Asked by: Lord Lexden (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many special advisers were appointed to assist ministers on (1) 1 January 1997, (2) 1 January 1998, (3) 1 January 2010, (4) 1 January 2011, (5) 1 January 2016, and (6) 1 December 2022.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The data relating to 1997 and 1998 pre-dates the requirement of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010 (CRAG) for the Government to prepare an annual report on the numbers and costs of Special Advisers. Therefore, this information has been taken from data that is publicly available in Hansard [1]:
In the year 1997/8, Hansard reports that there were 70 Special Advisers employed in Government.
In the year 1998/9, Hansard reports that there were 72 Special Advisers employed in Government.
Since 2010, as per the requirements of CRAG, the Cabinet Office has published an annual report on Special Adviser numbers and costs. Therefore, the information requested in relation to 2010 - 2022 has been taken from the relevant report on Gov.uk:
In the Annual Report on Special Advisers published in 2010, there were 61 special advisers employed in Government as at 10 June 2010. [2]
In the Annual Report on Special Advisers published in 2011, there were 72 special advisers employed in Government as at 10 March 2011. [3]
In the Annual Report on Special Advisers published in 2016, there were 83 Special Advisers employed in Government as at 21 December 2016. [4]
Following the centralisation of all Special Advisers onto the Cabinet Office payroll in 2019, internal data is also available as at the requested date for 2022. As at 1 December 2022, there were 102 special advisers employed in Government.
[1] https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/1999-11-11/debates/a5ac908d-ba91-443b-81ee-0b3a84b75393/SpecialAdvisers
[2] https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/62377/special-advisers-in-post-June-2010.pdf
[3] https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/62374/spads-in-post100311_0.pdf
[4] https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/579892/List_of_special_advisers_in_post_as_at_21_December_2016.pdf
Asked by: Lord Lexden (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the reasons for the increase in the size of the Privy Council in recent years.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
Appointments to the Privy Council are made by His Majesty The King on the recommendation of the Prime Minister.
Appointment to the Privy Council is for life. Those appointed comprise Ministers, other parliamentarians and members of the judiciary. Only serving Government ministers have a role in advising on Privy Council matters. Therefore the majority of Counsellors play no part in the Privy Council’s day-to-day business.
Asked by: Lord Lexden (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what was the size of the Privy Council on (1) 1 December 1992, and (2) 1 December 2022.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The size of the Privy Council on 1 December 1992 was about 275.
The size of the Privy Council on 1 December 2022 was 743.
Asked by: Lord Lexden (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to bring forward legislation to provide for the rescinding of the peerage held by Lord Ahmed.
Answered by Lord True - Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
Nazir Ahmed retired from the House of Lords as a result of a complaint before the House of Lords Conduct Committee in 2020, which recommended he be expelled from the House. He is therefore no longer a member of the House of Lords, retains no privileges and may not return.
Whilst Peers may voluntarily stop using their titles, there is currently no formal mechanism for revoking their titles, which would require bespoke primary legislation. The Government currently has no plans to bring forward such legislation.
The Government is firmly committed to tackling all forms of child sexual abuse, whether it takes place online or in families, institutions or communities, here in this country or overseas.
Asked by: Lord Lexden (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what work they are undertaking under their Official History Programme; and when they intend to publish it.
Answered by Lord True - Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
Volumes 4 and 5 of the Official History of the Criminal Justice system and volume 2 of the Official History of the Joint Intelligence Committee will be published in due course.
Asked by: Lord Lexden (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland on the sovereignty of the UK.
Answered by Lord True - Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
The European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act 2020 was approved by Parliament on 23 January 2020. It implemented the agreement between the United Kingdom and the EU under Article 50(2) of the Treaty on European Union. It sets out the arrangements for the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the EU including the Northern Ireland Protocol. As the Protocol itself makes clear, the UK as a whole, including Northern Ireland, has left the EU customs territory. The future of the Protocol is in the hands of the people of Northern Ireland, with Northern Ireland’s elected institutions to determine whether to extend or end its alignment provisions four years after the end of the transition period.
Asked by: Lord Lexden (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what are the principal measures they have taken to strengthen the Union between Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom.
Answered by Lord True - Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
The Government is committed to protecting and promoting the combined strengths of our Union, building on 300 years of partnership. As part of this, we work closely with the devolved administrations on a variety of different policy agendas, including the response to the Covid-19 pandemic, and the review of intergovernmental relations.
Additionally, we are undertaking a review into Union connectivity to improve links between our four nations, and to bring forward funding to accelerate infrastructure projects.
It is our intention to publish Lord Dunlop’s review of Union Capability alongside the completion of the review into intergovernmental relations, to provide as full a picture as possible. We are already in the process of implementing Lord Dunlop’s recommendations and will provide a full update when the review is published.
Asked by: Lord Lexden (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what are the principal measures they have taken to strengthen the union between Scotland and the rest of the United Kingdom.
Answered by Lord True - Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
The Government is committed to protecting and promoting the combined strengths of our Union, building on 300 years of partnership. As part of this, we work closely with the devolved administrations on a variety of different policy agendas, including the response to the Covid-19 pandemic, and the review of intergovernmental relations.
Additionally, we are undertaking a review into Union connectivity to improve links between our four nations, and to bring forward funding to accelerate infrastructure projects.
It is our intention to publish Lord Dunlop’s review of Union Capability alongside the completion of the review into intergovernmental relations, to provide as full a picture as possible. We are already in the process of implementing Lord Dunlop’s recommendations and will provide a full update when the review is published.
Asked by: Lord Lexden (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Lord True on 19 November 2020 (HL Deb, cols 1535–9), whether they are now in a position to publish the Dunlop Review into UK Government Union capability.
Answered by Lord True - Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
The Government is committed to protecting and promoting the combined strengths of our Union, building on 300 years of partnership. As part of this, we work closely with the devolved administrations on a variety of different policy agendas, including the response to the Covid-19 pandemic, and the review of intergovernmental relations.
Additionally, we are undertaking a review into Union connectivity to improve links between our four nations, and to bring forward funding to accelerate infrastructure projects.
It is our intention to publish Lord Dunlop’s review of Union Capability alongside the completion of the review into intergovernmental relations, to provide as full a picture as possible. We are already in the process of implementing Lord Dunlop’s recommendations and will provide a full update when the review is published.
Asked by: Lord Lexden (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when the Dunlop Review of UK Government Union Capability will be published.
Answered by Lord True - Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
As the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office stated to the House of Commons Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee on 10 September, we will publish the Dunlop Review before the end of the year.
We are in the process of implementing many of Lord Dunlop’s recommendations and we will set out that work when we publish the report.