Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what information his Department holds on the proportion of tyres procured in the last 12 months for (a) central government and (b) local government heavy vehicle fleets—including lorries, buses and refuse vehicles—were retreaded tyres; and whether the Government holds data on the volume of single-use imported tyres purchased for these fleets.
Answered by Chris Ward - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
This information is not centrally held. Procurement and fleet management records are maintained by individual departments, agencies and local authorities.
Asked by: Gavin Williamson (Conservative - Stone, Great Wyrley and Penkridge)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether Varun Chandra has had (a) meetings, (b) correspondence and (c) formal communications with representatives of former clients of Hakluyt & Company since taking up his role as Special Adviser.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
There is an established system in place for the declaration and management of special advisers' interests. As has been the case under successive administrations, interests deemed relevant for publication for special advisers in No10 and the Cabinet Office are published on an annual basis by the Cabinet Office.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Information Commissioner decision notice of 29 October 2025, Ref IC-362303-N0J6, para 27, whether Lord Alli was on the list provided.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
Yes. The UK’s constitutional arrangements require an immediate transition of power the day after a general election. A list of individuals is provided to the Cabinet Secretary’s Office by political parties, so that the incoming Prime Minister has the ability to begin work immediately.
Asked by: Euan Stainbank (Labour - Falkirk)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to reduce spending on the Civil Service.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
This Government is relentlessly targeting waste and driving efficiencies to deliver a leaner Civil Service. At the Autumn Budget the Government announced that back-office administration costs will be reduced by 16% by 2029-30, to save money and focus resources on frontline services.
Examples of these departmental savings include DSIT’s use of AI and automation to free up staff from administrative tasks, which will deliver £7m of efficiencies by 2028-29. Additionally, the MOD will deliver £905m of technical efficiencies by 2028-29 through digitisation and modernisation, acquisition reform, and sustainability initiatives.
Additional, cross-government examples include cutting government credit card spending by £25 million in the first four months since new rules were introduced by the Cabinet Office in March. In addition, the Plan for London, part of the Places for Growth programme, was launched in May this year and will involve the closure of no fewer than 11 buildings by 2030, delivering annual savings of £94 million. Most notably, 102 Petty France, Caxton House and 39 Victoria Street will all be closed during the programme, as it consolidates the central London estate.
Asked by: Helen Whately (Conservative - Faversham and Mid Kent)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many families there were in each region in England and Wales with (a) one child, (b) two children, (c) three children, (d) four children, (e) five children, (f) six to eight children, (g) eight to 10 children and (h) more than 10 children in each year since 2019.
Answered by Josh Simons - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
A response to the Hon lady’s Parliamentary Question of the 2nd of December is attached.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the policy papers entitled Spending Review 2025, published on 30 June 2025, and Budget 2025, published on 28 November 2025, what their Department’s capital Departmental Expenditure Limit (DEL) will be in each year of the Spending Review period; how much capital funding has been allocated to each of their Department’s programmes; and how much and what proportion of the capital DEL allocation remains unallocated in each year.
Answered by Chris Ward - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Cabinet Office’s Capital Departmental Expenditure Limits (CDEL) as set out in the 2025 budget are:
£ billion (current prices) | Plans 2025-26 | Plans 2026-27 | Plans 2027-28 | Plans 2028-29 | Plans 2029-30 |
Cabinet Office | 0.5 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.2 |
All future years CDEL allocations are subject to business planning. Key capital projects funded during SR25 include reducing the government’s London office estate.
As per the Consolidated Budgeting Guidance, the Department will identify around 5% of allocated DEL that could be reprioritised to fund unforeseen pressures.
Asked by: Gavin Williamson (Conservative - Stone, Great Wyrley and Penkridge)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what formal guidance, policies and risk assessments he has issued to research institutions, NHS bodies and private genomics companies on the sharing of genomic data with foreign entities.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The 2023 UK Biological Security Strategy (BSS) sets out how the country is strengthening resilience to a spectrum of biological threats. As part of the BSS, DSIT is ensuring the UK is a world leader in responsible innovation in engineering biology – working closely with academia and industry to improve shared awareness of security risks, and ensuring any measures to mitigate risks (including those related to genomic data) remain proportionate.
All organisations holding health data (including genomics data) must comply with GDPR. To comply with GDPR, DSIT and DHSC require safeguards to be in place when health data is transferred outside the UK, including a risk assessment for countries not recognised as offering an equivalent level of data protection by the UK.
On behalf of DSIT, the National Protective Security Authority (NPSA), with the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), have developed the Trusted Research campaign to advise academia on international collaborations, by informing them of the threat and helping them make decisions about research and research partners. NPSA and NCSC have also developed the Secure Innovation campaign to help new start-ups in the emerging and critical technology sectors think carefully about their partners and investment.
Alongside this work, DSIT’s Research Collaboration Advice Team offers the research sector tailored advice on managing the risks of international research collaboration. DSIT also engages in a two-way dialogue with policymakers, academia and industry on the responsible use of engineering biology and life sciences, through the Responsible Innovation Advisory Panel.
Asked by: Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps his Department is taking to work with the Ministry of Defence to codify civilian assistance to military authorities for home defence, as recommended in the Strategic Defence Review.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
Developing plans for civilian assistance to the military in a time of conflict is a key component of the Cabinet Office's Home Defence Programme. The Cabinet Office is working closely with the MoD and other Whitehall departments to set a baseline understanding of the support requirements for defence and how positions and roles may need to be backfilled in a conflict scenario. This work is ongoing.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many Government-registered vehicles are declared as being off the road with a Statutory Off Road Notification (SORN).
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Government Car Service (GCS) provides secure transport for Government Ministers and senior officials. There are currently no GCS vehicles declared as being off the road with a Statutory Off Road Notification (SORN). Some other departments operate their own fleets of vehicles, about which the Cabinet Office does not hold information.
Asked by: Gavin Williamson (Conservative - Stone, Great Wyrley and Penkridge)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what formal guidance, policies, or risk assessments has the UK government issued to UK research institutions, NHS bodies, and private genomics companies regarding the sharing of genomic data with foreign entities.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
I refer the Honourable Gentleman to the response given on 10 December to PQ 96655.