Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to pages 107 and 110 of the Cabinet Office Annual report and accounts 2024-2025, HC1372, 23 October 2025, whether the facility time data published under the Trade Union (Facility Time Publication Requirements) Regulations 2017 includes Government Commercial Function and Fast Stream staff who were on the Cabinet Office payroll as at 31 March 2025.

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

The facility time data published under the Trade Union (Facility Time Publication Requirements) Regulations 2017 does include the Government Commercial Function and Fast Stream staff who were on the Cabinet Office payroll as at 31 March 2025

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to page 113 of the Cabinet Office Annual report and accounts 2024-2025, HC1372, 23 October 2025, for what reason dividends from associates are treated as income in the Statement of Outturn against Parliamentary Supply.

Answered by Chris Ward - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

Section 8.13 of Consolidated budget guidance issued by HM Treasury states that:

“Financial transactions involve the exchange of financial assets and liabilities. Financial transactions mainly impact on the resource budget through the returns received or paid on these financial assets or liabilities (for example, interest received/paid on a loan, or dividends received/paid on equity). Financial assets also impact on the resource budget through changes in their valuation.”

Therefore, all dividend income received from associate companies should score to RDEL as income.

Dividends from associate companies are not recognised as income in the financial statements because International Accounting Standard IAS 28 Investments in Associates and Joint Ventures, states:

“When using the equity method, dividends received are not recognised as income in the consolidated income statement; instead, they are treated as a return of capital and reduce the carrying amount of the investment in the statement of financial position.”

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Integrated Security Fund Annual Report 2024–25, published on 30 October 2025, whether any ISF-funded programme has been reviewed or sanctioned for misreporting, exaggerating, or fabricating Gender Equality and Social Inclusion marker data since April 2024.

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

The Integrated Security Fund (ISF) is unaware of any instance of Gender, Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) markers being misreported, exaggerated, or fabricated.

The ISF operates under clear rules and requirements on GESI embedded throughout the programme lifecycle. These ensure reporting is accurate, consistent and monitored in-year. In 2024/25, all Integrated Security Fund (ISF) programmes underwent an annual review, and every programme also undergoes a closure review when it ends, both of which include a dedicated assessment of GESI performance.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Cabinet Office Annual report and accounts 2024-2025, HC1372, 23 October 2025, whether he will publish the corporate management statement for 2024–25.

Answered by Chris Ward - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The business rules and corporate management statement represent internal documents that support the internal governance and assurance of the department. These documents are not routinely published for external audiences. It is a long-standing practice of successive Governments not to routinely publish internal documents.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to page 8 of his Department's corporate report entitled Integrated Security Fund Annual Report 2024–25 published on 30 October 2025, what proportion of the £965 million was classified as having a (a) principal, (b) significant and (c) not targeted gender equality objective under OECD GESI markers.

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

The Cabinet Office remains committed to supporting delivery of the UK’s Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda, and the Integrated Security Fund (ISF) supports work to tackle Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI).

The ISF funds a variety of ‘programmes’, each of which is designed to achieve a specific national security objective. Each programme can then be broken down into individual ‘projects’ which work towards the programme’s objective. There is a requirement whereby all programmes should include at least one project where gender is a primary objective (an ‘E’ rating under OECD GESI markers, which is the highest rating), and all projects must have met, or be working towards meeting, a minimum standard whereby gender equality is part of the project’s objectives, but not the principal reason for undertaking the project (a ‘C’ rating).

However, the Cabinet Office does not specifically track expenditure allocated to GESI markers (principal, significant or not targeted).

In addition, during Financial Year 2024/25 the ISF operated a dedicated Gender, Peace and Security Portfolio (£5.39m).

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 7 July 2025 to Question 63005 on Prime Minister: Aviation, and with reference to the Cabinet Office Freedom of Information Act disclosure of 5 September 2025, FOI reference: FOI2025/12575, if he will place the disclosure in the Library; and what (a) is the value of the yearly payment to EDF to carbon offset flights using the C-GBNI airframe and (b) notional volume of carbon emissions are offset.

Answered by Chris Ward - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

I will arrange for a copy of FOI2025/12575 to be deposited in the Library of the House.

The yearly payment to carbon offset flights using the G-GBNI aircraft is calculated at the end of each financial year based on the flights that have taken place to ensure accuracy.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to page 70 of the Cabinet Office Annual report and accounts 2024-2025, HC1372, 23 October 2025, if he will publish the Business Rules document.

Answered by Chris Ward - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The business rules and corporate management statement represent internal documents that support the internal governance and assurance of the department. These documents are not routinely published for external audiences. It is a long-standing practice of successive Governments not to routinely publish internal documents.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, further to the Cabinet Office Annual report and accounts 2024-2025, HC1372, 23 October 2025, page 110, (a) how many total staff days were taken as paid special leave for volunteering in 2024–25 under the Cabinet Office volunteering policy, (b) what the estimated cost was to the Department and (c) how many officials participated.

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

Volunteering is a way in which the Cabinet Office supports and encourages its staff to develop both professionally and personally, by enabling them time to engage in activities and practical challenges which endeavor to have a positive impact in their local community.

From 1st April 2024 to 31st March 2025, there were collectively 191 reported days of volunteering leave taken by 105 individuals. The approximate salary cost of the days recorded for these individuals is £26,000 across the Cabinet Office.

Cabinet Office staff are entitled to take up to five days of special paid leave per performance year (01 April - 31 March) for volunteering activity as part of their Personal Development Plan.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to page 107 of the Cabinet Office Annual report and accounts 2024-2025, HC1372, published on 23 October 2025, how many staff were excluded from the Cabinet Office workforce figures as at 31 March 2025 as a result of the decision to omit Government Commercial and Fast Stream personnel from the Department’s data.

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

The statement on page 107 of the Cabinet Office Annual Report and Accounts 2024-2025 only refers to the staff included in ‘Section 2.12 - Diversity and inclusion’ and does not refer to data provided in earlier sections on departmental headcount. These individuals are included in the departmental headcount on Page 99 under the 4,370 Cabinet Office staff recharged to other government departments.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether any of Goaco Group Ltd's subcontractor (a) resources and (b) delivery partners were offshore before the publication of the variation of the Cabinet Office's contract with the company in October 2025.

Answered by Chris Ward - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The Cabinet Office can confirm that in relation to the Provision of Support and Maintenance for the Central Digital Platform contract with Goaco Group Ltd, no subcontractor (a) resources or (b) delivery partners were working offshore before the publication of the variation in October 2025.

The Cabinet Office does not hold information on any other contracts or subcontracting arrangements which Goaco Group Ltd may have in place.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, further to the Cabinet Office Annual report and accounts 2024-2025, HC1372, 23 October 2025, page 101, and the Contingent Labour Spend Control and the Consultancy and Professional Services Spend Control, both updated on 1 February 2023, for what reason 250 off-payroll engagements recorded as existing for four or more years at 31 March 2025 were classified as temporary appointments.

Answered by Chris Ward - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

All off payroll engagements are classified as temporary staff as they are not employees of the department and are not paid through the payroll.

Of the 250 staff quoted, 241 of them are either Infrastructure and Projects Authority gateway reviewers or Government Commercial Function accreditor assessors.

These ‘engagements’ form a pool of specialist reviewers and assessors who are called upon as and when required. Having a pool of reviewers and assessors allows the departments to respond flexibly to demand.

Of the 241 reviewers and assessors, 46 were not called upon at all during 2024-25 and therefore had £0 spend against their name. Some others had minimal spend during 2024-25. They are retained on our books as temporary staff in case their specialist knowledge is required.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Integrated Security Fund Annual Report 2024–25, 30 October 2025, whether he will publish the raw Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) scoring data for all ISF programmes in 2024–25, including departmental lead, delivery partner, and spend.

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

I refer the Honourable Member to my answer given to Parliamentary Question 91383. Whilst the Integrated Security Fund (ISF) does not track or disaggregate reporting or expenditure by Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) scoring specifically, the ISF meets its transparency obligations and programme details are published where possible. However, data for some ISF programmes cannot be released publicly due to national security sensitivities.

The ISF funds a variety of ‘programmes’, each of which is designed to achieve a specific national security objective. Each programme can then be broken down into individual ‘projects’ which work towards the programme’s objective. There is a requirement whereby all programmes should include at least one project where gender is a primary objective (an ‘E’ rating under OECD GESI markers, which is the highest rating), and all projects must have met, or be working towards meeting, a minimum standard whereby gender equality is part of the project’s objectives, but not the principal reason for undertaking the project (a ‘C’ rating).

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 10 October 2025, to Question 73484, on Health Services: Equality, whether the Office for National Statistics has a definition of “working class communities”.

Answered by Josh Simons - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of the 21st of November is attached.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to pages 111 to 114 of the Cabinet Office Annual report and accounts 2024-2025, HC1372, 23 October 2025, for what reason his Department’s new strategic outcomes were adopted during the year while the Estimates remained based on previous departmental objectives.

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

The Cabinet Office’s strategic outcomes were updated following the election to ensure that these reflected the new government’s priorities. These changes were reported to the Public Administration and Parliamentary Affairs Committee on 19 March 2025.

The financial reporting against these outcomes was updated at the earliest opportunity on HM Treasury systems and will be reported against in the 2025/26 Accounts.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department is paying the salary of the Second Permanent Secretary while he is on secondment to the Blavatnik School Of Government.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Nick Joicey is currently on secondment to a role at the Blavatnik School of Government, Oxford University. As is standard for secondments Defra continues to pay Mr Joicey’s salary and Defra is being reimbursed by Oxford University for his role there.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how members of the Diversity and Outreach Committee were selected and how many vacancies, other than the appointment of Chair, were publicly advertised.

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

Following the appointment of a new Chair to the Diversity and Outreach Honours Committee, a member from each of the ten independent honours committees was selected to join the Diversity and Outreach Committee in an ex-officio capacity based on their sector-specific expertise, experience, interest, and commitment. Selection was made through an Expression of Interest process, as was done for previous iterations of the committee. All members were appointed to their honours committee via a fair and open process on the Public Appointments website.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to the press release entitled UK space sector bolstered with government reforms to boost growth and cut red tape, published on 20 August 2025, what the estimated annual savings are from the merger of the UK Space Agency into her Department; and whether there are any planned redundancies.

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

Work is underway to design the new unit. This will include exploring the extent to which the merger will enable the unit to go further than the 5.6% DSIT-wide efficiencies by 2028/29 target. Designing a more efficient organisation will reduce running costs and remove duplication ensuring even more of the funding allocated to civil space can reach the sector while also protecting staff in both organisations where possible. There are currently no planned redundancies.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to page 107 of the Cabinet Office Annual report and accounts 2024-2025, HC1372, published on 23 October 2025, who authorised the change in reporting methodology to exclude Government Commercial Function and Fast Stream staff from the Department’s workforce figures; and on what evidential or accounting basis that decision was made.

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

The statement on page 107 of the Cabinet Office Annual Report and Accounts 2024-2025 only refers to the staff included in ‘Section 2.12 - Diversity and Inclusion’ does not refer to data provided in earlier sections on departmental headcount. These individuals are included in the departmental headcount on Page 99 under the 4,370 Cabinet Office staff recharged to other government departments.

Government Commercial Function and Fast Stream staff are excluded from Section 2.12 as they work full time in other government departments and so are not part of the day to day workforce of the Cabinet Office. This change in how diversity information was presented in the report was signed off by a senior civil servant in the department’s HR function.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to page 67 of the Cabinet Office Annual report and accounts 2024-2025, HC1372, 23 October 2025, in which venues the away days took place; and at what cost.

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

The away days referenced in page 67 of the Cabinet Office Annual Report took place at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and Lancaster House. As the Report states, the cost to the Cabinet Office totalled £5,288.40.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to page 66 of the Cabinet Office Annual report and accounts 2024-2025, HC1372, 23 October 2025, who sits on the staff Board; how members of the Staff Board were selected; and whether any formal appointment process, eligibility criteria and rotation system is in place.

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

The Staff Board is advisory and comprises Cabinet Office Staff of delegated grades (Grade AO - Grade 6). Approximately 20 members sit on the Staff Board. Members serve on the Staff Board for a minimum term of one year and a maximum term of two years.

Information on the role of the staff board is set out on the Cabinet Office’s intranet. Staff are able to apply to be a member at any time via an online form and are placed on a waiting list until a vacancy arises. The Cabinet Office Governance Team review applications and conduct short interviews with potential candidates before appointments are made. The Staff Board provides a vital platform for staff to inform decisions made by the Executive Committee (ExCo).

The appointment process seeks to encourage and attract a diverse pool of applicants from all business units, locations, and grades, aiming for a balanced representation of professional and personal characteristics.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Cabinet Office Annual report and accounts 2024-2025, HC1372, 23 October 2025, if he will publish the terms of reference of the Staff Board.

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

The Staff Board serves in an advisory capacity to the Executive Committee and is not a mandatory component of the Corporate Governance Code. Its Terms of Reference are not subject to external publication.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 5 November 2025 to Question HL11349 on Ministers: Corporate Hospitality and Official Gifts, whether the register published on gov.uk since July 2024 lists gifts and hospitality which are initially accepted but then (a) returned or (b) repaid.

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

Hospitality and gifts received by Ministers in their ministerial capacity are declared in accordance with the Ministerial Code.

The Cabinet Office publishes guidance setting out the process that departments should follow to complete the publication of the Register of Ministers’ Gifts and Hospitality: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ministers-gifts-and-hospitality-publication-guidance/ministers-gifts-and-hospitality-publication-guidance.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 5 November 2025, to Question 85506, on Cabinet Office: Data Protection, how many people had their personal data compromised.

Answered by Chris Ward - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

In relation to the eight incidents stated in Question 85506 a total of 148 individuals were affected. This is the total number as notified to the Information Commissioner’s Office.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what progress he has made on achieving a 25 per cent reduction in the cost of regulation and a £550 million reduction in consultancy costs.

Answered by Chris Ward - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The Government is committed to cut the administrative burden of regulation on businesses by 25%, or £5.6bn by the end of this Parliament. So far, we have identified £1.5bn in gross administrative burden savings; cutting back on corporate reporting for tens of thousands of businesses and simplifying the regime for financial services senior managers.

This Government will relentlessly root out waste, drive efficiencies, and protect taxpayers’ money. This is why we reduced consultancy spending by £550m in 2024/25 compared to previous plans, as set out at the July Spending Audit 2024.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Cabinet Office Annual report and accounts 2024-2025, HC1372, 23 October 2025, whether any functional services operated by his Department generated (a) surpluses and (b) profit margins above full-cost recovery.

Answered by Chris Ward - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

No functional services included within the Cabinet Office 2024-25 Annual Report and Accounts generated surpluses or profit margins above full-cost recovery during the 2024-2025 financial year.

The Department ensures that fees and charges for services are set in accordance with the principles set out in HM Treasury’s Managing Public Money, including for full cost recovery unless a specific policy reason exists for not doing so.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the NISTA Annual Report 2024–25 dashboard, whether an evaluation has been completed for the project entitled Falcon Programme in the Cabinet Office.

Answered by Chris Ward - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The Falcon Programme is facilitating the Cabinet Office's transition from Google Workspace to Microsoft 365. This is part of the drive to improve the productivity, security and efficiency of systems in the Cabinet Office and across Whitehall.

As required under the Government Major Project Portfolio (GMPP), the Falcon Programme must go through the standard independent review process. NISTA carried out an evaluation in March 2025 which formed the basis of the review in their 2024-25 Annual Report. A further review is due in March 2026.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 13 October 2025 to Question 73729 on Ministers: Aviation, which journeys contributed to those emissions.

Answered by Chris Ward - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

All travel using the GBNI aircraft is offset.

As was the case under the previous administration, data on ministers’ travel is published on a quarterly basis which includes defining the mode of transport used.

This can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/ministers-transparency-publications#2024

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to page 16 of the Cabinet Office Annual report and accounts 2024-2025, HC1372, 23 October 2025, what proportion of the underspend in Departmental Expenditure Limit spending has been (a) returned to the Consolidated Fund and (b) re-profiled for spending in 2025–26.

Answered by Chris Ward - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

At the end of the financial year, all underspends are returned to the Consolidated Fund.

The Cabinet Office did not re-profile any spending into 2025-26 from 2024-25.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to Figure 4 of the Integrated Security Fund Annual Report 2024–25, of 30 October 2025, for what reason £778.9 million of Integrated Security Fund expenditure was allocated to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office; and if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the proportion of funding allocated to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office on national security.

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

The allocation to the FCDO is for two purposes. The ISF currently fulfils UK mandatory commitments to UN peacekeeping missions around the world, which the FCDO administers on its behalf. As per the Annual Report page 15, that is £263.75m. UN peacekeeping is critical in supporting global peace and security, including by preventing conflicts from escalating and creating space for political solutions. The rest of the allocation funds ISF programmes which deliver national security interventions overseas via the FCDO’s global network. ISF programming and its funding to departments are regularly reviewed to ensure alignment with evolving national security priorities.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what proportion of Developed Vetting renewals have been completed within 95 days in each of the past six months, and what steps are being taken to improve performance.

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

United Kingdom Security Vetting (UKSV) continues to meet its agreed Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) across each product type, including Developed Vetting renewal clearances.

UKSV KPIs are set and regularly reviewed in consultation with customer groups, governed by ministerial oversight, to ensure demand is balanced whilst maintaining assurance in national security safeguards.

In line with the practice followed by successive administrations, the Government does not otherwise comment on security matters.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will publish the Risk Vulnerability Tool.

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

The Risk Vulnerability Tool (RVT) is currently accessible to Ministers and officials across the UK and devolved governments. Its function is to assist officials in identifying vulnerable and at-risk communities to better mitigate impacts during times of crisis.

The current developmental version of the tool will not be made public. However, in line with standard practice for government statistics, information detailing the RVT methodology will be published within a Quality and Methodology Information report once the methodology has been finalised.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Stabilisation Programme for UK Security Vetting has concluded; and what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of that programme on clearance times.

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

I am pleased to report that UKSV has delivered the objectives of delivering stability in its performance via the Delivery Stabilisation Programme (DSP) and continues to consistently meet its performance targets, as set out in the PAC report. It is now regarded as a stable service by customers.

Following a stabilisation programme initiated in 2023, there have been sustained and stable improvements in performance against Key Performance Indicators (KPI) across all service levels of National Security Vetting clearances which includes Counter Terrorist Check (CTC), Security Check (SC) and Developed Vetting (DV). UKSV successfully delivered the final milestone of DSP on 1st April 2024. Across core services United Kingdom Security Vetting (UKSV) is meeting all its targets against the full range of vetting products.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the average processing time was for (a) Counter Terrorist Check, (b) Security Check, (c) Developed Vetting and (d) Developed Vetting renewal clearances in the most recent month for which data is available.

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

United Kingdom Security Vetting (UKSV) continues to meet its agreed Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) across each product type. UKSV KPIs are set and regularly reviewed in consultation with customer groups to ensure demand is balanced whilst maintaining assurance in national security safeguards. UKSV KPIs are also governed by ministerial oversight.

In line with the practice followed by successive administrations, the Government does not otherwise comment on security matters.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to page 30 of the Cabinet Office Annual report and accounts 2024-2025, HC1372, 23 October 2025, whether income received from the Government Property Agency, Government People Group, Government Commercial and Grants Function, Government Security Group, Central Finance, CO Digital and Government Communications is used to cross-subsidise departmental activity outside those business units.

Answered by Chris Ward - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

No, the business units outlined in the question only recover incurred costs from providing services to other Government departments.

As such there is no surplus recovered to be used to subsidise department activity outside those business units. This is in alignment with ‘Managing Public Money’ guidance from HM Treasury.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the NISTA Annual Report 2024–25 dashboard, whether an evaluation has been completed for the project entitled Transforming Public Procurement in the Cabinet Office.

Answered by Chris Ward - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The Transforming Public Procurement programme is still in progress. An interim impact evaluation of the programme is planned for 2026.

A full impact evaluation will be published on the Government Evaluation Registry in line with NISTA requirements for programmes on the Government’s Major Projects Portfolio.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when the List of Ministerial Responsibilities will be updated.

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

A new List of Ministerial Responsibilities will be published in due course.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the Government paid a second homes council tax premium in (a) March and (b) April 2025 for the then Deputy Prime Minister’s official residence in Admiralty House.

Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Following the introduction of the second homes premium on 1 April, this has been paid in full in a one-off full payment in July 2025. This payment was made on the date the invoice was received from Westminster City Council.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance her Department has issued on the provision of official cars to Ministers outside the Government Car Service by (a) the Metropolitan Police and (b) private contractors.

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

The Home Office has not issued guidance regarding the provision of official cars to Ministers outside the Government Car Service, whether through (a) the Metropolitan Police or (b) private contractors.

The provision of any vehicle as part of a protective security package is determined by an assessment of threat and risk faced by a Minister.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Memorandum of Understanding: accessing HMRC information to assist honours committees in making ​recommendations​​​​​ about awarding honours to individuals, published on 19 October 2023, whether the HMRC Checking Panel’s deliberations are minuted and retained.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

Under the published Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), HMRC will commission reports on the tax behaviour of nominees. The reports and risk ratings are retained in line with HMRC’s data retention policy, as set out in the MOU. Deliberations are not minuted, but the framework for decision making is published with the MOU.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 10 October 2025, to Question 70524, on Civil Servants: media and public speaking, whether the guidance on civil servants speaking in public has been released, in whole or in part, in response to the Freedom of Information Act requests.

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

I refer the Rt Hon Member to my answer on 21 November 2025 (PQ 91378).

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of publishing the remuneration of direct ministerial appointments, who have a salary which is equivalent to (a) SCS1, (b) SCS2, (c) SCS3 and (d) above minimum pay scales for those grades.

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

Guidance on Making Direct Ministerial Appointments was published on gov.uk on 30 October 2025. Section 21 of this guidance states “For transparency purposes, all Direct Ministerial Appointments should be announced publicly, along with their Terms of Reference. This should generally be done at the time at which the appointment is made and include information such as the time commitment expected of the role, expected end date of the appointment and remuneration details, where such is incurred.”

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 4 November 2025, to Question 85199 on Ministers: Redundancy Pay whether Ministers are required to personally sign the waiver.

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

All ministers who are eligible for a severance payment are required to sign a waiver agreeing to forgo their entitlement to such a payment if, on leaving office, they have served in government for less than six months or if they leave as a result of a serious breach of the Ministerial Code. Through the waiver, ministers also commit to repaying their severance payment in the event that they are found to have seriously breached the Business Appointment Rules. Ministers also agree that if they are reappointed to government within three months of leaving office they will forgo their salary for the period overlapping with the severance payment period.

I can confirm that all ministers who are eligible for a severance payment have signed waivers.

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 15 September 2025 to Question 73327 on Alan Milburn, if he will list which other areas of health policy Mr Milburn has recused himself from.

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

Prior to appointment, non-executive candidates are required to declare all relevant interests. Appropriate mitigations are then put in place and approved by the Department.

This process was carried out for the Rt Hon. Alan Milburn, whose interests, and any updates to them, are available in the Department’s Annual Report and Accounts and on the GOV.UK website in alignment with Government policy.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the answer of 10 October 2025, to Question 71941, on DSIT: Remote Working, and of 10 October 2025, to Question 71222, on Civil Service: Recruitment, for what reason staff in her Department are subject to a 40% workplace attendance policy instead of the 60% minimum agreed by Heads of Department in October 2024.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

DSIT’s hybrid working policy requires employees to spend between 40% to 60% of their working hours in the office as the norm (with a minimum of 40%). DSIT allows some limited flexibility for minimum office attendance to reflect the size of the available office estate.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to the Cabinet Office Annual report and accounts 2024-2025, HC1372, 23 October 2025, with reference to the target to reduce the cost of regulation by 25% on page 7, what the Government’s latest estimate is of the total cost of regulation to businesses and organisations in the public sector; what baseline year and total monetary value were used to calculate the stated target to reduce that cost; and by what date the Government aims to achieve that reduction.

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

We have estimated the baseline of the administrative burden of regulation on businesses (as at start of April 2025) at £22.4bn a year in 2024 prices. Our target is to reduce this figure by 25%, or £5.6bn, by the end of Parliament.

We have adopted a pragmatic and ‘top-down’ approach to estimating the baseline, drawing on a range of existing data sources including previous baselining exercises, DBT’s regular Business Perceptions Survey (BPS), DBT business population estimates and Office for National Statistics data on wages and labour costs.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the estimated cost is of The Ministers’ Etc. Pension Scheme (Amendment) 2025, dated 6 November 2025.

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

The Ministers’ Etc. Pension Scheme (Amendment) 2025 makes technical amendments to the rules to allow the cost control mechanism (CCM) process to be completed, and the Scheme does not incur a cost as a result of the changes.

All public service pension schemes are subject to the CCM as part of the valuation cycle in line with HM Treasury policy. The CCM is designed to ensure a fair balance of risk with regard to the cost of providing public service pension schemes between members of those schemes and the Exchequer (and by extension taxpayers). If, when the CCM is tested, those costs are not within agreed target levels the member contributions are adjusted accordingly.

Any administrative costs associated with drafting and implementing these regulations are negligible and have been absorbed within existing Cabinet Office budgets.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the guidance entitled the approvals process for the creation of new arm's-length bodies, published on 15 March 2018, whether the Cabinet Office Public Bodies Team assessed the National Centre of Policing against the requirement that the creation of a new arms length body should only be considered as a last resort; whether the Department provided evidence that alternative delivery models were considered; and which of the tests in chapter 2 of that guidance it overcame.

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

The initial intention to explore a National Centre of Policing was announced by the then Home Secretary at the APCC/NPCC Conference in November 2024, as part of outlining their ambition for police reform. The Home Office will publish a White Paper on Police Reform in due course. If those proposals include establishing a new Arm's Length Body (ALB), then the standard process for establishing an ALB will be followed.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to page 125 of the Cabinet Office Annual report and accounts 2024-2025, HC1372, 23 October 2025, whether the £30 million Capital AME bid by the Government Property Agency that recorded a zero outturn was supported by approved business cases for government hub projects.

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

The GPA requested £30 million of Capital AME in the estimate as cover for potential accounting adjustments around dilapidation provisions in accordance with HM Treasury’s Financial Reporting Manual and Consolidated Budgeting Guidance. This is not directly related to government hub projects or business cases. The cover was based on a worst-case scenario that didn't materialise and so was not required.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how compliance with his Department’s Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method tenancy standard will be monitored and enforced.

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

The Government Property Agency (GPA) uses BREEAM when retrofitting and building new capital projects as per the government buying standards requirements.This system is administered through a third-party certification process managed by licensed assessors and enforced primarily by contractual agreements and planning policies.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) ratings are for 10 Downing Street, 11 Downing Street, and Admiralty House; and whether any assessments have been carried out since July 2024 to determine whether tenancies are in buildings with a BREEAM rating of A or above.

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

The Government Property Agency (GPA) uses BREEAM when retrofitting and building new capital projects as per the government buying standards requirements. Where budget and time allows, GPA aims to deliver to the government buying standards requirements or better. As these buildings are not being developed the BREEAM standard is not relevant. If the buildings were to be retrofitted by the GPA in the future, BREEAM would be applied as per the government buying standards requirements.

In regards to existing commercial spaces, the GPA will deliver to the MEES (Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards, regulations) and produce Display Energy Certificates (DECs) and/or Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) where commercially relevant.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether the National Cyber Security Centre has made an assessment of the adequacy of information security of the One Login system since July 2024.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

GOV.UK One Login works closely with the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), which provides advice to the programme on a range of cyber security topics.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 13 October 2025 to Question 70512 on Government Hospitality: Wines, whether the wines were purchased for (a) 10 Downing Street and (b) his Department.

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

I refer the Hon Member to the answer of 13 October 2025, Official Report, PQ 70512.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, further to the IGR Secretariat Annual Report 2023-24, published on 5 November 2025, when will the report for 2024-25 be published.

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

The impartial IGR Secretariat intends to publish their 2024-25 Annual Report in the spring.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to his Department's transparency data entitled Expenditure Over £25,000 - September 2025 (Cabinet Office Core), published on 30 October 2025, what works does the entry of Variable FM Expenditure - Client Requested workplace services via OCS Group UK Limited relate to.

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

The GPA procured this service on behalf of the occupying tenant, who has a requirement for staff to hold high security clearance. This cost is fully recovered from the occupying tenant, and is not funded by GPA or Cabinet Office budgets.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 4 November 2025, to Question 85508, on Permanent Secretaries: Redundancy Pay, whether the Cabinet Office holds a central list of which Permanent Secretaries have received severance payments since 4 July 2024.

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

Yes, the Cabinet Office holds a central list of Permanent Secretaries leavers who have received compensation payment since 4 July 2024.

Payments are published in departmental Annual Reports and Accounts for the financial years in which they were made.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 26 September 2025, to Question 74202, Civil Service: Unpaid Work, how will the Cabinet Office determine the social class of an applicant to the intern scheme if their parents have divorced and re-married by the age of 14, and the applicant has two different blended families.

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

The specific measure we use to determine socio-economic background of an applicant for the Summer Internship Programme is the occupation of the ‘main household earner’ when the applicant was 14 years old. This is in line with the guidance from the ONS and Social Mobility Commission.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 26 September 2025, to Question 74202, Civil Service: Unpaid Work, how will the Cabinet Office determine the social class of an applicant to the intern scheme if they had two working parents at the age of 14 in different social classes.

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

The specific measure we use to determine socio-economic background of an applicant for the Summer Internship Programme is the occupation of the ‘main household earner’ when the applicant was 14 years old. This is in line with the guidance from the ONS and Social Mobility Commission.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 30 October 2025, to Question 84251, on Government Departments: Facilities Agreements, whether government departments are required to inform the Cabinet Office if they permit trade unions to spend facility time on trade union activities, or otherwise make changes to their policy on permitted facility time.

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

The existing Cabinet Office facility time framework, implemented under the previous administration and unchanged, does not require departments to inform the Cabinet Office if they permit paid time off to undertake activities, although this does require the agreement of their Secretary of State or Chief Executive. Departments do not need Cabinet Office approval to amend their own policies on the use of facility time.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he plans to (a) amend and (b) modernise the Lieutenancies Act 1997.

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

There are no plans to amend or update the Lieutenancies Act 1997.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 10 October 2025, to Question 74211, on Prime Minister: Recruitment, if he will list the information requested for appointments below SCS2.

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

I refer the Hon Member to the answer of 10 October 2025, Official Report, PQ 74211.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister will make it his policy to ask the (a) Rt hon. Member for Ashton-under-Lyne, (b) Rt hon. Member for Sheffield Heeley, (c) hon. Member for Hampstead and Highgate and (d) hon. Member for Bethnal Green and Stepney to donate a book to Gladstone's Library.

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

Gladstone's Library, based in North Wales, was established by William Ewart Gladstone and is the only Prime Ministerial library in the UK.

There has never been a formal practice of former ministers donating books to the library, excluding the The Gladstone Foundation Collection which holds Gladstone’s original library.

Any decision to do so would not be a matter for the government. I would refer the Hon Member to the Gladstone's Library website, which states that "Gladstone’s Library is currently closed to all donations" to their collection.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 21 October 2025, to Question 82339, on Ministers: Official Cars, what was the total expenditure on Ministerial cars across government in July 2025.

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

I refer the Honourable Gentleman to the response given to Question 90730, tabled on 13th November 2025. The total expenditure on ministerial cars across government in July 2025 was £483,474.31.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to pages 8 and 107 of the Cabinet Office Annual report and accounts 2024-2025, HC1372, 23 October 2025, whether the Department’s target to reduce headcount by up to 1,200 roles has been met in part through the reclassification or exclusion of Government Commercial or Fast Stream staff from Cabinet Office workforce totals.

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

The statement on page 107 of the Cabinet Office Annual Report and Accounts 2024-2025 only refers to the staff included in section 2.12. Diversity and inclusion and does not refer to data provided in earlier sections on departmental headcount. These individuals are included in the departmental headcount on Page 99 under the 4,370 Cabinet Office staff recharged to other government departments and therefore has no impact on the Department’s target to reduce headcount by up to 1,200 roles.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether any offshore subcontractor resources associated with his Department’s Central Digital Platform contract (a) are located in and (b) have supply-chain links to jurisdictions designated by the National Cyber Security Centre as high-risk for data-security purposes, including China.

Answered by Chris Ward - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The original contract for the Provision of Support and Maintenance for the Central Digital Platform was awarded following a competitive tender process conducted under the Digital Outcomes and Specialists (DOS) 6 Framework. The Voluntary Ex Ante Transparency (VEAT) notice was published to give notice of our intention to vary the contract. There was a clerical error when publishing the VEAT which inadvertently led to the notice advising that the change was in response to extreme urgency. This was not the case and the decision was made purely on the grounds of value for money.

No subcontractor resources which are deployed under the contract are located in or have supply-chain links to jurisdictions designated by the National Cyber Security Centre as high-risk for data-security purposes.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, who the members are of the Cabinet Office Sustainability Steering Group; when the group was established; how often it meets; and what its terms of reference are.

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

The Cabinet Office Sustainability Steering Group consists of the Head of Sustainability and Deputy Directors from Human Resources, Property, Procurement, Digital and Finance. The Group was formed in July 2024 and meets quarterly.

The Terms of Reference for the Group are to focus on delivering the ESG sustainability strategy at a business unit level, including accountability for tracking individual function-level sustainability targets, oversight of sustainable initiatives, monitoring and reporting to the People & Operations Committee (POpsCo), setting the direction of the sustainability strategy, oversight of compliance with Greening Government Commitments (GGCs), Task-Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosure (TCFD), Environment Principles Policy Statement (EPPS) and Green Book.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what proportion of Counter Terrorist Checks (CTC) and Security Checks (SC) have been completed within 25 days in each of the past six months.

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

United Kingdom Security Vetting (UKSV) continues to meet its agreed Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) across each product type, including Counter Terrorist Checks (CTC) and Security Checks (SC).

These UKSV KPIs are established and reviewed on a regular basis with departments, and are subject to ministerial oversight, to balance operational demand whilst maintaining assurance in national security safeguards.

In line with the practice followed by successive administrations, the Government does not otherwise comment on security matters.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the October 2025 variation to his Department's contract with Goaco Group Ltd is within the scope and value thresholds of the Digital Outcomes and Specialists 6 framework; and whether the modification has been treated as a new contract.

Answered by Chris Ward - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The Digital Outcomes and Specialists 6 (DOS 6) Crown Commercial Service framework permits the use of non-UK-based suppliers, subject to the buyer's prior consent being obtained.

The modification, following publication of the variation in October 2025, does not constituent a new contract.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, further to the Cabinet Office Annual report and accounts 2024-2025, HC1372, 23 October 2025, page 33, whether the external audit for ISO 14001:2015 accreditation identified any non-conformities or required actions; and if he will publish the audit’s results.

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

The Cabinet Office was found to have no nonconformities and no required actions. Currently, there are no plans to publish ISO14001:2015 audit results as they contain sensitive information for the building management.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Cabinet Office Publication of Special Adviser Interests 2024-2025, published in 17 July 2025, what shareholdings Varun Chandra has declared.

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

There is an established system in place for the declaration and management of special advisers' interests. As has been the case under successive administrations, 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, pursuant to the answer of 31 March 2025, to Question 40580, on Trade Union Officials: Facilities Agreements, what is the current target date for the publication of the 2024-25 statistics by the Cabinet Office, based on the standards timelines for this dataset.

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

The public-sector trade union facility time data for the period 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025 was published on 27 November 2025.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what guidance has been given to Departments and Arm's Length Bodies on trade union facility time for union learning representatives.

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

The Cabinet Office provides guidance to departments on the subject of facility time for trade union learning representatives within its facility time framework. This guidance simply outlines the statutory rights of these representatives.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether (a) Commons Ministers, (b) Lords Ministers or (c) special advisers are eligible for any form of salary sacrifice in relation to additional voluntary contributions to their pensions.

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

There is no eligibility for any form of salary sacrifice in relation to additional voluntary contributions to pensions for (a) Commons Ministers, (b) Lords Ministers, or (c) special advisers.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the recruitment process was for the new Director General of the Propriety, Ethics and Constitution Group; and whether it is a permanent promotion.

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

The appointment of the interim DG, Propriety and Constitution in August was a temporary promotion. A full recruitment campaign will be launched in the new year.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how the contract for the One Big Thing 2024 platform and evaluation was procured; and whether Wazoku was appointed through open competition.

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

Access to the Wazoku Platform for One Big Thing 2024 was provided through an existing contract between Wazoku and the Ministry of Defence (MoD). MoD had access to unlimited external licences, which they made available to the Cabinet Office for use for One Big Thing.

The evaluation was done internally in the Cabinet Office by the Joint Data Analysis Centre.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 15 October 2025 to Question 74279 on Prison Officers: Social Class, whether (a) the Social Mobility Commission and (b) Office for National Statistics classifies prison officers as (i) working class or (ii) a different social-economic classification.

Answered by Josh Simons - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of the 24th November is attached.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 10 October 2025 to Question 76602 on 10 Downing Street, and further to the Cabinet Office Annual report and accounts 2024-2025, HC 1372, 23 October 2025, if he will provide a breakdown of the expenditure, by individual item purchased and by the type of works, from public funds under the annual allowance, as set out in page 139 of the Cabinet Office Annual report and accounts.

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

I refer the Hon Member to the answer of 27 October 2025, Official Report, PQ 85501.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, further to page 24 of the Cabinet Office Annual report and accounts 2024-2025, HC1372, 23 October 2025, if he will break down the compensation offers by category of claimant; and what proportion have been accepted and paid.

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

As of 23 September 2025, as referenced in the Cabinet Office Annual Report and Accounts 2024-2025, 1,926 individuals, who are infected and registered with a support scheme, had received an offer. By this date, 1,507 individuals, constituting 78% of those with an offer, had accepted their offer and been paid.

The Infected Blood Compensation Authority (IBCA) published their latest statistics on 20 November. As of 18 November, 2,777 individuals who are infected and registered with a support scheme have received an offer. 2,446, constituting 88% of those with an offer, have accepted their offer. The full compensation progress update can be found here: https://ibca.org.uk/statistics/compensation-progress-updates-20-november-2025.

IBCA expects to open to further cohorts (those infected people not registered with a support scheme, the estates of deceased infected people, and affected people) in November and December.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to page 139 of the Cabinet Office Annual report and accounts 2024-2025, HC1372, 23 October 2025, what (a) works were undertaken and (b) items were purchased as part of the refurbishment of the Downing Street estate; and which Downing Street properties it relates to.

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

I refer the Hon Member to the answer of 27 October 2025, Official Report, PQ 85501.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make it his policy to ask government departments not to use the phrase devolved nations when referring to devolved administrations or legislatures.

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

Yes. This is already the Government's position. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland should be referred to by name or collectively as nations. Certain powers are devolved to institutions within those nations, which benefit from having two governments serving them. The nations, as constituent parts of this United Kingdom, are not devolved.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the notice entitled Provision of Support and Maintenance for the Central Digital Platform, for what reason the variation was designated as negotiated procedure without a prior call for competition – extreme urgency brought about by events unforeseeable for the contracting authority.

Answered by Chris Ward - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The original contract for the Provision of Support and Maintenance for the Central Digital Platform was awarded following a competitive tender process conducted under the Digital Outcomes and Specialists (DOS) 6 Framework. The Voluntary Ex Ante Transparency (VEAT) notice was published to give notice of our intention to vary the contract. There was a clerical error when publishing the VEAT which inadvertently led to the notice advising that the change was in response to extreme urgency. This was not the case and the decision was made purely on the grounds of value for money.

No subcontractor resources which are deployed under the contract are located in or have supply-chain links to jurisdictions designated by the National Cyber Security Centre as high-risk for data-security purposes.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Memorandum of Understanding between HMRC and the Cabinet Office on the exchange of information for honours probity checks, dated 21 March 2017, remains in force following the expiry period set out at paragraph 9.1 on page 6 of that document; and whether any updated or replacement Memorandum has been agreed between the departments.

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

In order to protect the integrity of the honours system, the Cabinet Office carries out probity checks with a number of government departments to ensure that honours recipients are in good standing. HMRC provides the Cabinet Office with a minimal disclosure of information in the form of a risk rating of low, medium and high without disclosing any underlying detail about the tax affairs of an individual being considered for an honour.

As per the 2023 Memorandum of Understanding, which superseded the previous 2017 version, the Cabinet Office will only hold the information provided by HMRC for a maximum of 12 months following the publication of an honours list. The Cabinet Office therefore only has access to the HMRC rating during this timeframe. HMRC's risk rating reflects their view on an individual's tax behaviour. Cabinet Office takes this information into account, alongside information provided by other government departments, to inform the honours committees' recommendations.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the document entitled Memorandum of Understanding: accessing HMRC information to assist honours committees in making ​recommendations​​​​​ about awarding honours to individuals, published on 19 October 2023, whether his Department has disagreed with risk ratings supplied by HMRC for honours probity checks.

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

In order to protect the integrity of the honours system, the Cabinet Office carries out probity checks with a number of government departments to ensure that honours recipients are in good standing. HMRC provides the Cabinet Office with a minimal disclosure of information in the form of a risk rating of low, medium and high without disclosing any underlying detail about the tax affairs of an individual being considered for an honour.

As per the 2023 Memorandum of Understanding, which superseded the previous 2017 version, the Cabinet Office will only hold the information provided by HMRC for a maximum of 12 months following the publication of an honours list. The Cabinet Office therefore only has access to the HMRC rating during this timeframe. HMRC's risk rating reflects their view on an individual's tax behaviour. Cabinet Office takes this information into account, alongside information provided by other government departments, to inform the honours committees' recommendations.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when the Nominations Committee was established for the 2025–26 reporting year; who its members are; who chairs it; and what its terms of reference are.

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

The Nominations Committee membership, including the chair, is made up of Cabinet Office Non-Executive Board Members. The draft terms of reference will be approved by the committee in its first meeting in early 2026 and are consistent with section 4.5 of the Corporate Governance in Central Government Departments Code of Good Practice.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 15 October 2025 to Question 75367 on Cabinet Office: Equality, which diversity networks in his Department are eligible for diversity network time.

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

The Cabinet Office has a number of diversity networks listed below. Currently only chairs of diversity networks are offered up to 10% of their time for network related actvities.

Diversity Networks

All Ages Network- EngAge

Carers network

Christian Network

Disability Network (ABLE)

Faith and Belief Forum

Women in Digital network

Flexible Working network

LGBT+ network

Gender Equality network

Menopause network

Neurodiversity network

Race Equality (CORE) Network

Parental Support Network

Social Mobility Network

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 10 October 2025 to Question 70481 on Government Communication Service: Recruitment, how much was spent on Odgers for the recruitment of the Director of the Government Communications Service.

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

Details of the contract award to Odgers and value are available here: Executive Search for Director of Communications - Contracts Finder

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what (a) salary sacrifice arrangements and (b) Shared Cost Additional Voluntary Contributions are offered to members of the civil service’s (i) Alpha and (ii) Partnership scheme.

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

Salary sacrifice is not available in respect of member contributions to the Civil Service Pension Schemes including alpha and Partnership schemes.

Shared cost Additional Voluntary Contributions are not available to members of alpha or Partnership.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 30 October 2025 to Question 83796 on Government Departments: Directors, which directors have left the civil service.

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

This information is not held centrally by Government Communications.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, who the Members were of his Department's Executive Committee in 2024-25; and how many meetings each member attended.

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

The following individuals were members of the Executive Committee (ExCo) at the conclusion of the Financial Year 2024-25.

• Cat Little, Permanent Secretary and Principal Accounting Officer (Chair)

• Madeleine Alessandri, Head of the Joint Intelligence Organisation

• Sarah Harrison, Chief Operating Officer

• Matt Collins, Deputy National Security Adviser

• Darren Tierney, Director General, Propriety, Ethics & Constitution Group

• Fiona Ryland, Government Chief People Officer

• Vincent Devine, Government Chief Security Officer

• Andrew Forzani, Government Chief Commercial Officer

• Simon Baugh, Chief Executive, Government Communication Service

• Emma Churchill, Director General, Economic & Domestic Secretariat

• Jonathan Black, Deputy National Security Adviser and Director General, European & Global Issues

• Kunal Patel, Deputy Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister, No.10

• Caroline Patterson, Chief Financial Officer

• Rebecca Hedges, Acting Chief People Officer

• Elinor McDaniell, CO Strategy Director

• Fleur Johnson, Strategy Director, National Security Secretariat

Membership varied throughout this period, and also included the following individuals at various points.

• Gareth Rhys Williams, Chief Commercial Officer

• Marco Salzedo and Clare Gibbs, Interim Representatives, Government Commercial Function

• Kathryn Al-Shemmeri, CO Chief People Officer

• Tom Read, CEO, Government Digital Service

• David Foley, Director, Public Bodies

• Rich Hornby, Chief Financial Officer

• Jean-Christophe Gray, DG Delivery Unit

• Laura Gilbert, Chief Data Analyst

• Tim Barrow, Foreign Policy and National Security Adviser

• Elizabeth Perelman, Director General, Public Sector Reform and Efficiency

Collated attendance information is not held and providing it would incur a disproportionate cost.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many investment proposals have been considered by the Cabinet Office Investment Committee since July 2024; how many were approved; how many were rejected or deferred; and what the total whole-life expenditure associated with those approvals was.

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

Since July 2024, the Investment Committee has considered a total of 39 business cases. All of these business cases were approved, subject to specific conditions. Spending approvals can specify a range of expected expenditure, and may be lower than the overall whole-life cost of the project. The cumulative approximate whole-life cost of these approved cases amounts to a maximum of £26.91 billion. This includes funding for the Infected Blood Compensation Scheme.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many (a) pubs, (b) cafes, (c) restaurants and (d) hotels have had their rateable value (i) increased and (ii) reduced by the Valuation Office Agency during the 2026 business rate revaluation.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The VOA published the Draft non-domestic rating list on 26 November 2025. The accompanying statistical commentary reflects changes by sector and location, compared to the previous 2023 valuation. The revaluation will take effect from 1 April 2026.

A rise in rateable value does not automatically mean a similar rise in bills. Bills are calculated using an agreed multiplier and any additional reliefs a ratepayer qualifies for. For those seeing bill increases, reflecting many sectors’ post-Covid recovery, the current government is providing a new support package for business rate payers worth £4.3 billion over the next 3 years.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to her Department's publication entitled Government Procurement Card spend over £500 - April 2025, Spending by Business Units no longer part of Cabinet Office, published on 29 May 2025, what the spending on TasteTheLove on 28 April 2025 was for, including what food or drink was purchased.

Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

The relevant expense was for catering a cross-government (including visitors from academia and the private sector) event.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the answer of 8 September 2025 to Question 70466 on 10 Downing Street: Repairs and Maintenance, whether (a) the Government Property Agency and (b) her Department has (i) an annual allowance and (ii) budget for works, fixtures or fittings for the Chancellor’s flat in Downing Street.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

Aside from day-to-day facilities management, neither the GPA nor HMT provide an annual allowance or budget for works, fixtures or fittings to be undertaken on the Chancellor’s flat in Downing Street.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 10 October 2025 to Question 73943 on Cabinet Office: Social Media, how much has been spent by his Department on social media influencers since 4 July 2024; and on what campaigns.

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

As digital and social media become central to how people consume information, Government is adapting its communications approach to meet audiences where they are. Digital and social media channels enable us to reach audiences more cost-effectively, delivering better value from communications budgets.

The total spent by the Cabinet Office on influencer marketing from 4 July 2024 to present is £280,068.11. Please note this figure is subject to the exchange rate at the time of completing this request.

The Government Communication Service has commissioned the following influencer market campaigns, with total costs (inclusive of agency fees) listed:

• New Media Unit - Free School Breakfast Clubs: £48,530.00 (February - September 2025)

• New Media Unit - National Living/Minimum Wage: £17,500.00 (March 2025)

• New Media Unit - Warm Homes: £24,000 (November - December 2025)

• GREAT Campaign - Audacious Kingdom: £117,000.00 (September 2023 - May 2025)

• GREAT Campaign - Greater Together: £111,216.75 (March 2025 - present)

These campaigns are used to raise awareness about government schemes and initiatives and promote the UK internationally.

Please note, some data has been withheld due to commercial and wider sensitivities.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 13 October 2025, to Question 77545, on Cabinet Office: Social Media, if he will list the (a) programmes, (b) campaigns and (c) topics that digital influencers have been commissioned by the New Media Unit, including how much was spent on each.

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

As digital and social media become central to how people consume information, Government is adapting its communications approach to meet audiences where they are. Digital and social media channels enable us to reach audiences more cost-effectively, delivering better value from communications budgets.

The total spent by the Cabinet Office on influencer marketing from 4 July 2024 to present is £280,068.11. Please note this figure is subject to the exchange rate at the time of completing this request.

The Government Communication Service has commissioned the following influencer market campaigns, with total costs (inclusive of agency fees) listed:

• New Media Unit - Free School Breakfast Clubs: £48,530.00 (February - September 2025)

• New Media Unit - National Living/Minimum Wage: £17,500.00 (March 2025)

• New Media Unit - Warm Homes: £24,000 (November - December 2025)

• GREAT Campaign - Audacious Kingdom: £117,000.00 (September 2023 - May 2025)

• GREAT Campaign - Greater Together: £111,216.75 (March 2025 - present)

These campaigns are used to raise awareness about government schemes and initiatives and promote the UK internationally.

Please note, some data has been withheld due to commercial and wider sensitivities.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 4 November 2025 to Question 86052 on Government Departments: Social Media, how much has been spent through those two agencies on social influencers since 4 July 2024.

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

As digital and social media become central to how people consume information, Government is adapting its communications approach to meet audiences where they are. Digital and social media channels enable us to reach audiences more cost-effectively, delivering better value from communications budgets.

The total spent by the Cabinet Office on influencer marketing from 4 July 2024 to present is £280,068.11. Please note this figure is subject to the exchange rate at the time of completing this request.

The Government Communication Service has commissioned the following influencer market campaigns, with total costs (inclusive of agency fees) listed:

• New Media Unit - Free School Breakfast Clubs: £48,530.00 (February - September 2025)

• New Media Unit - National Living/Minimum Wage: £17,500.00 (March 2025)

• New Media Unit - Warm Homes: £24,000 (November - December 2025)

• GREAT Campaign - Audacious Kingdom: £117,000.00 (September 2023 - May 2025)

• GREAT Campaign - Greater Together: £111,216.75 (March 2025 - present)

These campaigns are used to raise awareness about government schemes and initiatives and promote the UK internationally.

Please note, some data has been withheld due to commercial and wider sensitivities.

Question

To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, pursuant to the answer of 10 October 2025, to Question 73484, on Health Services: Equality, whether she has a definition of (a) “working class communities” and (b) “working class jobs”.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

As given in the answer of 8th October, the 10-Year Health Plan refers both to “working class jobs” and “working class communities”. These terms are used in the standard way they are used in English to indicate people who are employed for wages and generally experience greater job insecurity, lower benefits, and less financial security than others in society.

Question

To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, if she will make it his policy not to refer to working class people as having a lower socio-economic status.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

As given in the answer of 8th October, the term ‘working class’ was used in the 10-Year Health Plan in the standard way that it is used in English, that is to indicate people who are employed for wages and generally experience greater job insecurity and less financial security than others in society.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 18 July 2025 to Question 66652 on Military Aircraft: Ministers, what the total cost to the public purse was for those tasks.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The total cost for Government Minsters travel on the RAF Command Support Air Transport between 3 July 2024 and 4 July 2025 is £858,724.23. This was approximately 51.3% lower than the previous year.

Some elements included in the total cost are air passenger duty, catering, insurance, fuel, civilian airfield usage, landing & handling fees.

Since my response to Question 66652, I can confirm that an additional task has been identified which is in scope and the total costs cover 44 tasks, that were completed between 4 July 2024 and 18 July 2025.

It has been the practice of successive administrations not to publish granular information relating to the official movements of Ministers and those accompanying them within the United Kingdom. Information about official overseas travel is published as part of the Cabinet Office transparency returns and made available on the GOV.UK website.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she intends to cap public service pension costs under section 12 of the Public Service Pensions Act 2013.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

Section 12 of the Public Service Pensions Act 2013 (the Act) requires an employer cost cap to be set in each of the public service pension schemes.

The Act requires that Treasury regulations must provide for the costs of a scheme to remain within specified margins either side of the employer cost cap of the scheme. The Regulations (SI 2014 No. 575) provide the margins are 3% of pay and that steps must be taken to return the cost of a scheme to the employer cost cap if the cost of the scheme would otherwise go beyond these margins.

Treasury Directions made under the Act specify when the employer cost cap is to be assessed (The_Public_Service_Pensions__Valuations_and_Employer_Cost_Cap__Directions_2023_-_Final.pdf ). Valuations of the employer cost cap as at 31 March 2016 and at 31 March 2020 have been undertaken by each of the schemes, for example see page 9 of the Civil Service Pension Scheme Actuarial Valuation as at 31 March 2020 - Valuation Results. Valuations of the employer cost cap as at 31 March 2024 are currently underway and are expected to be published next year.

Question to the Leader of the House:

To ask the Leader of the House, pursuant to the answer of 20 November 2025 to Question 91457, on Written Question: Government Responses, if he will undertake an assessment of whether the Cabinet Office provides full and helpful responses to Parliamentary Questions.

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

It is a matter for individual departments to determine how to respond to parliamentary questions from Members. However, Parliament has a right to hold Ministers to account and I am committed to ensuring that Members receive full and timely responses.

I encourage hon. Members to raise any specific issues they may have with myself and my office.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Cabinet Office Annual report and accounts 2024-2025, HC1372, 23 October 2025, page 16, what proportion of the £203 million underspend in DEL arose from projects that failed to deliver to plan and are now expected to require re-profiling or supplementary funding in 2025–26.

Answered by Chris Ward - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

None of the underspend requires re-profiling or supplementary funding in 2025-26.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what information the Crown Commercial Service holds on Government use of the Starlink network.

Answered by Chris Ward - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

Starlink is not a supplier on any Crown Commercial Service (CCS) commercial agreement.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 3 November 2025 to Question 85509 on Government Communication Service, how the Government Communication Service under the SAFE framework assesses whether the expression of gender-critical views are perceived to be offensive.

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

As detailed on the SAFE framework page (under ‘Safety and suitability’), publishers must provide a safe environment for HMG advertising. Link provided below:

https://www.communications.gov.uk/publications/safe-framework-the-4-principles-for-hmg-brand-safety/

There have been no requests for government advertising via Politico and this publication has not been assessed against the framework.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the cost was of the One Big Thing 2024 initiative, including (a) design and delivery of the Innovation Masterclass, (b) the contract with Wazoku for the One Big Thing platform, (c) communications and engagement activities and (d) evaluation and analysis.

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

The total cost for One Big Thing 2024 was £400,164, including a) £258,144 for the design and delivery of the Innovation Masterclass, b) £0 for access to Wazoku Platform (an existing contract between Wazoku and MoD was utilised, at no cost to the the Cabinet Office) c) £11,066 for marketing and media (cost relates to stalls at Civil Service Live) and d) £7,980 for a data dashboard for monitoring live uptake. The evaluation and analysis were done internally within the CO, at no cost.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 4 November 2025 to Question 86058 on Government Departments: Advertising, for what reason Politico has not been assessed.

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

As detailed on the SAFE framework page (under ‘Safety and suitability’), publishers must provide a safe environment for HMG advertising. Link provided below:

https://www.communications.gov.uk/publications/safe-framework-the-4-principles-for-hmg-brand-safety/

There have been no requests for government advertising via Politico and this publication has not been assessed against the framework.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 13 October 2025, to Question 73729, on Ministers: Aviation, which other Government-financed planes have their carbon offset.

Answered by Chris Ward - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The Government does not lease any other government-financed aircraft outside of the wet-leased A321neoLR (G-GBNI) and Ministry of Defence (MOD) assets.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 1 July 2025, to Question 62993, on King Charles III: Artworks, whether (a) NHS England and (b) Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust accepted the offer from the Cabinet Office of a free portrait of the King to place in their offices.

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

I refer the Honourable Member to the information published on GOV.UK on 28 November 2024 which provided a summary of the His Majesty The King’s Official Portrait Scheme, including the number of portraits provided by type of public institution, and the total cost of the scheme: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/conclusion-of-his-majesty-the-kings-free-portrait-scheme

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, for what reason the Mission Boards do not appear in the List of Cabinet Committees, published on 19 November 2025.

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

Following a review of the Cabinet committee system, the Prime Minister announced a number of changes to the committee structure. Mission Boards have been reformed to become delivery-focused forums benefitting from external and industry expertise, led by the relevant Secretary of State. The Government remains committed to delivering the missions.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether applications for the Government Communication Service Apprenticeship in 2026 will be restricted on the basis of (a) socio-economic background and (b) ethnicity.

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

Applications for the GCS Apprenticeship are not restricted on the basis of socio-economic background or ethnicity.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to page 31 of the Cabinet Office Annual report and accounts 2024-2025, HC1372, 23 October 2025, what his evidential basis is for the statement that those services are widely known across government as providing an excellent service.

Answered by Chris Ward - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The services offered by the Cabinet Office functions have seen significant growth in usage, with income increasing by 77% over the last five years. Departments are not mandated to use all the services provided by the functions but opt to use them.

In most cases, the functions have customer boards which provide robust oversight and feedback on how the services they provide are performing. On occasion, teams can also request customer feedback via surveys to ensure the services they are providing are meeting customer requirements.

This feedback along with the continued increase in usage reflects the growing reputation of the functions for providing excellent services.

Question to the Leader of the House:

To ask the Leader of the House, what assessment has been made of practices of Hon. Members who will not respond to correspondence from overseas electors who are assigned to their Parliamentary constituency.

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

The Government recognises the importance of MPs responding to correspondence in a timely and consistent manner. It is for each individual MP to determine how best to perform their parliamentary duties, including the management of correspondence from constituents resident in the UK and overseas. MPs are ultimately accountable to their constituents at the ballot box.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will publish the Freedom of Information Act response released by Cabinet Office, reference FOI2025/05758 of 10 July 2025 on criminal offences by Ministers.

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

A copy of the response will be placed in the House Library.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the Government gave assurances to the Chinese Government on the proposed Chinese Embassy in London after 4 July 2024 and before the previously refused planning application was resubmitted by the Chinese Government.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 14 July 2025 to Question 65869.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Deposited Paper DEP2025-0726, committed on 21 October 2025, what was the cause of the breakdown in the toilet macerator.

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

The toilet macerator was found to be leaking and upon investigation the pump was defective. The macerator was 10 years old and it was concluded that the unit should be replaced.

Found: Dame Siobhain McDonagh, Charlie Maynard and Mike Wood made representations.