Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 13 December 2024 to Question 18212 on Prime Minister: Special Advisers, when he plans to publish a list of special advisers and their salaries.

Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

Information on Special Adviser numbers and costs will be published in the Annual Report on Special Advisers as per the requirements of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010, as was the case under the previous Administration.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, on what dates the Prime Minister’s Office has held conference calls with public affairs companies; and if he will list each organisation that attended each one.

Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

I refer the Hon Member to my answer of 17 March 2025, Official Report, PQ 37798.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has had discussions with the National Police Chiefs' Council on the handling of FOI requests by the Central Referral Unit.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

Responding to Freedom of Information requests and ensuring compliance with the Freedom of Information Act 2000 is a matter for the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC), or any public authority which receives such a request.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what information his Department held on the eligibility of Lady Elish Angiolini for the position of Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland when her appointment was announced.

Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

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.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department assessed the reinstatement of the School Support Staff Negotiating Body against the requirement set out in the Approvals Process for the Creation of New Arm’s-Length Bodies that the creation of a new arms length body should only be considered as a last resort.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

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.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether there is a data sharing arrangement in place between the Cabinet Office and (a) HM Revenue and Customs and (b) the National Crime Agency on Ministerial vetting.

Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

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

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 10 February 2025 to Question 27919 on Government Departments: Communications and Marketing, what the aggregate figure for spending on communications and marketing is on which the estimated £85 million reduction is based.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

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.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he plans to lay an Official Statistics Order to include the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

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.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the length of time before an email in his Department's inbox is subject to automatic deletion; whether such deleted emails remain searchable on the Server; and whether (a) manually deleted and (b) auto-deleted emails remain held for the purposes of (i) public inquiries, (ii) subject access requests and (iii) Freedom of Information Act requests.

Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

Emails sent to or received by a minister’s mailbox are retained permanently as an official record, and remain available for public inquiries, subject access or freedom of information requests. Individual emails may be reviewed at a future date for their historical relevance before transfer to The National Archives, but they are not subject to automatic deletion.

The mailboxes of permanent secretaries are similarly preserved, and those of senior staff (grade SCS PB2 and above) are retained for a period of seven years after they leave their post. After seven years the contents are reviewed and records of historic value selected for permanent preservation.

Unless there is a reason to retain them for a public or other inquiry, or to respond to litigation, all other staff mailboxes are destroyed twelve months after they leave Cabinet Office’s employment.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Office of the Registrar of Consultant Lobbyists in regulating lobbying by foreign-based firms.

Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

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.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what guidance his Department has issued on the use of third-party AI tools in relation to topics with a security classification; and what assessment he has made of whether such AI tools transfer information outside of government further to their terms and conditions.

Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The AI Playbook for the UK Government acknowledges the use of third-party AI tools, offering high-level guidance on commercial, legal, and security aspects. Principle 8 advises consulting Commercial colleagues on procurement (p. 39) to ensure that expectations around responsible and ethical AI use are the same for in-house and third-party systems. The legal section (p. 61) covers intellectual property considerations when using third-party tools, while the security section (p. 74) examines risks and opportunities in third-party tools and embedded AI solutions.

As with any third-party tool, departments are required to undertake necessary risk assessments, including data protection impact assessment (DPIA) when using third-party AI tools. The DPIA process is designed to identify different types of sensitive data to be processed in different phases of use, including inputs and outputs. The AI Playbook outlines a section on data protection, which covers the importance of undertaking DPIAs for risk mitigation. The DPIA process would identify data governance risk areas, which would be covered in the terms and conditions of the suppliers' contract. Breaches of contractual clauses are legally binding. Security classifications are derived from the Government Security Classifications Policy (GSCP), and that the principles set out in the GSCP must also be adhered to for use of all tools.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department has used AI software to help respond to (a) Freedom of Information Act requests and (b) written parliamentary questions.

Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

All FOI requests and written parliamentary questions are considered on a case by case basis. In the Cabinet Office, AI software is not currently used to respond to FOI requests or written parliamentary questions. AI software may be used in the future, as appropriate, to support certain elements of these processes.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the speech entitled PM remarks on the fundamental reform of the British state, published on 13 March 2025, on what evidential basis the Prime Minister said that jumping spiders stopped the development of an entire new town.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) at the Swanscombe Peninsula was designated in 2021 due to the presence of a number of rare plant, bird and invertebrate species, including the rare Distinguished Jumping Spider. The SSSI includes a significant area of land that had been purchased by the Ebbsfleet Development Corporation to bring forward an important part of the new Garden City at Ebbsfleet.

As a consequence of the designation and the need to comply with National Planning Policy on SSSI’s the Development Corporation took the decision to re-masterplan the area leading to the loss of approximately 1,300 new homes and some 30,000sqm of commercial development.

The Ebbsfleet Development Corporation continues to progress its plans for c15,000 new homes and facilities across its wider development area.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to paragraph 8.1 of the Civil Service Commission Framework Agreement with the Cabinet Office, published in February 2025, what his policy is on substantively answering parliamentary questions on the work of the Civil Service Commission.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

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.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 27 November 2024 to Question 14976 on Cabinet Office and Prime Minister: Travel and with reference to the Freedom of Information Act response with reference FOI2025/01531, disclosed on 28 February 2025, if he will publish that response.

Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

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

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will ensure that the National Security Adviser gives evidence to the Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy.

Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

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/.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many photographers are employed by Government Departments.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

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.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Answer of 18 September 2024 to Question HL835 on Government Departments: Remote Working, what steps his Department is taking to monitor compliance with the attendance requirement for locations outside of London.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

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.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 21 October 2024 to Question 6416 on Cabinet Office: Building, who owns 36 Whitehall; for what reasons the building is unused; and whether he has considered re-occupying the building.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

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.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 18 September 2024 to Question 5035 on Civil Servants: Muslims, how many hours of network time his Department allocates to that network; and who the senior sponsors are that have been appointed.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

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.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Government plans to publish a further round of the UK National Action Plan for Open Government; and which department is the lead for progress on previous action plans.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The Cabinet Office holds responsibility for coordinating the UK National Action Plan for Open Government 2024-2025, including leading progress on actions set out in the current plan. Named departments hold responsibility for specific commitments, as set out on gov.uk.

We will share a further update in due course.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how his Department monitors the attendance of civil servants in Departmental headquarters outside of London.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

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.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many full-time civil servants in his Department work a four day working week using compressed hours.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

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

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 2 December 2024 to Question 14067 on Civil Servants: Freedom of Expression, whether the (a) the Civil Service People Group and (b) Office for Equality and Opportunity are taking steps to help prevent the bullying of civil servants who express gender-critical views.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (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.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the press release entitled Mass cancellation of government credit cards in crackdown on wasteful spend, published on 18 March 2025, how many Government Procurement Cards were held by 10 Downing Street as of January 2025; and what is the timetable for reducing the number.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

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.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 4 March 2025 to Question 34459 on Government Departments: Official Cars, whether the decision on whether specific departmental officials may have use of a car from the Government Car Service is made by (a) the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster’s Private Office, (b) the Cabinet Secretary’s Private Office, (c) the Permanent Secretary’s Private Office, (d) the Cabinet Office Chief Operating Officer’s private office and (e) the Prime Minister’s Private office.

Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

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.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to his Department's press release entitled Mass cancellation of government credit cards in crackdown on wasteful spend, published on 18 March 2025, how many Government Procurement Cards are held by each (a) Ministerial and (b) senior official private office in his Department.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The Cabinet Office has one cardholder in Ministerial Private Offices and six cardholders in senior official private offices.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the difference is between (a) government diversity networks and (b) trade union diversity networks in government.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

Government Equality, Diversity and Inclusion networks are internal, volunteer staff networks that work to improve internal culture and workforce representation.

Trade unions are separate distinct organisations, who may have their own separate diversity networks for their members.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 14 March 2025 to Question 37425 on Office for National Statistics: Industrial Disputes, what the disputed issues are.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

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

A response to the Hon. Member's Parliamentary Question of 26th March is attached.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to his Department's Civil Service HQ occupancy data transparency data, last updated on 28 February 2025, which changes in reporting methodology lead to a revision of the figures.

Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The revision of figures applied to the Home Office occupancy stats only. This was because of a change in reporting by the Home Office.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the Secret Intelligence Service is a paid member of Stonewall.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) is a paid member of Stonewall.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 29 January 2025 to Question 25454 on 9 Downing Street: Media, whether his Department has paid OCS; and in which month's transparency data will the cost of the works be published.

Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

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.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 29 January 2025 to Question 25452 on Cabinet Office: Staff, how many staff were attached to the Skills Match Hub on 1 February 2025.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

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.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the name is of the division of the Cabinet Office formerly known as the clearing house.

Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

Matters relating to the Freedom of Information Act 2000 sit with the Freedom of Information Policy Team in the Cabinet Office.

Further information about the role Cabinet Office plays in ensuring compliance with the Freedom of Information Act across government is published here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cabinet-office-and-freedom-of-information

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many standalone equality, diversity and inclusion roles are employed by (a) his Department and (b) the Office for Equality and Opportunity.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

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.

Found: II: Edward Morello, Sarah Champion, Monica Harding and Aphra Brandreth III: Sir John Hayes, Charlie Dewhirst

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

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

Found: Q225 Charlie Dewhirst: Thank you, Chair.

Found: Pavilion) (Green) Neil Coyle (Bermondsey and Old Southwark) (Lab) Steve Darling (Torbay) (LD) Charlie Dewhirst

Found: _1 Charlie Dewhirst Dr Neil Hudson .