Asked by: Baroness Finn (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Removal of Peerages Bill mentioned in the King’s Speech made on 13 May, who will determine whether a peerage should be removed; what will be the criteria for a peer to be deemed to be disgraced; and whether there will be a role for the House of Lords.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
As set out in the King’s Speech, the Government will introduce legislation to create a mechanism to remove peerages from disgraced peers, and will provide further details in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Finn (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government why the launch of the competition for a permanent appointment to the Director General position for the Propriety and Constitution Group has been delayed.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The role is covered on an interim basis. A recruitment campaign for the permanent appointment will be launched 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 (1) minimum, and (2) maximum, age to join the Civil Service.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Applicants can apply for roles within the Civil Service from the age of 16, and beyond this there is no maximum age limit to join the Civil Service.
Departments should not have a mandatory retirement age for their staff, except where they have a sound business reason, supported by legal advice, to retain an upper age limit for certain groups.
Asked by: Baroness Finn (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, in light of the Public and Commercial Services Union press release Improved Cabinet Office guidance on time off for union reps secured, published on 6 May, what changes have been made to (1) departmental monitoring of spending, and (2) staff resources on facility time.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Any changes to departmental monitoring of spending and changes to staff resources on facility time, arising from the updated Civil Service Facility Time Framework and Guidance, are delegated to departments. The Employment Rights Act (2025) included the repeal of the requirement to report facility time data to the Cabinet Office.
Asked by: Baroness Finn (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many Memorandums of Understanding and other non-legally binding agreements, that do not have the status of a Treaty that have not otherwise been brought to the attention of Parliament, have been agreed by (1) the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, and (2) its arm’s-length bodies, with (a) foreign governments, (b) local, regional or state-level government tiers of foreign countries, or (c) supranational organisations, since 4 July 2024.
Answered by Lord Whitehead - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
It is longstanding practice across Government for departments to enter into memoranda of understanding and similar arrangements with a range of partners where this helps to provide clarity and structure to those relationships.
This practice did not change in July 2024, and examples of arrangements agreed by DESNZ since that date include, a Memorandum of Co-operation in the field of offshore wind between DESNZ/DBT and Japan, agreed in March 2025; a Memorandum of Understanding between the UK and China on Climate Change Cooperation, agreed in June 2025; an Energy Transition Memorandum of Understanding agreed with the Netherlands in July 2025; and a Memorandum of Understanding between the UK and the State of California on climate, clean energy and environment cooperation, agreed in February 2026.
Non-legally binding agreements are not routinely published or notified to Parliament, in line with HMG policy on non- legally binding instruments.
Asked by: Baroness Finn (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, with reference to the Prime Minister’s introduction to the King’s Speech background briefing notes, published by the Cabinet Office on 13 May, whether the party political reference in the introduction was approved by the Cabinet Office’s (1) Permanent Secretary, or (2) Propriety and Ethics Team.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
It is longstanding practice not to comment on the provision of internal advice, including whether or not particular advice has been provided.
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 9 April (HC116154), and with reference to paragraph 223 of the Guide to Parliamentary Work, and paragraph 1.6(d) of the Ministerial Code, what is the public interest reason for not publishing the internal Civil Service guidance on compressed hours.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Whilst Government departments proactively publish certain information as part of transparency requirements and to comply with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. Civil Service HR policies relating to the management of employees are developed for internal use and are not published externally.
Terms and conditions of employment for the civil service are set out externally in the Civil Service Management Code.
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 Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office on 13 April (HC123652), whether there is a constitutional basis for ministers to be suspended by the Prime Minister, where they remain a Minister of the Crown but without active ministerial responsibilities, while an investigation into their conduct is undertaken.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Ministers are appointed and dismissed by the Sovereign on the sole advice of the Prime Minister.
As the Ministerial Code sets out, ministers only remain in office for so long as they retain the confidence of the Prime Minister.
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 10 April (HL16076), and with reference to paragraph 1.6(d) of the Ministerial Code, what is the public interest reason for publishing the cost of the Prime Minister's domestic flights in 2024 in deposited paper DEP2025-0353 on 6 June 2025, and not publishing the cost of those flights in 2025 in that Written Answer.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Ministerial travel is undertaken using efficient and cost-effective travel arrangements. Security considerations are also taken into account.
Asked by: Baroness Finn (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, in regard to Part of a Return to an Address of the Honourable the House of Commons dated 4 February 2026 relating to the appointment of Lord Mandelson as HM Ambassador to Washington, published on 11 March (HC1774-1), what steps they are taking to avoid conflicts of interest between the role of the Cabinet Office in (1) responding to the Humble Address, and (2) providing staff and resources to the Intelligence and Security Committee.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member