Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by the then-Minister for the Armed Forces on 12 March (HC117754), what is the status of the updates being made to the Exchange of Notes between the UK and USA to facilitate the UK's primary legislation on the Agreement concerning the Chagos Archipelago including Diego Garcia.

Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The UK continues to engage closely with the United States and Mauritius on the way forward for the UK-Mauritius Agreement. The existing Exchange of Notes between the UK and the USA remains in force and there has been no change to the day-to-day operation of the joint UK-US military base on Diego Garcia.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent on 13 July (HL1390), why Cabinet Office staff who had worked on the Mandelson due diligence were not recused from working on the Government response to the Humble Address of 4 February, due to having a conflict of interest.

Answered by Baroness Twycross - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

Staff from across the Cabinet Office are involved in compliance with the Humble Address motion as necessary. Civil Servants remain bound by the Civil Service Code at all times, and by their departmental policies on managing conflicts of interest.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether newly appointed ministers must declare any previous criminal offences to (1) their Permanent Secretary, (2) the Cabinet Office Propriety and Ethics Team, or (3) the Independent Adviser on Ministerial Standards.

Answered by Baroness Twycross - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

I refer the Noble Lady to UIN 75369 answered in the House of Commons on 23 September 2025:

There is an established process in place for the appointment of ministers. Any conversations held take place in confidence. All ministers are expected to adhere to the high standards of conduct set out in the Ministerial Code.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Prime Minister uses disappearing messages for government business in relation to his electronic communications on (1) corporate, and (2) non-corporate devices.

Answered by Baroness Twycross - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

There is established guidance on the management and recording of electronic communications. The Prime Minister follows the Government's advice on non-corporate communications channels. We keep all guidance around the use of non-corporate communications under review to ensure it remains fit for purpose.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent on 14 July 2026 (HL1591), what is the evidential basis for their belief that the disclosure of the model Policy and Guidance: Supporting Trans and Non-binary Employees would contravene Section 36(2)(b)(i), (ii), and (c) of the Freedom of Information Act; and what assessment they have made of the potential reputational damage of maintaining secrecy over the new guidance.

Answered by Baroness Twycross - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

Section 36(2) of the Freedom of Information Act was applied based on the qualified opinion that disclosure would inhibit free and frank internal advice. We concluded that safeguarding this space for robust policy development outweighs the public interest in disclosure.

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 8 June (HC4150), what is the public interest reason for not disclosing the objectives agreed for the last two Cabinet Secretaries; and whether this decision is consistent with the principles contained in paragraph 1.6(d) of the Ministerial Code.

Answered by Baroness Twycross - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

Civil servants’ objectives are drafted as their personal objectives and metrics agreed with their line manager as part of the performance management HR process. There would have been no expectation of them being published in the past unless they agreed to release them.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether the ministerial residence in Downing Street is the Prime Minister’s primary or secondary residence; and whether the Cabinet Office will pay the council tax bill for this Downing Street residence.

Answered by Baroness Twycross - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The Prime Minister resides in the flat in 11 Downing Street and pays full council tax on the property as his primary residence.