Leader of the House

The Office of the Leader of the House of Commons is part of the Cabinet Office. I refer the hon. member to the response to be provided by the Cabinet Office (3029).

I have not made any statutory or non-statutory direct ministerial appointments since being appointed as Leader of the House of Commons.

Short Money is allocated on the basis of the number of seats won by each opposition party at the previous general election. The House of Commons Members Estimate Committee is responsible for modifying the provisions of the Resolutions relating to Short money as it considers “necessary or desirable in the interests of clarity, consistency, accountability and effective administration, and conformity with current circumstances” (Standing Order No. 152D (3)(c)) .

We should acknowledge that public money underpins the political system in respect of the Opposition as well as the Government, but we must always be conscious of the cost to the taxpayer. Further consideration of this policy is rightly a matter for the House.

The Restoration and Renewal Programme is a matter for Parliament. The Parliamentary Client Board agreed the strategic direction of the Programme in February and expect costed proposals for three options (including full decant, continued presence and enhanced maintenance and improvement) to be put to members in 2025, enabling the Programme to progress.

As Leader of the House I am committed to providing time in the Chamber to the Backbench Business Committee in line with the requirements of Standing Orders and I would encourage the Hon. Member to apply for such a debate through the Committee on this occasion. The Hon. Member will appreciate that there is a significant amount of legislation planned in this session and there is, as always, pressure on the Government’s timetable.

The regulation of All-Party Parliamentary Groups (APPGs) is a matter for Parliament. The Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards is responsible for monitoring the Register for APPGs and may investigate alleged breaches of the rules.

The Office of the Leader of the House of Commons is a business unit of the Cabinet Office and, as such, its administrative costs are part of the Cabinet Office’s wider administrative costs.

Information for 2022-23 can be found in the Cabinet Office Annual Report and Accounts 2022-23 (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cabinet-office-annual-report-and-accounts-2022-23), copies of which are available in the Libraries of the House.

Information for the last financial year will be published in the Cabinet Office Annual Report and Accounts 2023-24 in due course.

The Office of the Leader of the House of Commons is a business unit of the Cabinet Office and, as such, its administrative costs are part of the Cabinet Office’s wider administrative costs.

Information for 2022-23 can be found in the Cabinet Office Annual Report and Accounts 2022-23 (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cabinet-office-annual-report-and-accounts-2022-23), copies of which are available in the Libraries of the House.

Information for the last financial year will be published in the Cabinet Office Annual Report and Accounts 2023-24 in due course.

The Privy Council Office is part of the Cabinet Office. Some of the information requested is held centrally.

As far as data is centrally held, I refer the hon. Member to the Civil Service statistics for the Cabinet Office available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/civil-service-statistics and https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/publicsectorpersonnel/datasets/civilservicestatistics

The Office of the Leader of the House of Commons is part of the Cabinet Office. Some of the information requested is held centrally.

As far as data is centrally held, I refer the hon. Member to the Civil Service statistics for the Cabinet Office available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/civil-service-statistics and https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/publicsectorpersonnel/datasets/civilservicestatistics

This information is not held centrally. Post-legislative scrutiny memoranda have been published on GOV.UK where bills have undergone the process. While all bills that have reached Royal Assent are eligible for post-legislative scrutiny after they are enacted, it can be agreed between the department and the relevant Commons departmental select committee that a memorandum is not required.

The Government submitted its response to the Procedure Committee’s report on Commons scrutiny of Secretaries of State in the House of Lords on Tuesday 26th March 2024.

As Leader of the House of Commons, I meet regularly with Cabinet colleagues to discuss issues across my portfolio and will continue to do so. Correspondence between the Government and the Select Committees of both Houses is published on parliament.uk.

The Government submitted its response to the Procedure Committee’s report on Commons scrutiny of Secretaries of State in the House of Lords on Tuesday 26th March 2024.

As Leader of the House of Commons, I meet regularly with Cabinet colleagues to discuss issues across my portfolio and will continue to do so. Correspondence between the Government and the Select Committees of both Houses is published on parliament.uk.

The Office of the Parliamentary Counsel’s drafting guidance was published on GOV.UK on 4th April 2024 (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/drafting-bills-for-parliament) and has also been deposited in the libraries of both Houses.

The Office of the Parliamentary Counsel has updated its drafting guidance in general and, following the written statement, has further information for drafters on gendered language. This will be published on GOV.UK in due course.

I refer the hon. member to paragraph 2.13 of the Ministerial Code which states: “The fact that the Law Officers have advised or have not advised and the content of their advice must not be disclosed outside Government without their authority.”

The government recognises the importance of effective Parliamentary scrutiny of strategic export controls and takes these matters very seriously. The UK operates one of the most transparent export licensing systems in the world, publishing quarterly and annual statistics on all of our export licensing decisions, including details of export licences granted, refused and revoked. The government is required by statute to present an Annual Report on UK Strategic Export Controls detailing the government’s approach to export licensing, including international commitments. The most recent quarterly data on strategic export controls is available on gov.uk (https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/strategic-export-controls-licensing-statistics-1-april-to-30-june-2023), as is the annual report for 2022 (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-strategic-export-controls-annual-report-2022).

As of January 2024, the Business and Trade Committee is the Parliamentary scrutiny committee with oversight of arms export controls, a role formerly carried out by the Select Committee on Arms Exports Controls (CAEC). A joint report outlining plans for future parliamentary scrutiny of strategic export controls was published by the Business and Trade, Foreign Affairs and International Development Committees on 23rd January 2024 and can be found on parliament.uk (https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/42982/documents/213812/default/).

The Government recognises the important role that the CAEC played in providing Parliamentary scrutiny of export controls and the work of the Export Control Joint Unit (ECJU). While Parliamentary scrutiny is a matter for the House, the government is committed to keeping the Business and Trade Committee updated on the work of the ECJU as it carries out its new scrutiny role. Other relevant select committees will no doubt continue to examine strategic export controls as part of their wider work, allowing a broad range of scrutiny across the House.

Hon and Rt Hon Members can also raise matters relating to the scrutiny of the UK's strategic export controls directly with the Department for Business and Trade.

Data on response times to all written parliamentary questions is held by the House, rather than the Government. The ​Procedure ​Committee reports on departmental performance following the end of each Parliamentary Session, the most recent of which can be found on parliament.uk (https://committees.parliament.uk/work/1245/written-parliamentary-questions/publications), and the Government looks forward to receiving the Committee’s report on data from the 2022-23 Session. The Hon. Member may wish to approach the House regarding data for the current Parliamentary session.

In July 2023, the Cabinet Office published its response to three reports on strengthening ethics and integrity in central government. This states: “The Government will be implementing comprehensive reforms to improve the quality and accessibility of departments' transparency returns, which cover meetings, gifts, hospitality and travel.”

“The Cabinet Office is developing a single platform to collate and publish departments' transparency returns. This will provide a single public source of transparency data, replacing the system of separate publications. Following the deployment and adoption of an integrated database, the Government will look to move departments' transparency publications from a quarterly to a monthly basis.” The full response is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/strengthening-ethics-and-integrity-in-central-government

My office is already collating monthly returns and we are working with the Cabinet Office in order to publish these ahead of the new system being rolled out across Government.

Separately, and in line with the Ministerial Code, the List of Ministers’ Interests is published twice yearly with updates issued at other times as needed.

The Standing Orders provide for thirteen sitting Fridays per session. The House can agree, on a Government motion, to sit on additional Fridays when required. This is usually appropriate when the length of a session has been extended.

With the support of the Government, 24 Private Members’ Bills were passed in the last session, with only one additional Friday allocated. This is more than the 2021-22 session, which saw 13 Private Members’ Bills reach Royal Assent in thirteen sitting Fridays. This clearly demonstrates that sufficient support from across the House is more important in the successful passage of Private Members’ Bills than additional parliamentary time.

The Procedure Committee is conducting an inquiry into this issue and it would not be appropriate for me to pre-empt the conclusions of that inquiry. The Government will respond to the Committee’s recommendations in the usual way once they have published their report.

The Office of the Leader of the House of Commons has not incurred external recruitment consultancy costs in any of the last three financial years.

We do not routinely publish this data, as has been the case under successive administrations. All Business Units within the Cabinet Office have a responsibility to keep official hospitality costs as low as possible and demonstrate good value for money.

Details of ministerial and senior official hospitality are published on a quarterly basis, and are available on GOV.UK.

The Procedure Committee has announced an inquiry into this issue and it would not be appropriate for me to pre-empt the conclusions of that inquiry.

Parliament has been informed on each occasion a bill has been withdrawn. Information on the bills withdrawn in each session is available on the Parliament website at: https://bills.parliament.uk/.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer to be provided by the Cabinet Office to his Question 196664.

Government is working hard to prepare the legislative programme for the next session of Parliament in the usual way. The programme will be announced in the King’s Speech at the State Opening of Parliament on 7th November.

Good progress is being made in delivering the Government’s legislative programme and manifesto commitments. So far this session, 30 Government Bills have reached Royal Assent. In addition, the Government has worked with members on all sides of the House to deliver 16 private members' bills. Details of all Acts of Parliament can be found on legislation.gov.uk.

Parliament has shown that it provides flexibility in debating legislation and adapts when necessary, for example the passage of the Coronavirus Act and the recent legislation relating to the Northern Ireland budget.

Public trust and confidence in our democracy and its institutions is vital and this is something which I am keen to promote as Leader of the House.

Government is working hard to prepare the legislative programme for the next session of Parliament in the usual way. The programme will be announced in the King’s Speech at the State Opening of Parliament on 7th November.

Good progress is being made in delivering the Government’s legislative programme and manifesto commitments. So far this session, 30 Government Bills have reached Royal Assent. In addition, the Government has worked with members on all sides of the House to deliver 16 private members' bills. Details of all Acts of Parliament can be found on legislation.gov.uk.

Parliament has shown that it provides flexibility in debating legislation and adapts when necessary, for example the passage of the Coronavirus Act and the recent legislation relating to the Northern Ireland budget.

Public trust and confidence in our democracy and its institutions is vital and this is something which I am keen to promote as Leader of the House.

Government is working hard to prepare the legislative programme for the next session of Parliament in the usual way. The programme will be announced in the King’s Speech at the State Opening of Parliament on 7th November.

Good progress is being made in delivering the Government’s legislative programme and manifesto commitments. So far this session, 30 Government Bills have reached Royal Assent. In addition, the Government has worked with members on all sides of the House to deliver 16 private members' bills. Details of all Acts of Parliament can be found on legislation.gov.uk.

Parliament has shown that it provides flexibility in debating legislation and adapts when necessary, for example the passage of the Coronavirus Act and the recent legislation relating to the Northern Ireland budget.

Public trust and confidence in our democracy and its institutions is vital and this is something which I am keen to promote as Leader of the House.

Government is working hard to prepare the legislative programme for the next session of Parliament in the usual way. The programme will be announced in the King’s Speech at the State Opening of Parliament on 7th November.

Good progress is being made in delivering the Government’s legislative programme and manifesto commitments. So far this session, 30 Government Bills have reached Royal Assent. In addition, the Government has worked with members on all sides of the House to deliver 16 private members' bills. Details of all Acts of Parliament can be found on legislation.gov.uk.

Parliament has shown that it provides flexibility in debating legislation and adapts when necessary, for example the passage of the Coronavirus Act and the recent legislation relating to the Northern Ireland budget.

Public trust and confidence in our democracy and its institutions is vital and this is something which I am keen to promote as Leader of the House.

The Office of the Leader of the House of Commons is part of the Cabinet Office. I refer the Hon. Member to the response to be provided by the Cabinet Office (196755).

The Parliamentary Capability Team provides training on managing parliamentary work to civil servants of all departments and grades. Their training is designed in partnership with the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel, the Leaders and Government Whips Offices in both Houses, and departmental parliamentary and legislative teams.

Since April 2022, the Parliamentary Capability Team has delivered a total of 15,933 training interventions (attendance at courses and events, and e-learning courses completed).

I recognise that my office and I have a role to play in promoting parliamentary capability and have taken a number of actions:

• I have met with all departmental Permanent Secretaries.
• I have participated in a ‘Leading in Parliament’ session with Senior Civil Servants.
• In November 2022 my office published an updated Guide to Parliamentary Work which is available on Gov.uk (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guide-to-parliamentary-work).
• My office oversees the Parliamentary Clerks’ Working Group, which brings together all departmental Parliamentary Clerks from across Whitehall to discuss topical issues and share best practice.

The Parliamentary Capability Team provides training on managing parliamentary work to civil servants of all departments and grades. Their training is designed in partnership with the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel, the Leaders and Government Whips Offices in both Houses, and departmental parliamentary and legislative teams.

Since April 2022, the Parliamentary Capability Team has delivered a total of 15,933 training interventions (attendance at courses and events, and e-learning courses completed).

I recognise that my office and I have a role to play in promoting parliamentary capability and have taken a number of actions:

• I have met with all departmental Permanent Secretaries.
• I have participated in a ‘Leading in Parliament’ session with Senior Civil Servants.
• In November 2022 my office published an updated Guide to Parliamentary Work which is available on Gov.uk (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guide-to-parliamentary-work).
• My office oversees the Parliamentary Clerks’ Working Group, which brings together all departmental Parliamentary Clerks from across Whitehall to discuss topical issues and share best practice.

This information is not collected centrally. Decisions on each policy area are a matter for individual Departments.

Written Parliamentary Questions and Early Day Motions are important ways in which MPs can hold the Government to account and scrutinise policy.

This information is not collected centrally. Decisions on each policy area are a matter for individual Departments.

Written Parliamentary Questions and Early Day Motions are important ways in which MPs can hold the Government to account and scrutinise policy.

The Government is fully committed to a strong Parliament that effectively scrutinises legislation. In its response to the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee's report 'Losing Impact: why the Government’s impact assessment system is failing Parliament and the public' (HL Paper 116), the Government agreed that it is important that Parliament has the information it needs and that impact assessments should be published, where possible, when an applicable instrument is laid before Parliament.

Further to that response, the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee’s ‘Interim Report on the Work of the Committee in Session 2022-2023’ (HL Paper 205) sets out the steps the Government is taking on ensuring suitable opportunities for scrutiny by parliamentarians.

I have attended 14 meetings of the Privy Council within the last twelve months.

Published details of all Privy Council meetings and business transacted since 2010 can be found at: https://privycouncil.independent.gov.uk/meetings-and-orders/orders-in-council/

As the Government’s representative on the House of Commons Commission, I work closely with all Members of the Commission on a range of matters and will continue to do so.

The Commission is responsible for the administration and services of the House of Commons. In order to inform the Commission’s work, I recently instigated a survey of all Members to better understand their needs and the support required to do their job and was pleased by the level of participation. I look forward to considering its findings.

Further information regarding the agendas and decisions of the House of Commons Commission is available on parliament.uk.

The Members Estimate Committee, which has the same MP membership as the House of Commons Commission, is appointed by the House of Commons under Standing Order 152D. The Committee’s agenda items are often discussed as part of the House of Commons Commission meetings and, as the Government’s representative on the House of Commons Commission, I have regular discussions with Members of the Commission on a range of matters and will continue to do so.

Parliament has a right to hold Ministers to account and, as Leader of the House, I expect Government Ministers to respond quickly and effectively to Members’ correspondence. I will continue to drive that message and I encourage members who get an unsatisfactory response to write to me and I will take this up for any Member who does not get a proper response.

I recognise that my office and I have a role to play in making representations to Government on behalf of the House of Commons, and have taken a number of actions:

• I write to Cabinet colleagues every week following Business Questions to take up the concerns raised by Members, including in relation to delayed responses to correspondence.
• I have met with all departmental Permanent Secretaries where I reiterated the importance of substantive and timely answers to written parliamentary questions.
• I met separately with the Home Office Permanent Secretary following a number of concerns raised during Business Questions.
• I participated in a ‘Leading in Parliament’ session with Senior Civil Servants.
• In line with the practice of my predecessors, I have written to all members of Cabinet.
• My office oversees the Parliamentary Clerks’ Working Group, which brings together all departmental Parliamentary Clerks from across Whitehall to discuss topical issues and share best practice.

The Parliamentary Capability Team in the Cabinet Office also provides training on managing parliamentary work to civil servants of all departments and grades, including blended learning courses on ministerial correspondence and tailored workshops for Senior Civil Servants. Since April 2022, 1,160 civil servants from across government have attended training provided by the Parliamentary Capability Team on managing Ministerial Correspondence and Written Parliamentary Questions.

As per the Cabinet Office’s Guide to Handling Correspondence (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/handling-government-correspondence-guidance), departments and agencies should aim to respond to correspondence within a 20-working day target deadline. The Cabinet Office published data on this for 2022 for all government departments on GOV.UK in March 2023, and will be publishing data for Q1 and Q2 2023 shortly. The 2022 data can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/data-on-responses-to-correspondence-from-mps-and-peers-2022.

As Leader of the House of Commons, I meet regularly with Cabinet colleagues to discuss issues across my portfolio and will continue to do so.

Parliament has a right to hold Ministers to account and, as Leader of the House, I expect Government Ministers to respond quickly and effectively to written parliamentary questions. I will continue to drive that message and I encourage members who get an unsatisfactory response to write to me and I will take this up for any Member who does not get a proper response.

Data on response times to written parliamentary questions is held by the House, not government, and the ​Procedure ​Committee has a strong track record of calling Ministers in to look at​ departmental​ performance where there are issues​. Their regular reporting of performance continues to be an effective tool​. ​I note the Procedure Committee's report from earlier in this session on written parliamentary questions during the 2021-22 session​ and ​I was pleased to read that the number of answers provided on time has improved from the 2019-21 session. ​I hope we will see this improvement continue when the Committee publishes its next report following the current session. ​

I recognise that my office and I have a role to play in making representations to Government on behalf of the House of Commons, and have taken a number actions:

• In line with the practice of my predecessors, I have written to all members of Cabinet.
• I met with all departmental Permanent Secretaries where I reiterated the importance of substantive and timely answers to written parliamentary questions.
• I participated in a ‘Leading in Parliament’ session with Senior Civil Servants.
• I met with the Home Office Permanent Secretary following a number of concerns raised during Business Questions.
• In November 2022 my office published an updated Guide to Parliamentary Work which is available on Gov.uk and includes guidance for civil servants on answering written parliamentary questions (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guide-to-parliamentary-work).
• My office oversees the Parliamentary Clerks’ Working Group, which brings together all departmental Parliamentary Clerks from across Whitehall to discuss topical issues and share best practice.

The Parliamentary Capability Team in the Cabinet Office also provides training on managing parliamentary work to civil servants of all departments and grades, including blended learning courses on Written Parliamentary Questions and tailored workshops for Senior Civil Servants. Since April 2022, 1012 civil servants from across government have attended training provided by the Parliamentary Capability Team on managing Written Parliamentary Questions.

Parliament has a right to hold Ministers to account and, as Leader of the House, I expect Government Ministers to respond quickly and effectively to written parliamentary questions. I will continue to drive that message and I encourage members who get an unsatisfactory response to write to me and I will take this up for any Member who does not get a proper response.

Data on response times to written parliamentary questions is held by the House, not government, and the ​Procedure ​Committee has a strong track record of calling Ministers in to look at​ departmental​ performance where there are issues​. Their regular reporting of performance continues to be an effective tool​. ​I note the Procedure Committee's report from earlier in this session on written parliamentary questions during the 2021-22 session​ and ​I was pleased to read that the number of answers provided on time has improved from the 2019-21 session. ​I hope we will see this improvement continue when the Committee publishes its next report following the current session. ​

I recognise that my office and I have a role to play in making representations to Government on behalf of the House of Commons, and have taken a number actions:

• In line with the practice of my predecessors, I have written to all members of Cabinet.
• I met with all departmental Permanent Secretaries where I reiterated the importance of substantive and timely answers to written parliamentary questions.
• I participated in a ‘Leading in Parliament’ session with Senior Civil Servants.
• I met with the Home Office Permanent Secretary following a number of concerns raised during Business Questions.
• In November 2022 my office published an updated Guide to Parliamentary Work which is available on Gov.uk and includes guidance for civil servants on answering written parliamentary questions (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guide-to-parliamentary-work).
• My office oversees the Parliamentary Clerks’ Working Group, which brings together all departmental Parliamentary Clerks from across Whitehall to discuss topical issues and share best practice.

The Parliamentary Capability Team in the Cabinet Office also provides training on managing parliamentary work to civil servants of all departments and grades, including blended learning courses on Written Parliamentary Questions and tailored workshops for Senior Civil Servants. Since April 2022, 1012 civil servants from across government have attended training provided by the Parliamentary Capability Team on managing Written Parliamentary Questions.

There are no plans to regulate how private companies deal with correspondence through Ofcom or other statutory bodies, as it would not be within their remit.

More widely, Arm’s-length Bodies (ALBs) are a vital part of how the Government delivers policies and public services. It is important that they are accountable and transparent. It is a routine courtesy and a right of Parliament that members receive full and timely responses and I encourage Members who get an unsatisfactory response to write to me and I will endeavour to take this up for any Member who does not get a proper response.

The Parliamentary Capability Team in the Cabinet Office provides training on managing parliamentary work to civil servants of all departments and grades, including civil servants in ALBs.