Asked by: Baroness Finn (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the membership of the Cabinet Office's (1) Investment Committee, (2) People and Operations Committee, and (3) Resilience and Security Committee, and how many times each of those committees has met in the past 12 months.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Between 8 July 2024 and 7 July 2025, the Investment Committee met 12 times. The current membership of the Cabinet Office Investment Committee is:
Cabinet Office Chief Operating Officer (Chair);
Cabinet Office Chief Finance Officer;
Cabinet Office Commercial Director;
Cabinet Office Chief People Officer;
Cabinet Office Strategy Director; and
Cabinet Office Chief Digital Information Officer.
Between 8 July 2024 and 7 July 2025, the People and Operations Committee met 10 times. The current membership of the People and Operations Committee is:
Cabinet Office Chief Operating Officer (co-Chair)
Government Chief Property Officer (co-Chair)
Cabinet Office Chief People Officer;
Cabinet Office Chief Digital Information Officer;
Director, Modernisation and Reform;
SCS Diversity and Inclusion Champion;
SCS Race Champion;
SCS Gender Champion;
SCS Disability Champion;
SCS Social Mobility Champion;
Professional Head of Intelligence Analysis, Joint Intelligence Organisation;
Director, Functional Strategy, Performance and Capability, Government People Group;
Director, Defence and Nuclear, National Security Secretariat;
Cabinet Office Strategy Director;
Head of Cabinet Office and Civil Service Communications; and
Representative from Cabinet Office Race Equality Network (associate member).
Between 8 July 2024 and 7 July 2025, the Resilience and Security committee met 4 times. The current membership of the Resilience and Security Committee is:
Cabinet Office Chief Operating Officer (co-chair);
Director General, Propriety and Constitution Group (co-chair);
Government Chief Security Officer;
Cabinet Office Chief Digital Information Officer;
Cabinet Office Chief Financial Officer;
Cabinet Office Chief Information Security Officer, Government Digital Service;
Chief Operating Officer, Government Property Agency;
Cabinet Office Commercial Director;
Director, Intelligence and Security, National Security Secretariat;
Professional Head of Intelligence Analysis, Joint Intelligence Organisation;
Director, Propriety and Ethics, Propriety and Constitution Group;
Deputy Director, Corporate Services at No 10 and Cabinet Office; and
Chief Digital Information Officer, Crown Commercial Service.
Asked by: Baroness Finn (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether non-UK citizens are eligible to serve on Assessment Advisory Panels.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Governance Code on Public Appointments sets out the role of Advisory Assessment Panels and includes guidance on their composition. The only prerequisites for the composition of individual panels are that there should be a departmental representative and an independent member. It is for ministers to agree on the composition of all Advisory Assessment Panels, including deciding the appropriate mix of knowledge and experience amongst panel members, based upon the requirements of each individual campaign. There has been no change since under the previous administration.
Asked by: Baroness Finn (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the process by which official members of the Main Honours Committee are selected.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Main Honours Committee is made up of the chairpeople of all ten independent honours committees, as well as an official chairperson who is appointed by the Cabinet Secretary and ex officio members, as set out here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/honours-committees.
Asked by: Baroness Finn (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many vacancies there are on the Health and Social Care Honours Committee.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Honours committee quoracy is set by the Committee on the Grant of Honours, Decorations and Medals (HD Committee). It states that the independent membership must be higher than the number of officials on the Committee. There is no maximum number of independent members.
For the Health and Social Care Committee, the quoracy stands at four independent members. There are currently six independent members. There is no live recruitment campaign.
Asked by: Baroness Finn (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government from what source the Civil Service Board derives its authority; whether the Board exercises any powers delegated by ministers; and if so, by what legal or administrative instrument those powers are conferred.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Civil Service Board has ceased operation. Its last meeting took place on 29 January 2025.
Asked by: Baroness Finn (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many Assessment Advisory Panels for public appointments (1) the Director General, Propriety and Constitution Group, and (2) the Director General, Propriety and Ethics, have served on since 2019; what assessment they have made of the appropriateness for individuals in those roles to sit on Assessment Advisory Panels given their responsibilities for sponsoring the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments and advising on ethical issues in the appointments process; and whether they have made an assessment of the risk of conflict of interest where individuals in those roles may later be required to investigate or advise on complaints relating to campaigns on which they have served.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Director General of the Cabinet Office's Propriety and Constitution Group (previously Director General of Propriety and Ethics), since taking up the role in March 2021, has served as a member of an Advisory Assessment Panel on seven (7) public appointment recruitment campaigns.
The Governance Code on Public Appointments has a rigorous and well established process for assessing and managing potential conflicts of interest in all regulated public appointments processes, which has been in effect across a number of administrations. The process covers potential personal and professional conflicts of interest for both independent panel members and the departmental or sponsor body representatives. As per the Governance Code on Public Appointments, ministers must agree the composition of all Advisory Assessment Panels.
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 5 February (HL4297), whether the Prime Minister has a (1) direct, or (2) de facto, power of veto on the recommendations of the Committee on the Grant of Honours, Decorations and Medals to the Sovereign to make policy changes on honours, decorations and medals, including changes to (a) the design of medals, and (b) the formal names of orders of chivalry.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
I refer the Noble Lady to my answer of 20 January 2025, Official Report, PQ HL3881:
On 8th January 2025 Baroness Finn asked: 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.
To which Baroness Twycross responded: 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 Cabinet Office ministers worked on site at 70 Whitehall during the industrial action by the Public and Commercial Services Union from 3 to 13 February.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
We do not release location data of Ministers.
Asked by: Baroness Finn (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether Department for Business and Trade ministers worked on site at Old Admiralty Buildings during the industrial action by the Public and Commercial Services Union from 3 to 13 February.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
We do not release location data of Ministers.
Asked by: Baroness Finn (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether Department for Energy Security and Net Zero ministers worked on site at 3-8 Whitehall or 55 Whitehall during the industrial action by the Public and Commercial Services Union from 3 to 13 February.
Answered by Lord Wilson of Sedgefield - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
We do not release location data of Ministers.