Asked by: Lord Pack (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent on 24 March (HL15443), what steps the Cabinet Office has taken in the last year to meet its legal duty to keep under review the question of when uncommenced legislation that falls within its area of responsibility should be brought into force.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Cabinet Office conducts regular reviews to prioritise the commencement of legislation as soon as is reasonably practicable to do so, and taking into account departmental objectives.
The Cabinet Office has made two Commencement Orders in the past year to bring legislation within its remit into force as appropriate.
Asked by: Lord Pack (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent on 9 March (HL14751), what resources, guidance or similar they provide to departments to support their legal duty to keep under review the question of when uncommenced legislation should be brought into force; and what reporting mechanisms they use to ensure that that duty is being met.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Each Government department is responsible for ensuring that this duty is met, including monitoring, reporting and guidance.
Asked by: Lord Pack (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent on 9 March (HL14751), and the remarks by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage on 5 March (HL Deb col 585GC), what steps they are taking to ensure that departments are resourced to meet their legal duty to keep under review the question of when uncommenced legislation should be brought into force.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Each Government department is responsible for ensuring adequate resourcing to keep uncommenced legislation under review.
Asked by: Lord Pack (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government when the Freedom of Information request review IR2025/20474 will be completed; and why that review has not yet been completed.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Cabinet Office responded to the Lord’s request for an internal review on 3 March 2026.
Asked by: Lord Pack (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to carry out a review under the SAFER framework for digital brand safety of the suitability of Bluesky for government social media posts.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government develops wide-ranging communication campaigns which are delivered through tailored strategies aimed at reaching their target audiences. This includes posting or amplifying content relating to Government policies, guidance and announcements on a range of channels, including social media, in order to reach the relevant audience and where this helps drive wider engagement from the public.
Government Communications takes an audience first approach and carefully considers which platforms can help us reach those we need to speak to. It may be the case that these audiences are reachable through existing channels. We keep our approach to reaching audiences under regular review, and undertake assessments of new platforms as needed.
Asked by: Lord Pack (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that they are following their legal duty to keep under review the question of when uncommenced legislation should be brought into force.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Each Government Department is responsible for keeping uncommenced legislation under review.
Asked by: Lord Pack (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, with regard to paragraph 38 of the guidance Using non-corporate communication channels (e.g. WhatsApp, private email, SMS) for government business, published on 30 March 2023, whether they completed the review of that guidance by 31 December 2025; and when they plan to publish any revisions to that guidance.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
This government has a robust set of security policies and guidance to ensure our information is processed securely, which is kept under constant consideration.
As part of this government’s recent commitment to raise information security standards, we plan to examine whether the current codes of conduct and guidance relating to the use of non-corporate communication channels remain effective, given the changing ways in which we use modern technology in government.
Asked by: Lord Pack (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what training and guidance Ministers and civil servants receive to ensure that answers to written questions comply with the requirements of the Ministerial Code, particularly the requirement for answers to be "full and timely" under paragraph 9.8.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Parliamentary Questions training is the responsibility of individual Departments. There is a published Guide to Parliamentary Work for civil servants available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guide-to-parliamentary-work) which sets out expectations in managing Parliamentary Questions.
The Parliamentary Capability Team within Government Skills also offers training on Parliamentary Questions to civil servants of all departments, grades and roles.
Asked by: Lord Pack (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will publish the review of the X social media platform carried out in April 2023 under their SAFE Framework.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Assessments under the SAFE Framework are regularly carried out on channels to ensure compliance. These assessments are not routinely published in the public domain.
Asked by: Lord Pack (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they plan to carry out their next review of the X social media platform under their SAFE Framework.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Assessments under the SAFE Framework are regularly carried out on channels to ensure compliance. These assessments are not routinely published in the public domain.