Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what discussions she had had with officials and ministerial colleagues about the potential merits of a new Civil Defence Office to coordinate and strengthen whole-of-society resilience.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security) (Jointly with the Cabinet Office)
This Government is taking decisive steps to strengthen our national resilience, coordinated centrally through the Cabinet Office, so our country is better prepared for threats like extreme weather, cyber attacks or another pandemic. In July 2026, immediately after coming into government, we announced an acceleration to home defence planning, including updating the Government ‘War Book’, which will be tested through a home defence exercise planned for next year. We have also announced we will do a public awareness campaign on how households can prepare for emergencies like severe weather.
Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the National Security Adviser has briefed the Prime Minister on the findings of the national security assessment on global biodiversity loss, ecosystem collapse and national security.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security) (Jointly with the Cabinet Office)
We do not routinely comment on meetings between the National Security Adviser and the Prime Minister, on national security grounds
Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department plans to implement the recommendations of the Infected Blood Inquiry Report.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds
As I set out in my Oral Statement to the House on 21 July, the Government will be bringing forward a further set of regulations as soon as Parliamentary time allows to implement the recommendations we have already accepted.
The Government will be consulting the infected blood community on the remainder of the recommendations before making any further changes to the Scheme.
The Government would like to provide the community with sufficient time to consider and share their views on the Government’s proposals in response to the Inquiry’s recommendations. The consultation is expected to open in October. Any changes will require further regulations. We expect this second, more substantial set of regulations, to be brought before Parliament in 2026.
Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 22 April 2025 to Question 44342 on UK Trade with EU: Public Consultation, what discussions he has had with the EU TCA Domestic Advisory Group on improving UK-EU trade relations; and what (a) outcomes and (b) recommendations have arisen from those discussions.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds
Minister for the Cabinet Office Nick Thomas-Symonds oversees the UK-EU relationship including the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) and its Domestic Advisory Group (DAG).
The Minister has met the UK TCA DAG several times, including most recently on 3 September 2024 and 29 April 2025. He also met the chair and co-chairs on 4 March 2025.
The minutes and conclusions of the DAG meetings are published on https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/uk-eu-trade-and-cooperation-agreement-domestic-advisory-group
Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department has commissioned opinion polling on public attitudes towards (a) Brexit, (b) the Trade and Cooperation Agreement with the EU, (c) the Windsor Framework and (d) the UK's relationship with the EU.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds
The Government Communication Service is not commissioning opinion polling on these topics.
Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of total government expenditure on external consultants to assist with EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement implementation since 5 July 2024, broken down by (a) department, (b) consultancy firm, and (c) area of work.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds
The Cabinet Office does not hold a central estimate of the total government expenditure on external consultants to assist with EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement implementation. This is due to the responsibility for implementing the agreement sitting across multiple departments. All departments are individually responsible for their consultancy spend. Further information on government specific contracts is available at https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finder.
Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the EU's Entry/Exit System on UK travellers.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds
The Government engages with the European Commission on a range of border issues, including the EU’s Entry/Exit System (EES). The system is expected to increase processing times at Schengen Area border crossing points, and the Government therefore continues to work with EU Member States, industry and operators to understand the possible impacts and support their plans to mitigate disruption for travellers and businesses. To support this, I have been having regular meetings with other HMG Ministers to progress cross-government efforts for EES, including communications to the travelling public. However, implementation of EES is a matter for the EU and EU Member States.
Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of holding discussions with the EU on introducing a UK-EU youth mobility scheme.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds
The Prime Minister and the president of the European Commission met in Brussels on 2 October and agreed to strengthen the relationship between the EU and the UK, putting it on a more solid, stable footing. We are committed to finding constructive ways to work together and deliver for the British people.
We are not going to give a running commentary on negotiations. We will obviously look at EU proposals on a range of issues, but we will not return to freedom of movement.