Baroness Finn

Details of ministerial meetings with individuals are published on gov.uk as part of the government’s transparency agenda. Relevant meetings are also declared in the Special Advisor transparency publications.

The Cabinet Office does not hold this data. It is not Civil Service practice to provide immunity from disciplinary action in such circumstances. The Cabinet Secretary or departmental Permanent Secretaries may, where appropriate, provide letters of assurance to those giving evidence to inquiries to encourage them to provide open and honest answers to questions posed.

Yes. When establishing a new body, it is for Departments to demonstrate how the proposed body meets at least one of the “three tests”. The Cabinet Office and the Treasury have a detailed process in place for the approval of new public bodies to ensure there is sufficient due diligence to establish a clear rationale for a proposed body.

Updated guidance on ministers’ meetings was published on 30 January 2025 and includes details of who would be considered senior media figures for these purposes.

The relevant section of the guidance is provided below:

Senior media figures i.e., newspaper, broadcast, and other media proprietors, editors and senior executives are outlined in the table below. Meetings with media figures of equivalent seniority should also be declared in accordance with these guidelines.

a. Where ministers meet with senior media figures, the names of the attendees, their job title, and the organisation they represent should be included regardless of the purpose of the meeting.

b. Official meetings with representatives of media organisations operating below the level of senior media figures must also be declared.

As set out in the Ministerial Code, the List of Ministers’ Interests is published on a quarterly basis and provides details of those interests held by ministers that are judged relevant for publication by the Independent Adviser on Ministerial Standards.

Information about the process by which ministers declare interests, including details of the categories of interest declared, is available in the introduction to the List of Ministers’ Interests, which is already published.

His Majesty's Government can confirm that:

Each government department is responsible for their own internal Ministerial and Permanent Secretary submission templates.

The Cabinet Office maintains a standard template for submissions to Cabinet Office Ministers and the Cabinet Office Permanent Secretary.

The template for both is the same and was revised on 18th October 2024.

I refer the Noble Lady to the answer of 21 January 2025, Official Report, PQ HC 25454.

Question:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 25 November 2024 to Question 13808 on 9 Downing Street: Media, what (a) alterations and (b) other works have taken place in the media room since November 2024; what the cost of those works was; which contractors were used; and which Department authorised the cost of these works.

Answer:

A one-off refresh of the facility was undertaken in December 2024. This has restored the room back to its original politically neutral state. The cost of these works will be published in due course in Cabinet Office transparency returns. The works were carried out by OCS, and authorised by the Cabinet Office.

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

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

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

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

The Civil Service Board (renamed the Operations Board), People Board and Senior Leadership Committee have no subcommittees or working groups. The Civil Service Operations Board, Location and Property Board, Data and Digital Board have ceased operation.

The review of governance structures was an internal exercise commissioned as part of wider work to inform decisions for ministers. Disclosure would likely prejudice the effective conduct of public affairs and inhibit free and frank advice and discussion. As a result, a copy of the advice will not be placed in the Library of the House.

Wednesday Morning Colleagues is a regular Permanent Secretary meeting, it is not one of the Civil Service committees that exercise management functions in relation to the Civil Service.

The Committee on the Grant of Honours, Decorations and Medals advises the Sovereign directly.

As noted in our answer to HC 14966, the Prime Minister’s Principal Private Secretary is a member of the committee. This is the mechanism by which the Prime Minister is able to feed into decisions taken by the committee, and the view of the PPS carries equal weight to all other committee members.

This Government is fully committed to transparency and to looking at how the range of information published can be improved and made as useful as possible. As part of this, the government has committed to publishing a new central register of ministers’ gifts and hospitality on a monthly basis. The first register will be published by the Cabinet Office in due course.

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

Neither the Cabinet Office nor the Government Car Service (GCS) provides guidance to departmental private offices on the allocation of cars for senior officials. Individual departments determine the criteria for the use of a government car in accordance with the Ministerial Code and the Civil Service Management Code.

The Prime Minister was consulted on the proposal to transfer the responsibility for honours committee appointments from the Prime Minister to the Head of the Civil Service.

As noted in our answer to HL1929, this policy change was made to ensure political independence of process.

I refer the Noble Lady to the Minister for the Cabinet Office's response of 7 November, Official Report, PQ 9001.

The Prime Minister is responsible for the overall organisation of the Executive.

All ministers serve at the discretion of the Prime Minister.

A review was carried out in April 2024 that resulted in the streamlining of civil service governance structures and fora.

Current Civil Service committees that exercise management functions in relation to the Civil Service include the:

• Civil Service Board

• People Board

• Civil Service Operations Board

• Location and Property Board

• Data and Digital Board

• Senior Leadership Committee

Membership of these committees are as follows:

Civil Service Board:

• Cat Little CB (Chair - CS Chief Operating Officer, Cabinet Office)

• Sir Chris Wormald (Cabinet Secretary, Cabinet Office)

• Tamara Finkelstein CB (Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs)

• Dame Bernadette Kelly (Department for Transport)

• Sir Matthew Rycroft (Home Office)

• Sir Peter Schofield (Department for Work and Pensions)

• Dame Antonia Romeo (Ministry of Justice)

• Sarah Healey CB CVO (Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government)

• James Bowler CB (HM Treasury)

• Sir Philip Barton (Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office)

• John Paul Marks (Scottish Government)

• David Williams CB (Ministry of Defence)

• Jeremy Pocklington CB (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

People Board:

• Sarah Healey (Chair - Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government)

• Fiona Ryland (Government Chief People Officer, Cabinet Office)

• Sir Philip Barton (Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office)

• Sir Jim Harra ( HM Revenue & Customs)

• Gareth Davies (Department for Business and Trade)

• Dr Andrew Goodall (Welsh Government)

• Susan Acland-Hood (Department for Education)

• Sarah Munby (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

• Beth Russell (HM Treasury)

• Phil Swallow (Home Office, Non Executive Board Member)

• Professor Dame Angela McLean (Government Office for Science)

• Susannah Storey (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

Civil Service Operations Board:

• Cat Little (Chair - CS Chief Operating Officer, Cabinet Office)

• Joanne Davidson (Digital and Data)

• Marco Salzedo / Clare Gibbs (Commercial)

• Conrad Smewing / James McEwen (Finance)

• Fiona Ryland (People)

• Nick Smallwood (Project Delivery)

• Tara Smith (Department for Business and Trade)

• Nina Cope (Ministry of Defence)

• Justin Holliday (HM Revenue and Customs)

• Debbie Alder (Department for Work and Pensions)

• Jane Cunliffe (Department for Education)

Location and Property Board:

• Jeremy Pocklington CB (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero - Chair)

• Angela MacDonald (HM Revenue and Customs)

• Susan Acland-Hood (Department for Education)

• Peter Schofield (Department for Work and Pensions)

• Sarah Munby (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

• Antonia Romeo (Department of Justice)

• John-Paul Marks (Scotland Office)

• Nick Joyce (Department For Transport)

• David Kuenssberg (Home Office)

• Catherine Webb (HM Treasury)

• Damian Paterson (Government Legal Department)

• Sarah Harrison (Cabinet Office)

• Nina Cope (Ministry of Defence)

• Sarah Homer (Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs)

• Catherine Vaughan (Department for Business and Trade)

• Juliet Chua (Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office)

Data and Digital Board:

• Sarah Munby (Chair - Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

• Joanna Davinson (Government Chief Digital Officer)

• Sir Ian Diamond (Office of National Statistics)

• Jim Harra (HM Revenue and Customs)

• Susan Acland-Hood (Department for Education)

• Peter Schofield (Department for Work and Pensions)

• Matthew Rycroft (Home Office)

• Paul Lincoln (Ministry of Defence)

• Megan Lee Devlin (Ministry of Justice)

• Conrad Smewing (HM Treasury)

• Bella Powell (Government Security Group)

• Doug Gurr (Non-Executive Board Member, Department for Health and Social Care)

• Paul Willmott (Non-Executive Board Member, Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Senior Leadership Committee:

• Dame Antonia Romeo (Chair - Ministry of Justice)

• Sir Chris Wormald (Cabinet Secretary, Cabinet Office)

• Cat Little - (CS Chief Operating Officer, Cabinet Office)

• Sarah Healey (Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government)

• James Bowler (HM Treasury)

• Sir Philip Barton (Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office)

• Fiona Ryland (Government Chief People Officer, Cabinet Office)

• Baroness Gisela Stuart (First Civil Service Commissioner)

• Tamara Finkelstein (Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs)

• Dame Bernadette Kelly (Department for Transport)

• Brian McBride (Lead Non Executive Board Member, MoD)

• Sir Matthew Rycroft (Home Office)

• Sir Peter Schofield (Department for Work and Pensions)

• David Williams (Ministry of Defence)

Decisions taken by Mission Boards have the same authority as decisions taken by the Cabinet or committees of the Cabinet.

It is a long-established precedent that information about discussions that have taken place in Cabinet and its committees — including mission boards — is not usually shared publicly.

The Committee on the Grant of Honours, Decorations and Medals (known as the HD Committee) only has one sub-committee, the Advisory Military Sub-Committee. There are no other sub-committees or working groups for the committee.

Since the general election on 4 July 2024 three Permanent Secretaries have announced they will stand down: Sir Jim Harra (HMRC), Sir Philip Barton (FCDO) and Sir Crawford Falconer (DBT).

The Cross Government Gender Network is a Civil Service wide forum made up of gender related staff networks, including women’s networks, working towards advancing gender equality and parity in the Civil Service and across arms-length bodies. Other networks are available which also represent the broader interests of women.

As has been the case under successive administrations, the Prime Minister allocates official residences to ministers, either on the grounds of security or to allow them to better perform their official duties. The following official residences are formally allocated to ministers:

The flats above 10 and 11 Downing Street, are allocated to the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Prime Minister respectively.

1 Carlton Gardens is allocated to the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs.

The Chequers and Dorneywood estates are owned by trusts and managed by trustees; these are allocated to the Prime Minister and Chancellor respectively.

The Chevening estate is also owned by a trust and managed by trustees. The Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs is the nominated person for the use of the estate.

Hillsborough Castle is available for Ministers in the Northern Ireland Office while on duty in Northern Ireland.

One of the flats in Admiralty House is allocated to the Deputy Prime Minister. The previous time limited allocation, referred to in Answer of 23 October 2024 to Question 10698 has come to an end.

Any hospitality received by Ministers is declared in accordance with the Ministerial Code. The Cabinet Office publishes details of ministers’ hospitality on a quarterly basis, and this will move to a monthly basis in future. Hospitality received by ministers in a non-ministerial capacity is published on the parliamentary registers in line with the parliamentary codes of conduct.

The Football Governance Bill, and policy decision making in this area, is led by the Ministers in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

The Cross Government Gender Network is a Civil Service wide forum made up of staff networks working towards advancing gender equality and parity in the Civil Service and across arms-length bodies. The change in name from the Cross-Government Women’s Network took place in 2020, under the previous administration. It does not represent any change in Government policy or activity and a public sector equality duty (PSED) assessment was not undertaken by the previous administration.

There are currently no centrally set time allocation limits for cross Civil Service Equality, Diversity and Inclusion networks.

The conventions of the House are unaffected by the House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill. The Bill fulfills a manifesto commitment to remove the right of hereditary peers to sit and vote in the House of Lords. As such, the Bill clearly engages the Salisbury-Addison convention.

Appointments to the ten independent honours committees are not ministerial or regulated public appointments and are not on the Public Appointments Order in Council. Honours committee appointments have always been made through fair and open competition with appointments made on merit, in line with the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments's (OCPA) best practice. However, they are not bound by OCPA codes as they are not regulated public appointments.

Under the previous administration, between August 2022 and September 2024, the Prime Minister was responsible for making committee appointments, with advice from the Head of the Civil Service. This was a novel and significant introduction of ministerial involvement in honours.

In September 2024, the HD Committee made a recommendation to His Majesty the King to return control over the appointment of independent honours committee members to the Head of the Civil Service to insure political independence of process. This process was approved by His Majesty the King in September 2024. This means that under the current administration, the Head of the Civil Service is responsible for oversight of the honours system and is the appointing authority for all independent honours committee appointments. The Prime Minister is informed of all honours committee appointments once approved by the Head of the Civil Service.

Appointments to the ten independent honours committees are not ministerial or regulated public appointments and are not on the Public Appointments Order in Council. Honours committee appointments have always been made through fair and open competition with appointments made on merit, in line with the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments's (OCPA) best practice. However, they are not bound by OCPA codes as they are not regulated public appointments.

Under the previous administration, between August 2022 and September 2024, the Prime Minister was responsible for making committee appointments, with advice from the Head of the Civil Service. This was a novel and significant introduction of ministerial involvement in honours.

In September 2024, the HD Committee made a recommendation to His Majesty the King to return control over the appointment of independent honours committee members to the Head of the Civil Service to insure political independence of process. This process was approved by His Majesty the King in September 2024. This means that under the current administration, the Head of the Civil Service is responsible for oversight of the honours system and is the appointing authority for all independent honours committee appointments. The Prime Minister is informed of all honours committee appointments once approved by the Head of the Civil Service.

Appointments to the ten independent honours committees are not ministerial or regulated public appointments and are not on the Public Appointments Order in Council. Honours committee appointments have always been made through fair and open competition with appointments made on merit, in line with the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments's (OCPA) best practice. However, they are not bound by OCPA codes as they are not regulated public appointments.

Under the previous administration, between August 2022 and September 2024, the Prime Minister was responsible for making committee appointments, with advice from the Head of the Civil Service. This was a novel and significant introduction of ministerial involvement in honours.

In September 2024, the HD Committee made a recommendation to His Majesty the King to return control over the appointment of independent honours committee members to the Head of the Civil Service to insure political independence of process. This process was approved by His Majesty the King in September 2024. This means that under the current administration, the Head of the Civil Service is responsible for oversight of the honours system and is the appointing authority for all independent honours committee appointments. The Prime Minister is informed of all honours committee appointments once approved by the Head of the Civil Service.