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Written Question
Civil Service: Equality
Wednesday 23rd October 2024

Asked by: Lord Godson (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 19 September (HC5049), whether the Cabinet Office Guidance on Diversity and Inclusion and Impartiality for Civil Servants, published on 14 May, remains in force; what assessment they have made of that guidance; and whether they have any plans to issue different guidance.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Basildon - Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal

The guidance published on 14 May remains in place.


Written Question
History: Publications
Wednesday 28th June 2023

Asked by: Lord Godson (Conservative - Life peer)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what are the titles and authors of works commissioned under the Official History Programme but not yet published; when these titles were commissioned; and when they are due to be published.

Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Shadow Minister (Treasury)

There are currently no Civil Servants allocated to the Official Histories Programme.

Works commissioned under the Official History Programme but not yet published are the fifth and final volume of the Official History of the Criminal Justice System and the second and final volume of the Official History of the Joint Intelligence Organisation.

It would not be possible to answer when titles were commissioned without disproportionate effort. However, this would have been well in excess of 10 years ago. We do not have any further prospective publishing dates at this time.

The Histories, Openness and Records Unit (HORU) was absorbed into the Knowledge and Information Management Unit (KIMU) in 2008. This is now known as the Cabinet Office Public Records and Archives (COPRA) Unit. The last Head of the Official History Programme retired from the Cabinet Office over 7 years ago.

The Government did not publish a response to the 2009 review of the Official History Programme led by Sir Joseph Pilling.


Written Question
History: Publications
Wednesday 28th June 2023

Asked by: Lord Godson (Conservative - Life peer)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many civil servants are allocated to the Official History Programme; and what are their responsibilities.

Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Shadow Minister (Treasury)

There are currently no Civil Servants allocated to the Official Histories Programme.

Works commissioned under the Official History Programme but not yet published are the fifth and final volume of the Official History of the Criminal Justice System and the second and final volume of the Official History of the Joint Intelligence Organisation.

It would not be possible to answer when titles were commissioned without disproportionate effort. However, this would have been well in excess of 10 years ago. We do not have any further prospective publishing dates at this time.

The Histories, Openness and Records Unit (HORU) was absorbed into the Knowledge and Information Management Unit (KIMU) in 2008. This is now known as the Cabinet Office Public Records and Archives (COPRA) Unit. The last Head of the Official History Programme retired from the Cabinet Office over 7 years ago.

The Government did not publish a response to the 2009 review of the Official History Programme led by Sir Joseph Pilling.


Written Question
Cabinet Office: History
Wednesday 28th June 2023

Asked by: Lord Godson (Conservative - Life peer)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Histories, Openness and Records Unit at the Cabinet Office still exists; if not, when and in what manner it ceased to exist; and where its former responsibilities and functions now lie.

Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Shadow Minister (Treasury)

There are currently no Civil Servants allocated to the Official Histories Programme.

Works commissioned under the Official History Programme but not yet published are the fifth and final volume of the Official History of the Criminal Justice System and the second and final volume of the Official History of the Joint Intelligence Organisation.

It would not be possible to answer when titles were commissioned without disproportionate effort. However, this would have been well in excess of 10 years ago. We do not have any further prospective publishing dates at this time.

The Histories, Openness and Records Unit (HORU) was absorbed into the Knowledge and Information Management Unit (KIMU) in 2008. This is now known as the Cabinet Office Public Records and Archives (COPRA) Unit. The last Head of the Official History Programme retired from the Cabinet Office over 7 years ago.

The Government did not publish a response to the 2009 review of the Official History Programme led by Sir Joseph Pilling.


Written Question
Cabinet Office: History
Wednesday 28th June 2023

Asked by: Lord Godson (Conservative - Life peer)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government when Tessa Stirling left her role as Head of the Histories, Openness and Records Unit at the Cabinet Office.

Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Shadow Minister (Treasury)

There are currently no Civil Servants allocated to the Official Histories Programme.

Works commissioned under the Official History Programme but not yet published are the fifth and final volume of the Official History of the Criminal Justice System and the second and final volume of the Official History of the Joint Intelligence Organisation.

It would not be possible to answer when titles were commissioned without disproportionate effort. However, this would have been well in excess of 10 years ago. We do not have any further prospective publishing dates at this time.

The Histories, Openness and Records Unit (HORU) was absorbed into the Knowledge and Information Management Unit (KIMU) in 2008. This is now known as the Cabinet Office Public Records and Archives (COPRA) Unit. The last Head of the Official History Programme retired from the Cabinet Office over 7 years ago.

The Government did not publish a response to the 2009 review of the Official History Programme led by Sir Joseph Pilling.


Written Question
History: Publications
Wednesday 28th June 2023

Asked by: Lord Godson (Conservative - Life peer)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government when the last 10 Official History titles published by Routledge were commissioned by the Official History Programme.

Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Shadow Minister (Treasury)

There are currently no Civil Servants allocated to the Official Histories Programme.

Works commissioned under the Official History Programme but not yet published are the fifth and final volume of the Official History of the Criminal Justice System and the second and final volume of the Official History of the Joint Intelligence Organisation.

It would not be possible to answer when titles were commissioned without disproportionate effort. However, this would have been well in excess of 10 years ago. We do not have any further prospective publishing dates at this time.

The Histories, Openness and Records Unit (HORU) was absorbed into the Knowledge and Information Management Unit (KIMU) in 2008. This is now known as the Cabinet Office Public Records and Archives (COPRA) Unit. The last Head of the Official History Programme retired from the Cabinet Office over 7 years ago.

The Government did not publish a response to the 2009 review of the Official History Programme led by Sir Joseph Pilling.


Written Question
History: Publications
Wednesday 28th June 2023

Asked by: Lord Godson (Conservative - Life peer)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what its response was to the 2009 review of the Official History Programme led by Sir Joe Pilling.

Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Shadow Minister (Treasury)

There are currently no Civil Servants allocated to the Official Histories Programme.

Works commissioned under the Official History Programme but not yet published are the fifth and final volume of the Official History of the Criminal Justice System and the second and final volume of the Official History of the Joint Intelligence Organisation.

It would not be possible to answer when titles were commissioned without disproportionate effort. However, this would have been well in excess of 10 years ago. We do not have any further prospective publishing dates at this time.

The Histories, Openness and Records Unit (HORU) was absorbed into the Knowledge and Information Management Unit (KIMU) in 2008. This is now known as the Cabinet Office Public Records and Archives (COPRA) Unit. The last Head of the Official History Programme retired from the Cabinet Office over 7 years ago.

The Government did not publish a response to the 2009 review of the Official History Programme led by Sir Joseph Pilling.


Written Question
History: Publications
Friday 2nd June 2023

Asked by: Lord Godson (Conservative - Life peer)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether any new Official Histories have been commissioned since the publication of the Joe Pilling Review into the Official History Programme in 2008; and if so, what Official Histories have been commissioned and when.

Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Shadow Minister (Treasury)

The Cabinet Office, as part of a consortium including the FCDO and MoD, has a non-exclusive contract with Taylor Francis, Routledge’s Parent Company, for the publication of Official Histories.

No new official histories have been commissioned since the Pilling Review and no histories of devolution or policy towards Yugoslavia have been commissioned.

The Official History Programme had a budget of £7,500 in 2016-17 but has not had a separate budget since then.


Written Question
Cabinet Office: Routledge
Friday 2nd June 2023

Asked by: Lord Godson (Conservative - Life peer)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether Routledge has an exclusive right to publish Official Histories produced by the Official History Programme under its contract with the Cabinet Office.

Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Shadow Minister (Treasury)

The Cabinet Office, as part of a consortium including the FCDO and MoD, has a non-exclusive contract with Taylor Francis, Routledge’s Parent Company, for the publication of Official Histories.

No new official histories have been commissioned since the Pilling Review and no histories of devolution or policy towards Yugoslavia have been commissioned.

The Official History Programme had a budget of £7,500 in 2016-17 but has not had a separate budget since then.


Written Question
Cabinet Office: Routledge
Friday 2nd June 2023

Asked by: Lord Godson (Conservative - Life peer)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what is the contractual relationship between the Cabinet Office and the publisher, Routledge.

Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Shadow Minister (Treasury)

The Cabinet Office, as part of a consortium including the FCDO and MoD, has a non-exclusive contract with Taylor Francis, Routledge’s Parent Company, for the publication of Official Histories.

No new official histories have been commissioned since the Pilling Review and no histories of devolution or policy towards Yugoslavia have been commissioned.

The Official History Programme had a budget of £7,500 in 2016-17 but has not had a separate budget since then.