Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of reinstating awards of honours under the Order of St Patrick.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Most Illustrious Order of Saint Patrick is in the personal gift of The Sovereign. The UK Government is not considering the restoration of The Order of St Patrick.
Nominations for existing honours are open to all citizens within the four nations of the United Kingdom.
Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 20 February 2025 to Question 30473 on Prime Minister: Press Conferences, for what reason members of the Labour party were invited to the event; and whether the Labour party contributed to the cost of the event.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
I refer the Hon Member to my answer of 20 February 2025, Official Report, PQ 30473. The Labour Party did not contribute to the cost of the event.
Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 20 February 2025 to Question 30473 on Prime Minister: Press Conferences, how many people attended the event.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
This was an official government event, with attendees and an audience that included members of the public, business people, and public sector workers. 286 people RSVPed to attend.
Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Chief Operating Officer for the Civil Service has a role in approving contracts issued by the Cabinet Office.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Chief Operating Officer for the Civil Service is an approving member of the Cabinet Office Commercial Spend Control Panel, which oversees spend controls for the whole of the HM Government, including non-ministerial departments, executive agencies, and other arms-length, non-commercial bodies that are majority controlled and/or financed by departments (Non-Departmental Public Bodies). This includes the Cabinet Office. Cabinet Office Commercial Spend Controls apply to all commercial activity with a value of £20m or more, excluding VAT. ).
Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 27 January 2025 to Question 25918 on UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement: Consultants, what consultants are commissioned by his Department to (a) assist the EU Relations Secretariat and (b) work on the renegotiations with the European Union.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Cabinet Office has not commissioned consultants to assist the EU Relations Secretariat or work on resetting the relationship with the European Union.
Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 27 November 2024 to Question 6057 on Prime Minister’s Office: Vacancies, how many jobs in the Prime Minister's Office were filled by exception without (a) internal and (b) external advertisement since 4 July 2024.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
As was the case under the previous Government, where over 9,000 such exceptions were used in the year ending March 2023, exceptions are a long-established part of bringing talent and expertise into the Civil Service. Since 4 July 2024, there have been 3 appointments made via exception.
Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 26 November 2024 to Question 14099 on Permanent Secretaries: Dismissal and Recruitment, what his planned timetable is for the implementation of the recommendations in 2025.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
I have nothing to add to my answer to question 14099 on 26 November 2024.
Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 5 February 2025 to Question 25853 on Public Bodies: Reviews, which four public body reviews are completed; what were the conclusions of each of these; which public body reviews are in progress; and which public body reviews have been paused.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Of reviews planned for 2024/25, the following reviews have completed:
Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency, Care Quality Commission, Regulator of Social Housing, Defence Equipment and Support, Submarine Delivery Agency, Nuclear Research Advisory Council, Legal Aid Agency.
It is each department’s responsibility to publish its reviews once finalised.
The following reviews are in progress:
Valuation Tribunal Service, Science Advisory Committee on the Medical Implications of Less-Lethal Weapons, Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service, Youth Justice Board for England and Wales, Intellectual Property Office.
In some cases, departments have paused their reviews to give capacity to deliver more ambitious work on improving delivery and value for money , in line with government’s wider commitment to reform arm’s length bodies. This wider reform includes the closure of NHS England as announced by the Prime Minister on 13 March.
Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 27 November 2024 to Question 14111 on Public Appointments, if he will place in the Library a copy of all correspondence to and from the Public Appointments Commissioner since 4 July 2024.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Ahead of launching a significant appointment (which are agreed between the Commissioner for Public Appointments and HM Government Ministers and Welsh Government Ministers) departments must correspond with the Office for the Commissioner for Public Appointments to agree the Senior Independent Panel Member.
Personal data relating to potential Senior Independent Panel Members is shared with the Commissioner for Public Appointments for the purpose of assessing their suitability and experience for the role, as per the requirement in the Governance Code for Public Appointments.
I am unable to publish this correspondence as it would involve disclosing personal information protected under data protection laws in line with practice under previous administration.
Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 26 November 2024 to Question 14093 on Special Advisers: Code of Practice, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of amending the Code of Conduct for special advisers to reflect changes to the Ministerial Code.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to PQ14093. The Government published the Code of Conduct for Special Advisers 6 November 2024.