Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many special advisers left government employment as a result of the government reshuffle; and what was the total cost of (a) severance and (b) compensation payments to those individuals.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
In line with the Model Contract for Special Advisers, when a special adviser’s appointing minister leaves office special advisers’ contracts are automatically terminated.
The Model Contract states special adviser severance entitlement. The cost of severance payments is stated in the Annual Report on Special Advisers.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much has the Government spent on updating (a) government websites, (b) signage, (c) stationery and (d) other branded materials as a result of changes in (i) ministerial titles and (ii) departmental structures following the reshuffle.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Cabinet Office does not centrally hold information or data on this topic.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how the UK Emergency Alert System integrates with (a) local authority and (b) regional emergency response plans.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The emergency services, whose role is to warn, inform and advise the public in the event of an emergency have the Emergency Alerting capability available to them 24/7/365 upon request. The established procedures have been closely designed alongside both national and regional emergency response plans.
Regular training is undertaken with local authorities, local resilience forums, and emergency services to familiarise them with the Emergency Alert capability and requesting processes.
Emergency Alerts are just one of many capabilities available to first responders on the ground to assist them in disseminating vital information and guidance, complementing a wide range of tools at the disposal of emergency services for communicating risks to life for example local news, radio, television, social media, or door knocking.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what discussions his Department has had with mobile network operators on the (a) resilience and (b) reliability of mobile infrastructure to deliver emergency alerts during (i) power outages and (ii) network congestion.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Emergency Alerts capability is reliant on mobile network operators’ infrastructure to issue alerts. Under the Communications Act 2003 and Telecommunications (Security) Act 2021, UK communications providers have a statutory requirement to take appropriate and proportionate steps to identify risks to their resilience, reduce those risks, prepare for compromises and mitigate and remedy them when they do occur. These requirements are overseen by Ofcom. The Department has regular discussions with the UK’s mobile network operators and works in partnership with communications providers to ensure that their networks remain secure, resilient, and accessible, including during emergencies.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will provide a breakdown of Government spending on advertising via social media platforms broken down by Department, over the last 12 months.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
As with any media planning approach, channels are selected based on their ability to engage with relevant audiences in alignment with the government's strategic objectives.
The Cabinet Office is consistently tracking and reviewing spending on communications to ensure efficiency and that the appropriate strategy is implemented. We will not spend more than is needed to be effective and ensure best value for the taxpayer.
Please see the breakdown below of spend on social media broken down by department between 1st August 2024 and 31st July 2025.
Please note that this may not be the complete spend as the Cabinet Office does not centrally manage Departmental social media spend directly.
Department | Spend on social media platforms |
CABINET OFFICE | £917,392.78 |
DEPARTMENT FOR ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS | £108,685.84 |
DEPARTMENT FOR CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT | £55,776.43 |
DEPARTMENT FOR EDUCATION | £5,790,404.71 |
DEPARTMENT FOR TRANSPORT | £853,893.06 |
DEPARTMENT FOR WORK AND PENSIONS | £1,174,253.06 |
DEPARTMENT FOR ENERGY SECURITY AND NET ZERO | £168,576.98 |
DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS AND TRADE | £2,932,130.17 |
DEPARTMENT FOR SCIENCE INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY | £145,503.62 |
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE | £1,689,076.17 |
UK EXPORT FINANCE | £336,808.09 |
FOREIGN COMMONWEALTH AND DEVELOPMENT OFFICE | £455,653.02 |
HM REVENUE AND CUSTOMS | £1,692,096.15 |
HOME OFFICE | £1,655,160.54 |
MINISTRY FOR HOUSING COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT | £528,370.47 |
MINISTRY OF JUSTICE | £1,605,710.08 |
MINISTRY OF DEFENCE | £5,938,304.99 |
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps his Department is taking to ensure the accessibility of the UK Emergency Alert System for people who are (a) visually and (b) hearing impaired.
Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare
We have ensured that the Emergency Alerts system works with voice reader software. This means that everyone who already has this and all other accessibility settings enabled on their phones should have the alert read out to them.
As part of the communications campaign, we have developed a British Sign Language information video explaining the upcoming national test.
We have also engaged with disability groups, including the Royal National Institute of Blind People, the Royal National Institute for Deaf People and Mencap. These charities conducted engagement campaigns to reach individuals with visual impairments to help them understand more about the alerts.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment his Department has made of the performance of the national test of the UK Emergency Alert System conducted on 23 April 2023; and what lessons will be applied to the test on 7 September 2025.
Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare
The Government is committed to improving the Emergency Alerts system as it serves a crucial purpose helping to save lives in emergency situations by issuing an alert to all compatible mobile phones.
There was an initial 12 month evaluation period (April 2023 - April 2024) during which the government carried out analysis on the effectiveness of the system. This analysis allowed the government to assess the benefit of emergency alerts during life-threatening emergencies. Following this evaluation lessons have been taken after each activation of emergency alerts to ensure any necessary changes or technical improvements are made to improve the system.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he has taken to coordinate cross-departmental efforts to secure defence infrastructure supply chains.
Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare
The Cabinet Office works closely with the Ministry of Defence to track and monitor risks to national security supply chains. The forthcoming Defence Industrial Strategy will set out the government's approach to defence supply chain security and resilience.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 14 July to Question 65165 on Business: Lancashire, if he will provide the same data for the period between 2020 to 2024.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 14th July is attached.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much his Department has spent on equipment for civil servants to work from home in each of the last five years.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The requested information is not centrally held, and complying with this request would incur a disproportionate cost to the department.
Heads of departments have agreed that 60% minimum office attendance for most staff continues to be the best balance of working for the Civil Service, as was the case under the previous administration.