Esther McVey

No staff network events took place in my Department in May 2025.

We will review and update policy wherever necessary to ensure it complies with the latest legal requirements. We aim to ensure appropriate facilities are available for all staff.

Cabinet Office approval for this property transaction comes under National Property Controls in the Office of Government Property. The value threshold meant that approval was taken at official level.

The decision to move was made by the Information Commissioner’s Office, itself, on analysis based upon HM Treasury’s Green Book principles. The move will lead to a reduction of office space and the overall rent payable. National Property Controls were satisfied by the property rationale for the move to the proposed building. It would be a matter for ICO to decide on what wider consultation on the relocation was appropriate.

Staff networks are collaborative volunteer networks, organised by staff themselves rather than the department. As a result, events are organised by staff themselves, not the department. We are aware of the following events that these networks organised in May 2025.

LGBT+ Network

• CO LGBT Network - Meeting, 13 May 11:30-11:55am

• CO LGBT+ Network - Meeting, 20 May 3:30-4pm

• CO LGBT+ Network - Meeting, 28 May 3-3:30pm

Carers Network

• CO Carers Network - Virtual Coffee Session, 20 May 12-1pm

Menopause Network

• Menopause - Support Group, 20 May 11-12pm

• Menopause - Support Group, 27 May 11-12pm

I refer the Honourable Member to the answer given on 20 June (PQ UIN 59003).

Across government, we will review and update policy wherever necessary to ensure it complies with legal requirements. We aim to ensure appropriate facilities are available for all staff.

In the Department for Business and Trade, staff networks bring colleagues together to share experiences, are employee led and operate in line with the Civil Service Code. Staff network events help engage and connect colleagues across the Department.

One staff network event was held in this period to commemorate VE Day.

It is important that we ensure dignity and respect for all. Trans people should have access to services they need but in keeping with the ruling.

The Equality & Human Rights Commission, as Britain’s Equalities watchdog, has launched a public consultation on its code of practice which will close on 30^th June. Ministers will consider the updated guidance once they have submitted it.

The Department is awaiting updated guidance before making any updates to its own policies.

The Department of Business and Trade has awarded and published 167 contracts over £10,000 ex VAT since 5 July 2024; 44 of which were to UK based SMEs, and 22 to companies based abroad.

DESNZ values our Staff Networks, who support colleagues in line with our ‘Inclusive’ Value. The following two Staff Network events took place in May 2025: ‘A listening circle for Trans* colleagues and allies’ and ‘Managing Pain and Fatigue at Work and Beyond’.

We will review and update policy wherever necessary to ensure it complies with the latest legal requirements. We aim to ensure appropriate facilities are available for all staff.

Given the significant uncertainty around the possible risks and impacts of deployment on the climate and environment, the Government is not deploying SRM and has no plans to do so.

This information is not held centrally and can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Switching to homegrown clean energy, including renewables and other clean technologies, offers security that fossil fuels simply cannot provide. The Government recognises the challenges in moving away from fossil fuels but the only way to ensure energy security is through homegrown clean power. The Government has empowered the independent National Energy System Operator with the responsibility to carry out resilience functions across the electricity and gas systems and it will continue to work with stakeholders to improve and maintain the resilience of energy infrastructure.

The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) decision to relocate was approved by the Cabinet Office with no formal role for my department. The ICO conducted an extensive search and reviewed a range of locations, including remaining within Wilmslow.

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) decision to relocate was approved by the Cabinet Office with no formal role for DSIT. Any request for further information about this project, including any plans to publish their commercial analysis, should be addressed directly to the ICO.

Staff networks are collaborative volunteer networks, organised by staff themselves rather than the department. As a result, events are organised by staff themselves, not the department. We are not aware of any events that these networks organised in May 2025.

There were two centrally co-ordinated staff network events in May 2025: the monthly meeting of the Department’s Staff Network Chairs, which was for network chairs only and lasted for one hour, and an online session with Staff Network Chairs to mark National Staff Network Day which was available to all staff to attend and also lasted for one hour.

The Information Commissioner’s Office is independent of Government and reviewed a range of locations in deciding on its future office needs, including remaining within Wilmslow, to determine how it could best align with its strategic objectives. In particular it considered issues such as access to the necessary skills, the age and diversity of its existing workforce, and proximity to existing colleagues and transport hubs. Manchester city centre was evaluated as the top scoring location and Wilmslow was ranked second. On completion of the commercial analysis, the Circle Square Manchester option was lowest in cost on a lifecycle basis across the 10 years. This option also had better sustainability ratings than remaining in Wilmslow.

The Commissioner will retain 76 desks in Wilmslow until at least 2030 with a minimum daily footfall of 250 in Manchester. This is based on the majority of the ICO’s staff working from home more than one day a week as part of the organisation’s blended working arrangements.

The Information Commissioner’s Office is independent of Government and reviewed a range of locations in deciding on its future office needs, including remaining within Wilmslow, to determine how it could best align with its strategic objectives. In particular it considered issues such as access to the necessary skills, the age and diversity of its existing workforce, and proximity to existing colleagues and transport hubs. Manchester city centre was evaluated as the top scoring location and Wilmslow was ranked second. On completion of the commercial analysis, the Circle Square Manchester option was lowest in cost on a lifecycle basis across the 10 years. This option also had better sustainability ratings than remaining in Wilmslow.

The Commissioner will retain 76 desks in Wilmslow until at least 2030 with a minimum daily footfall of 250 in Manchester. This is based on the majority of the ICO’s staff working from home more than one day a week as part of the organisation’s blended working arrangements.

The Government is determined to ensure that everyone has access to quality sport and physical activity opportunities. That is why we have committed another £400 million to transform facilities across the whole of the nation following the Spending Review.

We will now work closely with sporting bodies - including the Lawn Tennis Association - and local leaders to establish what each community needs and then set out further plans.

The Government provides the majority of support for grassroots sport through Sport England - which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding. Sport England provides long term investment to the LTA, which receives up to £10.2 million for 5 years from 2022 to invest in tennis and padel initiatives that will benefit as many people as possible.

The Government is determined to ensure that everyone has access to quality sport and physical activity opportunities. That is why we have committed another £400 million to transform facilities across the whole of the nation following the Spending Review.

We will now work closely with sporting bodies - including the Lawn Tennis Association - and local leaders to establish what each community needs and then set out further plans.

The Government provides the majority of support for grassroots sport through Sport England - which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding. Sport England provides long term investment to the LTA, which receives up to £10.2 million for 5 years from 2022 to invest in tennis and padel initiatives that will benefit as many people as possible.

The Government is determined to ensure that everyone has access to quality sport and physical activity opportunities. That is why we have committed another £400 million to transform facilities across the whole of the nation following the Spending Review.

We will now work closely with sporting bodies - including the Lawn Tennis Association - and local leaders to establish what each community needs and then set out further plans.

The Government provides the majority of support for grassroots sport through Sport England - which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding. Sport England provides long term investment to the LTA, which receives up to £10.2 million for 5 years from 2022 to invest in tennis and padel initiatives that will benefit as many people as possible.

Staff networks are collaborative volunteer networks, organised by staff themselves rather than the department. As a result, events are organised by staff themselves, not the department. We are aware of the following events that these networks organised in May 2025.

7 events were held in May:

1. For Mental Health Awareness Week, 5 events took place:

• Women’s Mental Health Talk, Monday, May 12.

• Men’s Mental Health Talk, Monday, May 12,

• Keeping Healthy at Work, Wednesday, May 14

• LGBT+ Awareness Talk, Thursday, May 15

• Mental Health Awareness Week Panel, Thursday, May 15

2. For World Culture Day, optional drop-in “bring your own lunches” were hosted in Manchester, Darlington and London on Wednesday, May 21.

3. The Faith and Belief Network, held a “Faith, Fasting and Food” lunchtime discussion on Thursday, May 22

We will review and update policy wherever necessary to ensure it complies with the latest legal requirements. We aim to ensure appropriate facilities are available for all staff.

Staff networks are collaborative volunteer networks, organised by staff themselves rather than the department. As a result, events are organised by staff themselves, not the department. We are aware of the following events that these networks organised in May 2025.

In May 2025, four staff network events were held in the department as part of Dementia Week. The events were:

1. Supporting Jewish People with Dementia.
2. Self-Advocacy and Dementia.
3. Reframing Dementia, Enabling Others.
4. Faith, Love, and Dementia.

The department will review and update policy wherever necessary to ensure it complies with the latest legal requirements. We aim to ensure appropriate facilities are available for all staff.

The Vector-Borne RADAR (Real-time Arbovirus Detection and Response) programme is a three-year funded collaborative grant worth £1.15 million which is 80% funded by Defra / UK Research & Innovation, and 20% by each of the collaborative organisations, the Animal and Plant Health Agency, the British Trust for Ornithology, the Institute of Zoology and the UK Health Security Agency.

Approximately 50,000 mosquitoes across 6,000 pools in 2023 and 2024 combined have been screened from across southern and eastern England.

The programme retrospectively screened 2,000 Aedes vexans mosquitoes that were trapped in Gamston, Nottinghamshire in July 2023. These were split into 200 pools of 10 mosquitoes and screened using three separate rt-PCRs. Two pools were positive for West Nile virus (WNV) RNA (Ct values 30.7 -33.4 across all three PCRs).

More significantly, the positive RNA extracts were also submitted for GridION sequencing (an Oxford Nanopore based system). One pool amplified a 402bp region of the WNV genome, with a read depth of c500 reads which generated a consensus sequence showing a conserved section of the WNV genome and clusters with WNV lineage 1a sequences from Europe, the Middle East and North America.

Defra can confirm that during May, no staff network events were recorded centrally by HR.

We will review and update policy wherever necessary to ensure it complies with the latest legal requirements. We aim to ensure appropriate facilities are available for all staff.

There were nine staff network events run in the Department for Transport in May 2025. Four events took place within Department for Transport Core (DfTc) These were:

• The key to unlocking potential in neurodivergent colleagues
• Neurodiversity network social – book club
• GEN Network presents – Confidence and imposter syndrome
• A keeping in touch event run by the GEN Network

Two took place in Driver Vehicle and Licensing Agency (DVLA). These were:

• Mental health staff networking ‘cwtch’ session
• Unity supporting ethnic minorities (online content only)

Three events took place at Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA). These were:

• We are DVSA
• Menopause and Menstruation Café
• LGBT+ Leaders of Networks

We have been unable to obtain information from the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) in the time allowed. There were no staff network events held by our other agencies.

We will review and update policy wherever necessary to ensure it complies with the latest legal requirements. We aim to ensure appropriate facilities are available for all staff.

720 residential properties in total have been acquired on the former HS2 Phase 2b route. Of these, 59 are in the Tatton constituency, of which 19 have been vacant for more than six months.