Nick Timothy

The Cabinet Office publishes data annually on civil servants’ median pay by department and grade. The relevant data for the years between 2010 and 2024 are available via the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/civil-service-statistics

There are currently no ongoing industrial disputes with Cabinet Office employees within the Cabinet Office or any of its arms length bodies. There are, however, ongoing disputes between PCS and G4S Security Company (G4S) and International Services System - Facilities Management Services (ISS) who provide facilities management services to the Cabinet Office.

The hard work of security guards and other staff keeps the government running. As is longstanding practice under successive administrations, the Government does not provide a running commentary on ongoing disputes.

There has been no change in the Cabinet Office’s management of artwork or heritage assets since the previous administration.

As separate entities, the responsibility for creating policy and guidance for artwork sits with each individual Arm’s Length Body, rather than with the Department.

The Government Property Agency does not have a national policy on this topic and will follow any policy and/or guidance provided by relevant client departments.

The Government Art Collection website lists the artworks on display in Downing Street https://artcollection.dcms.gov.uk/?s=&display=artworkonly&search_place=Downing+Street. There are currently no Government Art Collection pieces in the Prime Minister’s official residence.

There have been no changes to displayed artworks owned by the Cabinet Office since July 4, 2024.

I refer the Rt Hon Member and Hon Member to the answer given by the then Prime Minister on 7 February 2017, Official Report, PQ 62542.

The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) and its Arm’s Length Bodies collectively comprises of 9,921 FTE (as of March 2024). There are currently no ongoing industrial disputes with DBT employees within DBT or any of its Arm’s Length Bodies.

There are, however, ongoing disputes between PCS and G4S Security Company (G4S) and International Services System - Facilities Management Services (ISS) who provide facilities management services at some DBT offices and who are contracted by Government Property Agency. These staff are employees of either G4S or ISS, they are not normally employees of the department itself.

Details of Senior Officials’ and Ministers’ meetings with external organisations and individuals are published quarterly in arrears on GOV.UK.

Special Advisers are required to comply with the Special Adviser Code of Conduct at all times and are required to make declarations on meetings with senior media figures in line with published transparency guidance.

Where a Special Adviser accompanies their Minister to an official meeting with a senior media figure, the Special Adviser’s attendance does not need to be separately recorded as the Minister will be the main attendee.

Where an ‘informal’ lobbying approach is granted time or resource by Government, it should result in a diarised engagement and therefore be recorded.

We do not import civil separated plutonium to the UK. Historically, spent fuel has been imported from other countries for reprocessing, however the imports took place prior to 2010, and reprocessing stopped in the United Kingdom in 2022.

ONR publishes annual figures on the UK's separated plutonium inventory, including material held in the UK on behalf of overseas customers. The most recently published data can be found at the following link: https://www.onr.org.uk/publications/regulatory-reports/safeguards/annual-civil-plutonium-figures/2023-annual-figures-for-holdings-of-civil-unirradiated-plutonium/.

There are no plans to increase the quantity of plutonium in the UK. The domestic inventory of plutonium has arisen from historic reprocessing of spent fuel from the UK and overseas energy utilities under commercial agreements. Reprocessing stopped in the UK in 2022.

The procurement of nuclear fuel, including uranium and enrichment services, is a commercial matter for reactors operators. The Government works closely with these operators to ensure there is a secure and resilient supply for the UK fleet. Uranium enrichment facilities in the UK operate as service providers, enriching uranium that is provided to them by customers. The stockpiles of Uranium held by these companies are a commercial matter and therefore disclosure of these amounts would be at the discretion of these entities.

Ministers regularly engage with a variety of stakeholders.

Details of Ministers' and Permanent Secretaries' meetings with external individuals and organisations are published quarterly in arrears on GOV.UK.

Reforming the planning system is key to unlocking our country’s economic growth, to deliver the critical infrastructure that we need. The Government has announced a £46 million package of investment into the planning system to support capacity and capability. The Government will deliver workforce reform, enhanced training, and reformed career development packages. Resourcing in key organisations, including the Planning Inspectorate and Government consenting teams are currently being reviewed to determine the required support.

Data centres are normally connected to the transmission and distribution grid rather than off-grid connection as this gives them resilience to planned and forced outages of an individual power source. Consequently, my Department has not made any assessment of off-grid infrastructure requirements.

The suitability of any site for a data centre depends on a number of factors including grid capacity, state of grid infrastructure and availability of data connectivity. Future AI Growth Zones will be selected taking into account these factors.

The Planning and Infrastructure Bill will provide the powers to accelerate the infrastructure needed to deliver on the Government’s ambitions. The Government published a working paper [1] on the proposals on the 26^th January 2025 and more detail will be available in due course.

[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/planning-reform-working-paper-streamlining-infrastructure-planning/planning-reform-working-paper-streamlining-infrastructure-planning

The Planning and Infrastructure Bill will provide the powers to accelerate the infrastructure needed to deliver on the Government’s ambitions. The Government published a working paper [1] on the proposals on the 26^th January 2025 and more detail will be available in due course.

[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/planning-reform-working-paper-streamlining-infrastructure-planning/planning-reform-working-paper-streamlining-infrastructure-planning

I refer the hon Member to the answer I gave to UIN 24989.

The Government regularly engages with the Distribution Network Operators (DNOs), who are responsible for maintaining and upgrading electrical infrastructure, including substations. Ofgem, the regulator, ensures that DNOs build and operate this infrastructure efficiently. The current electricity distribution price control has allowed £22.2bn for upfront investment in low voltage networks, including £3.1bn for network upgrades to support low-carbon technologies, such as electric vehicle charging. Furthermore, the Government will consult this year on land rights and consenting measures to accelerate the development and maintenance of electricity network infrastructure.

Within DESNZ, I am responsible for the security of offshore energy infrastructure. DESNZ works closely with subsea and offshore owners, operators, regulators, and other stakeholders to ensure subsea and offshore energy infrastructure is proportionately protected against a range of threats. This includes working with industry to enhance the design of newbuild infrastructure, maintain the resilience of old infrastructure, and continue to develop the UK’s monitoring and detection capabilities. DESNZ has been working with the Joint Maritime Security Centre (JMSC) to enhance the security of subsea energy infrastructure.

This Government takes the protection of offshore infrastructure seriously and is committed to working internationally to ensure it is protected against hazards or malicious threats. DESNZ is working closely with international partners on energy security and crisis management. This includes regular engagement with multilateral institutions such as NATO.

DESNZ continues to drive international initiatives, including the signing of the North Sea Joint Declaration of Cooperation and the formalisation of the North Sea Gas Security Group. Working through these partnerships support us to understand respective threats, share situational awareness and strengthen our collective response to incidents impacting shared infrastructure.

The Government takes the protection of subsea seriously and is working across Government to ensure it is protected against hazards or malicious threats. DESNZ has been working with the Joint Maritime Security Centre (JMSC) since the Nord Stream incidents of 2022, to enhance the security of subsea energy infrastructure. The JMSC is providing Government with real-time monitoring capabilities around UK offshore and subsea energy infrastructure.

The Government takes the protection of subsea seriously and is working across Whitehall to ensure it is protected against hazards or malicious threats.

Great Britain has a highly resilient and diverse energy network. We are confident that the gas and electricity system operators have the tools they need to effectively balance supply and demand in a wide range of scenarios.

This includes ensuring robust plans are in place to mitigate the impacts of a gas or electricity disruption as far as possible, in the event that they occur.

Grid-scale battery energy storage systems (BESS) are regulated by the Health and Safety Executive within a robust framework which requires BESS designers, installers, and operators to take the necessary measures to ensure health and safety throughout all stages of the system’s construction, operation, and decommissioning.

BESS projects are considered by the local planning regime in England. The government has updated planning practice guidance to encourage BESS developers to engage with local fire and rescue services, and for local planning authorities to refer to guidance published by the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC). The NFCC’s current guidance proposes a minimum distance of 25 metres between BESS and occupied buildings.

DESNZ defines critical systems as any function (an aggregation of operational technology, information and specific areas within a civil nuclear installation) that is critical to preventing the theft or sabotage of nuclear material.

The Department of Energy Security and Net Zero is working both across Whitehall and with energy owners, operators and regulators to ensure that offshore energy infrastructure is protected against hazards and malicious threats. This includes working with the Joint Maritime Security Centre (JMSC) since the Nord Stream incidents of 2022. The JMSC provide Government with real-time monitoring capabilities around offshore infrastructure in UK waters. By increasing our maritime domain awareness, we have a more comprehensive understanding of threats to this type of infrastructure and can take the necessary measures to enhance its security.

The Department of Energy Security and Net Zero works closely with owners and operators of energy interconnectors to ensure their infrastructure is proportionately protected against a range of threats, including accidental damage or intentional sabotage. This includes working with industry to enhance the design of newbuild infrastructure and maintain the resilience of old infrastructure. We are also working to enhance the UK’s monitoring and detection capabilities, including by working with the Joint Maritime Security Centre to monitor activity around interconnectors, and strengthening information-sharing with our international partners.