Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many times since 2015 ministers have asked to forego a ministerial salary, either full or in part; and who were those ministers.

Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

The number of ministerial salaries available to the government at any one time is 109. This is a statutory limit governed by the Ministerial and Other Salaries Act 1975.

It is routinely the case that some ministers will be asked to serve in an unpaid capacity given the statutory limitations on the number of available salaries. A list of ministers who are currently serving in an unpaid capacity are as follows:

• Richard Holden MP, Minister of State (Minister without Portfolio) in the Cabinet Office (receives a salary from the Conservative Party)

• The Rt Hon John Glen MP, Minister of State and Paymaster General, Cabinet Office

• The Lord Johnson of Lainston CBE, Minister of State at the Department for Business and Trade.

• The Baroness Neville-Rolfe DBE CMG, Minister of State at the Cabinet Office.

• The Earl of Minto, Minister of State at the Ministry of Defence.

• The Rt Hon. the Earl Howe, Minister of State and Deputy Leader of the House of Lords.

• The Rt Hon. the Lord Benyon, Minister of State, jointly at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

• The Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minister of State at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

• Andrew Griffith MP, Minister of State at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.

• The Baroness Barran MBE, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Education and Government Equalities Spokesperson in the Lords.

• The Lord Douglas-Miller OBE, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

• The Lord Markham CBE, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department of Health and Social Care.

• The Lord Bellamy KC, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Ministry of Justice

• The Viscount Camrose, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.

• The Lord Offord of Garvel CVO, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Business and Trade.

• The Lord Cameron of Lochiel, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Scotland Office.

• The Lord Roborough, Lord in Waiting (Government Whip)

The list of all government ministers on GOV.UK is updated following each reshuffle. The current government list is on gov.uk at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/ministers.

It would be a significant undertaking to calculate the exact number of unpaid ministers since 2015, especially given some ministers have dual roles (where they are paid in one role but not in another) such as if they hold more than one ministerial position. We can estimate however that over the last decade, this number has been approximately 10-20 at any given time.

It is ultimately for the Prime Minister to decide how to organise the executive and which ministers are paid a salary. While the Cabinet Office provides advice to the Prime Minister on the number of salaries available, the department does not decide the allocation of salaries.

Ministers are continuing to voluntarily waive part of their salaries, foregoing any pay increase to their Ministerial salaries. This means ministers in the Commons’ salaries have not increased since 2010; and ministers in the House of Lords have received frozen salaries since 2019. Further information is published on GOV.UK at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ministerial-salary-data.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many times since 2015 ministers have been asked to forego a ministerial salary; and what were the reasons for those requests.

Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

The number of ministerial salaries available to the government at any one time is 109. This is a statutory limit governed by the Ministerial and Other Salaries Act 1975.

It is routinely the case that some ministers will be asked to serve in an unpaid capacity given the statutory limitations on the number of available salaries. A list of ministers who are currently serving in an unpaid capacity are as follows:

• Richard Holden MP, Minister of State (Minister without Portfolio) in the Cabinet Office (receives a salary from the Conservative Party)

• The Rt Hon John Glen MP, Minister of State and Paymaster General, Cabinet Office

• The Lord Johnson of Lainston CBE, Minister of State at the Department for Business and Trade.

• The Baroness Neville-Rolfe DBE CMG, Minister of State at the Cabinet Office.

• The Earl of Minto, Minister of State at the Ministry of Defence.

• The Rt Hon. the Earl Howe, Minister of State and Deputy Leader of the House of Lords.

• The Rt Hon. the Lord Benyon, Minister of State, jointly at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

• The Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minister of State at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

• Andrew Griffith MP, Minister of State at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.

• The Baroness Barran MBE, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Education and Government Equalities Spokesperson in the Lords.

• The Lord Douglas-Miller OBE, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

• The Lord Markham CBE, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department of Health and Social Care.

• The Lord Bellamy KC, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Ministry of Justice

• The Viscount Camrose, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.

• The Lord Offord of Garvel CVO, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Business and Trade.

• The Lord Cameron of Lochiel, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Scotland Office.

• The Lord Roborough, Lord in Waiting (Government Whip)

The list of all government ministers on GOV.UK is updated following each reshuffle. The current government list is on gov.uk at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/ministers.

It would be a significant undertaking to calculate the exact number of unpaid ministers since 2015, especially given some ministers have dual roles (where they are paid in one role but not in another) such as if they hold more than one ministerial position. We can estimate however that over the last decade, this number has been approximately 10-20 at any given time.

It is ultimately for the Prime Minister to decide how to organise the executive and which ministers are paid a salary. While the Cabinet Office provides advice to the Prime Minister on the number of salaries available, the department does not decide the allocation of salaries.

Ministers are continuing to voluntarily waive part of their salaries, foregoing any pay increase to their Ministerial salaries. This means ministers in the Commons’ salaries have not increased since 2010; and ministers in the House of Lords have received frozen salaries since 2019. Further information is published on GOV.UK at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ministerial-salary-data.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many times since 2015 a minister has foregone a ministerial salary at the request of the Cabinet Office.

Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

The number of ministerial salaries available to the government at any one time is 109. This is a statutory limit governed by the Ministerial and Other Salaries Act 1975.

It is routinely the case that some ministers will be asked to serve in an unpaid capacity given the statutory limitations on the number of available salaries. A list of ministers who are currently serving in an unpaid capacity are as follows:

• Richard Holden MP, Minister of State (Minister without Portfolio) in the Cabinet Office (receives a salary from the Conservative Party)

• The Rt Hon John Glen MP, Minister of State and Paymaster General, Cabinet Office

• The Lord Johnson of Lainston CBE, Minister of State at the Department for Business and Trade.

• The Baroness Neville-Rolfe DBE CMG, Minister of State at the Cabinet Office.

• The Earl of Minto, Minister of State at the Ministry of Defence.

• The Rt Hon. the Earl Howe, Minister of State and Deputy Leader of the House of Lords.

• The Rt Hon. the Lord Benyon, Minister of State, jointly at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

• The Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minister of State at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

• Andrew Griffith MP, Minister of State at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.

• The Baroness Barran MBE, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Education and Government Equalities Spokesperson in the Lords.

• The Lord Douglas-Miller OBE, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

• The Lord Markham CBE, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department of Health and Social Care.

• The Lord Bellamy KC, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Ministry of Justice

• The Viscount Camrose, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.

• The Lord Offord of Garvel CVO, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Business and Trade.

• The Lord Cameron of Lochiel, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Scotland Office.

• The Lord Roborough, Lord in Waiting (Government Whip)

The list of all government ministers on GOV.UK is updated following each reshuffle. The current government list is on gov.uk at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/ministers.

It would be a significant undertaking to calculate the exact number of unpaid ministers since 2015, especially given some ministers have dual roles (where they are paid in one role but not in another) such as if they hold more than one ministerial position. We can estimate however that over the last decade, this number has been approximately 10-20 at any given time.

It is ultimately for the Prime Minister to decide how to organise the executive and which ministers are paid a salary. While the Cabinet Office provides advice to the Prime Minister on the number of salaries available, the department does not decide the allocation of salaries.

Ministers are continuing to voluntarily waive part of their salaries, foregoing any pay increase to their Ministerial salaries. This means ministers in the Commons’ salaries have not increased since 2010; and ministers in the House of Lords have received frozen salaries since 2019. Further information is published on GOV.UK at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ministerial-salary-data.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether there is a cap on the combined total for ministerial salaries in any financial year.

Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

The number of ministerial salaries available to the government at any one time is 109. This is a statutory limit governed by the Ministerial and Other Salaries Act 1975.

It is routinely the case that some ministers will be asked to serve in an unpaid capacity given the statutory limitations on the number of available salaries. A list of ministers who are currently serving in an unpaid capacity are as follows:

• Richard Holden MP, Minister of State (Minister without Portfolio) in the Cabinet Office (receives a salary from the Conservative Party)

• The Rt Hon John Glen MP, Minister of State and Paymaster General, Cabinet Office

• The Lord Johnson of Lainston CBE, Minister of State at the Department for Business and Trade.

• The Baroness Neville-Rolfe DBE CMG, Minister of State at the Cabinet Office.

• The Earl of Minto, Minister of State at the Ministry of Defence.

• The Rt Hon. the Earl Howe, Minister of State and Deputy Leader of the House of Lords.

• The Rt Hon. the Lord Benyon, Minister of State, jointly at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

• The Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minister of State at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

• Andrew Griffith MP, Minister of State at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.

• The Baroness Barran MBE, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Education and Government Equalities Spokesperson in the Lords.

• The Lord Douglas-Miller OBE, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

• The Lord Markham CBE, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department of Health and Social Care.

• The Lord Bellamy KC, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Ministry of Justice

• The Viscount Camrose, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.

• The Lord Offord of Garvel CVO, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Business and Trade.

• The Lord Cameron of Lochiel, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Scotland Office.

• The Lord Roborough, Lord in Waiting (Government Whip)

The list of all government ministers on GOV.UK is updated following each reshuffle. The current government list is on gov.uk at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/ministers.

It would be a significant undertaking to calculate the exact number of unpaid ministers since 2015, especially given some ministers have dual roles (where they are paid in one role but not in another) such as if they hold more than one ministerial position. We can estimate however that over the last decade, this number has been approximately 10-20 at any given time.

It is ultimately for the Prime Minister to decide how to organise the executive and which ministers are paid a salary. While the Cabinet Office provides advice to the Prime Minister on the number of salaries available, the department does not decide the allocation of salaries.

Ministers are continuing to voluntarily waive part of their salaries, foregoing any pay increase to their Ministerial salaries. This means ministers in the Commons’ salaries have not increased since 2010; and ministers in the House of Lords have received frozen salaries since 2019. Further information is published on GOV.UK at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ministerial-salary-data.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 11 March (HL2717), whether they will specifically raise with the government of Pakistan why Ahmadi Muslims were not included on the single electoral list with all other voters in the recent elections in that country.

Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

On 22 March I met with Pakistan's newly-appointed Foreign Secretary Ishaq Dar to discuss the inclusivity of the elections and the rights of religious minorities. We will continue to raise human rights issues affecting the Ahmadiyya Muslim community in engagements with the new government and reaffirm the importance of Pakistan respecting the voting rights of all religious communities.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 7 March (HL2663), whether they have made any estimate of the number of camps, including the so-called anti-extremism centres and re-education camps, in (1) Tibet and (2) the rest of China.

Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The Government refers to credible external estimates, in particular those from the United Nations, of numbers of individuals in China detained under various circumstances and within certain geographies. For example, the April 2023 UN Special Procedures found "[h]undreds of thousands of Tibetans have reportedly been 'transferred' from their traditional rural lives to low-skilled and low-paid employment since 2015" noting "the labour transfer programme is facilitated by a network of 'vocational training centres', which focus less on developing professional skills and more on cultural and political indoctrination in a militarised environment." As noted in the Government's response to Written Question HL2663, with regard to the situation in Xinjiang, in 2018 the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination estimated "upwards of a million people were being held in so-called counter-extremism centres and another two million had been forced into what the Chinese refer to as 're-education camps' for political and cultural indoctrination."

Found: UK Minister of State at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, said

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