Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the oral contribution of the Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry during the Urgent Question on Ministry of Defence: Palantir Contracts of 10 February 2026, Official Report, column 691, whether the publication of files relating to Peter Mandelson will include reference to his visit to Palantir headquarters in Washington DC on 27 February 2025.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
I refer you to the Government's response to the Urgent Question tabled on 12th February, the Written Ministerial Statement in the name of the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister that same day, and Oral Statement on the 23 February which set out an update on the Government's process for complying with the Humble Address motion. We will set out further details in due course. The Government wishes to ensure that Parliament’s instruction is met with the urgency and transparency that it deserves.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he has had recent discussions with his EU counterparts on whether there is any unallocated money in the EU SAFE fund.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
UK negotiations with the EU on a bilateral agreement to facilitate UK participation in the EU’s Security Action for Europe (SAFE) instrument concluded last year. The UK entered negotiations in good faith, recognising our mutual strategic interest and commitment to work with the EU on defence. However, this Government has always been clear that we will only sign agreements that are in the national interest. The UK’s defence industry continues to have access to SAFE under standard third country terms with the potential to contribute up to 35% of the content of SAFE contracts. We remain fully committed to our close cooperation with the EU and European partners to strengthen European security and continue to work to progress commitments on security and defence made at the 2025 UK-EU Summit.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he has had recent discussions with his EU counterparts on whether there will be a second round of the EU SAFE fund.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
UK negotiations with the EU on a bilateral agreement to facilitate UK participation in the EU’s Security Action for Europe (SAFE) instrument concluded last year. The UK entered negotiations in good faith, recognising our mutual strategic interest and commitment to work with the EU on defence. However, this Government has always been clear that we will only sign agreements that are in the national interest. The UK’s defence industry continues to have access to SAFE under standard third country terms with the potential to contribute up to 35% of the content of SAFE contracts. We remain fully committed to our close cooperation with the EU and European partners to strengthen European security and continue to work to progress commitments on security and defence made at the 2025 UK-EU Summit.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he plans to appoint a Minister for Homeland Security.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
Overall responsibility for national resilience, national security and cross-government coordination sits with the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister in the Cabinet Office. In addition, the Security Minister’s role is now split across the Cabinet Office and the Home Office, the purpose of which is to improve coordination across Government on national security. The Government's priorities for these areas are detailed in the Resilience Action Plan and the National Security Strategy.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 26 March 2025 to Question 39926 on Senior Civil Servants: Pay, when he plans to publish the next list of senior officials high earners salaries.
Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
Departments and their partner organisations are currently collecting the data for the next ‘high earner’ list. It will be published when the data set is complete and the personal information being released about individuals has been fully quality assured. Departments also publish salary information for all their Senior Civil Service (SCS) roles in quarterly organograms on data.gov.uk and for all SCS operating at Board level in their Annual Accounts.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department had discussions with Lord Mandelson on defence procurement contracts between 10 February and 11 September 2025.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
As Ambassador to the United States, Lord Mandelson met regularly with senior officials to discuss a range of issues across the UK-US relationship, including opportunities for closer collaboration on technology partnership, AUKUS and other ways to deepen the UK-US bilateral relationship.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Written Ministerial Statement of 11 July 2025 on Lancaster 2.0, HCWS812, if he will list each member of the new UK-France Nuclear Steering Board.
Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare
The UK France Nuclear Steering Group will be chaired by the Presidency of the Republic on the French side and by the Cabinet Office on the UK side. The steering group will be made up of senior officials from other Ministries and organisations as required. The first meeting will take place in the autumn, and it will meet regularly after that. Attendance shall be determined by the agenda items for each meeting; representation will vary accordingly.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Written Ministerial Statement of 11 July 2025 on Lancaster 2.0, HCWS812, when the new UK-France Nuclear Steering Board will first meet.
Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare
The UK France Nuclear Steering Group will be chaired by the Presidency of the Republic on the French side and by the Cabinet Office on the UK side. The steering group will be made up of senior officials from other Ministries and organisations as required. The first meeting will take place in the autumn, and it will meet regularly after that. Attendance shall be determined by the agenda items for each meeting; representation will vary accordingly.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Written Ministerial Statement of 11 July 2025 on Lancaster 2.0, HCWS812, how regularly the new UK-France Nuclear Steering Board will meet.
Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare
The UK France Nuclear Steering Group will be chaired by the Presidency of the Republic on the French side and by the Cabinet Office on the UK side. The steering group will be made up of senior officials from other Ministries and organisations as required. The first meeting will take place in the autumn, and it will meet regularly after that. Attendance shall be determined by the agenda items for each meeting; representation will vary accordingly.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Written Ministerial Statement of 11 July 2025 on Lancaster 2.0, HCWS812, who will chair the new UK-France Nuclear Steering Board.
Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare
The UK France Nuclear Steering Group will be chaired by the Presidency of the Republic on the French side and by the Cabinet Office on the UK side. The steering group will be made up of senior officials from other Ministries and organisations as required. The first meeting will take place in the autumn, and it will meet regularly after that. Attendance shall be determined by the agenda items for each meeting; representation will vary accordingly.