Asked by: Kit Malthouse (Conservative - North West Hampshire)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what (a) meetings and (b) communications via electronic messaging (i) he and (ii) his special advisers have had with representatives of Arden Strategies.
Answered by Jo Stevens - Secretary of State for Wales
Neither I nor my Special Advisers have had any meetings or communications via electronic messaging with representatives of Arden Strategies.
Asked by: Kit Malthouse (Conservative - North West Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what (a) statutory and (b) non-statutory direct ministerial appointments excluding special advisers he has made; and (i) who the appointee was and (ii) what the (A) remuneration, (B) title and (C) terms of reference was for each appointment.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
The Secretary of State has not made any Direct Ministerial Appointments.
Asked by: Kit Malthouse (Conservative - North West Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what (a) statutory and (b) non-statutory direct ministerial appointments excluding special advisers he has made; and (i) who the appointee was and (ii) what the (A) remuneration, (B) title and (C) terms of reference was for each appointment.
Answered by Feryal Clark
The Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology has made two statutory and one non-statutory direct ministerial appointments.
Matt Clifford was appointed through a direct ministerial appointment in July 2024. Matt is the Lead Reviewer of the Artificial Intelligence Opportunities Action Plan and is not remunerated for his role. The terms of reference for the action plan are available on GOV.UK.
Hazel Hobbs was appointed as interim Chair of Building Digital UK (BDUK) in August, starting on 1 September 2024 for a period of 6 months and remuneration of £80,000 p.a. pro rata. An announcement containing further details is published here. Hazel will serve as interim Chair whilst an exercise is launched to recruit a permanent Chair. Hazel has also been reappointed in accordance with the Governance Code on Public Appointments as a non-executive director of BDUK, having been a member of the Board since the organisation became an executive agency in March 2022.
Stella Peace was appointed as interim Executive Chair at Innovate UK (IUK) in August, starting on 30 September 2024 for an initial period of six months with remuneration of £149,000 p.a. pro rata. An announcement containing further details is published here. Stella will serve as interim Executive Chair whilst an exercise is completed to recruit a permanent Executive Chair.
As regulated Public Appointments, the interim Chair of BDUK and interim Executive Chair of IUK were both appointed in accordance with paragraph 3.3 of the Governance Code on Public Appointments, which states that: "In exceptional cases, Ministers may decide to appoint a candidate without a competition. They must make this decision public alongside their reasons for doing so. They must consult the Commissioner for Public Appointments in good time before the appointment is publicly announced”.
Asked by: Kit Malthouse (Conservative - North West Hampshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what (a) statutory and (b) non-statutory direct ministerial appointments excluding special advisers she has made; and (i) who the appointee was and (ii) what the (A) remuneration, (B) title and (C) terms of reference was for each appointment.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
A ‘direct appointment’ is a Ministerial appointment to a non-statutory office. It does not include appointments to Civil Service roles. Since 5 July 2024, the Cabinet Office has made no statutory or non-statutory direct ministerial appointments.
Asked by: Kit Malthouse (Conservative - North West Hampshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what (a) statutory and (b) non-statutory direct ministerial appointments excluding special advisers he has made; and (i) who the appointee was and (ii) what the (A) remuneration, (B) title and (C) terms of reference was for each appointment.
Answered by Catherine West
The Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs has made one direct ministerial appointment to date. Jonathan Powell has been appointed as the Prime Minister's Envoy for the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT)/Chagos Archipelago Sovereignty Negotiation with Mauritius. Jonathan Powell's experience on the most sensitive international issues makes him uniquely qualified to carry out this role. His appointment was announced on Gov.uk on 6 September. The full statement can be found here: [https://www.gov.uk/government/news/jonathan-powell-appointed-as-special-envoy-for-biot-negotiations].
Asked by: Kit Malthouse (Conservative - North West Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what (a) statutory and (b) non-statutory direct ministerial appointments excluding special advisers he has made; and (i) who the appointee was and (ii) what the (A) remuneration, (B) title and (C) terms of reference was for each appointment.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
No statutory direct ministerial appointments have been made by the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero.
The Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero has made two non-statutory direct ministerial appointments:
Asked by: Kit Malthouse (Conservative - North West Hampshire)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Solicitor General, what (a) statutory and (b) non-statutory direct ministerial appointments excluding special advisers she has made; and (i) who the appointee was and (ii) what the (A) remuneration, (B) title and (C) terms of reference was for each appointment.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
As of this date, I can confirm that, excluding special advisers, the Attorney General and I have not made any direct statutory or non-statutory ministerial appointments.
Of course, the Law Officers and wider government legal teams for which they are responsible do make use of outside experts on the law, whether counsel, law firms or academic specialists. Arrangements for using counsel or academics are principally through the Attorney General’s panels and an off-panel nomination process or via their academic institution, whereas law firms are principally instructed through a panel firm procurement process.
Asked by: Kit Malthouse (Conservative - North West Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what (a) statutory and (b) non-statutory direct ministerial appointments excluding special advisers she has made; and (i) who the appointee was and (ii) what the (A) remuneration, (B) title and (C) terms of reference was for each appointment.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport has not made any statutory or non-statutory direct appointments.
Asked by: Kit Malthouse (Conservative - North West Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what (a) statutory and (b) non-statutory direct ministerial appointments excluding special advisers she has made; and (i) who the appointee was and (ii) what the (A) remuneration, (B) title and (C) terms of reference was for each appointment.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions has established a non-statutory Labour Market Advisory Board which will consist of a small group of leading labour market experts to provide insight, ideas, and challenge to tackle key labour market issues. The Board will be chaired by Paul Gregg, Professor of Economic and Social Policy in the Department of Social and Policy Sciences, University of Bath with further members being announced shortly. Roles on the Board are unpaid. We will set out further details of the Labour Market Advisory Board, including the Terms of Reference, shortly.
Asked by: Kit Malthouse (Conservative - North West Hampshire)
Question
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what (a) statutory and (b) non-statutory direct ministerial appointments excluding special advisers she has made; and (i) who the appointee was and (ii) what the (A) remuneration, (B) title and (C) terms of reference was for each appointment.
Answered by Anneliese Dodds
Since 5 July 2024, no statutory or non-statutory direct ministerial appointments have been made by the Minister for Women and Equalities.