Angela Rayner

The data and insights work referenced in the previous answer included data science, user research, performance analysis and data engineering. The purpose is to guide the development of our products, to ensure that they meet the needs of the user, whether that user be a civil servant or a citizen. This includes: GOV.UK, the One Login for Government programme, GOV.UK Pay, GOV.UK Notify, and the GOV.UK Design System.

We do not comment on increases or decreases in the number of officials working within individual GCHQ departments for reasons of national security.

Chequers is not a government building; it is run and managed by an independent trust. Under the Chequers Estate Act 1958 it has been the practice, under successive Governments, for the Estate to receive a grant-in-aid payment. Staffing numbers and salaries are a matter for the Trust.

We do not provide exact figures on the number of personnel working at NCSC for reasons of national security.

Chequers is not a government building; it is run and managed by an independent trust.

I refer the Rt hon. Member to the response I gave to the hon. Member for Vale of Clwyd at Prime Minister’s Questions on 12 January 2022 (Hansard Volume 706, Column 562).

In addition to answering Prime Minister’s Questions on that day in May (Hansard Volume 676, Column 565), I also had an audience with Her Majesty the Queen as recorded in the Court Circular.

I had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. I also held a roundtable to discuss the supermarket sector's ongoing role in the COVID-19 response, as recorded in the government’s transparency data.

I did not discuss the matter with Civil Service trade unions prior to the announcement, however officials engaged with unions promptly after the announcement was made and this dialogue will continue. Trade unions have written to the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster on this matter and will receive a response in due course.

The size of the civil service has swelled by almost 25% since 2016 – the highest numbers for over a decade. This was partly driven by the once in a generation challenge of dealing with a global pandemic, as well as extra staff required to deliver the UK’s departure from the EU.

We are incredibly grateful to the civil service for the outstanding job they do in delivering for the public but when people across the country are facing pressures on living costs, the public rightly expect their government to lead by example and to run as efficiently as possible.

In 2021, the Government Digital Service spent £4.9m on data and user insights work.

In the Cabinet Office, those working on HR are found in Cabinet Office People and Places and in Civil Service Human Resources (CSHR).

Cabinet Office People and Places employs 119.4 full-time equivalent (FTE) staff. The team provides expert HR services and operations that mean the Cabinet Office can attract and retain a diverse workforce that meet the future skills and capability required, develop our people at all levels and build our inclusive culture. Much of what the team does is ongoing professional HR advice, policy, assurance and controls, employee relations and case management, workforce management and controls, learning and talent management, HR operations. People and Places includes estates, locations programme and health & safety staff.

CSHR employs 519 FTE who support ministers, departments, functions and professions to deliver the Civil Service workforce and skills agendas. We must have the best people leading and working in government, with both specialist and generalist knowledge and skills, and we must attract the best people, as set out in the Declaration on Government Reform. The Government Skills and Curriculum Unit works to ensure that these skills and capabilities are developed further, which sits alongside targeted work on external recruitment and secondments to ensure that we are bringing the best people into the Civil Service. CSHR also sets standards for HR professionalism in government and supports all Civil Service employers with employee policy, guidance, data and central expertise, including on pay and reward.

The Department records information about Research and Development on its accounting system. In 2021, based on the value of invoices recorded, the Department spent £16.539m.

This category covers a broad range of services including qualitative and quantitative analysis, early discovery projects, reports on a range of policy and delivery issues and insight. It is not possible to split out spend separately on research or insight services from the overall total. This would require a manual review of expenditure, and as some contracts will cover multiple types of research this could only be provided at disproportionate costs.

The data collated for Ministerial transparency returns is published in the Ministerial transparency returns.

The advice of Independent Adviser on Ministers’ Interests has now been published and is available on GOV.UK. This sets out the Independent Adviser’s judgement that the requirements of the Ministerial Code have been adhered to by the Chancellor, and that he has been assiduous in meeting his obligations. The Prime Minister has accepted this advice and considers the matter closed. I have replied to the Rt Hon Member’s letter in that light.

This information is not held. Recruitment costs are tracked but Consultancy fees form only a small part of this total. It is not possible to disaggregate and isolate Recruitment Consultancy fees only. Our recruitment systems do not record candidate attraction methodology so we are unable to disaggregate recruitment data to analyse campaign success by Consultancies.

We do not record data on these specific expenditure types.

Further to the passage of a Humble Address motion in the House of Commons on 29 March, the Government is carefully formulating its response to the request for information in relation to Lord Lebedev’s nomination to the House of Lords, and will respond in due course.

In doing so, the Government will give careful consideration to the public interest, including freedom of information principles and data protection legislation, in line with our response to previous Humble Address motions – and as laid out in March 2019 by the Government in its response to Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee's Fifteenth Report of session 2017–19, Status of the Resolutions of the House of Commons, HC 1587.

I can confirm that the Government has not stopped publishing this data. The Government has consistently published transparency data on official hospitality at Chequers since 2010.

Since 2015, the Chequers hospitality data is clearly listed within the "ministerial gifts, hospitality, travel and meetings" category of Ministerial returns on gov.uk.

I would observe that since 2016, it is the Labour Party which has stopped publishing transparency data on frontbench meetings with senior media executives, breaking a key commitment made during the Leveson Inquiry.

Details of official hospitality at Chequers is published on a quarterly basis and is available via the gov.uk website.

As set out in the Prime Minister’s letter of 21 December 2021, work has been underway to make sure that the Independent Adviser and his office receive the highest standards of support and attention - whether by way of Instruction to Ministers, Ministerial Code or clearer legal instrument. That work continues, and the Government will provide an update in due course.

Additional dedicated support for the Independent Adviser’s office has been allocated through the annual Cabinet Office business planning process. This support includes the provision of a dedicated team of civil service staff who will provide day-to-day support under the direction of the Independent Adviser. Further information will be set out in the Independent Adviser’s annual report.

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer given in 80823.

Cabinet Office is currently collating and quality assuring data on apprenticeships for 2021/22; final figures are not yet available. Based on indicative figures, Cabinet Office employed 224 apprentices in 2021/22, which is equivalent to 2.34% of the 2021/22 target headcount.

As at 1 April 2022, the number of Cabinet Office apprentices actively completing a programme (regardless of which financial year they started) equates to 3.23% of the total workforce.

The Cabinet Office, on behalf of the Civil Service, will be publishing a full breakdown of departmental performance on apprenticeships in the Autumn in line with previous years.

Data for all departments between 2017 and 2021 is available on gov.uk.

As set out in the Prime Minister’s letter of 21 December 2021, work has been underway to make sure that the Independent Adviser and his office receive the highest standards of support and attention - whether by way of Instruction to Ministers, Ministerial Code or clearer legal instrument. That work continues, and the Government will provide an update in due course.

Additional dedicated support for the Independent Adviser’s office has been allocated through the annual Cabinet Office business planning process. This support includes the provision of a dedicated team of civil service staff who will provide day-to-day support under the direction of the Independent Adviser. Further information will be set out in the Independent Adviser’s annual report.

As set out in the Prime Minister’s letter of 21 December 2021, work has been underway to make sure that the Independent Adviser and his office receive the highest standards of support and attention - whether by way of Instruction to Ministers, Ministerial Code or clearer legal instrument. That work continues, and the Government will provide an update in due course.

Additional dedicated support for the Independent Adviser’s office has been allocated through the annual Cabinet Office business planning process. This support includes the provision of a dedicated team of civil service staff who will provide day-to-day support under the direction of the Independent Adviser. Further information will be set out in the Independent Adviser’s annual report.

As set out in the Prime Minister’s letter of 21 December 2021, work has been underway to make sure that the Independent Adviser and his office receive the highest standards of support and attention - whether by way of Instruction to Ministers, Ministerial Code or clearer legal instrument. That work continues, and the Government will provide an update in due course.

Additional dedicated support for the Independent Adviser’s office has been allocated through the annual Cabinet Office business planning process. This support includes the provision of a dedicated team of civil service staff who will provide day-to-day support under the direction of the Independent Adviser. Further information will be set out in the Independent Adviser’s annual report.

As set out in the Prime Minister’s letter of 21 December 2021, work has been underway to make sure that the Independent Adviser and his office receive the highest standards of support and attention - whether by way of Instruction to Ministers, Ministerial Code or clearer legal instrument. That work continues, and the Government will provide an update in due course.

Additional dedicated support for the Independent Adviser’s office has been allocated through the annual Cabinet Office business planning process. This support includes the provision of a dedicated team of civil service staff who will provide day-to-day support under the direction of the Independent Adviser. Further information will be set out in the Independent Adviser’s annual report.

As set out in the Prime Minister’s letter of 21 December 2021, work has been underway to make sure that the Independent Adviser and his office receive the highest standards of support and attention - whether by way of Instruction to Ministers, Ministerial Code or clearer legal instrument. That work continues, and the Government will provide an update in due course.

Additional dedicated support for the Independent Adviser’s office has been allocated through the annual Cabinet Office business planning process. This support includes the provision of a dedicated team of civil service staff who will provide day-to-day support under the direction of the Independent Adviser. Further information will be set out in the Independent Adviser’s annual report.

I have had discussions on a number of occasions with my Independent Adviser this year.

Resource Departmental Expenditure Limits for the Cabinet Office are expected to fall from £1.0bn in 2021-22 to £0.5bn in 2024-25. The primary reasoning for this reduction is the inclusion of time-limited activities in the 2021-22 financial year, in particular, the G7 Summit, held in June 2021 and the COP26 Conference, held in December 2021. These activities combined added some £0.3bn to the department’s costs in 2021-22.

In addition, the 2021-22 financial year continues to include some costs related to the Government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Latest forecasts indicate that approximately £0.2bn will be incurred in 2021-22 primarily on public information campaigns and cross-government coordination.

Beyond this, the 2021 Spending Review settlement includes efficiencies and cost savings identified by the department which will further reduce Resource costs over the next three years.

The Business Appointment Rules provide guidance on the provisions that apply when civil servants leave Crown employment. They can be found at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/579758/Business_Appointment_Rules_for_civil_servants.pdf.

The Special Adviser Code of Conduct and Model Contract for Special Advisers also include ongoing obligations that former Special Advisers are expected to observe after their employment.

Across government, we are committed to a range of programmes to support transformation across departments, functions and locations. These will ensure that workforce structures better match the requirements of the future, including in terms of services delivery across the Civil Service.

Spending Review 21 confirmed savings of 5% against day-to-day central departmental budgets in 2024-25 that have been reinvested into priority areas. These efficiencies will mean that the Government can reduce non-frontline Civil Service headcount to 2019-20 levels by 2024-25, helping to fund increases to frontline roles. This will mean a more productive and agile Civil Service, taking advantage of new ways of working to continue to reduce inefficiencies and deliver better outcomes for the public.

Questions relating to the closure of DWP offices should be addressed to my Rt hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions.

GOV.UK is updated regularly with the list of Cabinet Committees, their terms of reference and membership. The Cabinet Committee list on GOV.UK is not intended to serve as a live record.

It is a long-established precedent that information about the discussions that have taken place in Cabinet and its Committees and how often they have met, is not shared publicly.

As noted in my answer to PQ126900, the Appointments Unit is staffed by civil servants. Civil servants act in line with the Civil Service Code and its principles of political impartiality.

Party political activity is not a material consideration in public appointments: but nor should it be a bar. Many of those who are active in politics have a strong commitment to public service, and there is nothing wrong with such individuals wishing to apply for any public appointment. Experience of working in the voluntary sector (including a political party) or holding public office can be relevant to the criteria for many appointments.

All vacancies are advertised on the public appointments website, and any member of the public (including any member of any political party) can sign up to an email newsletter to be informed of upcoming opportunities.

Applications are considered on merit in line with the Governance Code on Public Appointments, and any significant political activity is openly declared on appointment.

Official statistics from the Commissioner for Public Appointments show that in 2020-21, just 2% of all appointments (and re-appointments) declared significant political activity relating to the Conservative Party (32 people out of 1538 appointments). This compares with 6% of appointees declaring Labour Party activity in 2009-10 under the last Labour Government.

A full list of Parliamentary Private Secretaries will be updated in the normal way in due course.

I refer the Rt hon. Member to my answer to PQ 139374 on 17 March.

The Cabinet Committee list and membership is decided by the Prime Minister. GOV.UK is updated regularly with the list of Cabinet Committees, their terms of reference, and membership.

As I outlined in my previous answer, details of official hospitality at Chequers are published and reasonably accessible to the Rt Hon Member on GOV.UK.

Notwithstanding the above, the location of every Ministerial meeting in the last three years is not centrally held.

Chequers itself is not a government building; it is run and managed by an independent trust.

Lord Udny-Lister is a member of the Conservative Parliamentary Party in the House of Lords. I refer the Hon. Member to the Register of Lords’ Interests.

Lord Udny-Lister is a member of the Conservative Parliamentary Party in the House of Lords. I refer the Hon. Member to the Register of Lords’ Interests.

Details of Ministers’ meetings with external organisations, including with newspaper and other media proprietors, editors and senior executives, are published on a quarterly basis and made available on GOV.UK.

Details of Ministers’ meetings with external organisations, including with newspaper and other media proprietors, editors and senior executives, are published on a quarterly basis and made available on GOV.UK.

There was no such correspondence.

The National Economic Recovery Taskforce (Logistics) Cabinet Committee was announced on 14 September 2021. When the Prime Minister’s Cabinet Committee structures were refreshed, gov.uk was updated in October 2021 and this no longer included the National Economic Recovery Taskforce (Logistics).

Logistics and supply chains remain a priority for the Government and are discussed regularly by Ministers in a range of forums.

It is a long-established precedent that information about the discussions that have taken place in Cabinet and its Committees, and how often they have met, is not normally shared publicly.

I refer the Rt hon member to my answer given to PQ 135517 on 10 March.

GOV.UK is updated regularly with the list of Cabinet Committees, their terms of reference, membership and who chairs each Committee.

The No 10 appointments team routinely discusses upcoming and current public appointments with relevant departments.

The Cabinet Office is located across the United Kingdom including presence across many of its growth locations such as Glasgow, York and the devolved administrations as part of the Government’s plan to further strengthen the Union.

There are a number of Cabinet Office business units which are currently based in Downing Street. Due to the potential security risks, the Cabinet Office is unable to provide a list of business units which are based in Downing Street.

The Cabinet Office is located across the United Kingdom including presence across many of its growth locations such as Glasgow, York and the devolved administrations as part of the Government’s plan to further strengthen the Union.

There are a number of Cabinet Office business units which are currently based in Downing Street. Due to the potential security risks, the Cabinet Office is unable to provide a list of business units which are based in Downing Street.

Information about Special Adviser numbers and appointing ministers is published annually under the requirements of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010. The Annual Report on Special Advisers 2021, published on 15 July 2021, is accessible through GOV.UK.

The Annual Report on Special Advisers for the current year will be published in due course.

The Domestic and Economic (Illegal Migration) Cabinet Sub-Committee, to which the Illegal Migration Taskforce (IMTF) reports, is chaired by either the Prime Minister, or the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, and ensures that the Government’s work to prevent illegal migration to the UK is coordinated. In my role as Minister for the Cabinet Office, I support the Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster on the work of the IMTF as directed by them.

I refer the Rt Hon Member to the government transparency data routinely published on GOV.UK since May 2010, which is readily accessible at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/ministers-transparency-publications.

Our National Cyber Strategy - launched in December 2021 - sets out how we will ensure that the UK continues to be a leading, responsible and democratic cyber power, able to protect and promote our interests in the rapidly evolving online world. This includes making the UK more resilient to cyber attacks, including ransomware attacks. The Strategy is supported by £2.6 billion of investment over three years.

Over the past five years, the National Cyber Security Centre has dealt with over 3300 significant cyber incidents affecting people and organisations across the UK:

• 590 in 2017,

• 557 in 2018,

• 658 in 2019,

• 723 in 2020, and;

• 777 in 2021.

The 2021 Cyber Security Breaches Survey shows the following percentage of businesses identified a cyber attack across the UK:

• 39% in 2021,

• 46% in 2020,

• 32% in 2019,

• 43% in 2018, and;

• 46% in 2017.

We are not in a position to be able to identify all cyber attacks, including ransomware attacks against UK companies, or attribute responsibility for every attack.

HMG continues its work with global partners to detect and disrupt cyber threats emanating from overseas. In December 2021, the UK held a G7 Senior Officials’ Forum on Ransomware to combat the threat, and the UK is taking a leading role in the international Counter Ransomware Initiative.

Our National Cyber Strategy - launched in December 2021 - sets out how we will ensure that the UK continues to be a leading, responsible and democratic cyber power, able to protect and promote our interests in the rapidly evolving online world. This includes making the UK more resilient to cyber attacks, including ransomware attacks. The Strategy is supported by £2.6 billion of investment over three years.

Over the past five years, the National Cyber Security Centre has dealt with over 3300 significant cyber incidents affecting people and organisations across the UK:

• 590 in 2017,

• 557 in 2018,

• 658 in 2019,

• 723 in 2020, and;

• 777 in 2021.

The 2021 Cyber Security Breaches Survey shows the following percentage of businesses identified a cyber attack across the UK:

• 39% in 2021,

• 46% in 2020,

• 32% in 2019,

• 43% in 2018, and;

• 46% in 2017.

We are not in a position to be able to identify all cyber attacks, including ransomware attacks against UK companies, or attribute responsibility for every attack.

HMG continues its work with global partners to detect and disrupt cyber threats emanating from overseas. In December 2021, the UK held a G7 Senior Officials’ Forum on Ransomware to combat the threat, and the UK is taking a leading role in the international Counter Ransomware Initiative.

Our National Cyber Strategy - launched in December 2021 - sets out how we will ensure that the UK continues to be a leading, responsible and democratic cyber power, able to protect and promote our interests in the rapidly evolving online world. This includes making the UK more resilient to cyber attacks, including ransomware attacks. The Strategy is supported by £2.6 billion of investment over three years.

Over the past five years, the National Cyber Security Centre has dealt with over 3300 significant cyber incidents affecting people and organisations across the UK:

• 590 in 2017,

• 557 in 2018,

• 658 in 2019,

• 723 in 2020, and;

• 777 in 2021.

The 2021 Cyber Security Breaches Survey shows the following percentage of businesses identified a cyber attack across the UK:

• 39% in 2021,

• 46% in 2020,

• 32% in 2019,

• 43% in 2018, and;

• 46% in 2017.

We are not in a position to be able to identify all cyber attacks, including ransomware attacks against UK companies, or attribute responsibility for every attack.

HMG continues its work with global partners to detect and disrupt cyber threats emanating from overseas. In December 2021, the UK held a G7 Senior Officials’ Forum on Ransomware to combat the threat, and the UK is taking a leading role in the international Counter Ransomware Initiative.

Our National Cyber Strategy - launched in December 2021 - sets out how we will ensure that the UK continues to be a leading, responsible and democratic cyber power, able to protect and promote our interests in the rapidly evolving online world. This includes making the UK more resilient to cyber attacks, including ransomware attacks. The Strategy is supported by £2.6 billion of investment over three years.

Over the past five years, the National Cyber Security Centre has dealt with over 3300 significant cyber incidents affecting people and organisations across the UK:

• 590 in 2017,

• 557 in 2018,

• 658 in 2019,

• 723 in 2020, and;

• 777 in 2021.

The 2021 Cyber Security Breaches Survey shows the following percentage of businesses identified a cyber attack across the UK:

• 39% in 2021,

• 46% in 2020,

• 32% in 2019,

• 43% in 2018, and;

• 46% in 2017.

We are not in a position to be able to identify all cyber attacks, including ransomware attacks against UK companies, or attribute responsibility for every attack.

HMG continues its work with global partners to detect and disrupt cyber threats emanating from overseas. In December 2021, the UK held a G7 Senior Officials’ Forum on Ransomware to combat the threat, and the UK is taking a leading role in the international Counter Ransomware Initiative.

The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, both in that role and as the Downing Street Chief of Staff, continues to play an important role supporting the Illegal Migration Taskforce. He is assisted by Michael Ellis MP, Minister for the Cabinet Office.

The Cabinet Office is located across the United Kingdom including presence across many of its growth locations such as Glasgow, York and the devolved administrations as part of the Government’s plan to further strengthen the Union.

The No 10 Facilities Management team oversaw practical steps to reflect the prevailing BEIS guidance on workplace arrangements, as laid out in my answer of 21 February, PQ89703.

I refer the Rt hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Luton South on 10 February, PQ119903.

Individual civil servants will be managed by civil servants as appropriate within their business units. Special Advisers are the responsibility of their appointing minister.

The No 10 appointments unit has existed across successive administrations and is staffed by four civil servants.

It supports the Prime Minister in all appointments and dignities (including, but not limited to, regulated public appointments) within the constitutional remit of Her Majesty’s Government.

A full list of ministerial responsibilities will be published in due course.

I refer the Rt Hon Member to the answer to her question of 10 February 2022, UIN 115926.

I note that she has also written to the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and the Cabinet Secretary on the same issue. A Ministerial reply will be sent in due course.

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer given to the Rt Hon Member for Ashton-under-Lyne on 21 February, PQ122677.

Samantha Jones took up her role as interim Permanent Secretary and Chief Operating Officer in No 10 on 10 February. Her appointment was approved by the Civil Service Commission.

A competition to make a permanent appointment will be launched in due course. Ms Jones will report to the Cabinet Secretary. The Prime Minister continues to receive advice from the No10 Policy Unit on all aspects of government policy, including health and social care.

The No 10 Facilities Management team oversaw such arrangements within Downing Street.

I have been asked to reply. No.

The Government has accepted the Second Permanent Secretary’s general findings in full and is in the course of making changes. Further details will be announced in due course.

I refer the Hon. Member back to the reply I gave to her on 7 February 2022 (Hansard volume 708, from column 695).

The Government has accepted the Second Permanent Secretary’s general findings in full and is in the course of making changes. Further details will be announced in due course.

I refer the Hon. Member back to the reply I gave to her on 7 February 2022 (Hansard volume 708, from column 695).

The Government has accepted the Second Permanent Secretary’s general findings in full and is in the course of making changes. Further details will be announced in due course.

I refer the Hon. Member back to the reply I gave to her on 7 February 2022 (Hansard volume 708, from column 695).

I refer the Rt hon. Member to the answer I gave on 21 February to PQ115945 to the hon. Member for York Central.

Throughout the pandemic, Cabinet Office has followed Government guidance on ensuring safety in the workplace, particularly the Working Safely during Coronavirus (COVID-19) guidance - recognising the different approaches taken by the devolved administrations. Our position has aligned with cross-government guidance issued centrally by Civil Service HR.

On 13 November 2020, in line with the PM announcement on 31 October, Cabinet Office advised that office workers who could effectively work from home should do so with extra consideration given to people at higher risk. Those who needed to come into the workplace for essential business activity and/or for personal circumstances were able to do so.

A list of every piece of guidance issued to Cabinet Office staff relating to managing the risk of COVID-19 in the workplace cannot be provided due to the disproportionate cost.

Throughout the pandemic, Cabinet Office has followed Government guidance on ensuring safety in the workplace. The Cabinet Office has aligned with cross-government guidance issued centrally by Civil Service HR.

On 20 May 2020, in line with the Government’s advice on unnecessary travel, the Cabinet Office default position was for employees to work from home where practical. Employees who were fit for work and required to be in the workplace were advised to follow the guidance on handwashing and respiratory hygiene, the relevant social distancing measures and government/transport provider guidance on safe travel on public transport.

Some operational and specialist teams were identified as essential roles, for which remote or home working may not have been an option for some or all of their working time. Cabinet Office advised that these teams should make sensible arrangements to protect employees, for example, rotas and staggered start and finish times to avoid busy commuting times on public transport. Where possible, business units were asked to ensure that they put arrangements in place to allow employees to adhere to social distancing guidance whilst in the workplace.

I refer the Rt Hon. Member to Paragraph 1.4 of the Ministerial Code and the published Terms of Reference for the Independent Adviser on Ministers' Interests.

In line with well established policy in relation to investigations under the Ministerial Code, it would not be appropriate for Ministers to comment further during an ongoing investigation. That is intended to protect the rights of all involved.

I refer the Rt Hon. Member to Paragraph 1.4 of the Ministerial Code and the published Terms of Reference for the Independent Adviser on Ministers' Interests.

In line with well established policy in relation to investigations under the Ministerial Code, it would not be appropriate for Ministers to comment further during an ongoing investigation. That is intended to protect the rights of all involved.

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer given to 114637, 114638 and 114639.

As has been the practice under successive administrations, the Government does not comment on legal advice that may or may not have been sought or received.

Whilst noting the expert support as referenced in the Second Permanent Secretary's update of 31 January, it would not be appropriate to comment on the scope of legal advice that may or may not have been sought or received.

Sue Gray remains Second Permanent Secretary with responsibility for the Union and Constitution at the Cabinet Office and Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.

The Government does not comment on internal resourcing matters.

A reply was sent by my Hon Friend the then Parliamentary Secretary at the Cabinet Office on 13 August 2021 by email to the Rt Hon Member’s Parliamentary email address.

I refer the Hon. Member to the Cabinet Office report from the Second Permanent Secretary which has been published on GOV.UK and placed in the Library of the House.

The Government does not comment on internal resourcing matters.

Lord Agnew's responsibilities as a Cabinet Office Minister were delegated by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. Since his resignation, these responsibilities have returned to CDL. Any further announcements on ministerial responsibilities will be made in the usual way.

I refer the Rt Hon Member to the answer I gave on 24 January to PQ107597.

A list of every piece of guidance issued to Cabinet Office staff relating to managing the risk of COVID-19 in the workplace cannot be provided due to the disproportionate cost.

The Cabinet Office is leading the programme of work to improve the Business Appointment Rules in collaboration with the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments. The Cabinet Office aims to improve: the scope and clarity of the Rules, the consistency and proportionality of their implementation across government, and enforcement of the Rules.

The Government is currently reviewing Lord Pickles’ letter of 24 January, including its points on the need for differentiation between the Business Appointment Rules and rules administered by other bodies such as the Office of the Registrar of Consultant Lobbyists or the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards.

I note that in his correspondence, Lord Pickles advises: “The Committee’s advice letters will now make explicit reference to a former minister’s responsibility to understand any other rules and regulations they are subject to in parallel with the Committee’s advice.”

I would again refer the Rt. Hon Member to my published exchange of letters with the Independent Adviser on Ministers’ Interests, published on GOV.UK and available in the Library of the House.

Details of Ministers’ gifts, hospitality, overseas travel and meetings are published on GOV.UK on a quarterly basis. Data covering the period from April to June 2021 was published on 21 October 2021.

Departments will publish data relating to the period July to September 2021 in due course.

The exchange has been published in Lord Geidt's correspondence, which is available on GOV.UK and in the Library of the House.

The Independent Adviser's letter of 23 December concluded the correspondence, which was published soon after on 6 January. The correspondence sets out the timescales for further consideration and discussion of these matters. That work is underway and the Independent Adviser indicated that he would expect to be able to describe any changes to his role by the time of his next Annual Report in April.

The Independent Adviser's letter of 23 December concluded the correspondence, which was published soon after on 6 January. The correspondence sets out the timescales for further consideration and discussion of these matters. That work is underway and the Independent Adviser indicated that he would expect to be able to describe any changes to his role by the time of his next Annual Report in April.

The Independent Adviser's letter of 23 December concluded the correspondence, which was published soon after on 6 January. The correspondence sets out the timescales for further consideration and discussion of these matters. That work is underway and the Independent Adviser indicated that he would expect to be able to describe any changes to his role by the time of his next Annual Report in April.

Throughout the pandemic, Cabinet Office staff have worked from home and the workplace in line with the appropriate government guidance in place at the time - particularly the Working Safely during Coronavirus (COVID-19) guidance - recognising the different approaches taken by the devolved administrations. Additional assorted guidance has been issued to Cabinet Office staff to support them in working safely from home and in the workplace, as deemed necessary.

Cabinet Office has followed the latest government guidance in relation to managing the risk of COVID-19 in the workplace. It will continue to follow this advice - as we actively support staff back to the workplace following the most recent update in guidance.

I responded to the Rt. Hon Member’s Parliamentary Question, 90429, on 20 January.

The NAO has a right of access to documents and materials which it reasonably requires to carry out its functions. In addition, I refer the Rt. Hon. Member to the Government response to Humble Address Motion on Randox contracts (HC 1072), where a note of the conference call of 9 April 2020 has been published.

I refer the Rt Hon. Member to the Terms of Reference for the Cabinet Office investigation, which have been deposited in the Library of the House. It would not be appropriate to pre-empt that process.

I refer the Rt Hon. Member to the answers I gave to the House at Prime Minister’s Questions on 12 January and 19 January.

I refer the Rt Hon. Member to the Terms of Reference for the Cabinet Office investigation, which have been deposited in the Library of the House. It would not be appropriate to pre-empt that process.

Throughout the pandemic, BEIS has published the prevailing government guidance for all employers in relation to managing the risk of COVID-19 in the workplace, which has been available on GOV.UK.

Every year, the Civil Service People Survey team publishes the Civil Service benchmark scores and the results for all participating organisations in the annual Civil Service People Survey, including for the Cabinet Office, on GOV.UK. The publication of the results for the Civil Service People Survey 2021 is scheduled for Thursday 28 April 2022.

I will place copies of my recent correspondence with the Independent Adviser in the Libraries of the House.

I responded to the Rt. Hon Member’s Parliamentary Question, 88733, regarding the letter from Lord Pickles, on 16 December.

The Terms of Reference for the Cabinet Office’s investigation have been published on GOV.UK and deposited in the libraries of both Houses. The work will be concluded by the Second Permanent Secretary.

The Government does not comment on the specifics or resourcing of an ongoing process.

There are appropriate arrangements and guidance in place for the management of formal Ministerial correspondence - for example, incoming and outgoing letters.

I refer the Rt Hon Member to the answers given by my Official Spokesperson following the report’s publication.

I refer the Rt Hon Member to the answers given by my Official Spokesperson following the report’s publication.

The Cabinet Office follows the Code of Practice on the Management of Records issued under section 46 the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

I refer the Rt Hon. Member to the published correspondence between the Independent Adviser on Ministers' Interests and the Prime Minister.

The previous Freedom of Information request was processed in line with the provisions in the Act. For the reasons set out in that correspondence, no official information was held under the Act in scope of that request at the time.

After the Electoral Commission’s investigation concluded, the messages referred to in the Electoral Commission report were subsequently provided to the Independent Adviser.

That exchange is set out in an annex to that published correspondence; the letters are already in the Library of the House, further to the answer to the Rt Hon Member of PQ 98322.

I refer the Rt Hon Member to the answer to her question of 13 January 2022, PQ 103561.

I refer the Rt Hon. Member to the published correspondence between the Independent Adviser on Ministers' Interests and the Prime Minister.

The previous Freedom of Information request was processed in line with the provisions in the Act. For the reasons set out in that correspondence, no official information was held under the Act in scope of that request at the time.

After the Electoral Commission’s investigation concluded, the messages referred to in the Electoral Commission report were subsequently provided to the Independent Adviser.

That exchange is set out in an annex to that published correspondence; the letters are already in the Library of the House, further to the answer to the Rt Hon Member of PQ 98322.

The Cabinet Secretary responded to the Rt Hon. Member’s letter on 13 December.

The Terms of Reference for the Cabinet Office’s investigations into staff gatherings have been published on GOV.UK and deposited in the libraries of both Houses.

It would not be appropriate to comment on the specifics of an ongoing process. The Government has committed that the findings of the investigations will be made public in due course.

The Terms of Reference for the Cabinet Office’s investigations into staff gatherings have been published on GOV.UK and deposited in the libraries of both Houses.

It would not be appropriate to comment on the specifics of an ongoing process. The Government has committed that the findings of the investigations will be made public in due course.

The Terms of Reference for the Cabinet Office’s investigations into staff gatherings have been published on GOV.UK and deposited in the libraries of both Houses.

It would not be appropriate to comment on the specifics of an ongoing process. The Government has committed that the findings of the investigations will be made public in due course.

I refer the Rt. Hon Member to my response to PQ89702.

I refer the Hon Member to the answers given by my Rt Hon Friend the Prime Minister at Prime Minister's Questions on 8 December and those given by me in the House on 9 December. Copies of the terms of reference for the Cabinet Secretary’s investigations have been placed in the Libraries of the House and are also available on the GOV.UK website.

The Cabinet Office has noted the advice received from the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments on 9 July 2021 and is currently considering the letter. The Business Appointment Rules apply to all former Ministers and civil servants, and all should abide by them.

The Procurement Review Unit will be based in the Cabinet Office and will report to the Minister for the Cabinet Office. The Unit will form part of the new procurement regime which is subject to the usual Parliamentary processes. The new regime will not be active until 2023 at the earliest.

Details of Government contracts above £10,000 and £25,000 in the wider public sector are published on Contracts Finder: https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Search.

The Cabinet Office is leading the programme of work to improve the Business Appointment Rules in collaboration with the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments. The Prime Minister explained to the Liaison Committee on Wednesday 17 November that we are currently refining the rules and considering how to strengthen the process; an update will be provided before the Christmas parliamentary recess.

The Business Appointment Rules apply to all Ministers and civil servants, including special advisers, and it is incumbent upon everyone to abide by the decisions of the Committee, or the relevant Permanent Secretary in the cases of departmental-level applications. A number of sanctions already exist for breaches depending on the nature of the breach and consideration of further methods of enforcement of the Rules will be considered as part of the wider Business Appointment Rules improvement work. The Government will consider the particular circumstances of any breach reported to it by the Committee.

The Cabinet Office is leading the programme of work to improve the Business Appointment Rules in collaboration with the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments. The Prime Minister explained to the Liaison Committee on Wednesday 17 November that we are currently refining the rules and considering how to strengthen the process; an update will be provided before the Christmas parliamentary recess.

The Business Appointment Rules apply to all Ministers and civil servants, including special advisers, and it is incumbent upon everyone to abide by the decisions of the Committee, or the relevant Permanent Secretary in the cases of departmental-level applications. A number of sanctions already exist for breaches depending on the nature of the breach and consideration of further methods of enforcement of the Rules will be considered as part of the wider Business Appointment Rules improvement work. The Government will consider the particular circumstances of any breach reported to it by the Committee.

As Prime Minister and Leader of the Conservative Party, I routinely meet and engage with Conservative MPs. I have not met with Mr Paterson since he resigned as a Member of Parliament and became a private citizen.

I refer the Honourable member to PQ58953.

The Government notes the work of the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs and Treasury Committees, as well as the Standards Matter 2 report from the Committee on Standards in Public Life. Once all these reports have been published, we will consider their work alongside Mr Boardman’s recommendations and set out a substantive Government policy statement to Parliament in due course.

I refer the hon. Member to the answers given to PQ13960 on 10 June 2021 and PQ24328 on 29 June 2021.

Our estimate of £500,000 - £600,000 for defending the case to June 2021 remains accurate.

The case is being appealed and further costs have not yet been determined.

Lord True responded to the letter from the Chair of the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments on 25 November, noting the Committee’s findings in respect of Lord Hammond. The Government has carefully considered this matter and the letter sets out in full its reasoning that, although we concur with the Committee’s conclusion, we do not believe further sanctions should be taken given the particular circumstances of this case.

The Government is working with the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (ACOBA) to improve the operation and efficacy of the Business Appointment Rules. ACOBA has introduced a framework for risk-based consideration of cases, greater transparency and improved reporting of breaches. The Government supports these changes. The Cabinet Office is also leading a programme of work which aims to improve: the scope and clarity of the Rules; the consistency and proportionality of their implementation across government; and enforcement of the Rules.

The recommendations from Nigel Boardman’s report into the development and use of supply chain finance in government, as well as the Standards Matter 2 report from the Committee on Standards in Public Life, will be considered as a part of this work.

The Government Commercial Function (GCF) was formed in 2015 and incorporates civil servants working in commercial roles for Government Departments, colleagues in the NHS and the wider public sector. Further information is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/government-commercial-function/about.

Responses to all FOI requests are handled in line with the legislation, including applying relevant exemptions where applicable.

The costs of resourcing Freedom of Information requests are met within departmental budgets.

Decision notices issued by the Information Commissioner’s Office, including those about the Cabinet Office’s handling of Freedom of Information requests, can be found on the Information Commissioner’s Office website at www.ico.org.uk.

Responses to all FOI requests are handled in line with the legislation, including applying relevant exemptions where applicable.

The costs of resourcing Freedom of Information requests are met within departmental budgets.

Decision notices issued by the Information Commissioner’s Office, including those about the Cabinet Office’s handling of Freedom of Information requests, can be found on the Information Commissioner’s Office website at www.ico.org.uk.

Responses to all FOI requests are handled in line with the legislation, including applying relevant exemptions where applicable.

The costs of resourcing Freedom of Information requests are met within departmental budgets.

Decision notices issued by the Information Commissioner’s Office, including those about the Cabinet Office’s handling of Freedom of Information requests, can be found on the Information Commissioner’s Office website at www.ico.org.uk.

The Government broadly supports the recommendations contained in the 2018 report. We welcome the fact that the House of Commons has endorsed asking the Standards Committee to consider how to implement the Committee on Standards in Public Life recommendations that Members should be banned from any paid work to provide services as a Parliamentary strategist, adviser or consultant and that outside work should be undertaken only within “reasonable limits.”

As the Prime Minister’s letter on 16 November stated, the House may also wish to consider the wider recommendations of the report, the broad intentions of which the Government supports.

I refer the Rt Hon. Member to the publication “PPE procurement in the early pandemic” on GOV.UK of 17 November.

Following the Machinery of Government changes announced by the Prime Minister on the 15th September, responsibility for United Kingdom governance and elections has moved to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to embed levelling up priorities and to meet the changing needs of people across the country.

In addition, responsibility for the operation of the Vaccine Damage Payments Scheme transferred from the Department for Work and Pensions to the Department of Health and Social Care. This change was announced on 21 September and the administrative aspects took effect on 1 November 2021.

All Machinery of Government changes are a matter for the Prime Minister.

The Constitution Settlement Division is responsible for constitutional policy in the Cabinet Office.

A full list of ministerial responsibilities is published on GOV.UK. Individual departments are responsible for their own procurements.

An updated List of Ministerial Responsibilities will be published in due course.

Over 600 responses to the Green Paper were received, which have been analysed in detail; the feedback received has been invaluable in helping us to develop our thinking in a number of areas. We continue to work with key stakeholders on the details of our proposals. The plan is to publish the formal Government response to the consultation in the coming months, in advance of introduction of the Procurement Bill. The Bill will be introduced when Parliamentary time allows.

Over 600 responses to the Green Paper were received, which have been analysed in detail; the feedback received has been invaluable in helping us to develop our thinking in a number of areas. We continue to work with key stakeholders on the details of our proposals. The plan is to publish the formal Government response to the consultation in the coming months, in advance of introduction of the Procurement Bill. The Bill will be introduced when Parliamentary time allows.

At the request of the Prime Minister, the then Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Rt Hon Michael Gove MP, led a review into COVID-status certification, which concluded in July.

As published in the COVID-19 Response: Autumn and Winter Plan on 14 September, in order to help businesses prepare their own contingency plans, the Government will shortly publish more detail about the proposed certification regime that would be introduced as part of Plan B.

At the request of the Prime Minister, the then Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Rt Hon Michael Gove MP, led a review into COVID-status certification, which concluded in July.

As published in the COVID-19 Response: Autumn and Winter Plan on 14 September, in order to help businesses prepare their own contingency plans, the Government will shortly publish more detail about the proposed certification regime that would be introduced as part of Plan B.

I refer the Rt Hon Member to the answer given to PQ 38276 on 10 September 2021.

The work of the Independent Adviser on Ministers’ Interests in advising Her Majesty’s Government is in scope of the Freedom of Information regime.

The Ministerial Code and the Independent Adviser's Terms of Reference, both of which are published on GOV.UK, also sets out a number of expectations about transparency of the Independent Adviser’s work and advice. In particular:

• A statement covering relevant Ministers' interests will be published twice yearly. The last such statement - the List of Ministers' Interests - was published at the end of May 2021.

• The Independent Adviser’s advice to the Prime Minister where he has carried out an investigation into an alleged breach of the Ministerial Code will be published.

• The Independent Adviser also published an Annual Report, setting out the work he has undertaken and his observations on matters within his responsibilities.

As with all Freedom of Information requests, due consideration should be given to the qualified and absolute exemptions under the Act which Parliament has legislated for.

There may be information held where it is not in the public interest for such information to be in the public domain. It is long-standing Government policy not to comment on individual personnel matters, including investigations into conduct, in order to protect the rights of all involved. As with all information, personal data and information provided in confidence will be considered against the relevant exemptions. This also avoids prejudice to the ability to carry out such investigations. The Ministerial Code states that the personal information which Ministers disclose to those who advise them on the management of their interests will be treated in confidence.

I refer the Rt Hon Member to my answer to PQ 24213 on 27 July 2021.

An updated list of Government special advisers was published on GOV.UK on 15 July.

As has been the case under successive administrations, staff employed in the No.10 Political Office are a matter for the governing party.

Appointments of independent members of the Committee on Standards in Public Life are made in line with the Governance Code on Public Appointments. The Code is clear that candidates must be asked to declare potential conflicts of interest in their application and these should be discussed at interview.

The register of interests of all the Committee's members can be found online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cspl-latest-register-of-interests.

The associated press release on the open competition for this role is at: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/professor-gillian-peele-and-ewen-fergusson-to-join-the-committee-on-standards-in-public-life.

I also refer the Hon. Member to the letter from the Commissioner for Public Appointments on the competition process: https://publicappointmentscommissioner.independent.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Copy-of-2021-07-20-PR-to-Lord-Evans-redacted.pdf.

I refer the Rt Hon Member to the answers given to PQ 24213 on 27 July 2021 and PQ 27175 on 27 July 2021.

Other than works funded through the annual allowance, the costs of the wider refurbishment of the residence are not being financed by taxpayers and have been settled by the Prime Minister personally.

Interim support provided by the Conservative Party is a matter for the party.

173 applications were received by the campaign which closed in April 2021 for two independent member vacancies on the Committee on Standards in Public Life.

In line with the Governance Code on Public Appointments, an Advisory Assessment Panel, that included an independent member, carefully considered all applications against the criteria set out in the candidate pack, which is published on the Government’s Public Appointments website. The panel was chaired by Lord Evans, the Chair of the Committee.

The Panel interviewed shortlisted candidates and made recommendations to the Prime Minister on which candidates they found appointable against those criteria. The two applicants who have been appointed by the Prime Minister to take up post on 1 August 2021 were both found appointable by the Panel.

Work is progressing on creating a log of declarations which will cover existing and future contracts. This includes identifying the number of individuals who will be responsible for the log and finalising the data protection training which they will require.

The Cabinet Office is progressing work on creating a contract register and a log of declarations in relation to contracts. Both, along with the necessary data protection training, are expected to be completed by the end of the calendar year.

Appointments made by the Department of Health and Social Care are a matter for the Department of Health and Social Care.

Checks on goods being imported to the UK from the EU are carried out by HMRC, Defra and local Port Health Authorities. Full import controls are being introduced in a phased approach between October 2021 and March 2022. Defra and HMRC continue to review the number of staff required to conduct these checks and ensure that there are sufficient civil servants in post. Once the import controls, as set out under the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, have been fully implemented, an accurate estimate of additional staffing required and the cost of this recruitment can be made.

Border Force has recruited fifty full-time equivalents for the purpose of implementing the Northern Ireland Protocol at a total cost of approximately £1.4m.

Other Departments have recruited small numbers of additional staff but have generally managed the requirements of the Protocol through reprioritization.

The Parliamentary Secretary at the Cabinet Office set out the Government's position in her response on 28 June 2021.

All Cabinet Office Non-Executive Board Members were recruited through open competition according to the guidance set out in the Corporate governance code for central government departments. Lord Nash, the Government Lead Non-Executive, who also sits on the Cabinet Office Board, was appointed directly by the Prime Minister based on merit and works within the confines of the Code of Corporate governance for central Departments.

On 12 May, the Prime Minister confirmed that the public inquiry into COVID-19 will be established on a statutory basis, with full formal powers, and that it will begin its work in spring 2022. Further details, including terms of reference, will be set out in due course. The Government will of course cooperate with the inquiry fully.

Further to the answer given to PQ 76729 on 6 October 2020, all contracts are approved by senior officials who alone have the authority to do so. Special Advisers are not permitted to authorise the expenditure of public funds.

Details of Government contracts above £10,000, and £25,000 in the wider public sector, should be published on Contracts Finder.

Being able to procure at speed has been critical in the Government’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic. However we have always made it clear that all contracts, including those designed to tackle coronavirus issues, must continue to achieve value for money for taxpayers, use good commercial judgement and the details of any awards made should be published in line with Government transparency guidelines.

Details of Government contracts above £10,000, and £25,000 in the wider public sector, should be published on Contracts Finder.

Being able to procure at speed has been critical in the Government’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic. However we have always made it clear that all contracts, including those designed to tackle coronavirus issues, must continue to achieve value for money for taxpayers, use good commercial judgement and the details of any awards made should be published in line with Government transparency guidelines.

The Information Commissioner has recently launched an investigation into the use of private correspondence channels in DHSC. It would therefore be inappropriate to comment on the ongoing investigation at this stage.

I refer the Rt Hon Member to the answers given to questions on 8 July 2021.

Subject to a final decision on 12 July, the Prime Minister has set out the arrangements that will be in place in England once we move to Step Four. It will no longer be necessary for the government to instruct people to work from home and so employers, including the Civil Service, will be able to support the safe return to the workplace for staff who have, for many months now, been working remotely, and at the same time, support those Civil Servants who have been in the workplace throughout the pandemic. Work will also continue to support those Civil Servants in other parts of the United Kingdom.

Employers, including the Civil Service, will need to continue to take sensible precautions to reduce risk in the workplace and enable people to make informed decisions about how to manage the risk to themselves and others, including having a vaccination where they can, continuing with good hygiene practices and self-isolating if they have symptoms or have tested positive. These actions will help reduce the spread of COVID-19 and mitigate the risk of a resurgence which puts the NHS under unsustainable pressure.

Further to the letter sent to the Rt Hon Member from the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster on 8 July 2021, Non-Executive Board Members are individuals appointed in line with the Corporate Governance Code for Central Government Department https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/corporate-governance-code-for-central-government-departments-2017

Remuneration for Non-Executive Board Members is reported in the Cabinet Offices' Annual Report and Accounts and is available on our website.

Non-Executive Directors on the boards of public bodies fulfil legal duties in accordance with the founding legal instruments, statutory or otherwise, of their organisation. The Cabinet Office publishes data on the number of public appointees on the boards of public bodies and in independent offices, appointed following the Governance Code on Public Appointments.

Part 7 of the Ministerial Code sets out the expectations around Ministers’ private interests. Paragraph 8.14 of the Code sets out the expectations around meetings with external organisations.

As set out in the Code, Ministers are personally responsible for deciding how to act and conduct themselves in light of the Code and for justifying their actions to Parliament and the public. The Prime Minister is the ultimate judge of the standards of behaviour expected of a Minister and the appropriate consequences of a breach of those standards. The Prime Minister recently accepted the recommendation of the Committee on Standards in Public Life that there should be a range of sanctions available where a breach of the Ministerial Code is determined to have occurred. The full letter is available on GOV.UK: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/981905/Letter_from_the_Prime_Minister_to_Lord_Evans__28_April_2021.pdf

Further to the letter sent to the Rt Hon Member from the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster on 8 July 2021, Non-Executive Board Members are individuals appointed in line with the Corporate Governance Code for Central Government Department https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/corporate-governance-code-for-central-government-departments-2017

Remuneration for Non-Executive Board Members is reported in the Cabinet Offices' Annual Report and Accounts and is available on our website.

Non-Executive Directors on the boards of public bodies fulfil legal duties in accordance with the founding legal instruments, statutory or otherwise, of their organisation. The Cabinet Office publishes data on the number of public appointees on the boards of public bodies and in independent offices, appointed following the Governance Code on Public Appointments.

Part 7 of the Ministerial Code sets out the expectations around Ministers’ private interests. Paragraph 8.14 of the Code sets out the expectations around meetings with external organisations.

As set out in the Code, Ministers are personally responsible for deciding how to act and conduct themselves in light of the Code and for justifying their actions to Parliament and the public. The Prime Minister is the ultimate judge of the standards of behaviour expected of a Minister and the appropriate consequences of a breach of those standards. The Prime Minister recently accepted the recommendation of the Committee on Standards in Public Life that there should be a range of sanctions available where a breach of the Ministerial Code is determined to have occurred. The full letter is available on GOV.UK: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/981905/Letter_from_the_Prime_Minister_to_Lord_Evans__28_April_2021.pdf

Further to the letter sent to the Rt Hon Member from the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster on 8 July 2021, Non-Executive Board Members are individuals appointed in line with the Corporate Governance Code for Central Government Department https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/corporate-governance-code-for-central-government-departments-2017

Remuneration for Non-Executive Board Members is reported in the Cabinet Offices' Annual Report and Accounts and is available on our website.

Non-Executive Directors on the boards of public bodies fulfil legal duties in accordance with the founding legal instruments, statutory or otherwise, of their organisation. The Cabinet Office publishes data on the number of public appointees on the boards of public bodies and in independent offices, appointed following the Governance Code on Public Appointments.

Part 7 of the Ministerial Code sets out the expectations around Ministers’ private interests. Paragraph 8.14 of the Code sets out the expectations around meetings with external organisations.

As set out in the Code, Ministers are personally responsible for deciding how to act and conduct themselves in light of the Code and for justifying their actions to Parliament and the public. The Prime Minister is the ultimate judge of the standards of behaviour expected of a Minister and the appropriate consequences of a breach of those standards. The Prime Minister recently accepted the recommendation of the Committee on Standards in Public Life that there should be a range of sanctions available where a breach of the Ministerial Code is determined to have occurred. The full letter is available on GOV.UK: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/981905/Letter_from_the_Prime_Minister_to_Lord_Evans__28_April_2021.pdf

I refer the Rt Hon Member to my answer given to PQ21237 on 28 June 2021.

The Cabinet Office commissioned Nigel Boardman in September 2020 to undertake a review of departmental procurement. This review made 28 specific recommendations, which we have accepted in full. The review was, however, specifically focused on a small number of contracts within the Government Communications Service business area and so while we are embedding the Boardman recommendations widely across the CO, many were and are already standard practice in many areas of the department and across government.

As at 5 July 2021, the department has completed 24 of the 28 recommendations (86%). The remaining four recommendations are by their nature dependent on sourcing and on-boarding additional systems / resources. All four are in progress and expected to be completed by the end of the calendar year.

The four outstanding recommendations are:

11 – Single point of contact centrally recorded for every contract

16 – Centralised contract register for the department

20 – Log of declarations of interest

21 – Data protection training complete for owners of the declaration logs

I refer the Rt Hon Member to my response on 28 June 2021.

I refer the Rt Hon Member to the answer given to PQ 76729 on 6 October 2020.

I refer the Rt Hon Member to the answer given to PQHL236 on 19 May 2021.

I refer the Rt Hon Member to my written statement of 22 July 2021.

The Clearing House function does not have full time members of staff, and its work is done by a small team of people in the FOI team, including the Deputy Director of Freedom of Information and Transparency, alongside their other day to day responsibilities. There is no separate budget for the Clearing House.

The Cabinet Office does not routinely capture data on the number of requests which are referred to the Clearing House. However, in 2020, Clearing House gave advice on 516 aggregated ‘round robins’ (requests made to more than one department and that have repeat characteristics); a small proportion of over 30,000 requests received by government departments in the same time period.

The Cabinet Office has referred requests to the Clearing House where appropriate and in line with the published criteria, which is available on gov.uk here - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cabinet-office-and-freedom-of-information.

Information on Freedom of Information statistics is also published on gov.uk here - https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/government-foi-statistics.

The Clearing House function does not have full time members of staff, and its work is done by a small team of people in the FOI team, including the Deputy Director of Freedom of Information and Transparency, alongside their other day to day responsibilities. There is no separate budget for the Clearing House.

The Cabinet Office does not routinely capture data on the number of requests which are referred to the Clearing House. However, in 2020, Clearing House gave advice on 516 aggregated ‘round robins’ (requests made to more than one department and that have repeat characteristics); a small proportion of over 30,000 requests received by government departments in the same time period.

The Cabinet Office has referred requests to the Clearing House where appropriate and in line with the published criteria, which is available on gov.uk here - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cabinet-office-and-freedom-of-information.

Information on Freedom of Information statistics is also published on gov.uk here - https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/government-foi-statistics.

As referenced in the answer to PQ 15260 the Civil Service Management Code (CSMC) only binds organisations that employ civil servants, which Homes England do not. It is for Homes England to decide how to manage their workforce and related pay processes.

It has been the long-standing practice of successive Governments not to comment on security related matters.

It has been the long-standing practice of successive Governments not to comment on security related matters.

It has been the long-standing practice of successive Governments not to comment on security related matters.

I refer the Rt. Hon. Member to the answer given to PQ 16831 on 24 June 2021.

I refer the Rt. Hon. Member to the answer given to PQ 16831 on 24 June 2021.

A reply will be sent shortly.

Departments are responsible for setting the terms and conditions of employment for their civil servants, in accordance with the rules of the Civil Service Management Code. The Civil Service Management Code only binds organisations that employ civil servants. Departments covered by the Civil Service Management Code are expected to communicate novel and contentious workforce proposals to the Cabinet Office as made clear by paragraph 4.

The Government has been very clear that threatening fire and rehire as a negotiating tactic is completely unacceptable. We always expect employers to treat employees fairly and in the spirit of partnership working with trade unions, where relevant, constructively.

Contracting Authorities decide the terms and conditions of the contracts they enter into with suppliers, and it is for suppliers to establish the pay, terms and conditions for their employees. Employee terms and conditions are protected by employment law when services are transferred between suppliers under Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006. We closely monitor strategic suppliers to improve performance, ensure value for money and to deliver policy objectives.

Departments are responsible for setting the terms and conditions of employment for their civil servants, in accordance with the rules of the Civil Service Management Code. The Civil Service Management Code only binds organisations that employ civil servants. Departments covered by the Civil Service Management Code are expected to communicate novel and contentious workforce proposals to the Cabinet Office as made clear by paragraph 4.

The Government has been very clear that threatening fire and rehire as a negotiating tactic is completely unacceptable. We always expect employers to treat employees fairly and in the spirit of partnership working with trade unions, where relevant, constructively.

Contracting Authorities decide the terms and conditions of the contracts they enter into with suppliers, and it is for suppliers to establish the pay, terms and conditions for their employees. Employee terms and conditions are protected by employment law when services are transferred between suppliers under Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006. We closely monitor strategic suppliers to improve performance, ensure value for money and to deliver policy objectives.

Departments are responsible for setting the terms and conditions of employment for their civil servants, in accordance with the rules of the Civil Service Management Code. The Civil Service Management Code only binds organisations that employ civil servants. Departments covered by the Civil Service Management Code are expected to communicate novel and contentious workforce proposals to the Cabinet Office as made clear by paragraph 4.

The Government has been very clear that threatening fire and rehire as a negotiating tactic is completely unacceptable. We always expect employers to treat employees fairly and in the spirit of partnership working with trade unions, where relevant, constructively.

Contracting Authorities decide the terms and conditions of the contracts they enter into with suppliers, and it is for suppliers to establish the pay, terms and conditions for their employees. Employee terms and conditions are protected by employment law when services are transferred between suppliers under Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006. We closely monitor strategic suppliers to improve performance, ensure value for money and to deliver policy objectives.

Departments are responsible for setting the terms and conditions of employment for their civil servants, in accordance with the rules of the Civil Service Management Code. The Civil Service Management Code only binds organisations that employ civil servants. Departments covered by the Civil Service Management Code are expected to communicate novel and contentious workforce proposals to the Cabinet Office as made clear by paragraph 4.

The Government has been very clear that threatening fire and rehire as a negotiating tactic is completely unacceptable. We always expect employers to treat employees fairly and in the spirit of partnership working with trade unions, where relevant, constructively.

Contracting Authorities decide the terms and conditions of the contracts they enter into with suppliers, and it is for suppliers to establish the pay, terms and conditions for their employees. Employee terms and conditions are protected by employment law when services are transferred between suppliers under Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006. We closely monitor strategic suppliers to improve performance, ensure value for money and to deliver policy objectives.

Departments are responsible for setting the terms and conditions of employment for their civil servants, in accordance with the rules of the Civil Service Management Code. The Civil Service Management Code only binds organisations that employ civil servants. Departments covered by the Civil Service Management Code are expected to communicate novel and contentious workforce proposals to the Cabinet Office as made clear by paragraph 4.

The Government has been very clear that threatening fire and rehire as a negotiating tactic is completely unacceptable. We always expect employers to treat employees fairly and in the spirit of partnership working with trade unions, where relevant, constructively.

Contracting Authorities decide the terms and conditions of the contracts they enter into with suppliers, and it is for suppliers to establish the pay, terms and conditions for their employees. Employee terms and conditions are protected by employment law when services are transferred between suppliers under Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006. We closely monitor strategic suppliers to improve performance, ensure value for money and to deliver policy objectives.

Final costs are yet to be determined.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have therefore asked the Authority to respond.

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy will bring forward a statutory code of practice on dismissal and reengagement.

Under section 204 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992, the Secretary of State is required to publish a draft and consider any representations. The Department will engage with trade unions as part of that consultation. The scope of the Code and its remedies will be in accordance with the provisions of the Act.

Legislation to lay the Code will be introduced when parliamentary time allows and will be subject to the affirmative resolution procedure.

The Government wrote to the Insolvency Service on 23 March asking it to undertake an urgent and thorough enquiry into the recent actions of P&O Ferries, to determine whether the law has been complied with and consider prompt and appropriate action where it has not.

The Insolvency Service confirmed on 1^st April that following its enquiries it has initiated both formal and civil investigations into the circumstances surrounding the redundancies made by P&O Ferries.

The Rt. Hon. Member will appreciate that while these investigations are being progressed it would not be appropriate to make further comment, but the Insolvency Service will provide an update in due course.

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy will bring forward a statutory code of practice on dismissal and reengagement.

Under section 204 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992, the Secretary of State is required to publish a draft and consider any representations. The Department will engage with trade unions as part of that consultation. The scope of the Code and its remedies will be in accordance with the provisions of the Act.

Legislation to lay the Code will be introduced when parliamentary time allows and will be subject to the affirmative resolution procedure.

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy will bring forward a statutory code of practice on dismissal and reengagement.

Under section 204 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992, the Secretary of State is required to publish a draft and consider any representations. The Department will engage with trade unions as part of that consultation. The scope of the Code and its remedies will be in accordance with the provisions of the Act.

Legislation to lay the Code will be introduced when parliamentary time allows and will be subject to the affirmative resolution procedure.

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy will bring forward a statutory code of practice on dismissal and reengagement.

Under section 204 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992, the Secretary of State is required to publish a draft and consider any representations. The Department will engage with trade unions as part of that consultation. The scope of the Code and its remedies will be in accordance with the provisions of the Act.

Legislation to lay the Code will be introduced when parliamentary time allows and will be subject to the affirmative resolution procedure.

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy will bring forward a statutory code of practice on dismissal and reengagement.

Under section 204 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992, the Secretary of State is required to publish a draft and consider any representations. The Department will engage with trade unions as part of that consultation. The scope of the Code and its remedies will be in accordance with the provisions of the Act.

Legislation to lay the Code will be introduced when parliamentary time allows and will be subject to the affirmative resolution procedure.

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy will bring forward a statutory code of practice on dismissal and reengagement.

Under section 204 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992, the Secretary of State is required to publish a draft and consider any representations. The Department will engage with trade unions as part of that consultation. The scope of the Code and its remedies will be in accordance with the provisions of the Act.

Legislation to lay the Code will be introduced when parliamentary time allows and will be subject to the affirmative resolution procedure.

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy will bring forward a statutory code of practice on dismissal and reengagement.

Under section 204 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992, the Secretary of State is required to publish a draft and consider any representations. The Department will engage with trade unions as part of that consultation. The scope of the Code and its remedies will be in accordance with the provisions of the Act.

Legislation to lay the Code will be introduced when parliamentary time allows and will be subject to the affirmative resolution procedure.

My Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has formally commissioned the Insolvency Service to urgently undertake a thorough enquiry into the circumstances surrounding the recent redundancies made by P&O Ferries.

The Secretary of State has asked them to determine whether the law has been complied with and consider prompt and appropriate action where it has not, including any scope to take legal action against the company directors.

We will not hesitate to take further action if we find evidence of wrongdoing.

My Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State has written to the Insolvency Service asking them to urgently undertake a thorough review into the actions of P&O Ferries. As part of this review they will review the evidence around what notifications were given to the various authorities where P&O ferry have said their vessels are flagged.

In England and Wales, proceedings for the offence contrary to section 194(1) Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 may only be instituted by or with the consent of the Secretary of State or by an officer authorised by him for that purpose. There have been two such prosecutions since 2010.

Proceedings in Scotland are a matter for the Lord Advocate through the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service.

An employer proposing to dismiss 20 or more employees at one establishment is required under section 193 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 to notify in writing the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. In appropriate cases, failure to notify in accordance with section 193 of the Act is a criminal offence and can result in an unlimited fine.

No advance notification of redundancy was submitted by P&O Ferries to the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. We have asked the Insolvency Service to look at the notification requirements in relation to the redundancies announced last week and to consider if any further action is appropriate.

Department Ministers have received one letter from Alexander Temerko since March 2021, sent on 22 March 2021 to the former Minister of State for Energy, my Rt. Hon. Friend, the Member for Berwick-upon-Tweed.

In line with departmental Propriety Guidance, the then Minister of State for Energy recused herself from the decision for the proposed Aquind interconnector from 8 January.

As a result of this action, she was removed from the process - this means that no discussions were had, nor correspondence entered into by the Minister in respect of the Aquind Interconnector project. This correspondence was not shown to the Minister as a consequence.

There was no correspondence from Alexander Temerko to special advisors or officials during this time.

This correspondence has already been released in response to a previous Freedom of Information request [reference 11805], and I will place copies of that disclosure in the Libraries of the House, alongside a copy of the response from my Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State, dated 19 April 2021.

In line with departmental Propriety Guidance, the then Energy Minister (my Hon. Friend, the Member for the Berwick-upon-Tweed) recused herself from the decision for the proposed Aquind interconnector from 8 January.

As a result of this action, she was removed from the process - this means that no discussions were had, nor correspondence entered into by the Minister in respect of the Aquind Interconnector project. This correspondence was not shown to the Minister as a consequence.

Departments publish quarterly details of Ministers’ meetings with external organisations on GOV.UK. Details for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/beis-ministerial-gifts-hospitality-travel-and-meetings.

Data for July to September 2021 will be published in due course.

Details of meetings held by civil servants are not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

As has been the case under successive Administrations, it is not Government policy to comment on security procedures in Government buildings.

Departments follow the principles set out in Cabinet Office/HM Treasury ‘Corporate governance in central government departments: code of good practice’.

The Lead Non-Executive Director, Ann Cairns, was appointed in January 2021: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/ann-cairns-appointed-lead-non-executive-board-member-at-beis.

Non-Executive Board Members Vikas Shah and Stephen Hill were appointed in May 2021: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/vikas-shah-and-stephen-hill-appointed-to-beis-board.

This information is published in the Department’s annual report and accounts, available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/beis-annual-reports-and-accounts. The Department’s report and accounts for 2021-22 will be published in due course, in the usual way.

Departmental boards provide strategic leadership for each central government department, as well as advising on/challenging how the department is performing. Each board is chaired by my Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State and includes junior ministers, the permanent secretary and non-executive board members. Non-executives are appointed to government departments from the public, private and voluntary sectors. Their role is to provide advice and bring an external perspective. A summary of the work of non-executive directors across Government can be found in the Government Lead Non-Executive's annual report, available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/government-lead-non-executives-annual-report-2019-to-2020.

Non-executive directors comply with the provisions of the Cabinet Office’s Code of Conduct for Board Members of Public Bodies. Board members are required to submit any declarable interests annually; this information forms part of the independent National Audit Office review ahead of the publication of Departmental annual report and accounts. Information on any relevant interests is published in the Department’s annual report and accounts, which are available on GOV.UK.

The Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy has referred requests to the Cabinet Office Clearing House where appropriate and in line with the published criteria which is available on GOV.UK here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cabinet-office-and-freedom-of-information.

The Department does not keep a central record of Freedom of Information requests referred to the Cabinet Office Clearing House. Providing this information would require examination of records of every FOI request received during this period. This information could therefore only be supplied at disproportionate cost.

DCMS has 32 apprentices, which is equivalent to 2.5% of the department’s headcount.

Schools can access the national voucher scheme as of Tuesday 31 March. This scheme allows schools to order a single voucher to the value of £15 each week for every child eligible for benefits-related free school meals who is not attending school, set a weekly £15 rolling voucher, or combine funding where a family has more than one child eligible. Schools will not have to pay for these vouchers as the costs for this scheme will be picked up centrally by the Department for Education.

Schools can also continue with a local solution to supporting pupils eligible for free school meals.

We understand that other approaches may mean that schools incur additional expenses. Guidance is available on how we will compensate schools who incur these additional costs, including prior to the introduction of the national voucher scheme, in providing free school meals or vouchers to pupils affected by COVID-19:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-financial-support-for-schools/school-funding-exceptional-costs-associated-with-coronavirus-covid-19-for-the-period-march-to-july-2020.

Further guidance is available at the link below: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-free-school-meals-guidance/covid-19-free-school-meals-guidance-for-schools.

To help ensure that the risk of COVID-19 spread for both staff and children is as low as possible, we have asked schools to ensure class sizes reflect the numbers of teaching staff available and are kept as small as possible.

We are extremely grateful for the work schools, childcare providers and local authorities have been doing since our announcement on the closure of schools and other educational and childcare settings. We are committed to ensuring that school staff are issued with the right guidance and support to keep them safe. We are in regular contact with the teacher and head teacher unions.

Currently the NHS is rightly prioritising COVID-19 tests for those caring for hospital patients with pneumonia or acute respiratory illness while continuing to investigate outbreaks. Most adults in good health who develop symptoms will fully recover and the Chief Medical Officer has advised that it is not necessary for them to be tested. However, school staff with symptoms of COVID-19 should, just as anyone displaying symptoms, self-isolate for at least seven days to reduce the spread in the community. The Government’s latest stay at home guidance can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-stay-at-home-guidance/stay-at-home-guidance-for-households-with-possible-coronavirus-covid-19-infection.

On 18 March, the Government made an announcement with regard to increasing the number of people tested for COVID-19 to 25,000 hospital patients a day, which is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/testing-for-coronavirus-covid-19-will-increase-to-25-000-a-day.

On 27 March, the Government launched a new drive on coronavirus tests for frontline NHS staff and more information is available here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-launches-new-drive-on-coronavirus-tests-for-frontline-nhs-staff.

Our health service and care staff are key in our fight against the virus. Frontline NHS staff who have symptoms of coronavirus or who have a family member with symptoms will be the first tested for coronavirus as the testing programme is developed. More on this developing programme can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-launches-new-drive-on-coronavirus-tests-for-frontline-nhs-staff.

We are working closely with other Government departments to secure tests for other critical workers, including in our education system.

We understand that this is a very difficult time for teachers – we are asking a lot of them and all school staff to help the country fight this virus.

Once schools have assessed their demand and capacity, they should liaise with their local authority to establish whether any staff need to be moved to an alternative setting. We have set out in guidance (published 22 March 2020) that local authorities will need to work closely with educational settings to ensure sufficient provision is available across the local area. Local authorities and educational settings may need to redeploy staff, such as teachers, support staff or other critical workers. They may need to do this across the usual boundaries of maintained, academy, college or other status to ensure the right staff are in the right settings.

Parliament has passed the Coronavirus Act 2020, which includes powers to direct schools and other educational settings, including academies and independent schools, to close, open, re-open or remain open. The Act allows my right hon. Friend, Secretary of State for Education, to delegate these powers to local authorities. The Act also supports schools to stay open by granting powers to the Secretary of State to relax certain elements of education law which would be impossible to fulfil in the current circumstances.

Local authorities are also responsible for coordinating the response to these new arrangements and we expect them to work with schools, nurseries, childminders and others to ensure that different settings are supported to stay open wherever possible, taking into account their circumstances and cohort to ensure there is adequate provision.

The Department is focused on the welfare of pupils and all those who work in the education system at this time. Ofsted has currently suspended routine inspections so the Department will not be issuing new academy orders to schools judged inadequate.

For schools which were due to convert on 1 April 2020, where possible these conversions will still proceed to reduce uncertainty over the status of these schools.

It is essential that schools and colleges continue with their statutory duties regarding safer recruitment during the COVID-19 state. Schools and colleges are still required to ensure that those working in their settings are suitable to work in the children’s workforce. The department has published safeguarding guidance, to help schools and colleges who are providing care for vulnerable children and children of critical workers to keep those children (anyone under the age of 18) safe whilst they are at school or college:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-safeguarding-in-schools-colleges-and-other-providers

This guidance includes advice on the portability of Disclosure and Barring Service checks where members of the school or college workforce are already engaging in regulated activity and have the appropriate check for that workforce. Schools and colleges should carry out a risk assessment in these circumstances as they would for a volunteer. Where schools and colleges are utilising volunteers, they should continue to follow the checking and risk assessment process as set out in the statutory safeguarding guidance, Keeping Children Safe in Education.

I can confirm that the department received the letter from Dr Jo Grady on 2 March 2020. A response is currently being drafted and will be sent out to Dr Grady in due course.

Revenue expenditure:

Both before and after opening, maths schools receive core funding in line with other new post-16 schools. Maths schools receive some additional funding in return for delivering key aspects of the maths school model, which includes significant outreach work with teachers and students in schools in their surrounding areas to increase both maths A level participation and maths GCSE and A level attainment. Details are available here:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/822102/20190723_-_Proposer_guidance_-_maths_schools_-_update.pdf.

In order to serve the whole of the south west, Exeter Mathematics School also provides boarding accommodation for a small number of students and receives a residential accommodation grant in order for students from financially disadvantaged/low income backgrounds who live too far away for a daily commute to attend.

All core and additional revenue expenditure is included in the table above.

The Department publishes overall capital costs for all free schools, including maths schools on GOV.UK once all works are completed and costs are finalised. Given that these can be large and complex projects, this can take some time between first opening and publication. Additional finalised capital costs for individual free schools and maths schools will be published in due course. Final capital costs are published here:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/863262/Capital_Funding_for_Free_Schools__UTCs_and_Studio__Schools_.ods.

Seven universities have made a commitment to sponsor a specialist maths school: University of Cambridge, Durham University, University of Exeter, King’s College London, Lancaster University, University of Liverpool, and University of Surrey. The Department is working to open 11 maths schools, with at least one in every region.

The advice from Public Health England (PHE) remains that childcare facilities and schools should stay open unless advised otherwise by PHE. However, the department is aware that pupils eligible for free school meals will miss out if their school is closed, or they are asked to self-isolate. We are closely monitoring the situation, and we are working closely with other government departments to consider what action can be taken. We recognise the challenge this could place on families and schools and education providers.

The department has launched a dedicated telephone and email service to allow quick access to the latest help and support for schools and parents. The purpose of the helpline is to ensure consistent and accurate information reaches education providers and should help ensure providers feel well-supported.

Details of the helpline:

Phone: 0800 046 8687 (8am to 6pm - Monday to Friday)

Email: DfE.coronavirushelpline@education.gov.uk

This government is committed to ensuring that children are well nourished and develop healthy eating habits that stay with them for the rest of their lives. We are making a significant investment in free school meals for children and have confirmed the funding arrangements for Universal Infant Free School Meals for the current academic year. Arrangements for 2020/21 will be confirmed in due course and funding arrangements after this date will be confirmed as part of the next Spending Review.

The department is not able to make an accurate estimate of the funding for level 6 qualifications which has been allocated to learners who already hold a qualification at level 6, as data currently held on the prior attainment of apprentices is incomplete.

The information is not held centrally. Core funding for children’s services, including funding for placing looked-after children, is un-ring-fenced and part of the wider local government finance settlement. It is for local authorities to decide how best to spend the funding to meet their local needs, priorities and statutory responsibilities, including for children’s social care.

The local government settlement for 2020-21 set out proposals to increase local government resources by 4.4% above inflation, which is the largest increase in spending power in almost a decade. Under these proposals, core spending power will rise from £46.2 billion in 2019-20 to £49.1 billion in 2020-21.

We recognise the demand pressures on children’s social care. The government is providing local authorities with an additional £1 billion for adult and children’s social care in every year of this Parliament.

The information is not held centrally. Core funding for children’s services, including funding for placing looked-after children, is un-ring-fenced and part of the wider local government finance settlement. It is for local authorities to decide how best to spend the funding to meet their local needs, priorities and statutory responsibilities, including for children’s social care.

The local government settlement for 2020-21 set out proposals to increase local government resources by 4.4% above inflation, which is the largest increase in spending power in almost a decade. Under these proposals, core spending power will rise from £46.2 billion in 2019-20 to £49.1 billion in 2020-21.

We recognise the demand pressures on children’s social care. The government is providing local authorities with an additional £1 billion for adult and children’s social care in every year of this Parliament.

The apprenticeship levy underpins our reforms to raise apprenticeship quality and supports employers to make long-term, sustainable investments in the skills that they need. Income from the levy is used to fund apprenticeships in all employers (both those who pay the levy and those who do not pay the levy).

The table below provides a breakdown for the financial year 2018-19 and shows spending on new apprenticeship starts since May 2017, following the introduction of the apprenticeship levy, in both levy-paying and non-levy paying employers, as well as spending on apprenticeships started before the levy. This is broken down for each level of apprenticeship.

*Participation spend only as per the 2018/2019 Financial Statements

*Rounded to the nearest million below the table and below where it says *participation spend only as per the 2018/19 Financial Statements.

HM Treasury allocates a fixed, annual ring-fenced budget for apprenticeships to the Department for Education. The budget is independent of how much levy receipts are each year. The budget is used to fund new apprenticeship starts in levy and non-levy-paying employers and to cover the ongoing training costs of apprentices who are already in training.

Funding available for levy-paying employers depends on the employers’ levy contributions and how many of their employees live in England. For employers who do not pay the levy, we allocate funding based on our assessment of demand in the system at the time and overall long-term affordability of the programme. However, actual spending on the apprenticeship programme depends on the choices that employers make about the type and number of apprenticeships that they offer to meet their current and future skills needs.

In 2018-19, £809 million (37%) was allocated to non-levy employers from a total budget of £2,181 million for apprenticeships training.

In 2019-20, £766 million (32%) was allocated to non-levy employers from a total budget of £2,410 million for apprenticeships training.

The apprenticeship levy came into force on 6 April 2017, requiring all employers with an annual pay bill of £3 million or more to pay 0.5% of their pay bill to invest in apprenticeship training.

Prior to this, all funding allocations were made directly to training providers with no distinction being made as to the size of the employer they subsequently worked with.

We are therefore unable to provide a breakdown of funding allocated to small and medium employers (SMEs) in the period requested.

In our response to question 1755, the Department for Education estimated that in January 2019, 530,000 3-4 year-olds were ineligible for 30 hours due to one or both of their parents not meeting the minimum income requirements (more than the equivalent to 16 hours a week at national minimum wage or national living wage which is currently £6,800 a year). This included families where one or both parents chose not to or were unable to work. Information about the exact number of children in each category is not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

There is support available for parents with childcare costs outside of the free early education entitlements. For example, eligible families can get help with 85% of their childcare costs through Universal Credit, subject to a monthly limit of £646 for one child or £1108 for two or more children. Further information can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/universal-credit/what-youll-get. Families can also get help with the costs of childcare from the Tax Free Childcare scheme.

Since the introduction of the levy in April 2017, there have been 196 starts on the senior investment-commercial banking professional apprenticeships standard (this standard was approved for delivery in May 2018).

14 organisations are using the levy funds in their apprenticeship service accounts for this training. We are unable to provide names of specific organisations due to taxpayer confidentiality.

This amounts to a full cost commitment of £3.5 million, which is based on learners completing the course. The estimated actual costs to date are £0.7 million (£0.3 million in the 2018-19 academic year and £0.4 million in the 2019-20 academic year to date).

We have published the expenditure on apprenticeships training for the 2018-19 financial year (£1.7 billion). We will publish the expenditure for the 2019-20 financial year through the annual report and accounts which will be laid before Parliament in summer 2020.

We are listening to the concerns of businesses about the apprenticeship levy and are committed to making sure the apprenticeship programme continues to provide opportunities for people of all backgrounds, whilst meeting the needs of employers of all sizes and delivering for the

economy more broadly.

Since 18 September 2017, data on Sure Start children’s centres and children’s centre linked sites has been supplied by local authorities via the department’s Get Information about Schools (GIAS) database portal at: https://www.get-information-schools.service.gov.uk/.

Based on the information supplied by local authorities[1], the attached spreadsheet provides details of the number of children’s centre sites by local authority in 2015 and 2017[2].

Councils are reconfiguring services to deliver them more efficiently. If a council decides to close a children’s centre, statutory guidance is clear that they should demonstrate that local children and families would not be adversely affected and local areas continue to have sufficient children’s centres to meet their needs.

[1] The number of children’s centres is based on information supplied by local authorities as at 3 January 2020 and shows the number of children’s centre sites in each local authority at the end of the 2015 and 2017 calendar years. These figures may be different to previous answers, and could change again in future, since local authorities may update their data at any time.

[2] The GIAS database does not hold information on the date a children’s centre converts to a children’s centre linked site therefore, while a figure for the split between children’s centres and children’s centre linked sites at the point a query is made can be established, it is not possible to provide a historic breakdown of this figure in previous years.

As at 31 December 2019, the proportion of Education and Skills Funding Agency staff employed as apprentices was 6%.

This is a matter for the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education. I have asked its Chief Executive, Jennifer Coupland, to write to the hon. Member and a copy of her reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

As at 31 December 2019, the proportion of Education and Skills Funding Agency staff employed as apprentices was 6%.

This is a matter for the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education. I have asked its Chief Executive, Jennifer Coupland, to write to the hon. Member and a copy of her reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

As at 31 December 2019, the proportion of Department for Education staff employed as apprentices was 5%.

In 2013/14, the base rate of funding for 16-19 education was £4,000. Using the most recent GDP deflators to calculate the value of this rate at 2019-20 prices produces a figure of £4,435.

We are investing an extra £400 million in 16 to 19 education in 2020-21 to ensure we are building the skills that our country needs. This is the biggest injection of new money into 16 to 19 education in a single year since 2010, with funding increasing faster for 16 to 19 education than in 5 to 16 schooling. This includes a 4.7% increase in the base rate to £4,188. With other funding announced, such as an additional £120 million of funding for high cost and high value subjects and £35 million to support students with Maths and English GCSE retakes, this represents an increase of around 7% in overall 16 to 19 funding.

Funding for future years beyond 2020-21 will be considered as part of the next Spending Review.

The additional £1 billion grant for adults and children’s social care, and the continuing £410 million social care grant, can be used flexibly by local authorities to deliver both adults and children's social care based on local priorities.

Local councils understand the needs of their communities’ best and it is important that they have the freedom and flexibility to manage those needs.

In March 2018, a contract was awarded to Family Action who are working in partnership with Magic Breakfast to deliver the National School Breakfast Programme. The initial value of this contract, broken down by financial year, was as follows: 2017-18: £0.3 million, 2018-19: £9.6 million and 2019-20: £13.9 million. Further information can be found on the Contracts Finder website, which is accessible from here:

https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/a43bea33-79c5-4c77-8c23-d0dc127f1410?p=@QxUlRRPT0=NjJNT08=UF.

In October 2019, this contract was extended by a further year. Up to £11.8 million additional funding will be invested in the financial year 2020-21. This will kick-start or improve breakfast clubs, making them sustainable in the long run. In total, the department has made over £35 million available to this programme between 2018 and 2021.

​The Department wants to give parents the freedom, support and choice to look after their children in the way that works best for them. That is why from 2021 the Department will be investing £1 billion to help create more high-quality wraparound and holiday childcare places. We will announce further details on this new investment in due course.

Since 18 September 2017, data on Sure Start children’s centres and children’s centre linked sites has been supplied by local authorities via the department’s Get Information about Schools (GIAS) database portal at: https://www.get-information-schools.service.gov.uk/.

Based on the information supplied by local authorities[1], the attached spreadsheet provides details of the number of children’s centre sites by local authority in 2010 and 2019.

Councils are reconfiguring services to deliver them more efficiently. If a council decides to close a children’s centre, statutory guidance is clear that they should demonstrate that local children and families would not be adversely affected and that local areas would continue to have sufficient children’s centres to meet their needs.

On 7 November 2019, the department published annual figures for the number of children’s centres from 2003 and June 2019. This data is available at the following link: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/844752/Number_of_Children_s_Centres_2003_to_2019_Nov2019.pdf.

[1] The number of children’s centres is based on information supplied by local authorities as at 3 January 2020. These figures may be different to previous answers and could change again in future, since local authorities may update their data at any time.

The Department is investing in a central programme of support for schools to help teachers introduce the new subjects of relationships education (for primary aged pupils), relationships and sex education (for secondary aged pupils) and health education (for all pupils in state-funded schools). This programme will include a new online service, featuring an implementation guide, training materials, and resources that teachers need to teach the new subjects. We are working with expert organisations, schools and teachers to develop this support. There will also be training available for teachers through regional networks, offering opportunities to improve subject knowledge and build confidence.

We have also been working closely with over 1,600 schools who are acting on a voluntary basis as early adopters of the new subjects, so that we can support their journey, learn lessons and share good practice amongst all schools.

The Department aims to ensure parents have access to a range of affordable childcare, giving them increased flexibility in their working hours and helping children thrive in the crucial early years. The Department is planning to spend more than £3.6 billion to support our early education entitlements in 2020-21.

All 3-4-year-old children in England are eligible for the universal entitlement to 15 hours a week of early education. The additional 15 hours of early education a week, known as ’30 hours’, is available to families where both parents are working, or the sole parent is working in a lone parent family. To be eligible, each parent in a two-parent family, or the sole parent, must earn less than £100,000 a year and more than the equivalent to 16 hours a week at national minimum wage or national living wage (currently £6,800 a year). This also includes self-employed parents and parents on zero-hour contracts.

All children aged 4 at 31 August in England are entitled to a place in a reception class at school starting that September.

The Department for Education estimates that in January 2019, 530,000 3-4-year-olds were ineligible for the additional 15 hours due to one or both of their parents earning below the lower income threshold. This is estimated as follows (figures rounded to nearest 10,000):

• There were 1,370,000 children aged 3 or 4 at 31 December 2018.
• 410,000 4-year-olds were in a reception place in January 2019.
• A further 410,000 3-4 year-olds were eligible for 30 hours.
• 20,000 3-4-year-olds were ineligible for 30 hours due to one of their parents earning over £100,000 per year. This is estimated using the Survey of Personal Incomes publication.
• Therefore we estimate that there are 530,000 3-4-year-olds who are ineligible for 30 hours because their parents do not meet the minimum income requirements. This includes families where one or both parents choose not to or are unable to work.

The Department does not hold information on these estimated 530,000 children separated out as requested in parts a and b of the question.

There is support available for parents with childcare costs outside of the free early education entitlements. Eligible families can get help with 85% of their childcare costs through Universal Credit, subject to a monthly limit of £646 for one child or £1108 for two or more children. Further information can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/universal-credit/what-youll-get. Families can receive help with the costs of childcare from the Tax-Free Childcare scheme.

​The Department plans to confirm the funding rates for the pupil premium in the financial year 2020-21 shortly.

The current 16 to 19 funding system, including the base rate arrangement, was introduced in 2013. The 16 to 19 base rate did not exist before this so it is not possible to provide a 2009-10 base rate at 2020-21 prices.

The Department is committed to tackling entrenched underperformance in schools wherever it exists.

Last September, following confirmation of the biggest funding boost for schools in a decade, totaling an additional £14 billion over three years, the Department announced that we will provide more support for persistently underperforming schools from high-performing, experienced school leaders. These mechanisms are now being put in place.

We also confirmed that we would work with Ofsted so that it can provide more detailed analysis on areas of improvement for these schools. We have been doing so and will be confirming details in due course. This announcement can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-drive-to-continue-boosting-standards-in-schools.

On 10 January, the Department also launched a public consultation on removing the exemption from routine inspection for schools previously rated outstanding by Ofsted. The aim is to lift the exemption from September 2020, subject to the consultation outcome and parliamentary approval. Ending the exemption will mean all parents have up to date information about every school and can be confident that their children’s schools are continuing to deliver the best education. The Department will provide additional funding for these inspections for 2020-21, and funding for subsequent years will be determined through the forthcoming Spending Review.

The press release can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/raising-expectations-of-children-and-parents-high-standards-for-teachers-and-tackling-bad-behaviour-how-schools-in-left-behind-areas-can-improve.

The department is investing up to a further £11.8 million into the National School Breakfast Programme using funds from the Soft Drinks Industry Levy revenues. This additional funding will kick-start or improve sustainable breakfast clubs in up to a further 650 schools. The total investment into this programme over 2018-2021 will be up to £35 million which will benefit up to 2,450 schools.

A contract was awarded to Family Action in March 2018 and will run until March 2021. This contract is based on recruiting schools in the most disadvantaged areas of the country, including the department’s Opportunity Areas, to help ensure every child gets the best start in life. Our targets are therefore based on the number of schools we support, rather than targeting a specific number of children. Family Action have reported in the Food for Thought Progress Report 2019 that there are already more than 1,800 schools benefitting from the programme and estimate 280,000 pupils receiving a breakfast meal per day.

We will provide further information on the impact of the programme once the contract has concluded.

The department is investing up to a further £11.8 million into the National School Breakfast Programme using funds from the Soft Drinks Industry Levy revenues. This additional funding will kick-start or improve sustainable breakfast clubs in up to a further 650 schools. The total investment into this programme over 2018-2021 will be up to £35 million which will benefit up to 2,450 schools.

A contract was awarded to Family Action in March 2018 and will run until March 2021. This contract is based on recruiting schools in the most disadvantaged areas of the country, including the department’s Opportunity Areas, to help ensure every child gets the best start in life. Our targets are therefore based on the number of schools we support, rather than targeting a specific number of children. Family Action have reported in the Food for Thought Progress Report 2019 that there are already more than 1,800 schools benefitting from the programme and estimate 280,000 pupils receiving a breakfast meal per day.

We will provide further information on the impact of the programme once the contract has concluded.

We are committed to improving the working of the apprenticeship levy, including delivering greater transparency on how the levy is being spent.

We have already increased the amount of funding that levy-paying employers can transfer to other businesses, from 10% to 25%, in response to feedback from employers. We are pleased to see that levy-payers with uncommitted funds are increasingly using transfers to support apprenticeship starts in smaller employers.

We continue to work closely with employers and business groups to help them take advantage of the levy and consider improvements to the system to meet long-term skills needs.

As set out in the manifesto, we are committed to undertaking a review of the care system. Alongside this we are providing councils with an additional £1 billion for adults and children’s social care in every year of this Parliament. This is on top of spending £84 million over five years to keep more children at home safely.

We have also invested to deliver high quality children’s social care. The number of children’s services rated outstanding is up and the number rated inadequate down by a third since 2017. This review will allow us to go even further and to ensure that all care placements and settings provide children and young adults with the support they need.

The government has announced an increase to 16-19 funding of £400 million for 2020-21. This is the biggest injection of new money into 16-19 education in a single year since 2010, with funding increasing faster for 16-19 than in 5-16 schooling. This will ensure that we are building the skills that our country needs to thrive in the future. The base rate of funding for 16 and 17 year olds in full-time education for the academic year 2019/20 is £4,000. This will increase by 4.7% in the academic year 2020/21 to £4,188. The base rate for subsequent years will be dependent on the outcomes of the next Spending Review.

The information requested is not held centrally.

The government supports the provision of nutritious food in schools. This ensures pupils are well nourished, develop healthy eating habits and can concentrate and learn. Under the benefits-based criteria, around 1.3 million of the most disadvantaged children are eligible for and are claiming free school meals. This saves each family around £400 per year. Benefits-based free meals were extended to disadvantaged further education students in September 2014. This benefitted 82,117 students in the 2017 to 2018 academic year. A further 1.4 million infants receive a free nutritious meal under the Universal Infant Free School Meals scheme, introduced in September 2014.

We are investing up to £26 million to the National Schools Breakfast Programme. This money will kick-start or improve breakfast clubs in over 1,700 schools and target the most disadvantaged areas of the country, including Opportunity Areas. This has been extended by a further year until March 2021 with up to an additional £11.8 million of funding, this investment will help schools kick-start up to a further 650 breakfast clubs.

In 2019 we invested £9 million to set up local Holiday Activity and Food coordinators in 11 local authority areas. Before Christmas we launched a grant fund for another £9 million for 2020. With this money we will be able to support even more disadvantaged children, building on the learning from 2019 to ensure that the programme supports the development of high-quality provision for children and provides more support for parents and families.

We will invest an additional £3 billion over the course of this Parliament to support the creation of a National Skills Fund. The fund will build on existing reforms, including ongoing work to develop a National Retraining Scheme, an end-to-end service designed to help workers prepare for the changing labour market.

The Government’s proposal for an increase in teachers’ starting salaries to £30,000 by 2022-23, along with increases elsewhere on the rest of the pay framework, will be affordable for schools within the additional funding announced at the Spending Round. This will see an additional £2.6 billion in core schools funding next year, with increases of £4.8 billion and £7.1 billion in 2021-22 and 2022-23 respectively.

Pay reform is subject to the School Teacher Review Body process and recommendations, but our assessment of affordability will be part of the evidence we provide as part of that process.

The latest figures from the Institute for Fiscal Studies show that average real terms (2019-20 prices) per pupil funding for 5-16 year olds has risen overall from £4,599 (primary) and £5,991 (secondary) per pupil in 2009-10, to £5,016 (primary) and £6,220 (secondary) in 2019-20. The figures were published here: https://www.ifs.org.uk/uploads/R162-Data-tables.xlsx.

In August 2019, the Government announced the biggest funding boost for schools in a decade, which will give every school more money for every child. This includes an additional £2.6 billion for 2020-21, £4.8 billion for 2021-22, and £7.1 billion for 2022-23, in comparison to 2019-20. On top of this, the Department will provide £1.5 billion each year to fund additional pensions costs for teachers.

The Department wants parents to have access to a range of affordable childcare, giving them increased flexibility in their working hours and helping children thrive in the crucial early years. We are spending around £3.5 billion on early education childcare entitlements in 2019-20 and my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer recently announced increases in hourly rates for our early education entitlements for 2020-21. In total, this Government is planning to spend more than £3.6 billion to support these entitlements in 2020-21.

The current eligibility criteria for (a) 15 and (b) 30 hours of free childcare for children aged two to four is the following:

Since September 2010, all three and four-year olds living in England have been entitled to 570 hours a year of funded early education over no fewer than 38 weeks of the year (which equates to 15 hours a week for 38 weeks of the year). This is referred to as the universal funded early education entitlement.

From September 2013, the entitlement to 15 hours of funded early education per week for 38 weeks of the year was extended to some two-year olds. Information regarding eligibility for free early education and childcare can be found at the following links: https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/ and https://www.gov.uk/help-with-childcare-costs/free-childcare-2-year-olds.

In September 2019 the Department extended the eligibility criteria for the free early education entitlement for the most disadvantaged two-year olds. Two-year old children in low income families are now able to take up a free place when their parent(s) have one of the following types of immigration status:

• Zambrano carer (derivative right to reside in the UK under European law as the primary carer of a British child or dependent adult)
• Leave to remain with no recourse to public funds (NRPF) granted on family or private life (Article 8) grounds
• ‘Appeal rights exhausted’ (ARE) asylum seeker receiving asylum support from the Home Office under section 4 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
• Parents who are Zambrano carers or who have leave to remain with NRPF, must also be able to demonstrate that they have a low income

The Government has no current plans to change the eligibility criteria of these entitlements.

Arts education is an important part of a broad and balanced curriculum and should not be the preserve of the elite but the entitlement of every child. Between 2016-20 the Department is providing almost £500 million of funding for a range of creative and performance arts education programmes including Music Education Hubs, the Music and Dance Scheme, the Dance and Drama Awards, and a set of diverse cultural education programmes.

The Department believes that the arts help young people to learn creative skills and widen their horizons, so we will also offer an ‘Arts Premium’ to secondary schools to fund enriching activities for all pupils. The Department will share further details on the Premium in due course.

The Department plans to confirm the funding rates for the pupil premium in the financial year 2020-21 shortly.

The Department has received 74 pieces of Ministerial Correspondence and 8 Parliamentary Questions from Chris Grayling since 1 September 2020.

The Secretary of State had a one-to-one call with Chris Grayling on 19 May 2021 to discuss the Williams-Shapps Plan for Rail. A DfT Special Adviser also attended.

Baroness Vere met with Chris Grayling and one of his constituents on 19 May 2021 to discuss road safety.

Throughout the pandemic, Supply Chain Coordination Limited has used set framework agreement prices as its benchmark for all purchases of personal protective equipment.

The estimated cost for the period April 2021 to May 2022 is approximately £90.4 million. The current estimated average daily, weekly and monthly costs of storing personal protective equipment in containers is £0.2 million, £1.5 million and £6.5 million respectively.

We estimate that 4.98 billion units of personal protective equipment are currently stored in containers at a cost of £1.5 million per week.

The results were recorded by several Government departments, including the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, the Cabinet Office and the Ministry of Defence. In the absence of a single, integrated system, financial due diligence was recorded locally using bespoke systems and processes, such as Microsoft Office applications, Atamis, Mendix and Defence Share.

Three full-time equivalent (FTE) staff are employed at the SCS1 pay band and 0.5 FTE at SCS2.

While research approaches are tailored to the specific requirements of each project, these services generally include qualitative research and analysis, such as focus groups and in-depth interviews; and quantitative research and analysis, such as online surveys and data modelling.

The current average cost of storing personal protective equipment in a shipping container is £378 per month per container for site charges and an additional £107 per month if the container is rented, rather than owned by the Department.

The Department has 3.5 full time equivalent staff overseeing the storage of personal protective equipment.

The Department’s Communications Directorate contracted with BMG Research Limited and Kantar UK Limited. The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities used Solutions Strategy Research Facilitation Ltd; Define; Flamingo Research Limited; Wavemaker Limited; YouGov PLC; and Kantar UK Limited.

The average cost is £16.4 million per month.

Based upon the current monthly average warehouse storage costs for personal protective equipment (PPE), the estimated cost for the period April 2021 to May 2022 is approximately £259 million. The current estimated average daily, weekly, and monthly cost of storing PPE in warehouses is £0.7 million, £5 million and £21.4 million respectively.

The results of due diligence were recorded by several Government departments, including the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, the Cabinet Office and the Ministry of Defence. In the absence of a single, integrated system, financial due diligence on suppliers was recorded locally using bespoke systems and processes, such as Microsoft Office applications, Atamis, Mendix and Defence Share.

A copy of the minute, which has been redacted to remove personal information, is attached.

The Government is committed to publishing details of ministerial meetings with external organisations and aims to ensure that all meetings which meet the relevant criteria are included in the register. Where there are omissions, this is due to administrative error.

The Department does not hold a record of the meetings of 14 May 2020 and of 5 to 6 April 2020. The Department has identified a note of meeting on 7 August 2020, which was located following the Humble Address and the National Audit Office’s investigation into the Department’s contracts with Randox Laboratories Ltd. A copy of the note is attached, which has been redacted to remove personal information.

The Department holds a record of the meeting on 18 March 2020 between the former Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Lord Bethell), Government officials and relevant suppliers, including Randox. A copy of the minute is attached, which has been redacted to remove personal information.

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

Since October 2020, all new purchases of personal protection equipment have been made under NHS Supply Chain framework contracts, which are let and managed by the Supply Chain Coordination Limited (SCCL), rather than directly by the Department. Purchases have been made for gloves, FFP3 masks and aprons. Competitive pricing is a key part of any tender evaluation that SCCL undertake prior to the award of framework contracts, which are compliant with Public Contract Regulations.

The information requested is not held centrally. All offers received a rigorous financial, commercial, legal and policy assessment led by officials in various Government departments, using a number of different processes to complete due diligence checks. A proportion of the assessments made included a red, amber or green rating. However, as multiple systems were used to record these checks, the proportion of assessments where a traffic-light rating was given is not held.

Research and insights into United Kingdom public attitudes enables the government to listen to the views of taxpayers and customers, tailoring the delivery of public services to suit the needs of its users, and ensuring that communications are targeted and effective, and improve people's lives.

In 2021, the total expenditure on research, including focus groups and polling services, was £164,171 in the central Department and £449,765.50 in the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities which includes the former Public Health England until 1 October 2021.

The Department has authorised the use of gowns purchased from Clandeboye Agencies Limited during the pandemic. The total contractual price agreed and paid was £107,520,000.

The Department has authorised the use of gowns purchased from Clandeboye Agencies Limited during the pandemic. The total contractual price agreed and paid was £107,520,000.

We are unable to provide the information requested due to legal professional privilege.

The information requested is commercially sensitive as the Department is currently involved in mediation with a number of companies where there are confidentiality undertakings. This protects the commercial interests of the Department and suppliers during this process to ensure we can obtain value for money.

The information requested is commercially sensitive as the Department is currently involved in mediation with a number of companies where there are confidentiality undertakings. This protects the commercial interests of the Department and suppliers during this process to ensure we can obtain value for money.

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.