Richard Holden Portrait

Richard Holden

Conservative - Basildon and Billericay

20 (0.0%) majority - 2024 General Election

First elected: 12th December 2019

Opposition Whip (Commons)

(since November 2024)

Shadow Paymaster General

(since November 2024)

Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
13th Nov 2023 - 5th Jul 2024
European Statutory Instruments Committee
2nd Mar 2020 - 30th May 2024
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
28th Oct 2022 - 13th Nov 2023
Seafarers' Wages Bill [HL]
11th Jan 2023 - 17th Jan 2023
Trade (Australia and New Zealand) Bill
4th Oct 2022 - 18th Oct 2022
Online Safety Bill
18th May 2022 - 28th Jun 2022
Public Accounts Committee
2nd Mar 2020 - 15th Mar 2022
Marriage and Civil Partnership (Minimum Age) Bill
5th Jan 2022 - 12th Jan 2022
Finance (No.2) Bill
8th Dec 2021 - 11th Jan 2022
Approved Premises (Substance Testing) Bill
8th Dec 2021 - 15th Dec 2021
Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill
7th Sep 2021 - 22nd Sep 2021
Select Committee on the Armed Forces Bill
25th Feb 2021 - 14th Apr 2021
Armed Forces Bill Select Committee
22nd Feb 2021 - 22nd Feb 2021
Select Committee on the Armed Forces Bill
22nd Feb 2021 - 22nd Feb 2021


Division Voting information

During the current Parliament, Richard Holden has voted in 116 divisions, and never against the majority of their Party.
View All Richard Holden Division Votes

Debates during the 2024 Parliament

Speeches made during Parliamentary debates are recorded in Hansard. For ease of browsing we have grouped debates into individual, departmental and legislative categories.

Sparring Partners
Bridget Phillipson (Labour)
Minister for Women and Equalities
(11 debate interactions)
Lindsay Hoyle (Speaker)
(9 debate interactions)
Gareth Snell (Labour (Co-op))
(9 debate interactions)
View All Sparring Partners
Department Debates
Cabinet Office
(39 debate contributions)
Ministry of Justice
(12 debate contributions)
View All Department Debates
View all Richard Holden's debates

Basildon and Billericay Petitions

e-Petitions are administered by Parliament and allow members of the public to express support for a particular issue.

If an e-petition reaches 10,000 signatures the Government will issue a written response.

If an e-petition reaches 100,000 signatures the petition becomes eligible for a Parliamentary debate (usually Monday 4.30pm in Westminster Hall).

Petition Debates Contributed

I would like there to be another General Election.

I believe the current Labour Government have gone back on the promises they laid out in the lead up to the last election.


Latest EDMs signed by Richard Holden

21st October 2024
Richard Holden signed this EDM as the primary signatory on Friday 18th October 2024

Pie and Mash (No. 2)

Tabled by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
That this House recognises the need to protect Cockney heritage, including Pie and Mash, a staple dish of Cockneys for nearly 200 years; notes that the Cockney diaspora have moved out of East London to at least 42 constituencies across parts of the East and South East; and supports the …
6 signatures
(Most recent: 25 Nov 2024)
Signatures by party:
Conservative: 2
Labour: 2
Democratic Unionist Party: 1
Independent: 1
2nd September 2024
Richard Holden signed this EDM on Monday 2nd September 2024

Social Security

Tabled by: Rishi Sunak (Conservative - Richmond and Northallerton)
That an humble Address be presented to His Majesty, praying that the Social Fund Winter Fuel Payment Regulations 2024 (S.I., 2024, No. 869), dated 22 August 2024, a copy of which was laid before this House on 22 August 2024, be annulled.
81 signatures
(Most recent: 10 Sep 2024)
Signatures by party:
Conservative: 75
Independent: 3
Democratic Unionist Party: 2
Scottish National Party: 1
View All Richard Holden's signed Early Day Motions

Commons initiatives

These initiatives were driven by Richard Holden, and are more likely to reflect personal policy preferences.

MPs who are act as Ministers or Shadow Ministers are generally restricted from performing Commons initiatives other than Urgent Questions.


Richard Holden has not been granted any Urgent Questions

1 Adjournment Debate led by Richard Holden

Friday 17th January 2025

3 Bills introduced by Richard Holden


A Bill to prohibit the marriage of first cousins; and for connected purposes.

Commons - 20%

Last Event - 1st Reading
Tuesday 10th December 2024
(Read Debate)
Next Event - 2nd Reading
Friday 18th July 2025

A Bill to require a seller of a vehicle to record their home address or specified information about a company that owns the vehicle in the vehicle’s registration document; and for connected purposes.

Commons - 20%

Last Event - 1st Reading
Tuesday 22nd October 2024
Next Event - 2nd Reading
Friday 5th September 2025

A Bill to prohibit virginity testing procedures; to make associated provision about education; and for connected purposes.

Commons - 20%

Last Event - 1st Reading
Tuesday 15th December 2020
(Read Debate)

Latest 50 Written Questions

(View all written questions)
Written Questions can be tabled by MPs and Lords to request specific information information on the work, policy and activities of a Government Department
12 Other Department Questions
7th Apr 2025
To ask the hon. Member for Blaenau Gwent and Rhymney, representing the House of Commons Commission, what guidance has been provided to hon. Members on whether they must declare the date that a political donation was (a) received by the linked recipient and (b) given by the ultimate donor.

This is not a matter for the House of Commons Commission.

The rules are set out in the Code of Conduct and the Guide to the Rules relating to the Conduct of Members, approved by the House on 12 December 2022 (HC 1083).

https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5803/cmcode/1083/1083-1.pdf

Members seeking advice on the registration of specific interests should contact the Registrar of Members’ Interests.

7th Apr 2025
To ask the hon. Member for Blaenau Gwent and Rhymney, representing the House of Commons Commission, pursuant to the Answer of 21 January 2025 to Question 24487 on Members’ Interests, whether (a) gifts and (b) hospitality which are registered and then (i) returned and (ii) repaid remain on the published list of interests.

This is not a matter for the House of Commons Commission.

The rules are set out in the Code of Conduct and the Guide to the Rules relating to the Conduct of Members, approved by the House on 12 December 2022 (HC 1083).

https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5803/cmcode/1083/1083-1.pdf

Members seeking advice on the registration of specific interests should contact the Registrar of Members’ Interests.

7th Apr 2025
To ask the hon. Member for Blaenau Gwent and Rhymney, representing the House of Commons Commission, what (a) portraits and (b) other artwork from the Parliamentary Art Collection that were previously on display have been moved to storage since (i) the dissolution of the last Parliament and (ii) 4 July 2024.

80 artworks moved from display to storage between dissolution (30 May 2024) and 4 July 2024, of which none were portraits. Since 4 July 2024, 405 artworks have moved to store, of which one was a portrait.

These changes have been for a number of reasons: movement of Members’ offices, required conservation work, or temporary storage due to maintenance projects. Many artworks in store are currently under consideration by Members for new office selections.

6th Feb 2025
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, with reference to the guidance entitled Public Sector Equality Duty: guidance for public authorities, published on 18 December 2023, and pursuant to the letter from the Prime Minister, Chancellor of the Exchequer and Secretary of State for Business and Trade to economic regulators referenced in the Answer of 24 January 2024 to Question 24447 on Economic Growth: Regulation, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to ensure that regulators do not try to impose the public sector equality duty on private companies.

The Public Sector Equality Duty (the PSED) requires organisations in scope to have due regard to the need to eliminate discrimination, advance equality of opportunity, and foster good relations between different people.

The scope of the PSED is set out in the Equality Act 2010 (the Act). It extends to all public authorities listed in Schedule 19 of the Act and all parties carrying out public functions. This includes private sector and voluntary organisations when carrying out public functions.

The government expects regulators to ensure organisations comply with their legal requirements. It is not the role of regulators to intervene where legal requirements do not apply and we have no evidence that this is occurring.

Anneliese Dodds
Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
16th Jan 2025
To ask the hon. Member for Blaenau Gwent and Rhymney, representing the House of Commons Commission, what guidance the House of Commons issues to hon. Members on declaring reportable gifts, donations or hospitality which are returned or reimbursed within 28 days of receipt; and whether reportable gifts, donations or hospitality which are returned or reimbursed after 28 days of receipt are recorded in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests.

Registration requirements are set out in the Code of Conduct together with the Guide to the Rules relating to the Conduct of Members, approved by the House on 12 December 2022. (https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5803/cmcode/1083/1083.pdf)

Paragraph 5 of the Code provides that new Members must register all their current financial interests, and any registrable benefits (other than earnings) received in the 12 months before their election within one month of their election, and Members must register any change in those registrable interests within 28 days. Gifts, donations or hospitality are registrable from the day of receipt (whether or not subsequently repaid). The 28-day period is provided to enable time for registration for the purpose of transparency.

Members are encouraged to seek advice from the Registrar of Members’ Financial Interests if they are in any doubt about whether a proposed course of action is in line with the rules.

3rd Jan 2025
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, with reference to the Answer of 3 December 2024 to Question HL2771 on Civil Servants: Recruitment and pursuant to the Answer of 20 November 2024 to Question 14502 on Gender: Equality, if she will issue guidance to public bodies to stop the practice of internship programmes which restrict applications on the basis of race or ethnicity.

The Equality Act 2010 (The Act) provides protections for people from discrimination in the workplace and in society. It makes it unlawful to treat someone unfairly or discriminate against anyone based on certain personal characteristics. This includes race and ethnicity.

The Act also makes it unlawful for recruiters to hire by race, where the person is to be paid under a contract for services. Under certain conditions, a recruiter choosing between candidates of equal merit can hire the candidate from the more disadvantaged or lower-participating race or ethnicity. This is one type of ‘positive action’. Positive action can deliver better outcomes for particular groups in order to overcome or minimise a disadvantage arising from a protected characteristic.

In April 2023, the previous government published guidance to help employers understand the difference between positive action and positive discrimination. The guidance is available on gov.uk at www.gov.uk/government/publications/positive-action-in-the-workplace-guidance-for-employers. Section 9 of this guidance explains the general positive action provision. Section 10.2 explains tie-breaking in more detail. With this considered, there are currently no plans to issue further guidance to public bodies on positive action.

Anneliese Dodds
Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
12th Dec 2024
To ask the Member for Battersea, representing the Church Commissioners, whether the Church plans to amend the Table of Kindred and Affinity to exclude first cousins from marriage.

The ‘Table of Kindred and Affinity’ is part of the Book of Common Prayer. The Book of Common Prayer can be changed by a Measure from the General Synod of the Church of England, which would come to Parliament for approval in the usual manner. The Church of England has no plans currently to change the text.

9th Dec 2024
To ask the Member for Battersea, representing the Church Commissioners, whether the Church of England has a formal process for the removal of an Archbishop.

The duration of appointments of office holders in the Church of England is governed by statutory provisions. Under section 3 of the Ecclesiastical Offices (Terms of Service) Measure 2009, the term of office of a person who holds office under Common Tenure (which includes archbishops, bishops and most other clergy) is terminated:
• on the death of the office holder
• by resignation
• on attaining the mandatory retirement age (subject to any extension)
• where the office ceases to exist
• where the office holder is removed from office under the Clergy Discipline Measure 2003
• on the expiry of a fixed term appointment (where applicable)
• under the capability procedures.

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukcm/2009/1/contents

26th Nov 2024
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, if she will hold discussions with the (a) Equality and Human Rights Commission and (b) the Cabinet Office on the potential merits of issuing guidance to political parties on whether they are able to discriminate on the basis of (i) political and (ii) philosophical belief.

It is for the Equality and Human Rights Commission to determine what guidance it issues to political parties. Equalities Ministers will have periodic discussions with their Cabinet Office colleagues on matters of mutual policy interest. 'Belief’ is a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010, meaning any religious or philosophical belief, rather than political opinion. As such, the issue of guidance on political belief discrimination that purportedly related to the Equality Act’s protected characteristics would be misleading.

Anneliese Dodds
Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
14th Nov 2024
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what role the Office for Equality and Opportunity has in informing Government policy on marriage.

The Office for Equality and Opportunity’s role in informing Government policy on marriage relates to equality and discrimination, as it is responsible for the protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010, which include marriage and civil partnership.

While the Office for Equality and Opportunity work with the Ministry of Justice on issues relating to equality, the Ministry of Justice is responsible for marriage law.

Anneliese Dodds
Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
12th Nov 2024
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what the cost was of re-branding the Equality Hub as the Office for Equality and Opportunity.

Minimal costs were incurred in the rebranding of the Equality Hub to the Office of Equality and Opportunity as it was a renaming exercise rather than a Machinery of Government change. Therefore, there has been no programme or digital expenditure to date and only minimal administrative time by current employees.

Anneliese Dodds
Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
7th Apr 2025
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 25 March 2025 to Question 39591 on Crown Commercial Service and Government Property Agency: Equality, which diversity and inclusion (a) days and (b) weeks have been recognised by (i) Government Property Agency and (ii) the Crown Commercial Service since 4 July 2024.

I refer the honourable member to the answer given on 2 April 2025 in response to question 41107.

Georgia Gould
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
7th Apr 2025
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Spring Statement 2025 on 26 March 2025, whether changes have been made to the Government’s missions’ (a) metrics and (b) methodology.

The Plan for Change set out clear and transparent milestones, and our plan to achieve them. These milestones allow the public to track our progress and hold the government to account for their delivery. There have been no changes to these milestones since the publication of the Plan for Change.

Ellie Reeves
Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
7th Apr 2025
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether allegations of bullying under paragraph 1.5 of the Ministerial Code are assessed by the impact of behaviour on individuals; whether an absence of awareness of any harm caused is a relevant factor in determining whether a breach has occurred; and whether the Government has a definition of bullying for the purposes of interpreting the Code.

I refer the Hon Member to PQ43119.

Abena Oppong-Asare
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
7th Apr 2025
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what guidance his Department has issued on whether the requirement to record informal lobbying approaches applies to special advisers.

The expectations surrounding the conduct of special advisers are outlined in the Code of Conduct for Special Advisers. No additional guidance has been issued by the Department to special advisers concerning the requirement to record informal lobbying approaches.

Abena Oppong-Asare
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
3rd Apr 2025
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will place in the Library a copy of the request from FDA for voluntary recognition of a trade union for special advisers.

The government does not publish such information.

Georgia Gould
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
3rd Apr 2025
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, in what circumstances new public bodies do not have to meet the last resort test in the Approvals Process guidance for new Arm's Length Bodies.

An ALB needs to pass at least one of three tests: (1) it is a technical function that requires external expertise (2) it needs to be delivered with political impartiality, or (3) it needs to be delivered independently from Ministers to establish facts and figures with integrity. The Cabinet Office makes an assessment based on the information provided by the department.

Georgia Gould
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
1st Apr 2025
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department has issued guidance to Ministers on whether they may undertake personal visits whilst on official Ministerial visits overseas.

Guidance on overseas visits by Ministers is found in Chapter 10 of the Ministerial Code.

Abena Oppong-Asare
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
1st Apr 2025
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the transparency data entitled Data on responses to correspondence from MPs and Peers, updated on 23 May 2024, for what reason there are different target response times for different Departments.

As outlined in the Guide to Handling Correspondence, all Government departments and agencies must aim to respond to correspondence within 20 working days. Government departments and agencies can set their own more ambitious deadlines if they want to do so.

Abena Oppong-Asare
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
1st Apr 2025
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many lecterns are (a) held by Downing Street and (b) on loan from Downing Street to other public bodies.

Downing Street holds 7 lecterns, all of which were inherited from previous governments.

Abena Oppong-Asare
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
1st Apr 2025
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether officials in Downing Street use the Signal app.

Ministers and officials use a range of communication methods and there are longstanding appropriate arrangements and guidance in place for the management of electronic communications.

Abena Oppong-Asare
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
1st Apr 2025
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 13 February 2025 to Question 29019 on Civil Servants: Recruitment, what is the process by which a Minister can request a department (a) appoint and (b) consider appointing a specific individual to the Civil Service without open and fair competition below SCS2 level.

The Civil Service Recruitment principles outline the process by which grades below SCS can be appointed without fair and open competition. This includes guidance about the involvement of Ministers in the recruitment process.

The process and approach remains consistent with that applied by the previous administration.

Georgia Gould
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
1st Apr 2025
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to paragraph 1.5 of the Ministerial Code, published on 6 November 2024, whether civil service workplace standards are used to interpret these requirements; and whether the Prime Minister is responsible for determining what constitutes (a) bullying and (b) harassment.

The Ministerial Code sets out the standards of behaviour which the Prime Minister expects of ministers. As set out at paragraph 2.1, the Prime Minister is the ultimate judge of those standards of behaviour and of the appropriate consequences for any breach of those standards.

Abena Oppong-Asare
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
1st Apr 2025
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many civil servants exits will be funded by the £150 million government employee exit schemes; and whether this will include civil service compensation scheme payments for (a) voluntary and (b) compulsory exits.

The Cabinet Office and HM Treasury are working together to determine how best this investment can be used by departments to support their individual exit schemes, the terms of which will vary from organisation to organisation.

Georgia Gould
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
31st Mar 2025
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many pricing reviews of contracts managed by his Department the Crown Commercial Service has undertaken due to changes to employer’s National Insurance contributions in April 2025; and if he will make an estimate of the number of pricing reviews that will be required for this reason.

Most Crown Commercial Service (CCS) commercial agreements use the public sector contract which does not permit increases in the framework rates for employer national insurance contributions as these are classed as General Change in Law. Where the framework contract allows for framework rates to be reviewed, any request by a supplier to do so would be considered by CCS on a case-by-case basis.

Georgia Gould
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
31st Mar 2025
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Government plans to lay a new Official Statistics Order to designate the Fair Work Agency’s statistical outputs as official statistics.

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

A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 31st March is attached.

Georgia Gould
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
31st Mar 2025
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to his Department's guidance entitled Public Bodies Handbook – Part 2: The Approvals Process for the Creation of New Arm’s-Length Bodies, whether his Department's public bodies team assessed Great British Railways against the requirement that the creation of a new arm's length body should only be considered as a last resort; whether the Department for Transport provided evidence that alternative delivery models were considered; and which of the three tests in Chapter 2 of that guidance Great British Railways met.

The Department for Transport is currently working through the approval process to establish Great British Railways as an Arm’s Length Body. The completion of business cases as part of this process considers viable delivery mechanisms and the three tests.

Georgia Gould
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
31st Mar 2025
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Answer of 17 February 2025 to Question HL4631 on Cabinet Office: Standards, if he will publish that template.

His Majesty's Government can confirm that:

As was the case under the previous administration, the template is intended solely for internal departmental use and will not be released publicly.

Georgia Gould
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
31st Mar 2025
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 6 January 2025 to Question 20702 on Foreign Investment in UK: National Security, if he will publish mitigation measures taken as a result of final orders issued in the last year with the 2024-2025 NSI annual report.

The Government publishes notices of final orders made on GOV.UK - this includes cases that are blocked, unwound, or cleared subject to conditions. The notices include a high level summary of what mitigation measures are imposed on the parties.

Abena Oppong-Asare
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
31st Mar 2025
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he has issued guidance to (a) the civil service and (b) arm’s length bodies on paying back severance payments if civil servants made redundant rejoin the (a) civil service, (b) NHS and (c) wider public sector.

Whilst the NHS and some wider public sector organisations will have their own arrangements, any individual who leaves under the terms of the Civil Service Compensation Scheme, and later returns to the same organisation, or another one that uses the Civil Service Compensation Scheme, within six months, must pay back a proportionate amount of their compensation.

Georgia Gould
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
31st Mar 2025
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether (a) Permanent Secretaries and (b) Second Permanent Secretaries are employed on fixed term contracts.

The majority of Permanent Secretaries (First and Second) are permanent civil servants, on permanent contracts. Exceptionally, fixed term contracts may be offered to external candidates, for example in the case of specialist roles.

When appointed to a Permanent Secretary role, Permanent Secretaries (First and Second) are appointed on fixed term tenures, typically for five years. Where appropriate, and with the Prime Minister and relevant Minister’s approval, tenure may be extended.

Georgia Gould
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
31st Mar 2025
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 29 November 2024 to Question 15471 on Office for Equality and Opportunity: Gender and Sexuality, whether the Civil Service People Group formally recognises any (a) genders, (b) sexual orientations and (c) gender identities.

Data collection on gender identities, genders or sexual orientation is delegated to departments.

Georgia Gould
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
31st Mar 2025
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 19 September 2024 to Question 4697 on Civil Servants: Incentives, at what point in the year Cabinet Office civil servants are typically given such incentive payments of shopping vouchers; whether such vouchers can be used for paying utility bills; and how much his Department has spent on Love2Shop Gift Cards since 5 July 2024.

In-year vouchers can be given at any point in the year. The vouchers cannot be directly redeemed for utility bills, but have a wide range of retail outlets where they can be spent. The Cabinet Office does not use Love2Shop vouchers.

Georgia Gould
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
31st Mar 2025
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what guidance his Department has issued on delivering efficiency savings through reducing spending on external public relations.

The Government regularly evaluates the effectiveness of all communication activities to ensure they are delivering and providing the best value for money for taxpayers. An example of this is the recent comprehensive communications Spending Review that delivered savings of £85 million in 2024-25 and up to £96 million in 2025-26.

Georgia Gould
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
31st Mar 2025
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 27 November 2024 to Question 14354 on Civil Servants: Pay, what the budget for civil service pay is (a) including and (b) excluding National insurance employer contributions in (i) 2024-25 and (ii) 2025-26.

Departments are responsible for pay, terms and conditions of civil servants, within the parameters set out in the Civil Service Pay Remit Guidance, this includes setting budgets for annual increases for its own workforce.

Salary data for the Civil Service is published annually as part of Civil Service Statistics, an Accredited Official Statistics release. Civil Service Statistics 2025 is due to be published on 30 July 2025.

For 2025/26, departmental pay awards have not yet been made and the 2025/26 Pay Remit Guidance will be published in due course.

Georgia Gould
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
31st Mar 2025
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the (a) Office for National Statistics, (b) National Audit Office, (c) Northern Ireland Civil Service, (d) Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, (e) GCHQ, (f) MI5, (g) SIS and (h) Crown Commercial Service pay subscription fees to Stonewall.

As the sponsoring department for the following bodies, the Cabinet Office can confirm that the Office for National Statistics, the Public Health Service Ombudsman, and the Crown Commercial Service do not pay subscription fees to Stonewall.

All other bodies asked about are not sponsored by the Cabinet Office, and are therefore a matter for their individual sponsoring departments.

Georgia Gould
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
31st Mar 2025
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 26 February 2025 to Question 32268 on Freedom of Information and Parliamentary Questions: Impact Assessment, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that information which is routinely disclosed under the Freedom of Information Act regime is disclosed to Parliament when similar requests for information as made through Parliamentary Questions.

The information that is published in response to Parliamentary Questions is handled on a case by case basis, as is the information that is published in response to any request under the Freedom of Information Act. The Cabinet Office takes seriously both its obligations to Parliament and its obligations under the Freedom of Information Act.

Abena Oppong-Asare
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
31st Mar 2025
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will take steps to undertake an audit of whether other Government departments are meeting the publication requirements outlined in the then Prime Minister's letter entitled Government transparency and open data, published on 14 December 2017.

I refer the honourable member to my response to PQ 30681.

Abena Oppong-Asare
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
31st Mar 2025
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 16 October 2024 to Question 7760 on Marian Mazzucato, whether she is an adviser to the Government in any other capacity.

Ministers regularly liaise with a wide range of stakeholders. Mariana Mazzucato is not employed within government as a special adviser. Nor does she hold a position in a role as a regulated public appointee.

Abena Oppong-Asare
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
26th Mar 2025
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Security and Intelligence Agencies Financial Statement 2023-24, published on 2 December 2024, what (a) risks and (b) performance issues were identified during the Performance and Risk Reviews conducted in 2023-24 for those agencies; and what steps he is taking to tackle those risks and issues.

As has been the policy of successive governments, the government does not comment on matters relating to the intelligence agencies. The Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament scrutinises the policies, expenditure, administration and operations of the intelligence agencies on behalf of Parliament.

Abena Oppong-Asare
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
26th Mar 2025
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what his planned timeline is for the appointment of a new Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman.

The House of Commons leads on the recruitment of the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, which is ongoing. We expect that further information will be made available shortly.

Georgia Gould
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
26th Mar 2025
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he plans to use recruitment consultants for staffing test-and-learn teams.

The Test, Learn and Grow Programme will use existing government recruitment channels to staff the programme for the three years of the initiative. This includes the use of loans for existing Civil Servants, and fixed term appointments for external candidates. The programme will also leverage an inward secondment programme for public service delivery experts working near the frontline to help drive public service reform in their field. This scheme will be flexible in terms of duration and location, and specifically for those with experience relevant to the public service reform project. We do not plan to use recruitment consultants for these staffing needs.

Georgia Gould
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
25th Mar 2025
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 22 October 2024 to Question 8637 on Cabinet Office: Vacancies, whether Mission Senior Responsible Officers have been appointed at a higher salary compared to their previous roles in the civil service.

Senior Responsible Officers for each of the five Missions were selected by the Cabinet Secretary and relevant Permanent Secretary, in consultation with their Secretary of State, on the basis of their expertise and experience. They remain on their current salaries and have not received any increase.

Georgia Gould
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
25th Mar 2025
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 27 November 2024 to Question 13807 on Cabinet Office: Parliamentary Private Secretaries, if he will breakdown the number of staff in each ministerial private office, by named Minister.

There are 38 staff, at multiple grades, who support the 8 Cabinet Office ministers in private office roles.

Minister

Number of staff in Private Office

Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster

8

Minister for the Cabinet Office

6

Minister Oppong-Asare

3

Minister Reeves

4

Minister Gould

6

Minister Alexander

1 (Cabinet Office portfolio only)

Leader of the House of Lords

3

Leader of the House of Commons

7

Abena Oppong-Asare
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
25th Mar 2025
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether information about each Department's (a) spending control data and (b) exemptions is held centrally.

A Prime-Ministerial directive, issued in 2010, mandated all departments to publish details of all spend approvals from the Advertising, Marketing and Communications, Commercial, Contingent Labour, Digital and Technology, and National Property controls on a quarterly basis. The Cabinet Office’s publications are at this link https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/cabinet-office-spend-data .

HMT Treasury delegates authority to departments to enter into commitments and spend within predefined limits without specific prior approval. Agreements of any exemptions a body holds from the Spend Controls should be recorded in the department’s delegation letter and in the Framework Document, or similar relationship-defining document, between the body and its sponsor department.

Georgia Gould
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
25th Mar 2025
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, Pursuant to the answer of 30 July 2024, to Question 1261, on Senior Civil Servants, if he will publish a breakdown by (a) department and (b) job title of senior civil service jobs (i) offered and (ii) appointed since 30 July 2024, including indicating where a Civil Service recruitment principles exception was applied.

Information on Senior Civil Service appointments is not collated centrally. Departments can run campaigns outside of the central recruitment services through their own Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) or processes, or make appointments from existing reserve lists. Therefore, we are unable to provide a full response.

Appointments by exception at SCS2 or above must be approved by the Civil Service Commission, details of which are published on the commission’s website.

Georgia Gould
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
25th Mar 2025
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he plans to issue new guidance on the proportion of the civil service jobs advertised to the public.

In May 2022 the then Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster wrote to cabinet ministers outlining all Senior Civil Service (SCS) jobs must be advertised externally to the public unless an exemption is approved. This continues to be the policy.

As under the previous Government, for appointments below SCS level, departments have the authority to determine how they recruit in line with the Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles. Again, this continues to be the policy.

Georgia Gould
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
25th Mar 2025
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 31 October 2024 to Question 10987 on Public Sector: Pay, if she will list which non-statutory office holders are paid through the Cabinet Office’s HR and payroll department.

This information is not held centrally.



Georgia Gould
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)