Andrew Snowden

The Women’s Business Council was established to advise the government on maximising women’s contribution to economic growth. The Council’s members are senior business people and entrepreneurs who are leaders on gender equality in the workplace.

This Government is committed to strong regional membership - which can drive opportunities for growth right across the country. Current members are based in the north west, south west and the south east and we will continue to look for inspirational leaders from across the UK as the Council’s work progresses.

All factual matters material to a criminal sentence must be admitted by the offender or proven in a court to the criminal standard using admissible evidence. By definition, the recording of a previous incident as “non-crime” is unlikely to meet that standard.

The Code for Crown Prosecutors sets out the general principles a prosecutor must apply when making a decision as to whether there is sufficient evidence, and whether it is in the public interest, to authorise criminal charges against a suspect. The Crown Prosecution Service has published guidance on bail, the focus of which is on ensuring that the Court is provided with the relevant information to enable it to come to a proper decision as to whether or not to grant bail, with or without conditions. This will be fact specific to the circumstances of the alleged offence and the defendant. The administrative police recording of an earlier incident or allegation, which has previously been determined not to have been a crime, is unlikely to have any relevance to the question of bail.

In the year to December 2024 the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) authorised the charging of a total of 11,777 suspects in hate crime flagged cases with 87.4% of legal decisions resulting in a suspect being charged.

The below table provides a breakdown of the monthly charge volumes and rate for 2024.

Over the same period the CPS has prosecuted 14,657 defendants of which 12,614 were convicted, giving a conviction rate of 86.1% for the 2024 calendar year.

The below table provides a breakdown of the monthly completed prosecutions and convictions for 2024.

The volume of prosecution outcomes for a period differs from the volume of pre charge decisions for the same period. Where the pre charge decision is to bring charges many cases will only reach a conclusion in a later period. This will vary according to the outcome type: for example, the legal process is longer where a case is contested or sent to the Crown Court and tried by jury.

Further information can be found in quarterly data published on the CPS website: CPS quarterly data summaries | The Crown Prosecution Service.

Enforcement of drug driving legislation and how available resources are deployed is an operational matter for individual Chief Constables and Police and Crime Commissioners to determine in conjunction with local crime and policing plans, taking into account the specific local problems and demands with which they are faced.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) prosecutes cases that are referred to it by the police.

The Government has announced more than half a billion pounds of additional central government funding for policing next year to support the Government’s Safer Streets Mission.

Section 5A of the Road Traffic Act 1988, introduced in 2015, aligned enforcement of drug driving with that of drink driving by introducing a strict liability offence to avoid the need to prove impairment. CPS management information shows that in the financial year 2023/2024, 25,559 offences were charged under this section which proceeded to a first hearing in the magistrates’ courts.

I refer the Hon Member to the press releases published on gov.uk, outlining the roles.

Details of ministerial severance payments are published in the relevant department’s annual report and accounts.

Data on the number of officials in the Cabinet Office is published monthly at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cabinet-office-workforce-management-data-2023-to-2024. Business Unit level data including for Business Units in Number 10 Downing Street is published quarterly at https://www.data.gov.uk/dataset/ff76be1f-4f37-4bef-beb7-32b259413be1/organogram-cabinet-office. We do not routinely comment on individual HR matters.

A response has been issued here.

This government takes identity theft, and the harm it can cause victims, seriously.

It is the responsibility of individual departments as to how they coordinate their policy and operational approaches in relation to identity theft involving government digital services.

The Public Sector Fraud Authority’s (PSFA) remit is to work with departments and public bodies to understand, prevent and reduce the impact of fraud. This is achieved by supporting public bodies to have the basics in place, build counter fraud capability and embed financial targets.

The savings from the three central London office closures relate to the annual property running costs. They have not been adjusted for any one-off transition, refit, or redundancy costs.

It is a longstanding policy not to comment on individuals. The Model Contract for Special Advisers is published online and details the specific circumstances in which payments can be made to special advisers upon termination of employment.

Development of the policy underpinning the national digital credential is ongoing.

We are inviting the public to have their say, including business stakeholders, in the upcoming consultation as we develop a safe, secure, and inclusive system for the UK.

The administration transferred to Capita on 1 December 2025 and the first payroll ran successfully in the same month.

At this time Capita has not provided this information to the Cabinet Office. The focus is on working with the Cabinet Office in order to resolve queries and delays and to move to a stable service as quickly as possible.

We acknowledge and recognise that there are delays and are working closely with Capita in order to move to the expected service levels as quickly as possible. This includes providing additional support to Capita, increasing staffing by c50% over and above the number that transferred from MyCSP. It is also prioritising urgent cases.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 7th January is attached.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 7th January is attached.

In October 2025, the ICO Review Board observer submitted an inquiry to the DEA Secretariat regarding a news article pertaining to a data sharing arrangement between HMRC and the Home Office.

The DEA Secretariat subsequently contacted HMRC, who forwarded it to the ICO observer.

The minutes from the DEA Debt and Fraud Review Boards are also routinely published on GOV.UK.

I refer you to the response given by Minister Gould to PQ43014 in April of this year which asked what the cost to the public purse was of this employee network.

The Civil Service LGBT+ staff network is a volunteer collaborative group of Civil Service staff. The LGBT+ network does not hold a budget, but a department can choose to provide support where there is a business case to do so. We are not aware of any such financial support. There has been no cost to the public purse of the LGBT+ network since 2020. We do not hold any records prior to this date. The LGBT+ network was created in 2003.

The Staff Network Policy was launched on 23 September 2025 and is applicable to all cross-Civil Service Staff networks, from this date. Departments have been strongly encouraged to adopt or align to this policy for their own departmental networks. The policy establishes a consistent framework to ensure all staff networks operate effectively, in line with the Civil Service code.

The Government does not have a general policy of carbon offsetting flights.

Prime Ministerial flights are carbon offset where that is possible. The yearly payment to carbon offset flights using the G-GBNI aircraft is calculated at the end of each financial year based on the flights that have taken place to ensure accuracy.

Prime Ministerial flights are carbon offset where that is possible. This takes into account a range of factors. GBNI flights are carbon offset at the end of the financial year. Information about official overseas travel is published as part of the Cabinet Office transparency returns and made available on the GOV.UK website, in line with the approach of successive administrations.

Prime Ministerial flights are carbon offset where that is possible.

I refer the Hon Member to the Prime Minister’s letter to the Independent Adviser for Ministerial Standards, published on 12 November.

I refer the Hon Member to the Prime Minister’s letter to the Independent Adviser for Ministerial Standards, published on 12 November.

It is the role of the independent Commissioner for Public Appointments to provide independent assurance that public appointments are made in accordance with the Government’s Principles of Public Appointments and Governance Code.

The report of the Commissioner for Public Appointments’ inquiry into the process of appointing the Chair of the Independent Football Regulator was published on 6 November 2025 and can be found here.

Ministerial travel is undertaken using efficient and cost-effective travel arrangements. Security considerations are also taken into account. Information about official overseas travel is published as part of the Cabinet Office transparency returns and made available on the GOV.UK website. It has been the practice that official Prime Ministerial flights are carbon offset where that is possible. Civil Servants and Special Advisers routinely travel with the Prime Minister, including so as to provide support in the conduct of any official duties, which can arise at any time.

Ministerial travel is undertaken using efficient and cost-effective travel arrangements. Security considerations are also taken into account. Information about official overseas travel is published as part of the Cabinet Office transparency returns and made available on the GOV.UK website. It has been the practice that official Prime Ministerial flights are carbon offset where that is possible. Civil Servants and Special Advisers routinely travel with the Prime Minister, including so as to provide support in the conduct of any official duties, which can arise at any time.

Ministerial travel is undertaken using efficient and cost-effective travel arrangements. Security considerations are also taken into account. Information about official overseas travel is published as part of the Cabinet Office transparency returns and made available on the GOV.UK website. It has been the practice that official Prime Ministerial flights are carbon offset where that is possible. Civil Servants and Special Advisers routinely travel with the Prime Minister, including so as to provide support in the conduct of any official duties, which can arise at any time.

Individual contracting authorities are responsible for monitoring contract performance. The Procurement Act 2023 will require contracting authorities to publish Key Performance Indicators and performance against them on major contracts. These will be published on the Central Digital Platform.

Under the Procurement Act, poor performance has been established as a new discretionary exclusion ground, making it easier for contracting authorities to exclude suppliers who have under-performed on other relevant contracts. Contracting authorities must notify the Procurement Review Unit (PRU) of any supplier exclusions via its page on gov.uk.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 16th October is attached.

The delivery of compensation, including the opening of a registration service, is a matter for the Infected Blood Compensation Authority (IBCA). IBCA opened their registration service on 9th October to allow people to register their intent to claim online. Those who are unable to register online or who require additional support can call IBCA’s dedicated registration support line on 0141 471 8886. Additionally, an individual can ask someone to register on their behalf. This could be a family member, trusted adult, legal representative, carer or someone with power of attorney. IBCA has worked with infected blood charities and community groups to raise awareness of the registration service opening.

The delivery of compensation, including the opening of a registration service, is a matter for the Infected Blood Compensation Authority (IBCA). IBCA opened their registration service on 9th October to allow people to register their intent to claim online. Those who are unable to register online or who require additional support can call IBCA’s dedicated registration support line on 0141 471 8886. Additionally, an individual can ask someone to register on their behalf. This could be a family member, trusted adult, legal representative, carer or someone with power of attorney. IBCA has worked with infected blood charities and community groups to raise awareness of the registration service opening.

Crown Commercial Service (CCS) considered bidding costs and accessibility for small independent agencies in the design and tendering of RM6277: Non‑Clinical Staffing, including lotting, proportionate evaluation and market engagement.

Small-medium enterprises, including small independent recruitment agencies, secured over 70% of places across lots 1 to 6 and 46% in lot 7. This is in line with the government’s strategy to back small and medium-sized businesses.