Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what consideration he has given to the role of post offices in (a) onboarding and (b) supporting people who suffer from (i) identity and (ii) digital exclusion during the roll out of the digital identity scheme.
Answered by Josh Simons - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The new digital ID will be designed to be inclusive. We will launch a public consultation and have already started to engage with a range of expert organisations and community groups.
We will deliver a comprehensive inclusion programme to ensure everyone eligible is able to access this new digital ID and benefit from it. We are considering options like a digitally enabled physical alternative for those without access to technology, as well as in-person onboarding support for those who struggle to engage digitally, such as post offices, and a dedicated case working function for those who may struggle to initially prove their identity and access the system.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many (a) unallocated cases and queries, (b) cases and queries allocated but not yet in progress and (c) cases and queries in progress but not yet completed being dealt with by the Civil Service Pension Scheme administrator, MyCSP Ltd. were still in progress as of 1October 2025.
Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
MyCSP; the Civil Service pension scheme administrator, does not record the data in the format requested. It reports to the Cabinet Office on a monthly basis. 85,503 new work items were received for the month of September. A work item reflects an individual piece of work or task. There are 67,540 outstanding items - 13,783 cases awaiting a response and 53,757 items assigned for work to be completed.
The outstanding volumes are in line with what we would expect to see based on the differing clearance targets for certain tasks, such as retirements which can take up to 4 months to process. This is what the Cabinet Office expects to see and monitors on a monthly basis.
The Cabinet Office continues to emphasise to MyCSP the importance of meeting contractual performance levels and improving member experience.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many (a) ongoing work items, (b) unallocated cases and queries, (c) cases and queries allocated but not yet in progress and (d) cases and queries in progress but not yet completed were (i) being dealt with and (ii) still to be dealt with by MyCSP on 1 September 2025.
Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
MyCSP, the Civil Service pension scheme administrator, does not record the data in the format requested. It reports to the Cabinet Office on a monthly basis. As at 31 August 2025, 73,725 new work items were received in August. A work item reflects an individual piece of work or task. There are 46,983 outstanding items - 9,950 cases awaiting a response and 37,033 items assigned for work to be completed.
The outstanding volumes are in line with what we would expect to see based on the differing clearance targets for certain tasks, such as retirements which can take up to 4 months to process. This is what the Cabinet Office expects to see and monitors on a monthly basis.
The Cabinet Office continues to emphasise to MyCSP the importance of meeting contractual performance levels and improving member experience.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment his Department has made of the potential security implications of the proposed merger between Vodafone and Three.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani
As an open economy, we welcome investment where it supports UK growth and jobs, meets our stringent legal and regulatory requirements, and does not compromise our national security. The Government has robust powers under the National Security & Investment Act to block or impose remedies on transactions that pose a national security risk.
As you will appreciate, we cannot comment on specific acquisitions nor the applicability of the National Security and Investment regime.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Prime Minister, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of appointing a Minister for Human Relevant Science to be tasked with accelerating the take-up of innovative medical research techniques such as the use of artificial intelligence and organ-on-a-chip technology.
Answered by Elizabeth Truss
My hon. Friend, the Member for Wealden (Nusrat Ghani), is the Minister of State (Minister for Science and Investment Security) at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. A summary of her responsibilities can be found on gov.uk here:
Minister of State (Minister for Science and Investment Security) - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).