Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what analysis her Department has undertaken of the likelihood and potential impact of interference in the UK's democratic processes over the next five years.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security) (Jointly with the Cabinet Office)
It is an absolute priority for this government to protect our democratic and electoral processes against all forms of malign interference. The Defending Democracy Taskforce coordinates and drives forward a whole-of-government response to the full range of threats to our democracy, including foreign interference.
As the Prime Minister said in the House of Commons on 14 October 2026, it is important that we are clear-eyed about what happened in the past. There is incontrovertible evidence that outside actors – enemies of this country – have interfered in our democratic processes, and it is inconceivable that that was not taking place across the whole of the last decade. We believe that any attempts were not successful.
The guidance that the NPSA published in October 2025 highlights the range of vectors and tactics that foreign actors are using to target individuals working in UK politics, and the Government is committed to taking all necessary measures to mitigate this evolving threat.
The Prime Minister also announced that the Government will establish a new National Centre for Information Defence. The establishment of this new centre will seek to transform UK capabilities for detecting, attributing and disrupting hostile information operations from foreign adversaries, to support and defend our democracy.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 28 August 2026 to Question 22721 on Civil Servants: Workplace Pensions, whether entitled persons whose payments are delayed will be paid (a) compensation for the distress caused by delayed payment and (b) interest on the payment for the period of delay.
Answered by Sally Jameson - Parliamentary Secretary and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The conditions for releasing the withheld payments require the completion of specific deliverables. Each deliverable within the applicable milestone must be achieved and formally signed off by the authority.
The scheme will automatically pay interest on delayed benefits to protect members from financial loss. The statutory complaints process evaluates claims for financial loss, distress, and inconvenience on a case-by-case basis, to determine whether any compensation is due, and is operated in strict accordance with the standards set by the Pensions Ombudsman.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 28 August 2026 to Question 22721 on Civil Servants: Workplace Pensions, whether the £9.9 million being withheld will be paid to Capita, regardless of the time taken to make payment to eligible recipients.
Answered by Sally Jameson - Parliamentary Secretary and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The conditions for releasing the withheld payments require the completion of specific deliverables. Each deliverable within the applicable milestone must be achieved and formally signed off by the authority.
The scheme will automatically pay interest on delayed benefits to protect members from financial loss. The statutory complaints process evaluates claims for financial loss, distress, and inconvenience on a case-by-case basis, to determine whether any compensation is due, and is operated in strict accordance with the standards set by the Pensions Ombudsman.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what procedures apply following the loss or theft of a government-issued electronic device assigned to a Minister.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security) (Jointly with the Cabinet Office)
The Government takes matters of national security very seriously, including cyber and device security, and has robust procedures in place to mitigate the effects of lost or stolen Government-owned electronics. As part of its standard operating procedures, Cabinet Office Security will log any loss and will direct individuals to report any stolen items to the police and request a crime reference number; other government departments have similar policies.
The Government does not routinely comment on the specifics on matters relating to national security.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what oversight mechanisms are available to Parliament to ensure the independence of the Ethics and Integrity Commission.
Answered by Mark Ferguson - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
When the Ethics and Integrity Commission (EIC) was established, it was given the responsibility to report annually to the Prime Minister on the health of standards in public life. The EIC published its first such letter on 13 October.
The remit of the EIC is to promote the highest standards in public life and to maintain an independent oversight of the standards landscape. The Commission is comprised of an independent chair, six additional independent members, and political members nominated by the leaders of the three largest political parties in the House of Commons.
Parliament has a range of mechanisms, including through Committees, to scrutinise the work of the EIC and its independence.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many times the Ethics and Integrity Commission has reported to a Prime Minister since October 2025.
Answered by Mark Ferguson - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
When the Ethics and Integrity Commission (EIC) was established, it was given the responsibility to report annually to the Prime Minister on the health of standards in public life. The EIC published its first such letter on 13 October.
The remit of the EIC is to promote the highest standards in public life and to maintain an independent oversight of the standards landscape. The Commission is comprised of an independent chair, six additional independent members, and political members nominated by the leaders of the three largest political parties in the House of Commons.
Parliament has a range of mechanisms, including through Committees, to scrutinise the work of the EIC and its independence.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much money has been withheld for contracts with Capita across all Departments since the company took over administration of the Civil Service Pension Scheme; and if she will outline what penalties can be levied against the company for delivery failures.
Answered by Sally Jameson - Parliamentary Secretary and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Cabinet Office does not hold this information centrally. Individual Contracting Authorities are responsible for managing their own contracts with Capita, including any withholding of performance related payments, which are governed by specific contractual terms and subject to commercial confidentiality.
In relation to the contract for administration of the Civil Service Pension Scheme, which was awarded in 2023, the Cabinet Office has withheld £9.9 million in contract payments for undelivered milestones. In addition, the contract provides for remedies in the event of delivery failure, including the withholding of milestone payments and the application of service credits and other financial penalties in line with contractual performance measures.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what role does the Cabinet Office play in deciding whether the Emergency Alerts system should be used during periods of extreme heat.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security) (Jointly with the Cabinet Office)
The Cabinet Office develops Emergency Alerts in collaboration with local responders and emergency services. Every Alert is carefully coordinated with responding public bodies and each request is evaluated by the Cabinet Office on a rigorous, case-by-case basis to ensure it is necessary for public safety.
All Emergency Alerts must meet the criteria for use and since the launch of the capability in April 2023, the Cabinet Office has authorised seven live activations, six of which were related to extreme weather.
The Government remains ready to deploy the capability at short-notice in response to risks that pose a danger to life, including but not limited to flooding, severe weather and wildfires.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, which government Department will be responsible for managing the Public Sector Fraud Authority (PSFA).
Answered by Mark Ferguson - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Prime Minister announced a series of changes to the Machinery of Government on 21 July. This included the Public Sector Fraud Authority’s (PSFA) transfer to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) - whilst retaining its sponsorship by HM Treasury.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate she has made of the additional cost to the public purse arising from the Civil Service Pension Recovery Plan since February 2026, broken down by (a) additional civil servants deployed, (b) external advisers, (c) contractors and (d) other costs.
Answered by Sally Jameson - Parliamentary Secretary and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Cabinet Office awarded Capita the contract to administer the Civil Service Pension Scheme in November 2023 under the previous government. The current delays facing scheme members are entirely unacceptable, and this Government has taken firm action to resolve them through a clear recovery plan with strict delivery milestones.
Capita has systematically defaulted on its major operational recovery commitments. They failed to meet critical transition milestones, including the end of April 2026 target to clear inherited payment arrears, the end of May 2026 milestone to bring approximately 2,200 sensitive divorce cases within contractual service levels, and the critical milestone of a complete return to standard contractual service levels by the end of June 2026.
Capita submitted a formal Rectification Plan in July 2026, and the Remedial Advisor Grant Thornton was appointed shortly thereafter at Capita’s expense. Their work will assist the Cabinet Office to test the validity and deliverability of the Plan, and to conduct a technical systems review. We expect to receive this audit information in early October, which will inform the Government's decision on next steps by mid-to-late October.
Further commercial, legal, and operational options remain on the table during the consideration of long-term structural delivery options.
On additional costs, regarding a) additional civil servants deployed, total projected Cabinet Office Pensions Recovery Taskforce and surge support operational costs up to the end of Financial Year 2026-27 stand at £12.5 million.
Costs relating to (b) external advisers, (c) contractors and (d) other costs, are subject to a formal commercial reconciliation exercise that is actively underway to recover Government surge team costs directly from Capita, and the Government has already withheld £9.9 million in contract payments for undelivered milestones.