Charlie Dewhirst

The Government Car Service (GCS) offers vehicles to government departments as a shared resource. Each department independently determines the allocation of these vehicles.

The arrangements relating to the using of vehicles in the Government Car Service is set out in the Civil Service Management Code.

There has been no change in this policy since the general election.

The Parliamentary and Political Service Honours Committee (PPS Committee) is one of ten specialist honours committees which assess honours nominations put forward by members of the public, government departments and professional bodies.

Honours committees are made up of individuals with considerable experience of the area covered by the committee. The PPS Committee considers candidates for honours from the UK Parliament, the Devolved Legislatures, the staff of Westminster and other Assemblies, the staff of bodies which report to them, Party workers, councillors and others working for local government.

The current membership of the PPS Committee comprises four independent members, appointed through a public appointments process, and three official members who are the incumbent chief whips from the three largest political parties in the House of Commons. The process to appoint the new independent Chair of the PPS Committee is ongoing and an announcement will be made in due course. The full composition of each honours committee can be found on gov.uk.

Salary data for the Civil Service is published annually as part of Civil Service Statistics, an Accredited Official Statistics release. Civil Service Statistics 2025 is due to be published on 30 July 2025.

The Airbus A321-253NX with registration G-OATW is not used by the Cabinet Office for official travel.

Since assuming the registration G-OATW in October 2023, the aircraft has been chartered under various contracts with other government departments, to support their official business.

The White Book is no longer in publication.

The dates and value of payments received are as follows:

Sept 2024 - £4.87

Sept to Nov 2024 - £2,827.94

Dec 2024 - £102.40

Each of these payments was for use of Government Car Service.

The cost of paid exits in the Civil Service varies significantly as the terms of the Civil Service Compensation Scheme, which sets the terms for paid exits in the Civil Service, is based on length of service and salary. However, we expect the transformation fund for employee exit schemes, matched by departments themselves, to enable a reformed Civil Service that is focussed on delivery, through an efficient and cost-effective workforce.

The referenced entry relates to wine purchased for official business. The Government regularly hosts events and diplomatic occasions to bring together world leaders and other dignitaries, strengthen international relationships and deliver for the UK public.

Any hospitality purchases for these occasions are made with value-for-money for the taxpayer as a priority.

On 4 April, guidance was issued on restrictions to booking external venues. Departments were asked to put appropriate approval mechanisms in place. The guidance was clear that external venues for awaydays and events should only be used when space in government buildings is unavailable. When it is absolutely necessary to use an external venue, they should be procured through established procurement routes where available.

The Cabinet Office issued instructions on its intranet on 30 April 2025 that prior to booking any external venues approval must be obtained from the relevant Budget Holder and Finance Business Partner. Prior to this period, bookings may have been made which would have proved more costly to cancel, therefore some pre-booked events may still take place. However, this guidance is now live across the Department and is being implemented accordingly.

We remain fully committed to bringing in this legislation which will include a legal duty of candour for public servants and criminal sanctions for those who do not comply.

Having consulted with groups and their representatives, more time is required to draft the best version of a Hillsborough Law.

I refer the Honourable Member to the information published on GOV.UK on 28 November 2024 which provided a summary of the His Majesty The King Official Portrait Scheme, including the number of portraits provided and the total cost of the scheme: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/conclusion-of-his-majesty-the-kings-free-portrait-scheme

The HMK Portrait scheme was launched on 14th November 2023 and, including two extensions of scope, ran until 15th August 2024. A total of 20,565 orders were received, the cost of which, including delivery, was £2,710,705.50 with an average price of £131.81 per portrait.

The campaign to appoint new Independent Members to the House of Lords Appointments Commission was launched earlier this year and remains active. It has not been re-opened.

In April, the government announced that spending taxpayer money on new unnecessary branded merchandise will be banned and will only be permitted when essential for delivering the government’s agenda, for example, in overseas trade and diplomacy, to promote growth. Government departments can continue to use existing branded merchandise.

Branded goods are presently available through the Crown Commercial Service’s (CCS) Campaign Solutions 2 Framework (RM6125), which was established under the previous administration in September 2021.

CCS is in the process of establishing a new framework, RM6364 Media and Creative Services, which will replace Campaign Solutions 2. The new framework will not cover branded goods.

In addition to steps this Government has already taken to improve transparency, in particular through the introduction of the monthly register of ministers' gifts and hospitality, the Government continues to develop its broader work on ethics and standards and will update the Committee on the outcome of that work in due course.

This information is not centrally held by the Cabinet Office.

​​​​The Civil Service is committed to creating a safe and supportive work environment for all its employees and will not tolerate any form of harassment, unacceptable behaviour or abuse by any party, towards any employee.

Departments have their own policies and guidance on dealing with any such behaviour.

As of January 2025, 10 Downing Street held 45 Government Procurement Cards. In the Cabinet Office instructions were issued to the bank on 18 March 2025 to freeze the cards. The number of cards held by No. 10 remains under review.

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer to Question 34459. The arrangements relating to officials' use of vehicles from the Government Car Service are set out in the Civil Service Management Code. In particular, section 8.2.7 states the conditions under which Permanent Secretaries may use official cars, and states that Permanent Secretaries may determine whether, exceptionally, other senior staff are allowed to use official cars on the same conditions. Departmental Private Offices will administer the allocation; ministerial private offices would not be involved in any such decisions other than in determining if a car is available.

Payment will be made through the Government Property Agency, and the cost of these works will be published in due course in Cabinet Office transparency returns.

In line with paragraph 8.1 of the Framework Agreement, Cabinet Office Ministers will continue to answer parliamentary questions about the work of the Civil Service Commission, as the government department responsible for sponsoring the Commission, while respecting its operational independence.

We have deposited a copy of the policy in the House library.

Line Managers are expected to be aware of, and ensure compliance with, the minimum 60% expectation for their direct reports. This approach is the same both in and outside of London.

There are 6 full-time equivalents working in standalone EDI roles. These sit in HR teams across the different Cabinet Office functions and the central HR team in line with the EDI Expenditure guidance published in May 2024, delivering statutory obligations and government priorities. In May 2024, the Cabinet Office had 7 full time equivalent working in standalone EDI roles.

The Office for Equality and Opportunity is responsible for external government policy on equality. It does not have any internal roles focused on equality, diversity, and inclusion.

Following the announcement in December of last year that Lady Elish Angiolini was to be appointed as Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, it became clear that there is a legal restriction against a Catholic person being appointed to the role.

The Church of Scotland (Lord High Commissioner) Act 2025 has been passed by both Houses of Parliament with cross-party support and has received Royal Assent. This legislation removes the historical legal restriction and will ensure that Lady Elish can take up the role.

As was the case under previous administrations, no such agreements are in place with HMRC and the National Crime Agency.

The Department for Education is currently working through the approval process to establish the School Support Staff Negotiating Body as an Arm’s Length Body, in parallel to the passage of the Employment Rights Bill. The completion of business cases as part of this process considers other viable delivery mechanisms and ensures there is a clear rationale for its creation.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 27th March is attached.

The information used to form the aggregate figure for which the spending reduction on communications and marketing is based on can be found through the Government efficiency, transparency and accountability page on Gov.uk.

A comprehensive communications Spending Review identified 39 campaigns that were cancelled, 46 campaigns continuing with reduced budgets and 46 campaigns aiming to reduce their expenditure by 25%. The combined savings from these measures total £85 million in 2024-25 and up to £96 million in 2025-26.

Under the provisions of the Transparency of Lobbying, Non-party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Act 2014, the Registrar of Consultant Lobbyists is required to maintain the UK Register of Consultant Lobbyists. Under the legislation, which was introduced by the then Government in 2013, all registrants must be UK VAT registered. As such, the Registrar of Consultant Lobbyists does not regulate foreign based consultant lobbyist firms.

The Government welcomes the important work of the JCNSS to scrutinise the national security decision making.

I refer the Honourable Member to the letter sent by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster on 24 February 2025, to the Chair of the JCNSS, which has been published here https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/46888/documents/241917/default/.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Staff Network time allocation is agreed between networks and departments as the employer. The majority of staff time spent on diversity staff networks is voluntary and unpaid. The Cabinet Office doesn’t allocate any hours of network time to the Civil Service Muslim Network.

The current senior sponsor for the Civil Service Muslim Network is the Director of Civil Service Employee Engagement & People Performance, Government People Group.

36 Whitehall is not in use and there are no current plans to bring it back into use. Its return to use is regularly reviewed. There are no plans to dispose of the property.

Departments may employ photographers in order to support government’s priorities, enable effective operation of public services and improve people’s lives.

The Cabinet Office Communications team employs two Digital Media Officers who support government work in Departments and undertake photography as a small part of their duties.

There are also 2 full time, dedicated photographers in the No10 team. Although they are funded by the Cabinet Office, their work is managed by No10.

Line Managers are expected to be aware of, and ensure compliance with, the minimum 60% expectation for their direct reports. This approach is the same both in and outside of London.

Compressed working arrangements are agreed and recorded at a team level. The information requested can only be provided at disproportionate cost.

At any point in time, there is likely to be a small number of individuals who have been displaced due to restructures within their business units or, for example, have returned from a loan from another department and their role no longer exists. The exact number changes on a day-to-day basis.