Asked by: Baroness Finn (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many staff work in the No10 Implementation Unit; what is its current remit; and whether it has a role in “Plan for Change” and Mission Board monitoring.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
There is no No10 Implementation unit.
Asked by: Baroness Finn (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, with reference to the payments to the Boston Consulting Group of £548,339 (Ref: 1037198127) categorised under “CDDO Strategy, Analysis and System Reform” in Cabinet Office transparency data for February 2024, whether the then Chief Operating Officer for the Civil Service had a role in approving the spending or underlying contractual arrangement.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Chief Operating Officer for the Civil Service is not involved with the process for the approval of payments to suppliers. The purchase to pay process is managed between the Cabinet Office Finance team and the respective Contract Manager.
At the time of this work, the Chief Operating Officer for the Civil Service was a member of the Cabinet Office Investment Committee which was responsible for the approval of whole life investment spend for projects and programmes over £1m. In addition to this, all professional services spend over £100k required the approval from the Investment Committee and the Minister for Cabinet Office.
Asked by: Baroness Finn (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many of the 2,100 Cabinet Office roles they plan to cut or move over the next two years are currently vacant or unfilled.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The CO has announced plans to restructure and re-organise, to create a more strategic, specialist and smaller centre of government.
We are currently working with the HR Directorate and our trade unions on the implementation of our directive, and will seek to achieve the necessary reductions through voluntary means and attrition.
Asked by: Baroness Finn (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will place a copy of the desknote about direct ministerial appointments in the Library of the House.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
As set out in our Written Answers on 22 October 2024 (PQ 6096) and 31 March 2025 (PQ 41100), we have been considering whether the commitment to publish guidance on direct ministerial appointments made by the previous administration was sufficient and appropriate for meeting the Committees’ recommendations. We will provide a further update in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Finn (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether there is a model contract for permanent secretaries; and if so whether they will place a copy in the Library of the House.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Contracts for Permanent Secretaries and all other SCS are not published publicly so we will not be placing a copy in the Library of the House.
Asked by: Baroness Finn (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the total cost of (1) redundancy, (2) severance, and (3) human resources consultancy, as a result of the planned reduction of 2,100 roles in the Cabinet Office.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Cabinet Office has announced plans to restructure and reorganise, to create a more strategic, specialist, and smaller centre of government.
Savings will be made from non-pay budgets and pay budgets, and we expect up to 1,200 staff will leave the department in the next two years. Our priority is to achieve the necessary reductions through voluntary means or attrition. So far, 540 employees have been approved to leave through the Voluntary Exit Scheme, which is expected to cost £27 million. Estimates of the total cost of staff exits are under development. All exit payments will comply with the Civil Service Compensation Scheme. This is a long term investment as part of this government's commitment to reshape the way the British state delivers for and serves working people
These staff exits are separate to c.900 people who have moved out of the department through machinery of government changes. This includes the transfer of the Government Digital Service to DSIT to create the digital centre of government.
Asked by: Baroness Finn (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government on what date the Infected Blood Compensation Scheme will open to applications under the Infected Blood Compensation Scheme Regulations 2025; and whether those who are already registered with the UK Infected Blood Support Scheme need to make a new application.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
In October 2024, the Infected Blood Compensation Authority (IBCA) opened the claim service to a small number of people. As of 6th May, a total of 677 people have been contacted to start their claim for compensation. Since they became law on 31 March this year, IBCA has been working under the Infected Blood Compensation Scheme Regulations 2025. Going forward, IBCA is aiming to contact an average of 100 people to begin their claims every week. The Government expects IBCA to begin payments to people who are affected, to whom the 2025 Regulations also apply, by the end of this year.
Regarding the Infected Blood Support Schemes (IBSS), all those invited to claim so far are registered with IBSS. People are required to go through an application process for compensation, as the Compensation Scheme is separate to IBSS, but those registered with IBSS are automatically eligible for compensation. Additionally, IBCA holds details for all those people who are registered on existing support schemes and can request other information, such as medical records and information about a person's condition and severity, from organisations who already have it. This should mean those claiming will be asked for the least amount of information possible needed to calculate the compensation they are due.
Asked by: Baroness Finn (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, with regard to the six-month extension of contract C2980 with KPMG at no additional cost (modification notice 2025/S 000-005296) and the upcoming Learning Frameworks 2.0 procurement (notice 2025/S 000-004188), whether a bridging arrangement with an alternative supplier was considered; whether KPMG has received any new contractual guarantees or assurances as part of the extension and, if so, whether these will be published; and what measures are in place to ensure that KPMG’s incumbency does not confer an unfair advantage in the forthcoming Learning Frameworks 2.0 competition.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
As part of the contract extension, KPMG has not received any new contractual guarantees or assurances.
For the Learning Frameworks 2.0 competition, the procurement is being run as a fair and open competition.
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 Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent on 6 March (HL5301), why data on senior civil servants registering for One Big Thing 2023 was deleted 12 months after the initiative ended given that the technical report on the evaluation states on page 17 that data would be securely stored for three years before being destroyed.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The privacy statement for the One Big Thing 2023 online platform stated that all personal data collected via the online platform would be deleted within 12 months of the initiative ending. The definition of personal data included the grades of individuals who registered to the Platform. The reference on data storage on page 17 in the technical report was therefore an error, which we will seek to correct.
Asked by: Baroness Finn (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, with regard to the Evaluating One Big Thing 2023 report published on 30 January, whether the figures in the report were based on actual registration data or another methodology.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Figures in the Evaluating One Big Thing 2023 report were based on actual registrations to the online platform for One Big Thing 2023. Therefore figures did not include any civil servants who engaged with One Big Thing 2023 components without registering on the online platform.