Asked by: Alex Burghart (Conservative - Brentwood and Ongar)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Cabinet Secretary plans to issue a new edition of the Cabinet Manual in 2026-27.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Prime Minister has announced that the Government will update the Cabinet Manual to ensure it remains an authoritative guide to the UK’s constitutional arrangements.
Asked by: Alex Burghart (Conservative - Brentwood and Ongar)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Cabinet Secretary's objectives 2026-27 published on 7 April 2026, what is the timetable for refreshing the Civil Service Code; in what manner will the code be refreshed; and whether political parties will be consulted.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Cabinet Secretary has set out her intention to refresh the Civil Service Code to ensure it is up to date, well understood, and adhered to across the Civil Service.
Asked by: Alex Burghart (Conservative - Brentwood and Ongar)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he has made an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of the draft of the Civil Service Code published by Re:State.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Cabinet Secretary has set out her intention to refresh the Civil Service Code to ensure it is up to date, well understood, and adhered to across the Civil Service. Further updates will be communicated in due course.
Asked by: Alex Burghart (Conservative - Brentwood and Ongar)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 19 May 2026, to Question 427, Cabinet Office: Facilities Agreements, when he plans to deposit that documentation in the Library.
Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
A copy of the updated Facility Time Framework was deposited in the House Library on Tuesday 2 June (DEP2026-0371).
Asked by: Alex Burghart (Conservative - Brentwood and Ongar)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the answer of 10 March 2026 to Question 113614 on Prime Minister: Palantir, whether Palantir was in attendance in the White House when the Prime Minister met President Trump on 27 February 2025.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
No.
Asked by: Alex Burghart (Conservative - Brentwood and Ongar)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what his planned timetable is for the publication of the Civil Service External Expenditure on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion for 2025-26.
Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
We will publish the Civil Service External Expenditure on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion for the financial year 2025/2026 in due course.
Asked by: Alex Burghart (Conservative - Brentwood and Ongar)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, With reference to the answer of 28 April 2026, to Question 127472, on Cabinet Office: Review, whether Lord Mandelson’s involvement in the APCO/Labour Together dossier is in scope of the Government’s response to the Humble Address on Lord Mandelson.
Answered by Chris Ward - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the Government’s statement and release of information on 1st June, providing an update on the response to the Humble Address. The documents published in the first and second tranches contain the entirety of the documents the Government has available for disclosure, except those being withheld at the request of the Metropolitan police.
Asked by: Alex Burghart (Conservative - Brentwood and Ongar)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much has (a) HM Treasury and (b) its PFI contractors spent on outdoor furniture in the last 12 months.
Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
HM Treasury has not spent money on outdoor furniture in the last 12 months. It does not have a PFI contract as it occupies space managed by the GPA.
Asked by: Alex Burghart (Conservative - Brentwood and Ongar)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, With reference to the answer of 10 April 2026, to Question 118788, on Inter Mediate: Contracts, whether all payments to Inter Mediate are reported (a) in the FCDO monthly spending data published on gov.uk where such payments are above the reporting threshold and (b) in the Cabinet Office Grant Database published on gov.uk.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
For over ten years, Inter Mediate and the UK Government have successfully partnered to advance peace efforts around the globe, and the Hon Member will find details of payments to Inter Mediate in the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office's (FCDO's) transparency publications throughout that period.
The FCDO supports a range of civil society and non-governmental organisations through its mediation and conflict resolution programme. Given the sensitive and discreet nature of these efforts, we do not disclose details of all the individual projects supported. This ensures that neither the safety of partners, nor the integrity of ongoing peace efforts are compromised.
This approach is in line with the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and the FCDO's general policy on aid transparency, whereby information is excluded from publication where sharing it could pose risks to international relations, compromise the security and safety of partners, prejudice national security, or reveal personal data that could infringe on privacy or breach confidentiality.
Asked by: Alex Burghart (Conservative - Brentwood and Ongar)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether Lord Mandelson had access to the unpublished China Audit when he was Ambassador.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Peter Mandelson was not involved in the drafting of the China audit, the conclusions of which were presented to Parliament by the former Foreign Secretary on 24 June 2025.