Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make an estimate of the cost of preparing Ministers for Westminster Hall Debates across all government departments.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds
The Cabinet Office does not hold this information.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the written statement entitled Review into the Organisation, Performance, and Transformation of the Permanent Civil Service, published on 1 July 2026, if implementing the recommendations of the review will be obligatory; and how they will be implemented.
Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Alongside Written Ministerial Statements on Wednesday 1st July, the Terms of Reference for the Review into the Organisation, Performance and Transformation of the Permanent Civil Service (“the Review”) were published on gov.uk
They are available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/review-into-the-organisation-performance-and-transformation-of-the-permanent-civil-service/review-into-the-organisation-performance-and-transformation-of-the-permanent-civil-service
As the Terms of Reference set out, the Review will consider the wide range of activities undertaken by the Civil Service. The Review will culminate in a report setting out a vision for the future Civil Service as a world class institution, to deliver for Ministers and the public.
The review will report before summer 2027, and the report will be made available to the public. The final report will include a set of recommendations to reform the Civil Service. The Government will decide whether and how to implement the recommendations.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Review into the Organisation, Performance, and Transformation of the Permanent Civil Service will examine the respective roles of Ministers, special advisers and civil servants.
Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Alongside Written Ministerial Statements on Wednesday 1st July, the Terms of Reference for the Review into the Organisation, Performance and Transformation of the Permanent Civil Service (“the Review”) were published on gov.uk
They are available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/review-into-the-organisation-performance-and-transformation-of-the-permanent-civil-service/review-into-the-organisation-performance-and-transformation-of-the-permanent-civil-service
As the Terms of Reference set out, the Review will consider the wide range of activities undertaken by the Civil Service. The Review will culminate in a report setting out a vision for the future Civil Service as a world class institution, to deliver for Ministers and the public.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he will publish the Terms of Reference for the Civil Service Review.
Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Alongside Written Ministerial Statements on Wednesday 1st July, the Terms of Reference for the Review into the Organisation, Performance and Transformation of the Permanent Civil Service (“the Review”) were published on gov.uk
They are available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/review-into-the-organisation-performance-and-transformation-of-the-permanent-civil-service/review-into-the-organisation-performance-and-transformation-of-the-permanent-civil-service
As the Terms of Reference set out, the Review will consider the wide range of activities undertaken by the Civil Service. The Review will culminate in a report setting out a vision for the future Civil Service as a world class institution, to deliver for Ministers and the public.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to ensure civil servants in the wider north west benefit from the construction of the Manchester Digital Campus.
Answered by Anna Turley - Minister of State (Home Office)
Manchester Digital Campus (MDC) will bring together approximately 8,800 civil servants from multiple government departments, with a focus on digital delivery. A significant proportion will create new roles in the region.
As a centre of digital expertise, MDC will integrate Government Digital, drive innovation and skills and support economic growth. The campus will galvanise collaboration across the Civil Service and is aligned with the Places for Growth (PfG) Strategy for the North-West region. MDC will act as a hub supporting the PfG vision, benefitting civil servants across the North-West. A number of successful workshops have already taken place involving civil servants from across the wider North-West region, not just those destined for MDC.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the written statement entitled Review into the Organisation, Performance, and Transformation of the Permanent Civil Service, published on 1 July 2026, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Civil Service Review on the number of places available on the Civil Service Faststream programme.
Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
We are proud that the Civil Service Fast Stream is the number one graduate employer in The Times Top 100 Graduate Employer (2025) rankings. Fast Stream numbers are dictated by strategic workforce planning and departmental capacity needs. The programme will align with the findings on the size, shape and structure of the future Service within the Review into the Organisation, Performance, and Transformation of the Permanent Civil Service to ensure it continues to attract and develop future leaders for the Civil Service.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he plans to publish the guidance issued to Departments on the use of the national security exemption.
Answered by Chris Ward
Procurement Policy Note (PPN) 025: 'Protecting the UK’s national security through public procurement' was published on 19 June 2026.
The PPN can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ppn-025-protecting-the-uks-national-security-through-public-procurement
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps the Government is taking to increase SME participation in public procurement opportunities arising from the new guidance.
Answered by Chris Ward
This Government is determined to ensure procurement policy benefits British industry and opens doors for small businesses, start-ups, and charities.
We recently implemented measures under the Procurement Act 2023 to enable local authorities to reserve lower-value contracts for SMEs or local suppliers and to establish a "tell us once" central digital platform so SMEs only have to upload their core data once to use across all future bids.
Under new measures announced on 26 March 2026, the Government is also introducing Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools to streamline procurement workflows to save bidders hours of time and cut back unnecessary duplication. Our recent National Procurement Policy Statement (NPPS) also instructs contracting authorities to maximise spend with small businesses, and requires central government departments to set stretching three-year targets for direct spend with SMEs and publish their progress annually. These targets will collectively drive over £7.4 billion of procurement to SMEs by 2028.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the Prime Minister's and his Department's budget is for ministerial travel for (a) the Government Car Service, (b) private hire vehicles, (c) taxis, (d) rail, (e) aviation and (f) other for (i) 2024-25 and (ii) 2025-26.
Answered by Chris Ward
Ministerial travel is carefully considered to ensure both efficiency and the interests of the taxpayer are prioritised.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many local authorities are expected to participate in the first phase of the Test, Learn and Grow Capability Fund.
Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Test, Learn and Grow Regional Capability Fund is intended to build capability on test and learn and public sector innovation across the country. It will first be available to existing TLG partners, eight Mayoral Strategic Authorities and two local authorities (where there is no MSA).