Asked by: Baroness Finn (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Government Digital Service or an external IT company have been commissioned to build a new platform for transparency data, as set out in the July 2023 policy paper on “Strengthening Ethics and Integrity in Central Government”.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
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.
Asked by: Baroness Finn (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to make it their policy to publish agendas and minutes from their mission boards; and whether the mission boards are able to make agreements on government policy.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - 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 - including mission boards - is not normally shared publicly.
Asked by: Baroness Finn (Conservative - Life peer)
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 27 November 2024 (HC14966), whether the Committee on the Grant of Honours, Decorations and Medals advises the Prime Minister or the Sovereign directly; and whether the Prime Minister can veto decisions by the Committee.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
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.
Asked by: Baroness Finn (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to make it a policy to publish the agendas and minutes from their mission boards.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
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.
Asked by: Baroness Finn (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether mission board decisions have the same authority as Cabinet decisions.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Decisions taken by Mission Boards have the same authority as decisions taken by the Cabinet or committees of the Cabinet.
Asked by: Baroness Finn (Conservative - Life peer)
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 2 December 2024 (HC16599), whether (1) the Cabinet Office, or (2) the Government Car Service, has produced guidance for departmental private offices on the allocation of car provision to senior officials; and what criteria determine whether a senior official should be granted the use of a government car.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
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.
Asked by: Baroness Finn (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many and which Permanent Secretaries have left office since the general election; and how many and which Permanent Secretaries have given notice that they intend to stand down in the next six months.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
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).
Asked by: Baroness Finn (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is their policy on the length of time that (1) Cabinet Ministers, and (2) the Foreign Secretary, should remain in office.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Prime Minister is responsible for the overall organisation of the Executive.
All ministers serve at the discretion of the Prime Minister.
Asked by: Baroness Finn (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will provide a list of all Civil Service committees that exercise management functions in relation to the Civil Service, including the membership of each committee; and what changes, if any, have been made to the Civil Service Governance Framework since the publication in November 2023 of the Independent Review of Governance and Accountability in the Civil Service by Lord Maude of Horsham.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
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)
Asked by: Baroness Finn (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Twycross on 15 November (HL1929), whether the Prime Minister approved the proposal from HD Committee to transfer the responsibility for honours committees’ appointments from the Prime Minister to the Head of the Civil Service; and, what was the policy reason for such a change.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
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.