Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Autumn Budget 2025 made changes to efficiency savings required of departments in (a) 2025-26, (b) 2026-27 and (c) 2027-28.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
No changes were made to efficiency targets in 2025-26, 2026-27 or 2027-28.
Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 16 December 2025 to Question 98122, on Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: Public Appointments, if she will list the annual remuneration of each of the current Direct Ministerial Appointments in post.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The names of special representatives, envoys and direct ministerial appointments are published on gov.uk at the time of their appointment.
Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Government's transparency data entitled Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for government’s most important contracts: Data for July to September 2025 for all departments, published on 25 December 2025, for what reason Tackling Economic Inequality is a Key Performance Indicator for the contract entitled NHSmail Collaboration Licensing Platform that is supplied by Accenture (UK) Limited.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The inclusion of Tackling Economic Inequality as a Key Performance Indicator (KPI) for NHS England’s NHSmail Collaboration Licensing Platform contract reflects the Government’s Social Value Model, introduced to ensure that public procurement delivers wider economic and social benefits alongside core contractual outcomes. Further information is available at the following link:
As for every procurement, NHS England selected the most appropriate Social Value Theme from those set out in the above guidance, based on the subject matter of the contract. In this case, Tackling Economic Inequality was chosen. This theme encompasses measures that promote economic opportunity, support skills and employment, and encourage innovation and productivity across supply chains.
Each Social Value Theme in turn contains detailed Model Award Criteria, and for this contract NHS England applied:
The KPI was included to ensure those commitments are monitored transparently. This is consistent with the Government’s requirement to publish KPIs for its most important contracts, as part of strengthening accountability and transparency in public procurement.
Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 18 December 2025 to Question 86060 on NHS: Recruitment, what guidance has been provided to NHS bodies on the (a) length and (b) type of criminal conviction that would prevent a person from being employed in the NHS under the Widening Access Demonstrator programme.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department commissions NHS Employers to issue employer guidance under the NHS Employment Check Standards, which includes the criminal record check requirements in the National Health Service in England. The standards direct employers in the NHS to use Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) guidance to understand which offences are disclosed or filtered, depending on age, sentence length, and offence type. The DBS applies statutory filtering rules to decide which convictions are shown on DBS certificates in England and Wales. DBS rules apply across all sectors for roles needing criminal record checks. Charities like Unlock and NACRO offer extra advice and guidance for individuals with criminal records and employers hiring them.
Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, further to the Commissioner for Public Appointment’s annual report 2024-25, published December 2025, Appendix: direct appointments, what the business case was for appointing Climate Change Committee members for three years without open and fair competition; and if he will publish relevant correspondence to and from the Public Appointments Commissioner.
Answered by Katie White - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Professor Swenja Surminski was appointed to the CCC's Adaptation Committee in 2022 following a fair and open competition. She was subsequently appointed as a member of the Climate Change Committee to enhance collaboration between the two Committees, as allowed for under the Climate Change Act 2008. The Commissioner for Public Appointments was consulted, in line with the Governance Code on Public Appointments.
Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether staff at the National Energy System Operator are permitted to own shares in National Grid.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
New employees at the National Energy System Operator (NESO) are required to divest any holding of energy sector shares, including in National Grid plc.
For employees transferring from National Grid Energy System Operator there are legacy arrangements in place. They have been allowed to keep their existing shares in the energy sector to prevent any individuals unfairly losing out in the NESO transaction.
Employees are required to disclose shareholdings, seek approval for any share sales, and cannot purchase new shares.
The board and Executive team cannot acquire new energy sector shares and have to divest all existing holdings over time.
Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, further to the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for government’s most important contracts, Data for July to September 2025, published by Cabinet Office on 25 December 2025, for what reason the requirement to reduce dependency on advisory services based in the Global North is a key performance indicator in the contract with DAI Global UK.
Answered by Katie White - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
This KPI relates to a contract with DAI Global UK for the delivery of an overseas development assistance (ODA) funded programme to strengthen institutional capacity in developing countries. The KPI aims to encourage delivery through downstream partners based in developing countries in order to build local leadership and expertise, reducing long-term reliance on UK aid. The headline contract was competitively tendered and awarded to a UK-based supplier.
Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to paragraph 9 of the document entitled Outcome of the exploratory discussions on the possible participation of the United Kingdom in the European Union’s internal electricity market, published on 22 December 2025, what assessment he has made of the potential of the environmental protection clause on costs for consumers.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
An electricity agreement with the EU will cut the cost of trading electricity with the EU - this means lower wholesale costs and ultimately lower bills. Any agreement will naturally involve a balance of rights and obligations to ensure a level playing field in the trade of electricity between the Parties. The detail of environmental commitments in this agreement, as with other areas, is a matter for negotiations.
Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, which pension provider maintains the staff pension scheme for the National Energy System Operator; and whether staff are offered (a) defined benefit and (b) defined contribution pensions.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The employees of the National Energy System Operator (NESO) are not civil servants and are not part of civil service pension schemes.
As noted in NESO’s latest annual report and accounts, Legal & General administer the company’s defined contribution pension scheme. There is a legacy defined benefit scheme, transferred as part of the acquisition by government, however this scheme is closed to new members/employees.
Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much HMRC has spent on social media influencers through (a) Pablo in partnership with the Unlimited Group and (b) OmniGov since July 2024.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Spend since July 2024 totals £436,700 through Pablo/Unlimited Group (excluding agency fees) and £85,719 through OmniGov. This expenditure has primarily been directed at campaigns promoting digital channels for interacting with HMRC. In 2025, this activity generated an additional 4.2 million HMRC app downloads, taking total users during this period to over 7 million.