Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 24 February 2026 to Question 113596 on Mission Boards: Cabinet Committees, if he will publish the current terms of reference of the NHS Fit for the Future Mission Board; and whether any changes have been made since the Mission Board was originally established.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Mission Boards have been reformed to become delivery-focused forums. The 10-Year Health Plan, published in July 2025, is delivering our Health Mission. Ministers and external stakeholders are involved in a variety of fora to take forward the 10-Year Health Plan. Oversight is maintained by the Departmental Board, chaired by my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, details of which can be found on the GOV.UK website.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the legal mechanisms to join Erasmus will be subject to the Treaty ratification process under Part 2 of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

As was the case with our association to Horizon under the previous Government, the legal mechanism to associate to the Erasmus+ programme will not be subject to the treaty ratification process set out in Part 2 of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010. Protocol I to the UK-EU Trade Agreement will be amended by a decision of the UK-EU Specialised Committee on Participation in Union Programmes. A decision to amend the Protocol does not require ratification. The power to amend Protocol I to add new programmes is already delegated to this committee. The decision will come into force on adoption by the Committee. Once the Specialised Committee decision is adopted, this will be made publicly available on gov.uk.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether special advisers provided advice to the Prime Minister on the appointment of the new Cabinet Secretary.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

As set out in the GOV.uk announcement of the Cabinet Secretary appointment. “the Prime Minister and the First Civil Service Commissioner agreed a process to appoint a new Cabinet Secretary”.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the terms of reference are of the Break Down Barriers to Opportunity Mission Board; and whether the terms of reference have been amended since the Mission Board was established.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

The Opportunity Mission Board provides a forum for external challenge and cross-government discussion on priorities and delivery for the Opportunity Mission. The Board is chaired by my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education. The Board does not have a fixed list of attendees. Ministers from relevant government departments and external experts are invited to attend meetings depending on the issues under discussion. The Board has been reformed since it was established to be a more delivery focused forum benefiting from external and sector expertise.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether Tim Allan will receive a severance payment following his departure from Government as Director of Communications.

Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

It is a longstanding policy not to comment on individuals. The Model Contract for Special Advisers is published online and details the specific circumstances in which severance is payable.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, further to the answer by the Parliamentary Secretary to the Cabinet Office of 29 October 2025, to Question 83801, on Peers and Members: Social Class, and to the answer by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent of 5 February 2026, to Question HL13977, on Civil Service: Unpaid Work, how should the children of peers self-certify their social class if they apply to the Civil Service Internship Scheme in the absence of a classification by the Office for National Statistics.

Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

All candidates are required to complete the questions set by ONS for determining socio-economic background based on their individual circumstances. For parental occupation this is at the age the candidate was 14. This allows the Civil Service to make a determination on their eligibility based on their answers. This is the same approach as was used for Fast Stream Internships under the previous administration.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 20 January 2026 to Question 104805 on Senior Civil Servants: Redundancy Pay, whether (a) Cabinet and (b) Permanent Secretaries asked to leave posts will be given Civil Service Compensation Scheme terms as severance payments in future.

Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

I refer to Minister Turley’s answer for 88716 and 95640. The Permanent Secretary model contract sets out the contractual detail on compensation payments for all Permanent Secretaries.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what role the Cabinet Office had in relation to the investigation into the then Consul General in New York in 2017.

Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The allegations were dismissed 9 years ago on the basis that there was no case to answer.

These allegations were considered by the Cabinet Office as the individual was a permanent member of staff of that Department.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will publish the investigation in the then Consul General in New York in 2017.

Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The allegations were dismissed 9 years ago on the basis that there was no case to answer.

We do not release confidential documents relating to internal HR processes.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 2 March 2026 to Question 108235 on Senior Civil Servants: Recruitment, what the (a) departments and (b) job titles are of the 90 senior civil servants recruited internally.

Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

I refer to my answer to UIN 108235 from 2 March 2026.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, further to the letter from the Cabinet Office Permanent Secretary to the Hon Member for Brentwood and Ongar of 30 January 2026, on severance payments, what is the wider policy of the (a) Civil Service and (b) Cabinet Office on the practice of outgoing Permanent Secretaries being paid gardening leave from the public purse for their three month waiting period when leaving Crown employment.

Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The Business Appointment Rules for Crown Servants set out that Permanent Secretaries are required to observe a three month waiting period, and the Rules set out that it may be appropriate to pay former civil servants who are required to observe a waiting period before taking up an external role.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department has changed the name, remit or structure of its facility time reporting division.

Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The team whose responsibilities previously included amongst other duties, collecting, collating and publishing public sector facility time data sits within a wider Civil Service Reward and Employment division. This division has existed for a number of years. The removal of the requirement for public sector organisations to report their facility time data to Cabinet Office has resulted in these specific responsibilities no longer forming part of this team’s remit.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the departing Cabinet Secretary will receive (a) a pension contribution and (b) additional pension years as part of his severance package.

Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

Details of payments made to the former Cabinet Secretary will be published in the Annual Report and Accounts for Cabinet Office for the financial year in which the payment was made.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what advice the Civil Service Commission provides on departures and appointments of Cabinet Secretaries.

Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The Cabinet Manual, sets out that the Cabinet Secretary is appointed by the Prime Minister on the advice of the First Civil Service Commissioner.

In the Government response to the House of Lords Constitution Committee report into the appointment and removal of Permanent Secretaries, the First Civil Service Commissioner confirmed that the Civil Service Commission does not play a role in Permanent Secretary departures.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether Tim Allan’s special adviser declaration of interests will be listed in the next annual special adviser report.

Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

As has been the case under successive administrations, the interests deemed relevant for publication for special advisers in No10 and the Cabinet Office are published on an annual basis by the Cabinet Office.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many participants in the Future Leaders Scheme a) enrolled, b) completed the full programme, c) withdrew before completion and d) were removed by programme administrators in each of the last three years.

Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The required data is provided in the table below. The 2024-25 intake began delivery in 2025, and will complete in Summer 2026, so completion data is not yet available. Withdrawal and removal information for this year is accurate as at 23 February 2026. Data has been suppressed to prevent the identification of individuals.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the publication entitled Cabinet Office - Second Headquarters: Year in Review 2025, of 9 January 2026, how many headcount staff are assigned to work in the second Headquarters; and how many desks there are.

Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The Cabinet Office Second Headquarters is based in the Government Hub at 1 Atlantic Square, Glasgow.

The Cabinet Office's Second Headquarters serves as a key regional base, accommodating over 700 Cabinet Office staff.

It has been the practice of successive governments not to comment, on grounds of both national security and staff safety, on the physical capacity or staffing numbers for individual buildings of the government estate.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many participants in the Directors Leaders Scheme a) enrolled, b) completed the full programme, c) withdrew before completion and d) were removed by programme administrators in each of the last three years.

Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

Directors Leadership Programme cohort 4 is starting from 22 April and has 35 participants.

In the last three years:

1. 109 people were enrolled.

2. Everyone completed the programme

3. Nobody withdrew from the programme

4. Nobody was removed from the programme by the administration.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, further to the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee, Oral evidence: The work of the Cabinet Office, HC 463, 16 December 2025, Question 353, if he will list the 36 voluntary exit schemes in operation by public body.

Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

I refer to the Honourable Member to Minister Turley’s answer provided to PQ 82675.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, who is responsible for (a) undertaking and (b) overseeing the due diligence process in relation to the appointment of a Cabinet Secretary; and how potential conflicts of interest are managed.

Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

I refer to the Gov.uk announcement of the Cabinet Secretary appointment, which said that a due diligence process has also been undertaken by the Permanent Secretary of the Cabinet Office and the interim Government Chief People Officer.

The First Civil Service Commissioner approved the comprehensive due diligence process and agreed the conclusions drawn, to form the basis for the Prime Minister to make an appointment decision.

All Permanent Secretaries must follow the ‘Declaration and management of outside interests in the Civil Service’ guidance.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether Sir Chris Wormald undertook a formal exit interview upon leaving the post of Cabinet Secretary.

Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

I refer to the Gov.uk announcement of Sir Chris Wormald’s departure. No further comment will be provided.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether Civil Service Compensation Scheme severance payments to departing Cabinet Secretaries are pensionable.

Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The terms of the Civil Service Compensation Scheme (CSCS) are the same for all employees regardless of grade. Compensation payments made under the CSCS are non pensionable.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Beyond Boundaries programme, how many participants in each of the last three years a) enrolled, b) completed the full programme, c) withdrew before completion, and d) were removed by the programme administrators.

Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The data is provided in the table below. Data prior to the 2025/26 intake on non-completion is only available as a combined figure. The 2025/26 intake began delivery in October 2025, and will complete in September 2026, so completion data is not yet available. Only a combined withdrawals and removals figure can be provided for the 2025/26 intake due to the suppression of low removal numbers potentially making candidates identifiable.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 21 January 2026 to Question 105252 on Government People Group: Contract, which public body and business unit is the customer under the KPI.

Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

With regard to the PeopleScout Ltd contract referenced in question 105252, Cabinet Office awarded the contract and the Government Recruitment Service within Cabinet Office is the responsible Customer. Consequently, the Customer referenced within the KPI is Government Recruitment Service, and the Supplier will only accept commissions directly from this entity.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what guidance his Department has issued on pension forfeiture in relation to (a) Civil Service and (b) Ministerial pensions.

Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

1. Guidance on the forfeiture process for the Civil Service Pension Scheme is provided on the scheme website within the Employer Pension Guide.

2. No guidance has been issued on forfeiture for the Ministerial Pension Scheme.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will publish a register of senior civil servants' secondary paid employment for 2024 to 2025.

Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

Departments are responsible for publishing the detail of any paid or otherwise remunerated outside employment, held by members of their SCS, annually.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether applicants for civil service roles self-certify their ethnicity.

Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

Yes. Candidates may self-certify their ethnicity when applying for Civil Service roles, though it is optional and is not included in decision making regarding appointments.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will publish (a) Government People Group and (b) his Department's guidance on staff working compressed hours.

Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The government does not publish internal documents.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the speech, Move fast. Fix things, delivered on 20 January 2026 by the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister, what proportion of the Senior Civil Service had (a) primary career experience in policy roles, (b) primary career experience in operational delivery roles and (c) prior private sector experience; and what the equivalent figures were in each of the previous five years as of 1 January 2026.

Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

We are unable to provide a response as this information is not captured centrally at the application stage.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to his speech entitled Move fast. Fix things, delivered on 20 January 2026, whether training delivered under Learning Frameworks 2.0 will cease to be procured from external suppliers.

Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

Many of the Civil Service’s training needs can be delivered in-house, by civil servants. However, it is important to note that the Civil Service will always want to bring in expert knowledge, insight and learning from outside the Civil Service to ensure that civil servants have the right technical knowledge and skills.

The National School of Government and Public Services will deliver more training in house - especially for leadership and management, and core skills. Over the course of the next three years, Government Skills will increase the focus on in-house delivery where it is sensible to do so and, by April 2029, we will have moved to a new delivery model where we work directly with more suppliers.

Over this three year period, the Cabinet Office will use the Learning Frameworks 2.0 contracts to deliver training services to the Civil Service whilst the infrastructure needed by the National School of Government and Public Services is established.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many job advertisements were published on the Civil Service jobs website in 2025 which were (a) available on public website and (b) only available to Civil Services within the passworded website.

Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

In 2025, there were 45,566 job adverts published on Civil Service Jobs. Of these, 24,865 (54.6%) were available to the public. The remaining 20,701 (45.4%) were advised internally and/or cross-government, meaning they were available only to existing civil servants.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 21 January 2026 to Question 105244 on Senior Civil Service: Training, if he will publish the training material for the content on inclusion in leadership.

Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

Our leadership development materials use internal case studies and sensitive organisational data to address specific system-wide challenges.

To protect the privacy of this information and integrity, we do not publish these materials externally. We do, however, make the programme’s key themes and learning objectives available on the webpage of Accelerated Development Schemes on GOV.UK.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will publish Chris Wormald’s contract as Cabinet Secretary.

Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

I refer to Minister Turley’s answer 88716, a copy of the Permanent Secretary model contract has been placed in the House Library. This applies to the Cabinet Secretary.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether Baroness Shafik's contract with his Department stipulates that she may (a) claim House of Lords attendance allowances and (b) speak in the House of Lords.

Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

Baroness Shafik has been on a leave of absence from the House of Lords since 10th September 2025.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether Varun Chandra remains employed as a special adviser.

Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

In January, Mr Chandra was appointed as the Prime Minister’s Special Envoy to the United States on Trade and Investment.

Mr Chandra remains employed as a special adviser to the Prime Minister.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 20 March 2026, to Question 119894, on Gambling Commission: Managers, which specific public sector regulators (a) are and (b) are not subject to the Business Appointments Applications process.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

The Business Appointment Rules (BARs) apply to various individuals through specific codes of conduct. For instance, civil servants are subject to them via the Civil Servant Management Code, ministers through the Ministerial Code, and Special Advisers via their Code of Conduct.

Where a public sector organisation, such as an Executive Agency or an Advisory Non-Departmental Public Body, is staffed by civil servants, those individuals will be subject to the BARs.

Even though some individuals operating within the broader government sphere may not fall directly under the BARs, public bodies operating at arm’s length from government are still expected to implement their own equivalent processes to manage potential conflicts of interest, with these being tailored to their specific organisational context.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether all communications on Morgan McSweeney’s mobile phone were uploaded to Government servers.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

There is established guidance on the management and recording of electronic communications on non-corporate channels. We keep all guidance around the use of non-corporate communications under review to ensure it remains fit for purpose.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Metropolitan Police has asked the Government to not publish any communication between Morgan McSweeney and Peter Mandelson.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

I refer you to the remarks the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister made to the house in response to the urgent question about the Humble Address on 16 March.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department has issued guidance on whether a Minister can be suspended.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

The Cabinet Office has not issued such guidance.

The Ministerial Code sets out the standards of conduct expected of ministers and how they discharge their duties. As the Code sets out, the Prime Minister is the ultimate judge of the standards of behaviour expected of a minister and the appropriate consequences of a breach of those standards.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 19 March 2026, to Question 116505, on Disinformation, if he will set out what public narratives have been monitored using the tool in the last month.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

Storyzy's platform empowers users to detect information manipulation and understand the information environment by analysing large quantities of data points to understand public narratives.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 23 March 2026 to Question 120836 on Prime Minister: Ministerial Boxes, whether there is guidance on how (a) oral, (b) written and (c) electronic responses by Ministers to formal advice and submissions should be recorded on the official record.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

Yes there is. The Guidance for the management of Private Office information and records has been published and can be found on gov.uk.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the written statement of 17 March 2026, HCWS1407, on Online Advertising Taskforce Progress Report 2025, whether the adherence to the Influencer Marketing Code of Conduct will be embedded in to the Government's contracts with creative agencies and social media influencers.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

Government procedure and contracts with creative agencies and social media influencers align to requirements set out in the ISBA Influencer Marketing Code of Conduct.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the answer of 4 September 2025, to Question 70519, on Public Inquiries, what has been the total public cost to date of the Jalal Uddin Inquiry.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Jalal Uddin Inquiry reported on 10 July 2025, and it is now closed. The Inquiry's costs are £1,095,614.

Question to the Leader of the House:

To ask the Leader of the House, what steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help reduce the number of Impact Assessments for Bills that were published late in the process.

Answered by Alan Campbell - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons

The Guide to Making Legislation makes clear that, when they are required, impact assessments should be published alongside bills. Government departments are responsible for publication of any required impact assessments.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the oral contribution by the Parliamentary Secretary to the Cabinet Office of 12 February 2026, Official Report, Column 925, on Lord Mandelson: Government Response to Humble Address Motion, if he will publish the letter on Palantir when sent.

Answered by Chris Ward - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

I wrote to the Rt Hon Member for Skipton and Rippon on 25 February 2026.

I also wrote to the Hon Member for Brentwood and Ongar on 25 February 2026, noting he will already be familiar with the Enterprise Agreement given he personally signed off the original spending approval for the contract during his time at the Cabinet Office under the previous Conservative government.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 16 March 2026 to Question 119901 on Lobbying: Finance, whether he holds information on grant funding for lobbying activity in relation to grants from 2024-25 onwards.

Answered by Chris Ward - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

Grants statistics for 2024/25 were published on GOV.UK on 24 March 2026.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what data relating to (a) children and (b) schools will be integrated into the Digital ID database.

Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

We will design the digital ID system to be secure, with only the minimum amount of data collected and stored. There will be no new single central database storing all government data on a person in one place. Data will primarily remain securely in the parts of the system where it already exists.

Through the public consultation that is now live, we are asking the public what age they think is appropriate to have the digital ID. Whatever the minimum age for eligibility, the system will be designed to operate to international best practice standards for data security and privacy and in line with UK Data Protection Law, to help ensure data is kept safe.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether electronic communications between Lord Mandelson and Morgan McSweeney have been copied to the official record and retained for the Humble Address.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

I refer you to the Government's statement and release of information on 11th March, providing an update on the response to the Humble Address. The Government is working to ensure that Parliament’s instruction is met with the urgency and transparency that it deserves.

All government departments, ministers and relevant individuals have been instructed to retain and provide to the Cabinet Office all information they hold that falls in scope of the Humble Address motion.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, on what date the Cabinet Office Permanent Secretary sent guidance on the transfer of group electronic messages to the Cabinet Office division handling the Humble Address.

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 the Oral Statement on the 23rd February, in the name of the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister, which set out an update on the Government's process and that Departments have been instructed to retain material that may be relevant to the motion.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what is the status of the Cabinet Office fact-finding investigation into Labour Together, separate to the report by the Independent Adviser on Ministerial Standards.

Answered by Chris Ward - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The fact-finding exercise has concluded. The Independent Adviser on Ministerial Standards wrote to the Prime Minister on this issue on 27 February. His letter is available online: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/69a32870f534e7e99adaeaf8/Letter_from_the_Independent_Adviser_to_the_Prime_Minister.pdf

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether the Insolvency Service and its nominated receiver are taking to ensure the retention of emails held by Global Counsel.

Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

When a company enters administration, independent Insolvency Practitioners take control of its business and property. Administrators are responsible for securing and reviewing company records to understand the company’s affairs and carry out the administration. Within three months, administrators must submit a directors’ conduct report to the Insolvency Service. If an investigation is warranted, the Insolvency Service will obtain records from the administrators.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department considers that electronic messages held on non-corporate devices relating to official government business held by (a) Ministers and (b) Special Advisers are owned by the Government.

Answered by Chris Ward - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

Official information, wherever stored, is considered to be held by the Crown.

I refer the Member for Kingswinford and South Staffordshire to the Government’s 2023 ‘Guidance on Using Non-Corporate Communication Channels for Government Business’ for further detail that was produced and published under by the previous Government.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps did Darren Tierney, then the head of the Propriety and Constitution Group, take to ensure that Lord Mandelson was personally interviewed before his appointment as Ambassador.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

No such interview took place. It is not unusual for political appointments to take place without direct conversations with the Cabinet Office. I refer the Hon Member to the Government's statement and release of information on 11th March which sets out the process of appointment and the steps the Government is taking to strengthen the process going forwards.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Whatsapps messages on 10 Downing Street official iPhones are automatically backed up to a cloud or central server.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

There is established guidance on the management and recording of electronic communications on non-corporate channels. We keep all guidance around the use of non-corporate communications under review to ensure it remains fit for purpose.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether Morgan McSweeney, since departing Crown employment, has passed information held on his non-corporate communication devices relating to official government business to the Cabinet Office or the Prime Minister’s Office.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

There is an established system for special advisers in place for the management of official government information held on non-corporate devices during the departure process. The policy covering non-corporate communication channels is published on gov.uk.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether Downing Street staff are required to inform the No10 Security Team if their (a) official or (b) personal phone has been stolen.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

It would not be appropriate to detail internal security matters. There are long established and robust processes to manage information security following the theft of No10 work devices

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 18 March 2026, to Question HL15004, on Government Departments: Communication, whether the Prime Minister approved the new guidance on UK/HM Government branding, or whether it was approved by an official or special adviser.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

Relevant officials and special advisers reviewed the branding guidance.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many Government phones were (a) lost and (b) stolen in the Prime Minister’s Office since 4 July 2024.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

It would not be appropriate to detail internal security matters. There are long established and robust processes to manage information security following the theft of No10 work devices

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department has made a comparative assessment of the salary outcomes, promotion rates and role progression of (a) participants in the Future Leaders Scheme and (b) civil servants who did not participate; and whether his Department has undertaken cost benefit analysis of that scheme including average time to promotion, changes in performance markings, retention rates and the financial return on investment.

Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

A comprehensive assessment of salary outcomes, promotion rates, and role progression for Future Leaders Scheme (FLS) participants against a control group (or formal cost-benefit analysis) is not currently feasible.

Two separate evaluations are underway for the FLS: an implementation and process evaluation, and an impact evaluation. Both are due to complete in Autumn 2026.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Prime Minister's Ministerial direction of 16 February 2026, what the value of the special severance payment was.

Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

Details of any payments made to the previous Cabinet Secretary will be published in the Cabinet Office Annual report and Accounts for 2025-26.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 9 December 2025 to Question 95641 on Permanent Secretaries: Contracts, if he will publish the model Permanent Secretary contract in operation in 2012.

Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

Individual permanent secretary contracts were based on the SCS model contract up until 2013. In relation to answer 88716, the permanent secretary model contract placed in the House Library has been in force since July 2013.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he plans to uprate Freedom of Information Act cost thresholds.

Answered by Chris Ward - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The cost thresholds above which public authorities are not obliged to comply with a Freedom of Information request are set out in secondary legislation. Any changes to FOI legislation will be subject to Parliamentary scrutiny.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 19 March 2026, to Question 120612, on Government Departments: Vetting, whether individuals joining the Civil Service are advised on giving false or misleading information in any other part of their application and vetting process.

Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

Civil Servants applying for NSV Security Vetting (NSV) are advised of their responsibilities throughout the process and through the guidance published on gov.uk. This includes the need for full and complete disclosure.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department has issued guidance to special advisers on speaking to the police about stolen Government property.

Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

Cabinet Office's Security Breach Policy requires individuals, including SpAds, to follow directions from Cabinet Office Security when there is a security breach, such as theft of Government property. As part of its standard operating procedures Cabinet Office Security will direct individuals to report any stolen Government property to the police and request a crime reference number.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Freedom of Information policy team has given guidance to departments on the use of the mosaic justification.

Answered by Chris Ward - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The Cabinet Office has not issued Freedom of Information guidance to government departments on the ‘mosaic effect’.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 17 March 2026, to Question 119062, on Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, what were the specific (a) Freedom of Information Act and (b) UK GDPR exemptions that were applied to exempt the information from publication.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

Minor redactions were made to the temporarily withdrawn file, which contained references to a number of individuals, to comply with the following Freedom of Information Act exemptions: section 37(1)(a); section 37(1)(aa); section 37(1)(ab); section 40(2) and section 41.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 19 March 2026 to Question 121096 on Cabinet Office: Email, whether Lord Mandelson was copied into any of those emails.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

Lord Mandelson was a copy recipient of some of the emails, one of a number of officials and advisers copied into the emails.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 18 March 2026, to Question 119321, on Cabinet Office: Freedom of Information, what is the timetable of the revisions to the Honours Handbook to be completed.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

The handbook is currently being updated. An updated version with relevant redactions will be laid in the House Library as soon as is practicable.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much his Department has spent on locksmiths in each of the last five years.

Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

The GPA note that for Cabinet Office sites (where the GPA provides services) across the years noted locksmith services cost £58.41.

The GPA does not hold information in respect of Cabinet Office locations that are contained within HMRC Hubs.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether Morgan McSweeney has been paid a severance payment, or payment in lieu of notice, following his departure as a special adviser.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

It is a longstanding policy not to comment on individuals. The Model Contract for Special Advisers is published online and details the specific circumstances in which payments are payable.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to his Department's policy paper, EM on Level Playing Field for Open Competition (COM(2026)89), published on 24 March 2026, how will the UK panellists be selected; and whether they will be regulated public appointments.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

The UK panellists were selected via a public expression of interest campaign, with applications scrutinised against criteria set out in [Article 409 of] the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement. The panellists are not public appointments, but the process for their selection was conducted in line with the same proprietary and ethics standards.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he has had recent discussions with the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament on providing independent resourcing to the Committee, separate from the Cabinet Office.

Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

Cabinet Office officials engage routinely and constructively with the Committee and will continue to do so. The Cabinet Office has agreed to the Committee’s requested uplift on budgeting and resourcing, which should help it to continue to undertake its critical role effectively. Cabinet Office officials are also working with the ISC to identify the best operating model for the future.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the UK Government will be required to contribute to EU Cohesion Funds as a consequence of the UK/EU reset.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The UK is not currently contributing to EU Cohesion Funds as a consequence of the UK/EU reset. Whilst the EU is seeking to establish a mechanism for a UK financial contribution towards reducing economic and social disparities between the regions of the Union as part of participation in the Internal Electricity Market, any UK financial contribution would be subject to negotiations with the EU, and no contributions have yet been made or agreed upon. The Prime Minister and Chancellor are clear that agreements made with the EU must be in the national interest, and that whilst trade-offs will be required, these are worth making where the economic gains to the UK exceed the costs.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the the State Council of the People's Republic of China's press release entitled, China's top diplomat holds talks with British prime minister's national security adviser, published on 15 July 2025, whether Jonathan Powell discussed the Chagos Islands with the Chinese Government at this meeting.

Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

The National Security Adviser meets with a range of individuals and organisations as part of his role providing advice to the Prime Minister and the Cabinet on national security matters. Such meetings are often sensitive in nature, and the Government does not routinely comment on them or their content.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 9 March 2026, to Question 116771, on Vetting, whether Lord Mandelson’s Developed Vetting considered his links to Jeffery Epstein.

Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

I refer the Hon Member to the government's statement and release of information on 11th March, providing an update on the response to the Humble Address. The government is working to ensure that Parliament’s instruction is met with the urgency and transparency that it deserves.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 2 December 2025, to Question 94697, on House of Commons Director General: Public Appointments, whether the permanent Director General of the Propriety, Ethics and Constitution Group will be publicly advertised on the public version of the Civil Service Jobs website.

Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The recruitment campaign is still currently in planning stages and details will be released in due course.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answers of 18 March 2026 to Question 119321 and of 2 June 2025 to Question 54277 on Cabinet Office: Freedom of Information, if he will place in the Library the version of the handbook released under Freedom of Information Act request reference FOI2025/05759, dated 16 May 2025.

Answered by Chris Ward - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

As stated in the response to PQ 116510, the Honours Committee handbook released through this request is a version from January 2023 which is no longer accurate. The current handbook is currently being updated. An updated version with relevant redactions will be laid in the House Library as soon as is practicable.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what guidance his Department has issued on whether party political events held in Ministerial diaries are held for the purposes of the Freedom of Information Act.

Answered by Chris Ward - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The Cabinet Office has not issued guidance on whether party political events held in Ministerial diaries are held for the purposes of the Freedom of Information Act.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, for what reason Simon Case and Alex Chisholm were given differing exit payments.

Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

I refer to my answer to 108238, as set out in the Cabinet Office accounts (page 86), the payment for the former Cabinet Secretary, Simon Case, was a severance payment, with the value calculated using the Civil Service Compensation Scheme tariff.

In answer to the second part of your question, I refer to my answer to 112182. The Business Appointment Rules for Crown Servants set out that Permanent Secretaries are required to observe a three month waiting period, and the Rules set out that it may be appropriate to pay former civil servants who are required to observe a waiting period before taking up an external role.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to his Department's press release entitled Dame Antonia Romeo appointed as first female Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Civil Service to drive change and implement the government’s agenda, of 19 February 2026, if he will publish the guidance on the new enhanced due diligence process.

Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

There are no plans to publish the guidance on the due diligence process followed during the appointment of the Cabinet Secretary.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the (a) No10 security team and (b) Government Security Group contacted the Metropolitan Police over the theft of the phone of the Prime Minister's chief of staff on 20 October 2025.

Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

There are long established and robust processes to manage information security following the theft of No10 work devices and those processes were followed.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps his Department took to track Morgan McSweeney’s lost Government phone, including the use of cell site analysis data.

Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

There are long established and robust processes to manage information security following the theft of No10 work devices and those processes were followed.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 10 March 2026 to Question 117004, whether those provisions applied to the recent Cabinet Secretary recruitment process.

Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

I refer to my answer 115556, the Cabinet Manual sets out that the Cabinet Secretary is appointed directly by the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister receives advice from the First Civil Service Commissioner, but is the final decision maker.

The announcement (here) explained that “this appointment was made following a full fair and open external competition, chaired by the First Civil Service Commissioner.”

The announcement of the current Cabinet Secretary (here) explained that “the Prime Minister and the First Civil Service Commissioner agreed a process to appoint a new Cabinet Secretary. Once this process was complete, the First Civil Service Commissioner confirmed that Dame Antonia Romeo is an exceptional candidate of the highest calibre, having run two of the largest operational departments in Government, and confirmed her track record makes her the right candidate for the role.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will publish his Department's guidance on Mutually Agreed Exits.

Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

Guidance on the use of Mutually Agreed Exits is available on the Civil Service Pensions website. This is applicable to all employers who use the Civil Service Compensation Scheme.

This document, and others, are included in the CSCS Employers page on the Civil Service Pensions Scheme website here https://www.civilservicepensionscheme.org.uk/employerhub/employer-responsibilities/member-support/civil-service-compensation-scheme-cscs/

The Annex 6F document is published on the CSPS website here https://www.civilservicepensionscheme.org.uk/annex-6f

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether there have been any (a) disciplinary actions and (b) dismissals of (i) DWP and (ii) executive agency officials for unauthorised access to personal data since July 2024.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

DWP takes its responsibility to safeguard personal data extremely seriously. All staff have an obligation to report suspected breaches; security responsibilities are covered in mandatory security training, undertaken annually.

As of 28 February 2026, we have 94,876 employees in the Department, of which, there are 227 individuals who have a disciplinary case currently open or closed within the last 12 months relating to ‘Unauthorised Access’, of which 7 individuals were dismissed. These figures cover both paid and unpaid Department for Work and Pensions staff only.

Information on the other parts of the question would only be available at disproportionate cost as data is not held on central DWP systems.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what plans he has to make (a) primary legislative, (b) secondary legislative, (c) statutory guidance or (d) non-statutory guidance changes to activity under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Answered by Chris Ward - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

I refer the Hon Member to my previous answer (UIN122783).

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the answer of 16 March 2026, to Question 119056, on Government Departments: Public Expenditure, what is the total cost of the commitments made in those 10-year settlements for the period beyond the Spending Review 2025 plan period.

Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

The cost of commitments made in 10-year settlements can be found in the 10-Year Infrastructure Strategy. Further detail can also be found in the UK Infrastructure Pipeline.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 18 March 2026 to Question 121770 on Government Departments: Facilities Agreements, whether Departments will be required to continue to collate internal figures on the cost of facility time.

Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

Government Departments are recommended to continue to collate their facility time data. However, publication is no longer centrally mandated or collated, and there is no statutory requirement for Government Departments to collect or publish this data.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 28 April 2025 to Question 44475 on Cabinet Office: Civil Servants, whether such groups are represented by any civil service diversity network.

Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

There is no specific Civil Service network for asexual or aromantic people. The Civil Service has an LGBT+ network. The network is inclusive of people who identify as other sexual orientations or gender identities.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what is his policy on (a) full-time staff working a four-day week on full-pay and (b) full-time staff working compressed hours on a four-day week.

Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

1. A four-day work week on full pay is not a civil service policy or something that is being considered.

2. The Civil Service is committed to flexible working, recognising the benefits it brings to delivering its priorities. While departments are responsible for determining specific terms and conditions, full-time Civil Service employees typically work 42 gross hours (37 net hours) across a five-day week. Some departments offer flexible working policies such as compressed hours, which allow the same number of hours to be worked over a shorter period with no impact on pay. There are no flexible working options that would permit reduced or part-time hours while maintaining full-time pay.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Cabinet Secretary's objectives 2026-27, published on 7 April 2026, what is the timetable for the publication of the strategic workforce plan.

Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The Civil Service is committed to publishing a Civil Service Strategic Workforce Plan this year, following departments having finalised their own workforce plans, as per the financial settlements that were agreed with HMT in the Spending Review, and the priorities set by Ministers, including those set out in the Autumn Budget.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what guidance the Civil Service People Group has given to Departments on whether civil servants can claim expenses for travelling to work.

Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The Civil Service Management Code (chapter 8) specifies the regulations for the reimbursement of expenses and details the conditions under which such expenses can be made. Departments must not reimburse the costs of home to office travel, unless explicitly permitted elsewhere within the Code.