Asked by: Lord Kempsell (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government which officials of the government of China Jonathan Powell has met during his term as National Security Adviser; and whether they will publish a summary of the content of those meetings.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The government has a clear and consistent policy not to comment on any of the National Security Adviser’s meetings with external parties, for obvious reasons to protect sensitive information pertaining to this country’s national security. This has been the case under successive governments.
Asked by: Lord Kempsell (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government who the current and previous occupants of grace-and-favour accommodation under the present government have been, including the dates they moved in and out.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Since 5 July 2024, official residences have been allocated as follows:
Chequers - the Prime Minister (ongoing).
11 Downing Street - the Prime Minister (ongoing).
10 Downing Street - the Chancellor of the Exchequer (ongoing).
Dorneywood - the Chancellor of the Exchequer (ongoing).
Chevening - the former Foreign Secretary the Rt Hon David Lammy MP was allocated Chevening following the General Election. Following the appointment of a new Foreign Secretary in September 2025, the Rt Hon Yvette Cooper MP has been allocated Chevening.
1 Carlton Gardens - the former Foreign Secretary the Rt Hon David Lammy MP was allocated 1 Carlton Gardens following the General Election and this remains allocated to him as Deputy Prime Minister and Lord Chancellor.
Hillsborough Castle - available for ministers in the Northern Ireland Office while on duty in Northern Ireland (ongoing).
Admiralty House, Flat 2. This was allocated to the Defence Secretary on a short-term basis between 9 September 2024 and 4 November 2024. Following this, it was allocated to the former Deputy Prime Minister, the Rt Hon Angela Rayner MP.
The former Deputy Prime Minister’s move in process commenced on 12 December 2024 and the flat is now vacant following the resignation of the former occupant.
Asked by: Lord Kempsell (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what were the total severance payments made to (1) ministers, and (2) special advisers, who left government in the past 12 months; and what was the total amount of those payments.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The cost of severance payments for Ministers is not held centrally by the Cabinet Office as individual departments are responsible for administering severance payments to their Ministers.
The cost of severance payments for special advisers between 1st April 2024 and 31st March 2025 was £3.1 million.
Asked by: Lord Kempsell (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what funding they will provide for the Emergency Alerts service once its initial three-year funding comes to an end.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
As set out in the 2025 Resilience Action Plan, the Emergency Alerts system is one of many public warning and informing capabilities that the UK Government, Devolved Governments and Category 1 responders have at their disposal. It is an integral part of keeping the public safe as it allows for quick sharing of life-saving information.
Since the launch of Emergency Alerts in 2023, the system has been activated five times, in conjunction with other local warning methods, during emergencies to minimise risk to life.
On Sunday 7th September at around 3pm tens of millions of phones across the country received the test message, marking the largest simultaneous public communications event since the Second World War.
The UK Government will continue to ensure that Emergency Alerts capability is maintained and it is expected that the funding of the system will continue through routine departmental spend.
Asked by: Lord Kempsell (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many special advisers are in post, broken down by department; and how many special advisers left their posts between July 2024 and June 2025.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
A breakdown of how many special advisers are in post by department is available in the Annual Report on Special Advisers is attached. Between July 2024 and June 2025, 19 special advisers left their posts.
Asked by: Lord Kempsell (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to set up an Office of the Deputy Prime Minister; and if so, what the organisational structure of that office will be.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
I refer the Noble Lord to the answer given by the Parliamentary Secretary to the Cabinet Office on 10 July, Official Report, PQ HC64454.
PQ 64454 Kevin Hollinrake: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Government plans to establish an Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. 64454
Minister Oppong-Asare response, published 10 July: Deputy Prime Ministers are rightly supported in their role to deliver the additional responsibilities.
The Deputy Prime Minister’s responsibilities are set out on Gov.uk and any such plans would be set out in the usual way.
Asked by: Lord Kempsell (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many large-scale exercises with their involvement were undertaken in the past year to prepare for terrorist attacks and other civil contingencies, and what were the learning outcomes from those exercises.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
As is longstanding practice under successive administrations, the Government does not publish the exercises that it undertakes for terrorist attacks or other civil contingencies unless requested to by inquiries or where it would serve to make the public better prepared.
The national exercise for 2025 will be a pandemic preparedness exercise. It will aim to test our ability to respond to a pandemic arising from a novel infectious disease, involving all regions and nations of the UK and thousands of participants.
The publicly available UK Resilience Academy Lessons Digest synthesises and shares lessons learned from selected large-scale exercises and emergency responses.
Asked by: Lord Kempsell (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what arm's-length bodies they have (1) shutdown or intend to shutdown, and (2) created or intend to create, since 4 July 2024.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Cabinet Office maintains records and oversight of formally established arm’s-length bodies (ALBs). No ALBs have been formally established since 4 July 2024. Individual departments are responsible for any proposals to open or close ALBs. The government has already closed or announced the closure of: Education and Skills Funding Agency, Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE), NHS England, Valuation Office Agency and the Office of Place.
On 6 April, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster announced a full review of all ALBs, with a view to close, merge or bring functions back into departments if its continued existence cannot be justified. This review aims to reduce duplication, drive efficiency, and ensure democratic accountability for policy decisions that affect the British public. It includes proposed new ALBs and the outcomes will be announced in due course.
Asked by: Lord Kempsell (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much public funding they have provided to public inquires in each of the last five years; and which are the current and anticipated (beginning in 2025) public inquiries to which they are providing, or are expecting to provide, support or funding.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Since 2020, His Majesty’s Government has supported 16 public inquiries under the Inquiries Act 2005. The Cabinet Office does not centrally hold data on the yearly public funding to inquiries as each Government Department is responsible for the inquiries they sponsor.
Four inquiries have been established so far in 2025. The Independent inquiry into Manston short-term holding facility and the Stockport Inquiry will be sponsored by the Home Office, the Nottingham Inquiry will be sponsored by the Ministry of Justice, and the Patrick Finucane Inquiry by the Northern Ireland Office.
Asked by: Lord Kempsell (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government which Ministers are responsible for ensuring the resilience of critical national infrastructure; and if those responsibilities are split, which ministers are responsible for resilience in each sector.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The UK currently has 13 Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) sectors. Each sector has a Lead Government Department (LGD) that is responsible for sectoral resilience, including risk assessments, policy and guidance and industry engagement. The LGD Minister or Secretary of State for each CNI sector holds overall accountability for their CNI sectoral approach.
The Cabinet Office is responsible for the overarching CNI policy for the UK government, setting strategic cross-cutting priorities and providing assurance to Ministers that LGDs are fulfilling their responsibilities to ensure the security and resilience of their sectors. The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (CDL) is the Cabinet Office Minister with overall responsibility for Resilience. CDL chairs the National Security Council on Resilience, at which CNI topics are routinely discussed and relevant LGDs are represented.