Asked by: Baroness Finn (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to their analysis Evaluating One Big Thing 2023, published on 30 January, what proportion of senior civil servants, broken down by pay band and department, (1) registered for One Big Thing 2023, and (2) completed the full seven hours of data training.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
All publicly available data related to completions of the training can be found in the Evaluation of One Big Thing 2023, published on 30 January 2025.
A breakdown of the proportion of senior civil servants (SCS) who registered for One Big Thing 2023 by department is not publicly available.
Asked by: Baroness Finn (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the speech by the Prime Minister, Plan for Change, on 5 December 2024 and to the Written Answer by the Parliamentary Secretary to the Cabinet Office on 24 January (HC24441), what was the evidential basis for the Prime Minister’s remarks on there being a “tepid bath of managed decline” in Whitehall; and what representations the Prime Minister has had from the Civil Service on such comments.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
I refer the noble lady to the answer from the Parliamentary Secretary to the Cabinet Office of 24 January 2025, Official Report, PQ 24441.
Asked by: Baroness Finn (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the letter from the Independent Adviser on Ministerial Standards to the Prime Minister on 14 January and to the Written Answer by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office on 23 January (HC24438), whether (1) the Cabinet Office Propriety and Ethics Team, and (2) the Independent Adviser on Ministerial Standards, had access to information held by (a) the International Anti-Corruption Coordinate Centre, (b) the International Centre for Asset Recovery, and (c) any other information stemming from the National Crime Agency’s support into tackling corruption in Bangladesh.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Tulip Siddiq MP referred herself to the Independent Adviser on Ministerial Standards on 6 January 2025. As is set out in the Independent Adviser’s terms of reference, “Information provided to the Independent Adviser for the purposes of their functions is provided in confidence” (paragraph 4.2).
Asked by: Baroness Finn (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether any written undertakings regarding immunity from disciplinary action have been issued to Crown servants giving evidence to inquiries since 2005; and if so, how many, broken down by department and public body.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
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.
Asked by: Baroness Finn (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether any written undertakings regarding immunity from disciplinary action have been issued to civil servants giving evidence to inquiries since 2005; and if so, how many, broken down by department.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
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.
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 at the Cabinet Office on 16 January (HC22995), on what date the decision was taken to refurbish the media room in 9 Downing Street; what was the total cost and budget for the works; and whether they will place in the Library of the House a copy of the business case for the refurbishment of the media room.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
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.
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 8 January (HC21054) and the report by the Crown Prosecution Service, Annual Report and Accounts 2013–14, published in July 2014, what plans they have to publish full details of the 2013’s pension scheme benefits and terms & conditions.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The pension scheme was made by the then Minister for the Cabinet Office and laid before Parliament on 15 March 2012. A copy of the scheme is held by the Journal Office.
Asked by: Baroness Finn (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answers by the Parliamentary Secretary at the Cabinet Office on 13 September 2024 (HC4702) and on 14 January (HC22201), whether the “last resort” test remains government policy when creating a new arm's-length body.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
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.
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 at the Cabinet Office on 16 January (HC22996), whether they will place in the Library of the House a copy of the template form or questionnaire that Ministers are required to complete as part of the ministerial interests process set out in Part B, Chapter 3 of the Ministerial Code.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
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.
Asked by: Baroness Finn (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what guidance they have issued on whether the requirement to publish pipeline notices for frameworks under section 93 of the Procurement Act 2023 accounts for the cumulative value of call-offs that individually fall below £2 million but collectively exceed that threshold, and on how contracting authorities should manage such scenarios to ensure compliance.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
A framework is a contract between a contracting authority and one or more suppliers that provides for the future award of contracts by a contracting authority to the supplier or suppliers.
Where a contracting authority is establishing a framework, it needs to assess the value over the lifetime of the framework from any resulting awards in accordance with that framework. This will usually be assessed based on commercial requirements. If the total amount of estimated individual awards is over £2m, this framework should be included on a pipeline notice.
Guidance has been issued on a range of topics relating to the Procurement Act 2023 and there is a specific piece of guidance that relates to the Pipeline Notice.