Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 8 September 2026 to Question 24108 on DBSIT: Databases, if he will list each data item that must be reported to the EU under those stated categories.

Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade) (Jointly with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Trade & Cooperation Agreement (TCA) contains a mixture of direct notification obligations, public transparency requirements, and bilateral information exchanges upon request, several of which relate to the remit of the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade. For example, the provisions of Article 29 require the Parties to notify each other of modification to existing or the creation of new export licensing procedures. On customs and rules of origin, Article 62 requires the Parties to notify each other of changes to the details of their customs authorities and Article 93 requires Parties to provide early notification of a proposal to introduce mandatory third-party testing or certification in certain product areas.

The text of the TCA provides details of the direct notification obligations, public transparency requirements, and bilateral information exchanges provisions which apply to both Parties: UK/EU and EAEC: Trade and Cooperation Agreement [TS No.8/2021] - GOV.UK. The Department’s reporting requirements cover a range of policy areas and a list of individual data items is not held centrally.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Cabinet Office, Annual report and accounts 2025-26, HC 602, 14 September 2026, p.31, if she will publish the training manuals and materials for the bespoke training course for Ministers.

Answered by Mark Ferguson - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The Crisis Management Excellence Programme (CMEP) is a Cabinet Office-led, multi-year programme designed to upskill government officials in crisis response. The Cabinet Office has now run the CMEP since 2023. We have trained over 4,000 Civil Servants since then, including over 164 Permanent Secretaries and Director Generals.

Our training package for Government Ministers covers sensitive material and is conducted at secret, we are therefore not able to share our learning materials due to the classified nature of the content.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to her Department's document entitled SCS Declaration of Paid Outside Employment, updated on 15 September 2026, whether senior civil servants are required to declare if they are owners of (a) holiday lets and (b) buy to let properties.

Answered by Mark Ferguson - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

Government departments have robust rules in place to manage their employees' outside interests. Government guidance requires that the detail of any paid or otherwise remunerated outside employment, held by members of the Senior Civil Service, which has been agreed through the process for the declaration and management of outside interests, should be published and linked to within the relevant department's Annual Report and Accounts.

In line with the guidance for declaring outside interests in the Civil Service on GOV.UK, passive income, such as receiving rental payments would not ordinarily need to be captured and published alongside other paid secondary employment. However, there are instances where it could be, such as where the individual has a business that buys and rents out housing, and undertakes a role akin to an employee.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to page 159 of her Department's document entitled Cabinet Office annual report and accounts 2025-26, HC 602, published on 14 September 2026, what is the public body employer relating to the employment tribunal.

Answered by Mark Ferguson - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

In accordance with the Department's statutory obligations under the Data Protection Act 2018 and the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), the Cabinet Office is unable to identify the specific public body concerned. Disclosing this information, when combined with details already published in the Annual Report and Accounts, would create a risk of identifying the individuals involved in the tribunal proceedings.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Cabinet Office, Annual report and accounts 2025-26, HC 602, 14 September 2026, p.271, for what reason the Office for the Prime Minister and Cabinet is led by the Cabinet Secretary.

Answered by Mark Ferguson - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The Cabinet Secretary is the Prime Minister’s principal policy advisor and as such leads all of the work ultimately supporting him and Cabinet which is the primary purpose of the Office for the Prime Minister and Cabinet. The Permanent Secretary is the head of department and principal Accounting Officer for the Cabinet Office as a department.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to Cabinet Office Senior Officials' Business Expenses, April to June 2026, updated 24 September 2026, whether future editions will include expenses associated with No10 North.

Answered by Mark Ferguson - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

Where senior officials are employed by the Cabinet Office, their travel and expenses will be reflected in future publications.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Civil Service Commission formally approved each delegation of statutory functions to its Chief Executive contained in its March 2025 regulatory delegations scheme; and whether those decisions were recorded in the minutes of the Commission’s Board.

Answered by Mark Ferguson - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave on 23 September to question 29126.

Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, with reference to the Business Secretary’s recent meeting with Manchester City football club, for what reason his meeting took place in 10 Downing Street, and whether No10 special advisers attended.

Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)

Relevant Special Adviser, senior official, and official ministerial meetings with external organisations are declared through routine transparency publications on gov.uk.

Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, whether his Department undertook any vetting or due diligence on the external attendees of the recent Government trade delegation to India.

Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade) (Jointly with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade led a delegation to India comprising 26 businesses and business representatives, all subject to due diligence checks.

The Secretaries of State for Scotland, and the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs each led their own delegation. Delegate vetting was a matter for the Scotland Office and DEFRA respectively.

The Great North grouping of mayors led a non-UK Government delegation to India. Delegate vetting was a matter for the mayors.

Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, on what dates (a) civil servants, (b) special advisers and (c) Ministers in his Department have met representatives of Manchester City since July 2026.

Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)

Relevant Special Adviser, senior official, and official ministerial meetings with external organisations are declared through routine transparency publications on gov.uk.

The Department has identified no meetings between civil servants and representatives of Manchester City Football Club during the period specified.

Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 16 October 2026 to Question 34255, on Manchester City FC, on what dates have (a) civil servants and (b) special advisers met representatives of Manchester City football club in the last 12 months.

Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)

Relevant Special Adviser, senior official, and official ministerial meetings with external organisations are declared through routine transparency publications on gov.uk.

The Department has identified no meetings between civil servants and representatives of Manchester City Football Club during the period specified.

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 September 2026 to Question 19042 on Civil Servants: Redundancy, whether the Secretary of State has delegated the power to dismiss the Head of the Diplomatic Service to civil servants.

Answered by Uma Kumaran - Assistant Whip

By convention, the Permanent Under Secretary (PUS) of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) is the Head of His Majesty's Diplomatic Service. As with all Permanent Secretaries, appointment to the role is handled in accordance with the Civil Service Senior Appointments Protocol. The PUS's terms and conditions of employment, including arrangements relating to the end of their service, are governed by their contract of employment and relevant human resources (HR) policies.

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 12 October 2026, to Question 29969 on Minerals and Vitamins: Regulation, with reference to the Food Standard Agency's, Food supplements guidance, 25 June 2026, and further to the DHSC Guidance, Fortified foods: guidance to compliance on European Regulation (EC) No. 1925/2006 on the addition of vitamins and minerals and certain other substances to food, of January 2021, whether the Foods Standards Agency holds a list of the specific (a) minerals, (b) fitness supplements, (c) botanical supplements and (d) vitamins, for human consumption, that would be banned in Great Britain as a consequence of the EU regulations listed in DEFRA news story, UK-EU SPS Agreement - Legislation in scope, 9 March 2026.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The final scope of the agreement, and its precise implications for particular products, remains subject to the outcome of ongoing negotiations with the European Union. This Government will continue to work with industry bodies as that process continues.

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the Cabinet Office, Annual report and accounts 2025-26, HC 602, 14 September 2026, pp.210, 272, what the expenditure was on Digital ID across government before its cancellation.

Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)

The Prime Minister announced the closure of the digital ID programme in July 2026. The costs for the programme have not yet been finalised and will be published through the usual processes.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 24 September 2026 to Question 20646 on Public Consultation, whether there will be consultation on which statutory duties on consultation will be repealed.

Answered by Mark Ferguson - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

There are currently no plans to run a consultation on which statutory duties will be repealed.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 11 September 2026 to Question 20821 on Government Departments: Communication, if she will require the Government Communications Service to collate information on communications spending across government.

Answered by Mark Ferguson - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The Government Communication Service uses the advertising, marketing and communications spend control process to manage and approve expenditure over £100,000 across government.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to her Department's publication entitled Expenditure Over £25,000 - July 2026 (Cabinet Office Core), published on 27 August 2026, what was the nature of the expenditure undertaken and for what goods and services, and in what policy area, in relation to the transaction, Disputes & Policy Implementation, Gowling WLG (UK) LLP, Ref: SINV-000032598, for £31,661.63.

Answered by Mark Ferguson - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The quoted invoice was paid to Gowling LLP for legal services in relation to support provided to Government Commercial Agency (GCA) procurement activity on a new framework contract.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether surge staff working in No10 North assigned to HM Treasury receive (a) subsistence allowance, (b) travel costs and (c) hotel costs.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with HM Treasury)

As has been the case under successive administrations, employees who are temporarily placed in a location other than their designated offices abide by their existing home department’s travel and expenses policy. This applies to employees volunteering to work in No. 10 North. [A recruitment campaign for permanent staff will begin soon.]

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the answer of 9 October 2026 to Question 20527 on Chinese Embassy: Construction, whether the National Cyber Security Centre will be directly undertaking the security mitigation works on the telecommunication cables by the new Chinese Embassy site at the Royal Mint.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)

As set out by the heads of MI5 and GCHQ, their view is that the development of the package of national security mitigations for the site has been “expert, professional, and proportionate”.

These mitigations will be subject to regular review through a cross-government process, led at senior level in the Home Office.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 9 April 2025, to Question 118205, on Civil Servants: Recruitment, if she will publish these figures by public body.

Answered by Mark Ferguson - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The attached document provides a breakdown of all job adverts published on Civil Service Jobs and the relevant approach to market by department for the calendar year 2025.

To caveat, this data is extracted from a highly dynamic environment. Reports generated at different times reflect real-time system updates, such as retrospective data entry or ongoing data cleansing and may differ from previous figures provided.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to her Department's press release entitled ‘Box-ticking’ consultations scrapped to speed up delivery, published on 10 September 2026, if she will list each of the 7,000 consultation duties identified; and whether the Government plans to introduce legislation to remove these statutory consultation requirements.

Answered by Mark Ferguson - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

Departments are currently reviewing these duties. We will update Parliament on the progress of this work in due course.

The government will consider all appropriate mechanisms to remove unnecessary duties. Announcements on future legislation will be made in the usual way.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 24 September 2026 to Question 20646 on Public Consultation, and with reference to the Cabinet Office press release, Ministers rip up consultation culture, 26 March 2026, whether she plans to include legislative changes relating to Cabinet Office responsibilities in the legislative vehicle on the statutory consultations.

Answered by Mark Ferguson - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

We will consider appropriate mechanisms where changes to consultation requirements or Cabinet Office responsibilities require them.

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 13 October 2026 to Question 28806 on Health Services: Social Class, what guidance has NHS England given to NHS Trusts on socio-economic background as a material consideration when allocating health care.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 17 September in response to Question 28803.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether Greater Manchester Police will be given additional central government funding to pay for the additional costs associated with the policing and security of No10 North.

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

In 2026-27 Greater Manchester Police will receive up to £911.5 million total funding, an increase of up to £33.3 million compared to 2025-26, which equates to a 3.8% cash increase and 1.8% real terms increase.

The Government does not disclose information on protective security at specific sites, including funding arrangements. 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 Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the answer of 4 June 2026, to Question 4161, on Government departments: marketing, how much has been spend on branded goods and merchandise by the department since the Government Chief Commercial Officer letter was sent; on what items, and at what cost.

Answered by Jake Richards - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

I refer the honourable Member to the answer I gave on 8 September 2026 to PQ 24158.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what action her Department has taken in relation to check-off since July 2024; and what form of check-off currently operates.

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

The Home Office does not operate a check-off facility for trade union subscriptions, having removed the facility in January 2015.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 8 September 2026 to Question 21008 on Civil Service: Recruitment, for what reason the requested information on a civil service recruitment campaign relates to protective security at specific sites.

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

The answer to Question 21008 has now been amended.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment has been made of whether there are labour shortages within the United Kingdom of (a) human resource managers and directors and (b) equality, diversity and inclusion managers.

Answered by Jo White - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

The assessment of labour shortages is not a Home Office responsibility.

These roles are not on the Temporary Shortage List, nor has the Home Office made any assessment of whether there are labour shortages in the sector.

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 July 2026, to Question 16699, on Folic Acid, what assessment has been made since 2017 of the risks of sustained high doses of folic acid in relation to including (a) exacerbation of low vitamin B12 status, (b) prostate, breast, colorectal and overall cancer risk and (c) the long-term effects of unmetabolized folic acid in the body; and for what reason foetal death rates was not a health outcome previously considered by the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

I refer the Hon. Members to the answer provided on 15 September in response to Question 27169 and to the answer provided on 17 July in response to Question 17728.

The Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) has not published additional assessments on the issues stated since 2017 but retains folic acid on its watching brief. Individuals with medical conditions or concerns about their folic acid intake should seek advice from a healthcare professional.

The Government will evaluate the impact of the policy in the normal way. Details of this evaluation were discussed at the SACN meeting in June 2026 and are provided in SACN’s matters arising and Government updates document provided on the SACN webpage:

https://app.box.com/s/ivrivaemf7fgeo9a17xdmv167c4uvteu/file/2276350423101

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 2026, to Question 27169, on Flour: Folic Acid, whether there are plans for a post-evaluation assessment of the Bread and Flour (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2024 in relation to the addition of synthetic folic acid to non-wholemeal flour.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

I refer the Hon. Members to the answer provided on 15 September in response to Question 27169 and to the answer provided on 17 July in response to Question 17728.

The Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) has not published additional assessments on the issues stated since 2017 but retains folic acid on its watching brief. Individuals with medical conditions or concerns about their folic acid intake should seek advice from a healthcare professional.

The Government will evaluate the impact of the policy in the normal way. Details of this evaluation were discussed at the SACN meeting in June 2026 and are provided in SACN’s matters arising and Government updates document provided on the SACN webpage:

https://app.box.com/s/ivrivaemf7fgeo9a17xdmv167c4uvteu/file/2276350423101

Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 8 September 2026 to Question 24066 on DBIST: Communication and with reference to the line entitled stop all non-essential spending on communications in Table 2 of HM Treasury's document entitled Fixing the foundations: public spending audit 2024-25, updated on 2 August 2024, if he will set out the business case for increasing his Department's advertising and publicity spending between 2024-25 and 2025-26.

Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)

The increase in the Department’s advertising and publicity expenditure reflects investment in priority campaigns supporting economic growth and the delivery of government policy. This sits within a cross-government commitment to reduce campaign expenditure overall, with the Government on track to deliver £85 million of savings across government.

Departmental activity included Backing Your Business, helping businesses access government support; National Minimum and Living Wage activity supporting awareness and compliance; and international GREAT campaigns promoting the UK to investors and businesses.

Expenditure in individual departments may vary from year to year and is subject to appropriate controls to ensure value for money.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department has a consolidated list of criminal offence statistics for each of the new criminal offences created since July 2024.

Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

The Ministry of Justice does not hold a list of "criminal offence statistics" in the form requested.

The Ministry of Justice routinely publishes statistics on prosecutions, convictions and outcomes by Home Office offence code in Criminal Justice Statistics Quarterly.

A published “offence group classification” document sets out how the offence codes are grouped to classify offending behaviour for the purposes of statistical reporting. This can be downloaded at the following link: Criminal justice statistics quarterly - GOV.UK.

Home Office offence codes may cover a single offence or a closely related group of offences and do not necessarily allow for the separate identification of offences created by individual pieces of legislation.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the answer of 9 October 2026, to Question 28802, on Chagos Islands: Sovereignty, whether the change to the social time preference rate has increased the forecast cost of the Treaty over the 99 year period.

Answered by Uma Kumaran - Assistant Whip

The United Kingdom Government set out the cost of the UK-Mauritius Agreement at the time of signature, which remains just over £100 million per annum in today's money. The forecast total cost of the Agreement using the Net Present Value method depends on a range of factors, including the date of entry into force of the Agreement. The Government is working with the US and Mauritius to find a diplomatic resolution that protects UK national security and works for all partners. We will not be providing a running commentary of these discussions, or of any forecast entry into force date.

Question

To ask the hon. Member for Battersea, representing the Church Commissioners, further to the written statement of 10 September 2026, HCWS325, on Church Appointments, whether the Archbishop of Canterbury was consulted by the Prime Minister before the Prime Minister’s announcement of amending the Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829.

Answered by Marsha De Cordova

Yes. The Church Appointments (Repeal of Discriminatory Provision) Bill will remove a historic legal restriction on those who profess the Roman Catholic or Jewish faith from advising the Crown on appointments in the established churches of England and Scotland. This minor change ensures equal treatment of future office holders, regardless of their faith tradition, or lack of faith

In practical terms the arrangements governing Crown appointments in the Church of England, which have been in place since they were agreed between the Church and Government in 2007, are unaffected by this Bill. The appointments process is led by the Church, with the relevant Church body identifying the candidate to fill a vacant post. The Prime Minister’s role in advising the Sovereign on Church appointments is a constitutional duty and does not involve the Prime Minister exercising a personal choice. The Bill will not change these processes or alter the constitutional relationship between Church and State. Nor will it affect the requirement that the Sovereign join in communion with the Church of England.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 13 October 2026, to Question 26939, on Elections: Reform, whether it is the Prime Minister’s policy position that the United Kingdom could re-join the European Union’s (a) customs union, (b) single market or (c) single currency without a referendum.

Answered by Hamish Falconer - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

As the Prime Minister confirmed to the House on 12 October, the Government's red lines for this Parliament regarding a return to the EU Single Market and Customs Union remain in place. However, around the time of the next UK-EU Summit, the Prime Minister will lay out to the country the different options for Britain's long-term relationship with our European partners.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the Prime Minister’s policy is on holding a referendum on re-integration with the European Union.

Answered by Hamish Falconer - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

As the Prime Minister confirmed to the House on 12 October, the Government's red lines for this Parliament regarding a return to the EU Single Market and Customs Union remain in place. However, around the time of the next UK-EU Summit, the Prime Minister will lay out to the country the different options for Britain's long-term relationship with our European partners.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 7 July 2026, to Question 13164, on UK Trade with EU, whether the red lines of no return to (a) the EU Single Market or (b) the EU Customs Union remain government policy.

Answered by Hamish Falconer - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

As the Prime Minister confirmed to the House on 12 October, the Government's red lines for this Parliament regarding a return to the EU Single Market and Customs Union remain in place. However, around the time of the next UK-EU Summit, the Prime Minister will lay out to the country the different options for Britain's long-term relationship with our European partners.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the answer of 7 September 2026, to Question 20870, on Erasmus+ Programme, whether the counting and definition of 100,000 participants from UK beneficiary organisations will include EU students studying at a UK-based educational institution in receipt of a grant agreement.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The estimation of 100,000 participants includes all eligible students studying at a UK beneficiary organisation. Participant eligibility is set out on page 55 of the Erasmus+ Programme Guide, available at: https://erasmus-plus.ec.europa.eu/sites/default/files/2025-11/programme-guide-2026_en.pdf.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department had discussions with the Metropolitan Police on the formal request to the US Department of Justice on the provision of unredacted Epstein files.

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

As a matter of long-standing government policy, the Home Office can neither confirm nor deny whether a request for mutual legal assistance has been made or received. This is to protect the integrity of criminal investigations and proceedings.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the answer of 9 October 2026 to Question 20511 on Lord Mandelson, whether any business was fed back to the Department following the then Chancellor’s meeting with Lord Mandelson.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with HM Treasury)

I refer the honourable member to the answer on the 9th of October. In line with usual practice, any government business raised in meetings is fed back to the Department.

Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, with reference to the policy paper entitled Explanatory Memorandum on a UK/EU Withdrawal Agreement or Trade And Cooperation Agreement Governance Document, COM(2025)804, whether the UK will be required to dynamically align with the EU State Aid rules of (a) Climate, Energy and Environmental Aid Guidelines and (b) Clean Industrial State Aid Framework.

Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade) (Jointly with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The UK and EU have agreed to work towards UK participation in the EU’s Internal Electricity Market. As set out in the Common Understanding published in December 2025 following exploratory talks, this includes applying State aid rules to aid that specifically targets the electricity sector or has a particular material effect on the electricity market. The precise terms of an Electricity Agreement, including the relevant State aid rules that will apply to aid in scope of an agreement, remain subject to negotiation. The Government will not provide a running commentary on those negotiations.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, further to Conflict Resolution Department (CRD) Conflict Resolution Programme, IATI Identifier: GB-GOV-1-400035, Transaction reference GB-GOV-1-400035-403, for what reason there was a negative payment to Inter Mediate of £-368,297 on 23 February 2026.

Answered by Uma Kumaran - Assistant Whip

The transaction identified in DevTracker is an internal correction. No negative payment was transacted.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will ask the Bank of England to provide the dates when Nazi gold was disposed of.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

Relevant distribution dates of recovered Nazi-looted gold are set out in the publicly available Final Report of the Tripartite Commission.^[1]

^[1] https://2009-2017.state.gov/s/l/65668.htm

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the answer of 15 October 2026 to Question 20970 on No 10 North: Hotels, what is the gross cost to date for hotel accommodation for No10 North staff, Ministers and special advisers since its opening, in relation to HM Treasury budgets.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with HM Treasury)

The cost to date of hotel accommodation for No10 North staff, Ministers and special advisers since its opening has been £4,514.34 in relation to HM Treasury budgets.

Question to the Leader of the House:

To ask the Leader of the House, pursuant to the answer of 8 September 2026, to Question 20501, on Written Questions: Arms Length Bodies, if he will ensure that sponsoring Ministers facilitate written Parliamentary Questions to the Independent Football Regulator.

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

The Independent Football Regulator is an executive non-departmental public body, sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.

In relation to the scrutiny of Arms Length Bodies, I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided in response to question 20501.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what is the policy of the Government on institutions charging higher prices for children from independent schools than for state schools for school visits.

Answered by Paul Waugh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Pricing decisions are for individual organisations. The department encourages individual organisations to consider how their arrangements support fair and inclusive access for children.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether (a) Ministerial and (b) Permanent Secretary meetings with Inter Mediate are redacted from gov.uk transparency returns.

Answered by Uma Kumaran - Assistant Whip

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office publishes details of Ministers' and senior officials' external meetings in accordance with the Government's transparency requirements. Previous publications show meetings between Inter Mediate and the Minister for Multilateral and Human Rights on 23 March 2026, in Haiti; and with the previous Minister for International Development Baroness Chapman of Darlington on 2 July 2025, in Haiti. Meeting information can be withheld under specific circumstances, but there are no records of exemptions being used for meetings with Inter Mediate.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the answer of 10 September 2026, to Question 21087, on DEFRA: Equality, and of 9 July 2026, to Question 15238, on Ofwat: Equality, what were the titles of each of the short virtual EDI events that were undertaken by Cultural Calendar Club through Powered by Diversity.

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

2024

• Your exceptional autistic colleagues
• National infertility awareness week
• Living on the borderline (Borderline Personality Disorder)
• Word Culture Day: Cultural Agility
• Global Day of Parents: Why we need to challenge gender stereotypes from birth
• Women's Health Needs Focus Period
• Pride: The Other Parent
• Managing Dad: Understanding the modern-day father at work
• Gender Equality: Through tackling fatherhood forfeits
• Net Zero Week
• National Grief Awareness Week: Grief/Work Balance
• We smell fear: Negativity bias and how to overcome it
• World Narcolepsy Day: This is narcolepsy
• Black History Month: Unveiling the intersectionality blind spot
• Facial Pain Awareness Month: My life with trigeminal Neuralgia
• Baby Loss Awareness Week: Help break the taboo around baby loss
• World Stroke Day: The day stroke changed my life
• Anti-Bullying Week
• International Day of Disabled Persons: Equality v Equity

2025

• World Religion Day: Religion and LGBT+
• Race Equality Week: Tokenism vs True Representation
• Endometriosis Awareness Month
• International Women's Day
• LGBTQ+ Fostering and Adoption Week
• British Sign Language Masterclass

To be clear, all sessions were online.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what her policy is on restricting applicants to Civil Service paid jobs on the basis of social class.

Answered by Mark Ferguson - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

Civil Service recruitment is fair, open, and based on merit, as outlined in the Civil Service Recruitment Principles. The Recruitment Principles also allow for targeted entry schemes to improve access for underrepresented groups.

We are committed to attracting, developing, and retaining talented people from diverse backgrounds to create a modern Civil Service delivering high-quality public services.

To support individuals whose circumstances make competing harder, we offer tailored opportunities, including paid internships, apprenticeships, extensive outreach, and the Going Forward into Employment (GFiE) Programme. These initiatives help people gain valuable paid work experience and address barriers to employment.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 11 September 2026, to Question 20906, on Cabinet Office: Remote Working, what was the business case for 128 staff members having home working contracts, in cases other than accompanying a partner on an official posting.

Answered by Mark Ferguson - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The Cabinet Office expects most staff to spend a minimum of 60% of their working time in the office or on official business. A small number of home working contracts are in place, but the Cabinet Office position on formal contractual home working agreements is that these are not routinely approved other than for a very small number of appropriate roles, or as part of a workplace adjustment.

Provisions to accompany a partner on an official overseas posting are managed under separate, temporary remote working policies rather than contractual home working or flexible working.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the publication, Expenditure Over £25,000 - July 2026 (Cabinet Office Core), 27 August 2026, what the event, work activity and topic was relating to transaction, Marketing & Communications, Four Agency Worldwide Ltd, Ref: SINV-000032848.

Answered by Mark Ferguson - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The transaction does not relate to a single event. It relates to media planning and buying activity undertaken in April, May and June 2026.

This activity supported communications associated with the transition from Crown Commercial Service to the Government Commercial Agency, including helping existing and prospective public sector customers to find the organisation and its services.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Cabinet Office, Annual report and accounts 2025-26, HC 602, 14 September 2026, p.34, what the changes are to how government campaigns are prioritised and funded.

Answered by Mark Ferguson - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The change referenced is the establishment of a new missions communications budget, which shifts the approach to a joined-up, cross-government model focused on the government's top priorities to achieve greater impact at a lower cost.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 23 June 2026 to Question 7165 on Prime Minister: Official Gifts, what criteria are used to determine whether gifts are auctioned off.

Answered by Mark Ferguson - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

Decisions on how to manage gifts retained by the department are made on a case-by-case basis.

Question

To ask the Right hon. Member for Kenilworth and Southam, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, whether the Electoral Commission has issued (a) advice and (b) guidance to registered political parties established as limited companies on the liability of company directors.

Answered by Jeremy Wright

The Commission’s party registration guidance sets out information for new parties who are also registered as a company. In such circumstances, the party’s constitution must include details of how the company registration impacts on, or interacts with, the party's structure and organisation. Parties would need to seek their own advice on matters that could impact their responsibilities under company law.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, further to the answer of 14 July 2026 to Question HL1470, on Solar Power: Safety, what guidance has the Cabinet Office given on consultations which last (a) 2 weeks, (b) 8 weeks and (c) 12 weeks.

Answered by Mark Ferguson - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The CO is currently in the process of updating its policy on engagement and consultation following the letter issued by the First Secretary of State, Chancellor and Attorney General, and a statement will follow in the Autumn. It is clear that there is no legally prescribed period a consultation must last.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 10 July 2026 to Question 14613 on DHSC: Freud Communications, why the activity was not undertaken through in-house communications staff in DHSC or NHS England.

Answered by Mark Ferguson - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

NHS England has used Freud Communications where there was insufficient in-house capacity and to deliver specialist multicultural communications.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many staff are currently assigned to work in the OneGov Delivery Agency.

Answered by Mark Ferguson - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

As at 30 June the Cabinet Office Group total was 5,105 FTE of which there were 1,827.5 FTE assigned to work in the OneGov Delivery Agency. This is subject to further organisational structure decisions with the expected launch as an Executive Agency on 1 April 2027.

Further information on Cabinet Office FTE is published here (https://www.gov.uk/csv-preview/6a6b41b10c36759b5ccaa237/_June_2026_MWMI_template__1_.csv )

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 15 September 2026 to Question 28838 on Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Business Plans, whether all departments are required to produce Single Departmental Plans.

Answered by Mark Ferguson - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

All departments are required to produce plans outlining how they will allocate their budget. These were previously known as Single Departmental Plans and are now referred to as Strategic Plans in line with the current planning and performance framework.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Prime Minister has had meetings with Baron Alli of Norbury on party political funding since 20 July 2026.

Answered by Mark Ferguson - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

Party political meetings are not a matter for the Government.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to page 34 of to her Department's publication entitled Cabinet Office annual report and accounts 2025-26, HC 602, published on 14 September 2026, whether there is a cost to the public purse of the collection of data on government approval that is now a key performance indicator; whether the rolling data will be published on a government dashboard; and what information her Department holds on the latest figure for government approval.

Answered by Mark Ferguson - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The YouGov tracker is a resource in the public domain and available at no cost to GCS. It provides a consistent and independent long-term trend of public approval ratings. It is not a core KPI included in internal dashboards.

The YouGov government approval tracker is available at the following link:

https://yougov.com/en-gb/trackers/government-approval

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether payments have been made to the social influencer, Luca | Big 4 Apprentice, connected to his TikTok interview with the Prime Minister in August 2026; and whether the interview was organised by (a) her Department, (b) the Office of the Prime Minister and Cabinet or (c) the creative agency.

Answered by Mark Ferguson - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The referenced interview was organised by the Office of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. No payment was made.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Cabinet Office, Annual report and accounts 2025-26, HC 602, 14 September 2026, pp.21, 46, whether an estimate has been made of the (i) expenditure and (ii) headcount of her Department in (a) 2023, (b) 2024, (c) 2025 and (d) 2026 disaggregating the effects of machinery of government changes.

Answered by Mark Ferguson - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The Cabinet Office has not estimated the expenditure and headcount for 2023, 2024, 2025, and 2026 separate to the effects of the recently announced machinery of government changes as these changes are still in discussion with other relevant government departments.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 17 September 2026 to Question 28375 on Government Departments: Procurement, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of arm's length bodies requiring suppliers to have carbon reduction plans on businesses.

Answered by Mark Ferguson - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

Procurement Policy Notes (PPNs) apply to central government departments, executive agencies, and non-departmental public bodies, unless otherwise specified in the relevant PPN.

Contracting Authorities should apply PPN 006 where it is relevant to the subject matter of the contract and proportionate to do so.

Where carbon reduction plans are required, these plans remain valid for 12 months and can be reused across any relevant procurements within that period.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 8 September 2026 to Question 20581, and with reference to the answer of 10 April 2025 to Question HL6032 on Arms Length Bodies, whether any of the proposed new bodies set out in the answer to Question HL6032 will no longer be taken forward.

Answered by Mark Ferguson - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The status of proposed new bodies listed in answer HL6032 remains dynamic as part of the government's ongoing arm's-length body (ALB) review.

Departments progress proposals under strict criteria, establishing new ALBs only by exception with overwhelming justification. While some bodies have progressed or been established (including Skills England and the Independent Football Regulator), others remain under departmental evaluation and review.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what is the Prime Minister’s policy on (a) special advisers and (b) civil servants being paid more than the Prime Minister.

Answered by Mark Ferguson - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The Treasury’s ‘Guidance for the approval of senior pay’ can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/senior-civil-service-pay-and-reward.

The Cabinet Office also publishes a list of senior public officials earning more than the Prime Minister, providing the necessary transparency and accountability measures to underpin the senior pay control. The latest list is here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cabinet-office-senior-officials-high-earners-list.

Special advisers’ salaries are determined by the Special Adviser People Board, in line with the special adviser pay framework.

Information on Special Adviser numbers and costs will be published in the Annual Report on Special Advisers as per the requirements of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what guidance the Cabinet Secretary provided to Ministers on the dismissal of Oliver Robbins.

Answered by Mark Ferguson - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

It is a longstanding policy not to comment on HR matters.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, on what dates have representatives of Downing Street met representatives of Manchester City football club since July 2026; and whether they joined the meeting with the Business Secretary at Downing Street.

Answered by Mark Ferguson - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

Relevant Special Adviser, senior official, and official ministerial meetings with external organisations are declared through routine transparency publications on gov.uk.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 9 October 2026 to Question 27957 on Cabinet Office: Audit, whether the nature of Civil Service recruitment principles breach involved (a) Ministers or (b) special advisers.

Answered by Mark Ferguson - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The responsibility for recruitment compliance sits with the vacancy holder, therefore no Ministerial or Special Advisers were involved in the breach of the Civil Service Recruitment Principles.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether Christopher Thomas, the new advisor to the DHSC Permanent Secretary, has been appointed on a permanent or recruitment exception basis; and if a declaration of political activity was made.

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

I am informed by the Department that Christopher Thomas was appointed to the role of Policy and Transformation Adviser to the Permanent Secretary on a fixed-term basis under Exception 1 of the Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles, and that no declaration of political activity was made as part of that appointment process.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the answer of 8 September 2026 to Question 19413 on Grace Pritchard, whether (a) the Permanent Secretary, (b) the Cabinet Office and (c) a Minister authorised Grace Pritchard's contractual arrangements.

Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

As per the Code of Conduct for Special Advisers, where a special adviser wishes to undertake work for a political party which does not arise out of government business they may do this either in their own time, outside office hours, or under a separate contract with the Party, working part-time for the Government. They may not use annual or unpaid leave for this purpose. Individual contractual arrangements are a confidential matter.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 9 October 2026 to Question 26934 on Cabinet Office: Reorganisation, whether Ministers (a) chair and (b) attend the taskforces.

Answered by Sally Jameson - Parliamentary Secretary and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The First Secretary of State, Louise Haigh, is driving forward the work of the taskforces, working closely with Cabinet colleagues. Ministers attend regular meetings where relevant to the agenda.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 7 September 2026, to Question 19030, on Office for Statistician Regulation and UK Statistics Authority: Accountability, if he will place the draft 2026 UKSA Framework document in the Library.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with HM Treasury)

The 2026 UKSA Framework document is in the process of being agreed by Ministers and the UKSA board. When the Framework is finalised a copy will be placed in the House of Commons Library.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether changes have been made to write-round guidance since the change of Prime Minister.

Answered by Mark Ferguson - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

Guidance is regularly updated as required, including as part of ongoing work to streamline the collective agreement system.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to page 35 of her Department's publication entitled the Cabinet Office annual report and accounts 2025-26, HC 602, published on 14 September 2026, for what reason did her Department decide to close the Civil Service Jobs Applicant Tracking System Programme.

Answered by Mark Ferguson - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The Civil Service Jobs Applicant Tracking System (ATS) Transformation Programme entered early closure after a feasibility study, commissioned by the ATS Advisory Board and led by the Shared Services Strategy team, concluded that the strategic landscape had evolved and led to a recognition that it was no longer conducive to the successful delivery of the programme and realisation of benefits. Consequently, the programme sponsor decided to shift to a cluster-led recruitment technology approach in order to better support the development of cluster-led recruitment.

As Shared Service Clusters matured and implemented their Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) platforms, clusters preferred to adopt the recruitment and ATS modules natively integrated within their core HR/ERP systems rather than a standalone central platform.

The Cabinet Office will continue to maintain a central Civil Service Jobs board to provide a single, consistent point of entry for all applicants across the Civil Service, as well as maintaining a central pre-employment checking service.

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 28 August 2026 to Question 17087 on NHS: Political Activities, if she will place the new guidance on political activity in the Library.

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

In relation to the guidance referred to in Question 17087, we will keep the House updated on its intended content, timing and publication in the normal way in due course.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what are the estimated net contributions to/from the European Union in each year following the EU/UK reset, including contributions to Erasmus+ and the EU Cohesion Fund, and what assessment has he made of the potential impact of the reset on the 2030 net payment to the UK.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government does not produce an estimate of a single net annual contribution to or from the European Union. Payments relating to the UK's participation in EU programmes and other agreements are disclosed in the relevant departmental accounts. For Erasmus+ in particular, contributions in 2027 are estimated at £570m. Participation in EU programmes under the next Multiannual Financial Framework from 2028 will be subject to further negotiations.

The UK is not currently contributing to EU Cohesion Funds as a consequence of the May 2025 Common Understanding. Whilst the EU is seeking to establish a mechanism for a UK financial contribution towards reducing economic and social disparities between the regions of the Union as part of participation in the Internal Electricity Market, any UK financial contribution would be subject to negotiations with the EU, and no contributions have yet been made or agreed upon.

The UK also continues to make and receive payments under the financial provisions of the Withdrawal Agreement. The Office for Budget Responsibility's forecast of those payments is presented on a net basis and is published in the OBR’s biannual Economic and Fiscal Forecast. The forecast negative value in 2030 reflects the expectation that receipts will exceed payments in that year. Obligations under the Withdrawal Agreement are not impacted by the May 2025 Common Understanding.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 10 September 2026, to Question 20211, on INTERREG Programme, whether any financial corrections were applied by her Department.

Answered by Jim McMahon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

No financial corrections have been applied by my Department in relation to the 2014-2020 Interreg Programmes.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, further to the oral evidence, Work of HM Revenue and Customs, Treasury Select Committee, 9 September 2026, HC5, Q610, what is the specific health survey for England that is used to obtain data from people’s saliva, and whether the participants are explicitly informed that the data will be used by HMRC.

Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General

The Health Survey for England (HSE) is an annual survey that provides estimates of the prevalence of health conditions, health-related risk factors, and behaviours among people living in England. Participants provide a saliva sample, which is used to measure cotinine levels. Cotinine is a derivative of nicotine and is used as an indicator of exposure to tobacco smoke.

Participants are informed that anonymised survey data will be made available for research and statistical purposes. Before data are shared, information that could directly identify an individual, such as their name, date of birth, address and contact details, are removed.

Researchers and analysts can apply to access the data, but only for approved research or statistical purposes and subject to strict data governance standards.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her policy on Heathrow expansion remains the same as outlined in the Government press release, "New consultation sets foundations for Heathrow expansion to take off", of 18 June 2026.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Government published the draft Heathrow Expansion National Policy Statement (HENPS) for consultation on 18 June 2026.

The consultation closed on 1 September 2026 and the Government is currently considering the responses received. The Transport Select Committee is also scrutinising the draft HENPS and has yet to publish its recommendations.

The Government will consider the Committee's recommendations alongside consultation responses before setting out its response and any next steps in relation to the HENPS in due course.

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the answer of 11 September 2026, to Question 21138, on Media: Regulation, on what date the roundtables took place that the Centre for Countering Digital Hate participated in, and what was the topic and title of each.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (now DCMS) met the Centre for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) on 5 September 2024 to discuss how the online environment may have contributed to the post-Southport disorder.

The department also met CCDH on 23 February 2026, to discuss the monetisation of harmful content online.

DCMS continues to engage with a range of civil society organisations to support the development of online harms policy.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to page 82 of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority Annual Report and Accounts 2025-26, HC524, published in July 2026, whether a fine or penalty has been levied by HMRC in addition to the settlement to HMRC of underpaid IR35 tax liabilities.

Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

NDA Group has not received any penalties from HMRC in relation to the settlement of the historic IR35 liabilities.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 8 September 2026 to Question 21040 on Tobacco Tax Gap: Wastewater Analysis, if he will pause increases in tobacco duties until HMRC has completed its wastewater analysis research into the tobacco tax gap.

Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General

At Budget 2024, the Government renewed the commitment to a tobacco duty escalator, which increases duty by 2 per cent above RPI inflation at each Budget, until the end of the current Parliament.

The duty escalator increase was implemented together with a further one-off increase of £2.20 per 100 cigarettes and per 50g of other tobacco products on 1 October 2026, alongside the introduction of Vaping Products Duty. The one-off increase maintains the financial incentive to switch from tobacco to vaping for existing smokers.

The Chancellor makes decisions on tax policy at fiscal events.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the written statement of 3 September 2026, HCWS311, on Statement of Changes in Immigration rules, what estimate has been made of the number of foreign national students who will visit the United Kingdom a year as a consequence of the changes made on the Erasmus+ scheme.

Answered by Jo White - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

In 2018/19, there were approximately 31,000 inbound higher education (HE) student mobilities through the Erasmus+ programme, and around 16,000 outbound HE student mobilities in the same year. The department expects there will be a greater number of HE mobilities on reassociation, given the expansion of the programme.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the answer of 7 September 2026, to Question 19357, on Quadrature Capital, what are the mitigation measures taken in relation to Quadrature Climate Foundation.

Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Department has implemented appropriate governance and conflict management measures to manage any actual, potential or perceived conflicts of interests. These include requirements for conflict of interest declarations, controls on information sharing, and governance arrangements to ensure that individuals with relevant interests are excluded from related discussions and decision-making. These arrangements are regularly reviewed to ensure alignment with departmental obligations on propriety, ethics and the management of public resources.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 7 September 2026 to Question 19357, on Quadrature Capital, what measures her Department has taken that mitigate risks of Conflicts of Interest.

Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Department has implemented appropriate governance and conflict management measures to manage any actual, potential or perceived conflicts of interests. These include requirements for conflict of interest declarations, controls on information sharing, and governance arrangements to ensure that individuals with relevant interests are excluded from related discussions and decision-making. These arrangements are regularly reviewed to ensure alignment with departmental obligations on propriety, ethics and the management of public resources.

Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 8 September 2026 to Question 20797 on Competition and Markets Authority: Darlington Economic Campus, what was the percentage of Darlington office attendance calculated on the basis of (a) the number of unique individual security pass swipes and (b) Wifi access recorded by the access control system as a percentage of CMA staff assigned to work in the Darlington building multiplied by the number of working days in that month in the most recent quarter for which data is available.

Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)

The Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA”) does not collect office attendance data on the basis of (a) the number of unique individual security pass swipes or (b) Wi-Fi access records captured by the access control system.

Office attendance for CMA staff assigned to work at the Darlington Economic Campus was approximately 47% in the most recent quarter for which data is available (June to August 2026).

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Welsh Government's Written Statement: An Ethical Framework for Welsh Government Engagement with the Defence Sector, of 3 September 2026, what discussions his Department has had with the Welsh Government on that policy; and what assessment he has made of the potential impact of deferring investment in the defence sector on the United Kingdom’s defence capabilities.

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

I recently met with Welsh Government Ministers to discuss the ethical framework and to underline the important role that the Welsh defence industry plays in the defence of the UK.

I am keen to ensure that Wales remains competitive and attractive to inward investment, and MOD officials are working closely with Welsh Government to understand how the ethical framework will be implemented.

Alongside this engagement, we continue to deliver the roll-out of the Welsh Defence Growth Deal and other MOD investments in Wales.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the answer of 8 September 2026 to Question 22937 on NATO: Nuclear Weapons, whether the NATO Dual Capable Aircraft nuclear mission is classified as a tactical nuclear weapon.

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

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him to Question 75028 on 15 September 2025.

https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2025-09-04/75028

Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of the BIST certification officer investigation into the financial affairs of Unite the Union on the security implications of civil servants secondments to Unite.

Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)

The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade (BIST) has not undertaken an overarching assessment of the security implications arising from the Certification Officer’s investigation for employees from BIST, or former Department for Business and Trade (DBT), seconded to Unite the Union. There are no current or previous secondments from BIST or former DBT to Unite on which to base such an assessment. All secondments from BIST, including arrangements from former DBT, are considered individually. Each case is assessed on its circumstances, including relevant security implications and the safeguards to manage them in line with Departmental and wider Civil Service policies.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, further to the press release, Prime Minister Andy Burnham sets out plans for a new National Care Service, 29 September 2026, if he will publish the methodology used to calculate the £15 billion and £50 billion figures, and what are the equivalent figures discounted by (a) GDP deflator and (b) social time discounting; and what is the specific formula that will be used to account for earnings in the adjusted Triple Lock policy.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

The methodology used to produce the estimates is set out in the method section of the Department’s published State Pension uprating analysis, available on GOV.UK: State Pension uprating. Also in this publication are both nominal and real term figures on saving, where the nominal savings of £15 billion and £50 billion are presented as £11 billion and £30 billion respectively in 2025/2026 earnings terms.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether Khan Khan has been renumerated by his Department for his promotion of the Government since July 2024 (a) directly and (b) via a creative agency.

Answered by Uma Kumaran - Assistant Whip

If the Hon Member is referring to Feroz Khan, then I can confirm that he has not been remunerated directly or by any agency in relation to work with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office since July 2024.

Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the implementation of the Employment Rights Act 2025 on levels of inflation.

Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)

The Government has published a comprehensive assessment on the impact of the Employment Rights Act. This analysis is available at: Employment Rights Act 2025: impact assessments - GOV.UK.

The analysis demonstrates that the cost of the package is proportionate – equivalent to a 0.1% increase in annual employment costs – and will be a net benefit to society. The assessment notes that prices are one of numerous channels through which firms may respond to these costs, however, there is limited evidence linking employment regulation changes and inflation.

Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what plans he has to make primary legislation on (a) trade union law or (b) employment rights; and whether his Department has received representations from the TUC on this matter.

Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)

The TUC are important partners in the delivery of our Plan to Make Work Pay. My officials and I regularly meet with their representatives on a wide range of matters. Any further primary legislation would be announced to Parliament in the usual way.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, further to the written statement of 13 July 2026, HCWS226, on Ukraine Support, what is the financial contribution that the UK will be required to make to the EU for participation in the Ukraine Support Loan programme as a third country, and whether it will be based on the size of the UK GDP relative to EU GDP; and what is the estimated UK liability for interest payments in each year.

Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)

The UK and the EU welcomed the agreement of UK participation in the EU's Ukraine Support Loan (USL) on 13 July. Through this agreement, UK defence companies will be eligible to bid for procurement contracts funded by the loan. In return, the UK will make a contribution to the borrowing costs of the loan proportionate to the value of contracts secured by UK industry.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the answer of 13 January 2026, to Question 103301, on Military Aircraft: Carbon Emissions, if he will provide the equivalent information for the 2025 calendar year; and what is the company which provides the carbon credits.

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

It is taking time to collate the requested information. I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 10 September 2026 to Question 20656 on Arms Length Bodies: Equality, whether Arms Length Bodies are required to submit nil returns when asked for information on external EDI expenditure for 2025-26; and whether her Department assumes zero spending on external EDI if no response is received from the Arms Length Body.

Answered by Mark Ferguson - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

Arm’s Length Bodies (ALBs) report directly to their respective sponsoring departments regarding performance oversight and financial governance. In accordance with established corporate governance frameworks and the Government Financial Reporting Manual, sponsoring departments remain responsible for supervising ALB expenditure.

In instances where departments gather data on external Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) spending, all reporting procedures are administered independently by sponsoring departments through their standard financial monitoring structures.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the answers of 4 September 2026 to Questions 23869 and 23870, if he will (a) ask the Financial Conduct Authority to write to the hon. Member for Bridlington and The Wolds and (b) place the correspondence on the Parliamentary record.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The FCA will respond to the hon. Member for Bridlington and The Wolds, and a copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House of Commons.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to Table 14, Summer Internship Programme recruitment by diversity characteristics, 2026, of the Civil Service Fast Stream: recruitment data 2026, 24 September 2026, whether the 4,148 registrations from those who declared a parent/guardian occupation of (a) Higher managerial, administrative and professional occupations, (b) Intermediate occupations and (c) No parental occupation information provided were automatically rejected.

Answered by Mark Ferguson - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The Fast Stream Summer Internship Programme is only open to penultimate and final year undergraduates from Lower Socioeconomic backgrounds as determined through their parental occupation at age 14. Any candidate who is not eligible under this criteria is automatically rejected before progressing their application.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to table 14 of her Department's document entitled Civil Service Fast Stream: recruitment data 2026, published on 24 September 2026, if she will list the questions asked to determine whether an applicant's parent or guardian's previous occupation was classified as a routine and manual occupation.

Answered by Mark Ferguson - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The Summer Internship Programme makes use of the National Statistics Socio-economic classification (NS-SEC) methodology defined by the ONS to assess socioeconomic background. The questions used under this methodology are already published by the Social Mobility Commission on gov.uk.

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether she plans to allow for the consumption of alcohol in stands at football matches.

Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)

This is a matter for the Home Office to consider. The Government keeps alcohol-related issues at football matches under review, however there are currently no plans to change the law.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the answer of 5 June 2026, to Question 3763, on Government Communications Service: Staff, and of 19 January 2026, to Question 104195, on Government Communication Service: Staff, how many headcount staff in the department are (a) members of the Government Communication Network and (b) are embedded communicators but are not counted as members of the Government Communication Network.

Answered by Jake Richards - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

I refer the honorable Member to the answer I gave on 08 September 2026 to PQ 24176.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her Department's policy is on whether trade union facility time counts as qualifying work under visa rules.

Answered by Jo White - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

Sponsored workers are permitted to participate in trade union activities, including those of trade union representatives, providing they are compatible with the role the worker is sponsored to undertake.

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the answer of 10 September 2026, to Question 21139, on Independent Football Regulator: Public Appointments, whether special advisers had a role in the consultation process between her Department and No10.

Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)

Special advisers supported Ministers in the usual way throughout this appointment process. All final decisions are taken by Ministers in line with the Governance Code on Public Appointments.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Cabinet Office, Annual report and accounts 2025-26, HC 602, 14 September 2026, p.271, how many staff have been transferred from the local economic growth policy team of HM Treasury to No10 North.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with HM Treasury)

Surge capability was provided to No10 North on a temporary basis from a range of government departments, including HM Treasury, and secondees from local government. A dedicated recruitment campaign for staff at No10 North will be launched in due course.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, further to the written statement of 13 July 2026, HCWS226, on Ukraine Support, whether the purchase of UK defence equipment will count towards the Ukraine Support Loan programme requirement that 65% of the content is sourced from EU, Norway, Iceland or Ukraine; and whether any expenditure under the Ukraine scheme will count towards qualifying NATO spending.

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

The UK and the EU welcomed the agreement of UK participation in the EU's Ukraine Support Loan (USL) on 13 July, giving UK defence companies access to billions in potential investment funded by the loan, enabling Ukraine to procure from a larger pool of defence manufacturers, and demonstrating the UK's commitment to working closely with European partners on shared defence and security challenges.

The Council of the EU adopted the implementing decision for this agreement on 24 July, recognising the UK as eligible for third-country participation in the scheme meaning that Ukraine can use loan funding to procure defence products made in the UK.

Expenditure under the scheme does not count towards NATO qualifying spending.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the answer of 11 September 2026, to Question 27480, on Pension Protection Fund: FleishmanHillard, when will the documents be published.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

The relevant FleishmanHillard documents have been received from the Pension Protection Fund and I will deposit a copy in the House Libraries.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 10 September 2026, to Question 20191, on European Regional Development Fund, if she will provide a breakdown of the 4,573 of financial corrections, by organisation, amount and the breach of the rules that lead to the irregular expenditure.

Answered by Jim McMahon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The department does not maintain a categorised list of each financial correction, which could only be provided at a disproportionate cost.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many special advisers who remained as special advisers under the change of Prime Minister have subsequently departed after their probationary period.

Answered by Mark Ferguson - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The Model Contract for Special Advisers sets out the conditions of probation.

A breakdown of how many special advisers are in post by department will be published in the Annual Report on Special Advisers next summer.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, further to the Cabinet Office press release, Measures to rewire the State, published on 27 September 2026, what the budget is for the National Shipbuilding Office, and whether it will be an Arm's Length Body.

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

The budget for the National Shipbuilding Office (NSO) for the current financial year 2026-27 is approximately £2.85 million.

The National Shipbuilding Office (NSO) sits within the Ministry of Defence.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what guidance her Department has given to Departments on ensuring that the information on the Direct Ministerial Appointments portal on gov.uk (a) is up to date and (b) covers all Direct Ministerial Appointments.

Answered by Mark Ferguson - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

I refer the Hon. Gentleman to PQ 20903.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether her Department plans to review the operation and provisions of the Freedom of Information Act.

Answered by Mark Ferguson - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The Government is committed to Freedom of Information (“FOI”) and continues to monitor the performance and implementation of the FOI Act to ensure it is operating as intended by Parliament. Any changes to FOI legislation would be subject to Parliamentary scrutiny.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she will take through the EU SPS agreement on helping to tackle the spread of EU-borne (a) foot and mouth, (b) African swine fever, (c) lumpy skin disease and (d) Peste des Petits Ruminants, into the British mainland and its farms.

Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The proposed SPS Agreement will support a coordinated UK-EU response to animal disease outbreaks through enhanced cooperation and real-time information sharing. UK access to relevant EU agencies, systems and databases will provide greater transparency of animal movements. The Agreement is intended to strengthen and facilitate a more consistent, timely response to disease outbreaks, while preserving the UK's ability to take appropriate national risk-management and disease-control measures.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to the policy paper entitled Explanatory Memorandum on a UK/EU Withdrawal Agreement or Trade And Cooperation Agreement Governance Document, COM(2025)804, whether the UK will be required to meet the EU’s 42.5% renewable energy target by 2030; and whether the UK will be subject to financial corrective measures if it does not meet the Renewable Energy Directive (RED III) targets under Governance Regulation (EU 2018/1999).

Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Explanatory Memorandum refers to the European Commission’s recommendation authorising negotiations between the EU and UK on the UK’s participation in the EU’s internal electricity market.

We will negotiate an electricity agreement with the EU with the aim of cutting electricity trading costs, strengthening energy security, driving North Sea investment and helping to achieve our Clean Power 2030 Mission.

Any commitments under such an agreement, including in relation to renewable energy, will be subject to negotiation.

The Explanatory Memorandum refers to the European Commission’s recommendation authorising negotiations between the EU and UK on the UK’s participation in the EU’s internal electricity market.

We will negotiate an electricity agreement with the EU with the aim of cutting electricity trading costs, strengthening energy security, driving North Sea investment and helping to achieve our Clean Power 2030 Mission.

Any commitments under such an agreement, including in relation to renewable energy, will be subject to negotiation.

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the answer of 11 February 2026, to Question 110421, on Ofcom: Public Appointments, for what reason the application deadline was extended from 18 December 2025 to 5 January 2026.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)

The application deadline for this campaign was extended to allow prospective candidates additional time to complete and submit applications over the Christmas and New Year period and to support the recruitment of a strong and diverse field of applicants.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the answer of 8 September 2026, to Question 21124, on Defence: Finance, what was the qualifying amount of NATO spending in 2025-26 in cash terms, and what proportion of (a) defence qualifying and (b) resilience and security qualifying, under the respective 3.5% and 1.5% NATO spending targets.

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

This Government is increasing defence spending. All NATO Allies routinely report their defence spending to NATO, who in turn publish the top level figures. The latest publication shows that in 2025 the UK spent £75,111 million, all of which is defence qualifying spend. The UK has met NATO's 1.5% defence and security-related spending target, as defined by NATO. The UK's spending total was reported into the NATO International Staff ahead of the NATO Summit in July, however these figures have not been published at this time.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the answer of 10 September 2026 to Question 26582 on Government Departments: Off-payroll working, how many central government public bodies under under investigation by HMRC for IR35 irregularities.

Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General

HMRC has a statutory duty of confidentiality under section 18 of the Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act 2005. This prevents HMRC from disclosing information about identifiable taxpayers, including whether a particular body is subject to an investigation, unless there is lawful authority to do so

HMRC cannot provide Ministers with information identifying which central government departments or arm’s-length bodies are, or are not, under investigation. Nor can HMRC provide aggregate figures relating to groups of individuals or organisations if providing those figures could, when combined with information already in the public domain, enable the bodies concerned to be identified or allow inferences to be drawn about other bodies.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the answer of 9 September 2026 to Question 20812 on National Security: Expenditure, whether there is a numerical breakdown of spending in 2025-26 by public body that was then assigned to meet the UK’s 1.5% NATO resilience and security target.

Answered by Emma Reynolds - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

The UK has met NATO’s 1.5% defence and security-related spending target, as defined by NATO. NATO’s definition sets out that spend should be to protect our critical infrastructure, defend our networks, ensure our civil preparedness and resilience, unleash innovation and strengthen our defence industrial base.

The UK’s spending total was reported into the NATO International Staff ahead of the NATO Summit in July and was reflected in the press releases from NATO at the Summit. All spending captured as part of the 1.5% is determined through the Spending Review and set out to Parliament via the Estimates process in the usual way.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether (a) compressed hours and (b) working from home are taken into account when estimating public sector productivity by the Office for National Statistics.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with HM Treasury)

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

A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 9th October is attached.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answers of 10 September 2026 to Question 26582 on Government Departments: Off-payroll Working, and to Question 26567 on Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: Taxation, whether there is a statutory prohibition on his Department's Ministers disclosing to Parliament which central government departments and arm's length bodies are under investigation by HMRC in relation to potential IR35 tax avoidance.

Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General

HMRC has a statutory duty of confidentiality under section 18 of the Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act 2005. This prevents HMRC from disclosing information about identifiable taxpayers, including whether a particular body is subject to an investigation, unless there is lawful authority to do so

HMRC cannot provide Ministers with information identifying which central government departments or arm’s-length bodies are, or are not, under investigation. Nor can HMRC provide aggregate figures relating to groups of individuals or organisations if providing those figures could, when combined with information already in the public domain, enable the bodies concerned to be identified or allow inferences to be drawn about other bodies.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Department for Business and Trade, Annual report and accounts, 2025-26, HC 349, July 2026, p.214, whether his Department holds a consolidated list of which departments and Arm’s Length Bodies have IR35 tax irregularities identified by HMRC.

Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General

HMRC has a statutory duty of confidentiality under section 18 of the Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act 2005. This prevents HMRC from disclosing information about identifiable taxpayers, including whether a particular body is subject to an investigation, unless there is lawful authority to do so

HMRC cannot provide Ministers with information identifying which central government departments or arm’s-length bodies are, or are not, under investigation. Nor can HMRC provide aggregate figures relating to groups of individuals or organisations if providing those figures could, when combined with information already in the public domain, enable the bodies concerned to be identified or allow inferences to be drawn about other bodies.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the answer of 8 September 2026, to Question 19875, on Chagos Islands: Corruption, if he will place the (a) Equality Impact Assessment and (b) Environmental Principles Assessment for the Chagos Islands Treaty in the Library.

Answered by Uma Kumaran - Assistant Whip

The Government recognises the importance of environmental and equalities considerations in the context of the BIOT Sovereignty agreement. Both parties have committed to ensuring that all aspects of the Treaty align with international legal standards including on environmental protection, as well as considerations of equality and inclusivity where relevant. As is routine for matters involving national security, defence and international negotiations, we do not normally publish all underlying analysis or advice provided to Ministers, including Impact Assessments.

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department submitted evidence or received representations relating to the Premier League Disciplinary Commission into Manchester City Football Club.

Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)

No such representations have been made.

The Government has been clear that the Premier League’s charges against Manchester City are a process entirely independent of Government. It is essential that it is allowed to run its course and the outcome respected. Wherever wrongdoing is established, those responsible should face the appropriate consequences.

The Independent Football Regulator, who are fully independent from Government, have set out their own statement on the case and no have no further comment at this time.

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether his Department has received any representations from the Mayor of Greater Manchester on Manchester City Football Club.

Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)

No such representations have been made.

The Government has been clear that the Premier League’s charges against Manchester City are a process entirely independent of Government. It is essential that it is allowed to run its course and the outcome respected. Wherever wrongdoing is established, those responsible should face the appropriate consequences.

The Independent Football Regulator, who are fully independent from Government, have set out their own statement on the case and no have no further comment at this time.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the answer of 9 September 2026, to Question 20614, on Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what criteria are used when assessing submissions on a case by case basis; and whether representations from extremist organisations may be taken into account.

Answered by Uma Kumaran - Assistant Whip

As stated in my answer of 9 September, submissions are considered on a case-by-case basis. There are no fixed criteria applied in every case. Decisions are informed by the relevance of information provided to the matter under consideration.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 17 July 2026, to Question 18015, on Political Parties: Finance, whether the overseas contributor donation cap as currently announced will retrospectively apply to political donations made since 25 March 2026, where an elector on the domestic electoral roll makes a donation to a political party or regulated donee, but the donor’s actual residence has not been within the United Kingdom for a full calendar year at the time of the donation.

Answered by Florence Eshalomi - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

I refer the hon. Member to the letter addressed to Representatives of Political Parties dated 6 July and published on gov.uk here, which sets out the retrospectivity of the overseas contributor cap, as well as the minimum residency period.

The Government is of the view that the provisions of the Representation of the People Bill, including clauses related to overseas contributors, are compatible with the Convention rights.