications to the public in an extended national power outage includes a detailed assessment of back up power generation capacity and capabilities at key BBC sites and transmitter sites operated by third-party providers. The plan for this risk is designed to maintain broadcasts of key BBC radio channels nationally to both urban and rural communities. The BBC regularly tests its plan and procedures including live tests of its broadcast systems.

The loss of broadcast coverage to a specific geographic area is an operational matter for the BBC. The BBC collects and holds detailed information about the disruption of its radio services from individual transmitters.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent testing has been undertaken of emergency power systems at radio broadcast transmission sites; and what the results of that testing were.

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

The BBC has specific requirements under its Framework Agreement in relation to broadcast security and resilience, and works closely with DCMS in ensuring its networks are able to support emergency communications. DCMS has full oversight of these plans and works with Cabinet Office and other lead Government Departments to ensure BBC’s capabilities are integrated into wider resilience planning.

Detailed planning and preparations for a range of risks including power outages is an operational matter for the BBC. The BBC has informed the Government that its plan for maintaining emergency communications to the public in an extended national power outage includes a detailed assessment of back up power generation capacity and capabilities at key BBC sites and transmitter sites operated by third-party providers. The plan for this risk is designed to maintain broadcasts of key BBC radio channels nationally to both urban and rural communities. The BBC regularly tests its plan and procedures including live tests of its broadcast systems.

The loss of broadcast coverage to a specific geographic area is an operational matter for the BBC. The BBC collects and holds detailed information about the disruption of its radio services from individual transmitters.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department holds data on the loss of radio broadcast coverage during recent power outages in the Highlands and Islands.

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

The BBC has specific requirements under its Framework Agreement in relation to broadcast security and resilience, and works closely with DCMS in ensuring its networks are able to support emergency communications. DCMS has full oversight of these plans and works with Cabinet Office and other lead Government Departments to ensure BBC’s capabilities are integrated into wider resilience planning.

Detailed planning and preparations for a range of risks including power outages is an operational matter for the BBC. The BBC has informed the Government that its plan for maintaining emergency communications to the public in an extended national power outage includes a detailed assessment of back up power generation capacity and capabilities at key BBC sites and transmitter sites operated by third-party providers. The plan for this risk is designed to maintain broadcasts of key BBC radio channels nationally to both urban and rural communities. The BBC regularly tests its plan and procedures including live tests of its broadcast systems.

The loss of broadcast coverage to a specific geographic area is an operational matter for the BBC. The BBC collects and holds detailed information about the disruption of its radio services from individual transmitters.

Found: Cabinet Office et al. (2025). Camden Council: RentSense. 95.

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

Found: Cabinet Office will keep the published version up to date.

Found: Model Services Contract for contracts over £20 million or where the complexity requires the Cabinet Office

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

Found: information provided in your Tender.Digital SpendThe Government Digital Service (GDS), on behalf of Cabinet Office

Found: staff and/or any appointed representatives of the National Audit Office; (d) HM Treasury or the Cabinet Office

Found: NCPRP are made in line with departmental pay strategy and Cabinet Office principles on performance-related

Found: NCPRP are made in line with departmental pay strategy and Cabinet Office principles on performance-related

Found: class="govuk-table__cell">Science and Research

Found: Social Care Department of Health and Social Care 07/10/2025 Fast streamers Science and Research CABINET OFFICE

Found:

Found: Health and Social Care Department of Health and Social Care 09/09/2025 Fast streamers Finance CABINET OFFICE

Found: Social Care Department of Health and Social Care 15/08/2025 Recruitment Chief Operating Officer CABINET OFFICE

Found: ="govuk-table__cell">Chief Operating Officer

Found: ="govuk-table__cell">Unity Business Services

Found: Keir Starmer attends an informal meeting of the European Council in Liege (3 March) and UK Cabinet Office