Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 14 September 2026 to question 23230 on Defence and National Security, by what medium will his Department launch a national resilience public awareness campaign this year.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security) (Jointly with the Cabinet Office)
The Government launched the GOV.UK/BeReady website on Thursday 22 October 2026, alongside a Written Ministerial Statement, “Strengthening community resilience across the UK.”
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 8 September 2026 to question 23102 on Cabinet Office: Departmental Responsibilities, what progress she has made on the Future Service Programme.
Answered by Mark Ferguson - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Cabinet Secretary has launched the Future Civil Service programme to build a world-class Civil Service that delivers for Ministers and the public.
Work has begun to transform the workforce through fundamental reforms to the Civil Service recruitment system to hire and promote brilliant people; reviewing the Civil Service Talent Strategy to better develop talent right across the Civil Service; and launching the National School of Government and Public Services to provide world class learning.
The Future Civil Service programme is also supporting the Government's ambitions on devolution, including through supporting local capability and capacity. A new secondment scheme for high-performing civil servants to Mayoral Strategic Authorities (MSAs) has been launched, placing over 100 civil servants into critical MSA roles. Alongside this, the Government has opened the 2026/7 Future Leaders Scheme for talented managers, to mayoral and local authority staff, with around 20 places allocated. Furthermore, to ensure future leaders are able to build successful careers around the country, a Fast Stream Yorkshire and Humber pilot has also been announced.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 25 September 2026 to question 19547 on Prime Minister: Official Gifts, what does the Cabinet Office intend to do with the Look 795 Road Bicycle presented to the former Prime Minister by the Secretariat General of the G7 on 14th June 2026 which is categorised as “held by department” in the Register of Ministers’ Gifts and Hospitality: June 2026.
Answered by Mark Ferguson - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Information about gifts and hospitality are made available on gov.uk on a monthly basis, available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/register-of-ministers-gifts-and-hospitality.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent outputs have been delivered by his Department in relation to the National Conversation as part of the Home Defence Programme.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security) (Jointly with the Cabinet Office)
The UK’s security depends on a society that is informed, prepared and able to respond with confidence to risks when it matters most. The Government is committed to driving forward a public conversation on risks to strengthen national resilience and readiness.
As set out in the Strategic Defence Review (SDR), the ‘national conversation’ will be a multi-year engagement designed to embed a whole-of-society approach.
We have made a series of announcements recently regarding risk and preparedness, including updating classified government crisis plans known as the War Book. This work will help departments plan to respond to threats against the UK, with these plans being tested in next year’s Home Defence exercise ALBISTON SHADOW. This will be the largest UK home defence exercise in several decades.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 25 September 2026 to question 23286 on Government Communications: Recruitment, how many people have been hired at each grade as part of the active recruitment for the new team.
Answered by Mark Ferguson - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Cabinet Office is currently finalising the operational requirements of the Government Media Unit. The recruitment process is still active.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 7 October 2026, to question 23227 on Cabinet Office: Social Media and Video Recordings, which team within her Department is responsible for the creation of social media content posted to Instagram on behalf of a) the Cabinet Office and b) No 10.
Answered by Mark Ferguson - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Cabinet Office Communications is responsible for the official Cabinet Office Instagram account.
No 10 manages its own official Instagram account.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, on which date the Prime Minister requested a ceremonial guard from the Irish Guards for the visit of President Zelenskyy on 15 October 2026.
Answered by Mark Ferguson - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Prime Minister hosted President Zelenskyy to double down on our support for Ukraine. The President was welcomed by the Irish Guards, who have played a pivotal role through Operation Interflex. This mirrored the welcome the Prime Minister received on his first visit to Kyiv in August. It would not be appropriate to comment on military movements.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether a) MBR Acres and b) Labcorp within Huntingdon constituency fall within the scope of the 2023 Biological Security Strategy.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security) (Jointly with the Cabinet Office)
The UK Biological Security Strategy operates on an integrated One Health approach, recognising the links between human, animal, and environmental health to protect the UK from biological threats.
The UK Biological Security Strategy does not govern private laboratories or breeding facilities. These facilities are regulated by the Home Office’s Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986.
The Act recognises that maintaining a robust sovereign preclinical research capability is essential to delivering key commitments for the government's ambitions across life sciences. In particular, the rapid development and scaling of vaccines and therapeutics within 100 days.
In November 2025, the former Science Minister published a £75 million Replacing Animals in Science strategy, which looks to accelerate the phase-out of animal testing using non-animal technologies.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority Major Projects Annual Report 2025 to 2026, Tables, Manchester Digital Campus, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the decision to locate Number 10 North on the current Delivery Confidence Assessment Rating.
Answered by Mark Ferguson - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Manchester Digital Campus represents a significant step in strengthening the Government presence in the North West. The Manchester Digital Campus continues to progress in line with the milestones and delivery confidence ratings published in the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority Major Projects Annual Report 2025 to 2026.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 8 September 2026 to Question 23232 on Defence and National Security, what outputs from the Home Defence Programme have been used to raise public awareness of the national conversation.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security) (Jointly with the Cabinet Office)
As set out in the Strategic Defence Review 2025, the national conversation will be a multi-year engagement designed to embed a whole-of-society approach, where Government, businesses, and the public all play a part in strengthening our resilience.