Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 21 October 2025 to Question 81875 on Senior Civil Servants: resignations, if he will list the Permanent Secretaries that have received severance payments for which the latest information is available.

Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

Pursuant to the previous answer, all details of any payments made to Permanent Secretaries are available in the appropriate Departmental Annual Report and Account for the financial year, or will be published in the annual reports for the upcoming financial year.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to page 86 of the Cabinet Office annual report and accounts 2024-25, published on 23 October 2025, for what reason Simon Case was given a £201,402 severance payment; and whether this payment was approved by the Chief Secretary to the Treasury.

Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

It is a longstanding policy not to comment on individuals. Details of any payments are published in the Cabinet Office annual report and accounts

(https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/68fb37aec18f97edd2b63756/36.17_CO_ARA_24-25_00-Book_v16A_WEB.pdf).

Guidance on managing public money effectively is issued by HMT Treasury and it sets out rules and responsibilities, as well as best practice to achieve value for money. This guidance details the circumstances in which severance is payable. All special severance payments are approved by HMT.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to page 79 of the Cabinet Office annual report and accounts 2024-25, published on 23 October 2025, if he will name the SCS2 civil servant who breeched the business appointment rules.

Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

In compliance with the Business Appointment Rules (BARs) the Cabinet Office is transparent in the advice given to individual applications from senior staff, including special advisers. Advice given to senior civil servants regarding specific business appointments is published quarterly on GOV.UK as part of our ongoing transparency obligations.

We do not comment on specific individuals or BARs applications.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to page 110 of the Cabinet Office annual report and accounts 2024-25, published on 23 October 2025, what was the business case for the increase in the number of hours of facility time compared to 2023-24.

Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

In 2024-25, the Cabinet Office spend fell well below the recommended 0.1% maximum spend laid out in the facility time framework guidance.

Trade Union representatives have a statutory right to be granted reasonable paid time off to undertake trade union duties and reasonable unpaid time to undertake trade union activities. The facility time guidance sets out the requirement to monitor and report on facility time spend in the Cabinet Office.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent assessment he has made of the gender pay gap for special advisers.

Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

The gender pay gap for Special Advisers is published annually on GOV.UK as part of the Cabinet Office Gender Pay Gap Report.

The next annual report, covering the most recent period, will be published in due course.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to his Department's contract with Goaco Group Ltd, notice identifier 2025/S 000-063254, published on 8 October 2025, if he will list the countries in which subcontractor resources are now located.

Answered by Chris Ward - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

This notice relates to the development of the Central Digital Platform for procurement. Goaco Group Ltd sought permission from the Cabinet Office to engage the Open Contracting Partnership (OCP) to undertake independent data quality analysis, so that the continuous improvement of the Platform is supported by the highest level of expertise available. OCP is an independent non-profit charity and has a presence in Spain and Canada. All development work related to this contract remains onshore in the UK.

As is the long-standing practice, the Cabinet Office as the contracting authority has given notice of amendment to the Goaco Contract to facilitate this work.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 20 October 2025 to Question 82673 on Government Departments: Social Media, on which (a) topics and (b) programmes the two agencies have been commissioned to (i) select and (ii) pay appropriate influencers; and whether his Department holds information on which influencers have been hired.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

Omni and Unlimited are contracted to Cabinet Office Government Communication Service. These agencies have supported GCS in delivering campaigns on the government's priorities and missions.

Influencers have proven to be effective in reaching audiences that traditional marketing channels find hard to reach.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 20 October 2025 to Question 81876 on Government Departments: Advertising, whether the (a) Guido Fawkes blog, (b) Sunday Sport and (c) Politico have been assessed under the SAFE framework.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

No SAFE framework assessment has been conducted on Guido Fawkes, Sunday Sport or Politico.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to page 94 of the Cabinet Office annual report and accounts 2024-25, published on 23 October 2025, for what reason Alex Chisholm was given a £57,521 severance payment.

Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

It is a longstanding policy not to comment on individuals. Details of any payments are published in the Cabinet Office annual report and accounts.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/68fb37aec18f97edd2b63756/36.17_CO_ARA_24-25_00-Book_v16A_WEB.pdf

Guidance on managing public money effectively is issued by HMT Treasury and it sets out rules and responsibilities, as well as best practice to achieve value for money. This guidance details the circumstances in which severance is payable. All special severance payments are approved by HMT.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 21 October 2025 to Question 82673 on Government Departments: Social Media, how much has been spent on the two agencies for influencer work since July 2024.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

There are no plans to publish specific financial details in the public domain.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, for what reason the Cabinet Office annual report and accounts 2024-25, HC1372, was published in October.

Answered by Chris Ward - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The Cabinet Office Annual Report and Account 2024-25 was laid on 23 October 2025. Departments seek to lay their 2024-25 annual reports as soon as they are able to do so before the statutory deadline of 31 January 2026.

This publication is in line with those of previous years, and comes earlier than the Cabinet Office Annual Report and Account 2023-24, published in December 2024.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to page 58 of the Cabinet Office annual report and accounts 2024-25, published on 23 October 2025, if he will set out the types of personal data reported to the Information Commissioner's Office in each of the eight incidents; and if he will set what types of data were compromised in the Capita cyber-attack.

Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

Please see below the data items as recorded on the notification forms to the Information Commissioner’s Office for the eight incidents referred to on page 58 of the Cabinet Office annual reports and accounts 2024-25:

Incident 1 - Health, name, contact details, date of birth

Incident 2 - Name, account numbers and sort codes

Incident 3 - Names, addresses, dates of birth and medical information

Incident 4 - Name, date of birth, home address and brief medical history

Incident 5 - Names, work email addresses, job roles/grade

Incident 6 - Name, Address, National Insurance Number, economic and financial data

Incident 7 - Name, Address, National Insurance Number, economic and financial data

Incident 8 - Name, allegations of improper conduct

In the majority of the above reported incidents either individual or very small numbers of data subjects were affected by the breach.

Regarding the Capita incident, the types of personal data recorded in the Information Commissioner’s Office notification are as follows:

• Name

• Contact details

• Account numbers and sort codes

• Health data

• Economic and financial data, e.g. credit card numbers, bank details

• Copies of official documents, e.g. driving licences

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to page 35 of the Cabinet Office annual report and accounts 2024-25, published on 23 October 2025, if he will list each (a) Minister and (b) senior official who made use of the Government Car Service; and what were the greenhouse gas emissions reported for 2024-25.

Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

The Government Car Service (GCS) provides vehicles to departments as a shared resource and does not record the use of the vehicle on an individual basis. In relation to the specific greenhouse gas emissions of GCS reported for 2024-25, GCS was transferred from the Department for Transport to the Cabinet Office in April 2025. The Cabinet Office does not, therefore, hold information on GCS prior to this date.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many (a) CTC, (b) SC, (c) DV and (d) DV renewal cases are currently awaiting completion by UK Security Vetting.

Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

United Kingdom Security Vetting (UKSV) is currently meeting its agreed Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) across each product type. UKSV KPIs are set and regularly reviewed in consultation with customer groups to ensure that demand is balanced with maintaining assurance in national security safeguards.

In line with the practice followed by successive administrations, the Government does not otherwise comment on security matters.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 21 October 2025 to Question 78429 on National Security: China, what information her Department holds on whether hostile activity by China is carried out from within the diplomatic buildings in the UK.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Upholding national security and keeping the public safe is the first duty of this Government. This principle underpins not only our relationship with China, but all our international relationships. However, it would not be appropriate to comment on any specific national security issue.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 21 October 2025 to Question 74185 on Deputy Prime Minister: Admiralty House, on what date his Department informed Westminster City Council that the residence in Admiralty House was occupied as a secondary residence.

Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

As the property was a second residence, the Government was responsible for paying the Council Tax on Admiralty House, not the former Deputy Prime Minister - in line with long-standing precedent under successive governments.

As has been the case under successive administrations, the Government Property Agency is responsible for liaising with Westminster City Council for matters concerning residency at Admiralty House.

Following the introduction of the second homes premium, this has been paid in full in a one-off full payment in July 2025. This payment was made on the date the invoice was received from Westminster City Council.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Government Property Agency holds records on the costs of (a) works, (b) fittings and (c) fixtures to Ministerial residences in (i) Downing Street, (ii) Carlton Gardens and (iii) Admiralty House since 4 July 2024.

Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

The Government Property Agency holds records on the costs of works, fittings and fixtures relating to ministerial residences of Admiralty House only.

I refer the Honourable Member to 73315 which has since been corrected.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Cabinet Office Annual report and accounts 2024-25, HC1372, and pursuant to the Answer of 21 October 2025 to Question 73315, on Deputy Prime Minister: Admiralty House, on what (a) page and (b) paragraph are the costs relating to the (i) maintenance and (ii) use of Admiralty House.

Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

All costs relating to the Cabinet Office's annual expenditure are outlined from page 165 onwards, which includes spending by the Government Property Agency as an agency of the Cabinet Office. The report does not enter into granular building level accounts, as has been the case under successive administrations.

I refer the Honourable Member to 73315 which has since been corrected.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to page 250 of the Cabinet Office annual report and accounts 2024-25, published on 23 October 2025, what is the (a) purpose and (b) function of the Gresham Estate contract.

Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

The responsibility of the Gresham Estate was transferred to the Office of Government Property (OGP) in 2018. This is an annuity payment which dates back to an Act of Parliament in 1768, when Lord Gresham gave the site to the Crown to use. The Act said he would be paid £500 per annum, and this liability passed to the Gresham Trust when he died, and this is now managed by the Mercers’ Company.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 21 October 2025 to Question 74185 on Deputy Prime Minister: Admiralty House, whether his Department claimed single person discount for Admiralty House before August 2025.

Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

Westminster City Council’s single person discount can only apply to residences that are your sole or main residence, therefore, the Admiralty House residences are currently ineligible for the discount and a discount was not claimed for or applied to the former DPM’s tenure.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will publish the (a) governance structure, (b) terms of reference for the (i) Senior Steering Group, (ii) Champions Network and (iii) Expert Advisory Group, (c) minutes, (d) declared interests and (e) any recorded conflicts of interest and information on how these were managed for One Big Thing 2024.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

The following sets out the key individuals and groups that made up the governance structure for One Big Thing 2024, including their roles:

No conflicts of interest were recorded. The Expert Advisory Group had representation from external experts from the private sector and academia. Their role was limited to providing subject matter expertise, with no decision-making/ sign-off authority or involvement with delivery.

We are unable to publish the minutes of meetings, as requested, as the effective design of One Big Thing is reliant upon these being internal forums for free and frank discussions, with attendees often providing informal opinions or preliminary views.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Public Sector Fraud Authority has issued recent guidance to local billing authorities on council tax (a) avoidance and (b) evasion in relation to the second homes council tax premium.

Answered by Josh Simons - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

Guidance in relation to the payment and billing of council tax is developed and issued by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to local authorities.

However, the National Fraud Initiative (NFI), as part of the Public Sector Fraud Authority (PSFA), works closely with local authorities to help them identify and prevent fraud.

As part of this, the NFI is currently collaborating with local authorities to understand the fraud risks related to council tax second home premiums. The NFI will use that insight to inform options, such as a data matching pilot, to detect and prevent fraud in this area.

This collaboration is also what has allowed the removal of fraudsters from social housing properties, ensuring they go to those families in genuine need, and cracking down on blue badge fraud - of which 22,000 fraudulent permits were cancelled in the last year alone.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to section 3 of the Government Communication Service document entitled SAFE Framework: the 4 principles for HMG brand safety, updated on 12 May 2025, what methodology the Cabinet Office uses to determine if an (a) opinion or (b) statement could be perceived as offensive to protected groups.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

Opinions and statements are assessed against relevant legislation and policy to assess suitability.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to page 139 of the Cabinet Office annual report and accounts 2024-25, published on 23 October 2025, if he will provide a breakdown of the expenditure, including for individual fixtures and fittings, for the (a) refurbishment and (b) furnishing of the empty Downing Street flat; and if he will name which was empty flat.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

As was the case under successive administrations, an itemised list is not routinely published.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when the Cabinet Office Lieutenancy Policy team was established; how many staff it employs; and what the remit of that team is.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

Responsibility for Lord-Lieutenant policy and appointments was incorporated in the Church Appointments Team in 2018. The equivalent of one full-time member of staff is employed on this work. The team is responsible for managing the appointments of Lord-Lieutenants and Vice Lord-Lieutenants for the United Kingdom, and Deputy Lieutenants in England and Wales. It also oversees expenses for Lieutenancies in England, handles complaints from the public, and addresses relevant policy issues.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to page 67 of the Cabinet Office annual report and accounts 2024-25, published on 23 October 2025, if he will list the venues that Cabinet away days took place in 2024-25.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

Cabinet away days taking place in 2024-2025 have been located at the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, Lancaster House and Chequers.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 13 October 2025 to Question 77118 on Lord Mandelson, if he will place in the Library a copy of the due diligence undertaken by his Department on Lord Mandelson before his appointment.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

Due diligence was undertaken prior to the appointment of the former Ambassador to the United States, and was part of an established process to collate relevant information as part of the identification and selection of the appointee.

In line with the practice across multiple administrations, the government does not publish such material.

I refer the Hon. Member to the Cabinet Secretary’s letter of 30 October 2025 to the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee, which sets out the process and information contained in the due diligence report: https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/50019/documents/269409/default/

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of regenerative agriculture.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

We have allocated a record £11.8 billion to sustainable farming and food production over this parliament. We are targeting public money where it delivers most value – supporting nature, because all farms need healthy soils, abundant pollinators, and clean water to produce good food.

This includes the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI). Many SFI actions follow the regenerative farming approach. This includes actions on soil health, integrated pest management, farmland wildlife, hedgerows, buffer strips, agroforestry, precision farming, grassland, and moorland. We will publish information on the next iteration of the scheme in due course.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps her Department is taking to communicate the implications of inheritance tax reforms to business and agricultural property relief to family business owners.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

As announced at Autumn Budget 2024, the government will reform Inheritance Tax agricultural property relief and business property relief from 6 April 2026.

The government has published several documents setting out further detail on how these changes will work in practice, including a policy paper at Autumn Budget 2024: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/reforms-to-agricultural-property-relief-and-business-property-relief

A detailed explainer of the reforms, including case study examples, was published 5 November 2024: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/what-are-the-changes-to-agricultural-property-relief

On 21 July 2025, the government published draft legislation, an Explanatory Note and a Tax Information and Impact Note for the changes, alongside its response to the technical consultation on the changes: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/reforms-to-agricultural-property-relief-and-business-property-relief

Final legislation for this measure will be included in the upcoming Finance Bill 2025-26, which will be published shortly after the Budget on 26 November. HMRC will publish full guidance and explain the changes through their communications channels, as appropriate, in due course for the changes coming into effect on 6 April 2026.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what guidance her Department plans to issue to family business owners on inheritance tax reforms to agricultural and business property relief from April 2026.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

As announced at Autumn Budget 2024, the government will reform Inheritance Tax agricultural property relief and business property relief from 6 April 2026.

The government has published several documents setting out further detail on how these changes will work in practice, including a policy paper at Autumn Budget 2024: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/reforms-to-agricultural-property-relief-and-business-property-relief

A detailed explainer of the reforms, including case study examples, was published 5 November 2024: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/what-are-the-changes-to-agricultural-property-relief

On 21 July 2025, the government published draft legislation, an Explanatory Note and a Tax Information and Impact Note for the changes, alongside its response to the technical consultation on the changes: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/reforms-to-agricultural-property-relief-and-business-property-relief

Final legislation for this measure will be included in the upcoming Finance Bill 2025-26, which will be published shortly after the Budget on 26 November. HMRC will publish full guidance and explain the changes through their communications channels, as appropriate, in due course for the changes coming into effect on 6 April 2026.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Purposeful Finance Commission’s report entitled Reservoir underdogs: unlocking regulatory challenges to delivering new reservoirs, published in September 2025, whether she has made an assessment of that report's recommendation to reform the five-year price review cycle to allow mid-cycle adjustments for strategic water infrastructure, including reservoirs.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government’s Water Delivery Taskforce is working across Government, water regulators and stakeholders to deliver planned water infrastructure that is essential to growth.

A dedicated team is focused on identifying and resolving blockers for the nine new reservoirs in England and is considering the recommendations from the Purposeful Finance Commission’s report and its alignment with the recommendations of the Independent Water Commission, which also examined some of these areas within its remit.

A full response to the Independent Water Commission’s recommendations will be outlined later this year through a White Paper and a new water reform bill. These will set out the Government’s vision for a new partnership based on effective regulation – bringing forward root and branch reform to secure better outcomes for customers, investors, and the environment.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Purposeful Finance Commission’s report entitled Reservoir underdogs: unlocking regulatory challenges to delivering new reservoirs, published in September 2025, whether she has made an assessment of that report's recommendation on empowering the proposed new water regulator to be a statutory reservoir champion.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government’s Water Delivery Taskforce is working across Government, water regulators and stakeholders to deliver planned water infrastructure that is essential to growth.

A dedicated team is focused on identifying and resolving blockers for the nine new reservoirs in England and is considering the recommendations from the Purposeful Finance Commission’s report and its alignment with the recommendations of the Independent Water Commission, which also examined some of these areas within its remit.

A full response to the Independent Water Commission’s recommendations will be outlined later this year through a White Paper and a new water reform bill. These will set out the Government’s vision for a new partnership based on effective regulation – bringing forward root and branch reform to secure better outcomes for customers, investors, and the environment.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Purposeful Finance Commission’s report entitled Reservoir underdogs: unlocking regulatory challenges to delivering new reservoirs, published in September 2025, whether she has made an assessment of that report's recommendation to establish an Olympic-style delivery body for reservoirs.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government’s Water Delivery Taskforce is working across Government, water regulators and stakeholders to deliver planned water infrastructure that is essential to growth.

A dedicated team is focused on identifying and resolving blockers for the nine new reservoirs in England and is considering the recommendations from the Purposeful Finance Commission’s report and its alignment with the recommendations of the Independent Water Commission, which also examined some of these areas within its remit.

A full response to the Independent Water Commission’s recommendations will be outlined later this year through a White Paper and a new water reform bill. These will set out the Government’s vision for a new partnership based on effective regulation – bringing forward root and branch reform to secure better outcomes for customers, investors, and the environment.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to support (a) agricultural colleges and (b) training providers to develop education programmes on regenerative farming techniques.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government is fully supportive of collaboration with industry, higher and further education institutions, and training providers to strengthen skills in the farming sector, including those needed for regenerative farming techniques. We will also continue to support farmers through our Environmental Land Management Schemes (ELMS) who want to introduce regenerative agriculture techniques.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to introduce a modern service framework for cancer.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Everyone in the National Health Service is responsible for delivering high-quality care. As announced in the 10-Year Health Plan, as well as an overall quality strategy, the National Quality Board will oversee the development of a new series of service frameworks.

Between 1997 and 2010, National Service Frameworks were a clinically-led approach to developing guidance that supported sustained improvement in major condition outcomes, including by narrowing inequality and reducing unwarranted variation. As set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, we will reintroduce and modernise this approach. These Modern Service Frameworks will define an aspirational, long-term outcome goal for a major condition and then identify the best evidenced interventions and the support for delivery.

Early priorities will include cardiovascular disease, severe mental illness and the first ever service framework for frailty and dementia. The Government will consider other long-term conditions for future waves of Modern Service Frameworks. The criteria for determining other conditions for future Modern Service Frameworks will be based on where there is potential for rapid and significant improvements in quality of care and productivity.

Plans to introduce a modern service framework for cancer will be considered as part of the development of the National Cancer Plan.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will set (a) the role of Integrated Health Organisations (IHOs) and (b) how IHOs will align with (i) integrated care boards and (ii) neighbourhood health plans.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

As set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, the very best foundation trusts will have the opportunity to be eligible for designation as integrated health organisations (IHOs).

An IHO will hold the whole health budget for a local population. IHOs will be required to support integration, shift resources from hospital to community, focus on population health and tackle inequalities.

Guidance for providers on IHO designation is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/advanced-foundation-trust-programme-guide-for-applicants-annex-2/

Further guidance on the implementation of IHOs will be published by NHS England shortly.

National inquiry into group-based child sexual exploitation and abuse

Found: Liberal Democrat; Orkney and Shetland) (Chair) Sarah Bool (Conservative; South Northamptonshire) Charlie Dewhirst

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Mr Alistair Carmichael (Chair); Sarah Bool; Charlie Dewhirst; Helena