Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of increasing the maximum residency period for UK citizens in the EU from 90 days to 180 days.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
HMG officials and Ministers, including myself, regularly engage EU and EU Member State counterparts on a range of issues affecting UK nationals.
The EU allows for travel within the Schengen Area for up to 90 days in any rolling 180-day period; this is standard for third countries travelling visa-free to the EU. UK nationals planning to stay longer will need permission from the relevant Member State. The UK Government will continue to listen to and advocate for UK nationals.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department has conducted an impact assessment for the introduction of a youth mobility scheme with the European Union.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
We have agreed that we will work towards the establishment of a balanced youth experience scheme with the EU. We have agreed that any scheme will be time-limited and capped, and we have also been clear that it should be in line with the UK’s existing schemes with countries like Australia and New Zealand. The exact parameters will be subject to negotiation
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department takes steps to verify statistics published by the Gaza Health Ministry.
Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare
I refer the Right Honorable Gentleman to the response given for PQ 49111.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department uses Gaza Health Ministry statistics in cross-Whitehall briefings.
Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare
I refer the Right Honorable Gentleman to the response given for PQ 49111.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the National Security Secretariat uses Gaza Health Ministry statistics in its cross-Whitehall briefings.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
NSS does use Gaza Health Ministry casualty figures for briefing.
It is difficult to verify casualty statistics accurately during an active conflict. FCDO and CO rely on the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports which use figures issued from the Gazan Ministry of Health (MoH).
Over the course of this conflict FCDO has consulted experts from the London School of Tropical Medicine, OCHA, WHO and Every Casualty Counts, and assesses that the total number of deaths in Gaza since 7 October 2023 is a reliable figure. The MoH collates information on casualty statistics using a health information system derived from eight major hospitals across the Strip. They verify and identify the dead by age, gender and ID number.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what guidance his Department issues on whether third parties should declare their political interests when recording official videos for government departments.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
There is no standalone Cabinet Office policy or guidance that addresses the declaration of political interests of third parties when recording official videos.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the average cost, as a percentage of the total paybill, of trade union facility time in the (a) public sector and (b) private sector in the latest period for which data is available.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Under the Trade Union (Facility Time Publication Requirements) Regulations 2017, relevant public sector authorities are required to publish certain information annually on facility time usage in their organisation.
The most recently available data, for 2022/23, is published on gov.uk. It provides data on the total cost of facility time for public sector organisations, including as a percentage of total pay.
The Cabinet Office does not hold information on the cost of facility time within the private sector. The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) has made impact assessments relating to the Employment Rights Bill, which have been published on .gov.uk
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Prime Minister and the Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East discussed (a) delivering UNRWA operations in Hamas-controlled areas and (b) steps UNRWA is taking to ensure the political neutrality of its staff during their meeting on 11 December 2024.
Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare
I refer the Hon Member to the read-out of the meeting on GOV.UK
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many officials at each civil service grade have been allocated to the EU Directorate within his Department.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The EU Relations Secretariat was established in the Cabinet Office to give effect to the Government's manifesto commitments to reset the relationship with the EU, implement the Windsor Framework in good faith and protect the UK's internal market, as well as responsibility for the UK-EU Withdrawal Agreement and Trade and Cooperation Agreement.
The EU Relations Secretariat brings together civil servants who were already working on EU relations from across the government. The data on this headcount will be published in 2025.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what senior leadership positions are vacant in the EU Directorate within his Department.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The EU Relations Secretariat was established in the Cabinet Office to give effect to the Government's manifesto commitments to reset the relationship with the EU, implement the Windsor Framework in good faith and protect the UK's internal market, as well as responsibility for the UK-EU Withdrawal Agreement and Trade and Cooperation Agreement.
All Senior Civil Servant roles within the EU Relations Secretariat are currently filled. We are recruiting for the new role of Second Permanent Secretary; the advert for which closed on 8 December.