Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what was the cost to the public purse of her Department's summer reception held on 1 July 2026; and how much of the total cost was spent on (a) alcohol and (b) catering.

Answered by Seema Malhotra

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's summer reception is one of the key moments of the year for engagement with overseas diplomats based in the UK, and has been supported by successive governments for several decades. We are grateful to the many UK food and drink companies who offered to showcase their products at this year's reception, helping to reduce the costs of the event for the FCDO.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which organisation will replace MHCLG when it vacates the 2 Marsham Street offices for the Government Offices Great George Street; and what are the potential implications for the PFI liabilities of the Home Office for Marsham Street.

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

The "Plan for London" (PfL) will see a number of departments relocating to 2 Marsham Street enabled by MHCLG's move. Detailed planning is underway and will result in more efficient use of government property, creating opportunities to maximise synergies and collaboration across departmental boundaries. Home Office is enabling PfL by consolidating, thereby reducing its PFI liabilities.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what is the cost to the public purse of security and policing in relation to Downing Street.

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

The Government does not disclose detailed information on protective security arrangements at specific sites, including funding levels. This reflects a long-standing policy designed to protect the integrity and effectiveness of security measures, as the release of such information could increase vulnerabilities and compromise site security.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what is the cost to the public purse of security and policing in relation to Chequers.

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

The Government does not disclose detailed information on protective security arrangements at specific sites, including funding levels. This reflects a long-standing policy designed to protect the integrity and effectiveness of security measures, as the release of such information could increase vulnerabilities and compromise site security.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has taken steps in 2 Marsham Street to prevent the installation of unauthorised cameras.

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

All security incidents are investigated in accordance with established procedures, but in line with the practice of successive administrations, the government does not comment on internal security arrangements.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what is the policy of the Government Communication Service on (a) departments and (b) Ministers posting on the X platform.

Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

All government paid advertising on X has been suspended since April 2023, meaning that no taxpayers money has been spent with the platform.

Individual departments manage their own organic accounts, ensuring that activity is proportionate, appropriate, and relevant to their audiences.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 3 July 2026 to Question 13197 on Sanctuary Counsel, if she will provide relevant hyperlinks and reference numbers to each of the payments made to Sanctuary Counsel; and if she will publish the contract.

Answered by Seema Malhotra

Details of Government contracts are routinely published on the Contracts Finder and Find-a-Tender Service websites. Details of payments over £25,000 made by Government departments are routinely published via transparency releases on GOV.UK. The information the Hon Member is seeking can be found online, and the Hon Member may wish to carry out subsequent research. All relevant information is currently available, or will be made available in future, via those sources.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 30 June 2026, to Question 12787, on Government Departments: Public Appointments, whether the approach on GDPR applies to declarations in relation to ministerial appointments.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds

Ministerial appointments are distinct to public appointments and subject to separate processes. Ministers are appointed by the Sovereign on the advice of the Prime Minister. The process for the declaration and management of ministers’ interests is set out in the Ministerial Code. Relevant interests are published in the List of Ministers’ Interests on a quarterly basis.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of swarms of drones on national security; and whether research has been commissioned on that issue.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The Home Office coordinates the government’s homeland counter-drone policy and closely monitors how drones are being used in all threat areas. This includes organised crime, terrorism, and innovations coming out of conflict zones. We work closely with other Government departments and operational partners such as the police and the military, as well as the scientific community, to understand current and emerging drone and counter-drone technologies and the threats and opportunities they present, and to develop the necessary technical capabilities and legislation in response.

It would of course not be appropriate to comment on specific details of threat assessments.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether officials (a) in his Department and (b) in Policy Lab attended the Creative Bureaucracy Festival on 11 June 2026.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds

The Policy Lab sits in the Department for Education who have confirmed that no Policy Lab officials attended the Festival.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what the cost to the public purse of participation in (a) Horizon and (b) Copernicus is, in (i) 2025-26 and (ii) 2026-27.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Technology)

The UK contributes around £2 billion per year to Horizon Europe, providing UK businesses and researchers with access to curiosity driven research funding, world-class collaborations, and opportunities to grow and scale up their innovations. The UK's association agreement includes a mechanism under which the UK would be compensated if UK researchers and innovators receive significantly less funding from the programme than the UK contributes.

The UK's current annual contribution to participate in Copernicus is approximately £130 million per annum, which is tied to annual Gross Domestic Product metrics. This contribution provides UK users with access to Copernicus Earth observation data and services, and enables UK organisations to compete for industrial contracts to develop and operate the system and create value-added products and services.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 30 June 2026, to Question 10652, on Intelligence Services: Voluntary Work, whether there are SIS internships or voluntary work placements which are eligible for people who are white British.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The schemes listed in the answer to Question 10652 are open to individuals who meet the eligibility criteria as set out on sis.gov.uk/how-to-apply/eligibility/. This includes individuals who are white British.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many civil service staff in his Department are assigned to work in the Darlington Campus.

Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

As of 30th June 2026, there are no Core Cabinet Office staff assigned to work in the Darlington Campus.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 16 June 2026 to Question 8067 on FCDO: Industrial Dispute, what is the request or ask of the PCS trade union that is the subject of the industrial dispute on the restructure process; and whether the PCS trade union has informed the department of future strike dates.

Answered by Seema Malhotra

The Public and Commercial Services (PCS) trade union has asked for an unconditional guarantee against compulsory redundancy. The department remains engaged in discussions with PCS regarding the restructuring programme and continues to seek to minimise the need for compulsory redundancies. No further strike dates have been notified beyond what is already announced.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, further to the Part of a Return to an Address of the Honourable the House of Commons dated 4 February 2026 relating to the appointment of Lord Mandelson as HM Ambassador to Washington, Volume 1, HC1774-I, 11 March 2026, page 107, what confidential undertakings were agreed.

Answered by Seema Malhotra

The settlement agreement between the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and Peter Mandelson was published as part of the Humble Address.