Richard Holden
Conservative - Basildon and Billericay
20 (0.0%) majority - 2024 General ElectionFirst elected: 12th December 2019
Opposition Whip (Commons)
(since November 2024)Shadow Paymaster General
(since November 2024)6 APPG memberships (as of 28 Mar 2025)
Freedom of Speech, Freight and Logistics, Insurance and Financial Services, Media, Pubs, Self-Driving Vehicles20 Former APPG memberships
Apprenticeships, Beer, County, Cricket, Durham University, Gambling Related Harm, Game and Wildlife Conservation, Honour Based Abuse, Housing in the North, Local Democracy, Medomsley Detention Centre, Mortgage Prisoners, Poland, Rural Business, Rural Business and the Rural Powerhouse, Saudi Arabia, Sixth Form Education, SME (Small and Medium-sized Enterprises) House Builders, Somaliland, Youth EmploymentDivision Voting information
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
(9 debate interactions)
(9 debate interactions)
Department Debates
(39 debate contributions)
(17 debate contributions)
(17 debate contributions)
(12 debate contributions)
Legislation Debates
(1,926 words contributed)
(1,286 words contributed)
(1,076 words contributed)
(364 words contributed)
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).
of 231,946 signatures (0.23%)
of 52,746 signatures (0.22%)
of 144,394 signatures (0.22%)
of 224,505 signatures (0.22%)
of 231,946 signatures (0.23%)
of 224,505 signatures (0.22%)
of 234,302 signatures (0.17%)
of 144,394 signatures (0.22%)
c. 20,132 added daily
3,103,803
(Estimated)
Call a General Election
Sign this petition Gov Responded - 6 Dec 2024 Debated on - 6 Jan 2025 View Richard Holden's petition debate contributionscloses in 1 month, 2 weeks
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
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 …
(Most recent: 25 Nov 2024)
Signatures by party:
Conservative: 2
Labour: 2
Democratic Unionist Party: 1
Independent: 1
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.
(Most recent: 10 Sep 2024)
Signatures by party:
Conservative: 75
Independent: 3
Democratic Unionist Party: 2
Scottish National Party: 1
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
3 Bills introduced by Richard Holden
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.
Friday 28th March 2025
A Bill to prohibit the marriage of first cousins; and for connected purposes.
Friday 28th March 2025
A Bill to prohibit virginity testing procedures; to make associated provision about education; and for connected purposes.
2 Bills co-sponsored by Richard Holden
Roadworks (Regulation) Bill 2024-26
Sponsor - Mark Francois (Con)
Carbon Emissions (Buildings) Bill 2021-22
Sponsor - Duncan Baker (Con)
Latest 50 Written Questions
(View all written questions)9 Other Department Questions
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.
Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
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.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission has issued guidance and codes of practice covering philosophical belief. What is and is not a political belief as opposed to a philosophical belief is a question that is for individuals to consider and, if necessary, the courts to determine, if raised in the context of Equality Act 2010 protections.
Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
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.
Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
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.
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.
Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
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.
Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
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.
Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
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.
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
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.
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
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 |
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
All risks in the internal, classified National Security Risk Assessment (NSRA) are kept under review to ensure that they are the most appropriate scenarios to inform emergency preparedness and resilience activity and to reflect the risk landscape. The National Risk Register, which reflects the NSRA, was last updated in January 2025 and will be updated regularly to reflect changes to the risk landscape.
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Cabinet Office Commercial team is responsible for managing and operating the Central Cabinet Office Corporate Travel Agency Contract, which includes provisions for the booking of aviation assets. This contract has not been used for helicopter travel by this Government.
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Government always seeks to conclude reviews under the National Security and Investment (NSI) Act as swiftly as possible. Reviews under the NSI Act are subject to statutory timelines. The Act is also kept under regular review to ensure it is operating as efficiently as possible.
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Lord Chancellor issued a response on 19 February 2025.
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
It is for the relevant Minister to decide if policy within their portfolio should be delivered through the creation of a new public body. Departments seeking to establish an Arm’s Length Bodies must submit three business cases as part of the approval process, as outlined in ‘The Approvals Process for the Creation of New Arm’s-Length Bodies’. Once the the Cabinet Office receives a business case for a proposed new body there is a detailed process to ensure there is sufficient due diligence to establish a clear rationale for a proposed body.
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The salaries of the Senior Civil Servants responsible for the Women’s Equality Unit, Race Disparity Unit and Disability Unit and salary cost of their reports was published in January as part of Cabinet Office transparency reporting and can be found under the Organogram for Senior staff.
https://www.data.gov.uk/dataset/ff76be1f-4f37-4bef-beb7-32b259413be1/organogram-cabinet-office
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
148 people attended the conference on 23 July 2024 and 263 people attended the conference on 10 October 2024.
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
A response to the Hon. Member's Parliamentary Question of 24th March is attached.
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Self-reported public-sector trade union facility time data, collected under the Facility Time Regulations, will be published in line with our standard timelines for this data set and the timelines under the previous administration.
The Trade Union (Facility Time Publication Requirements) Regulations 2017 explain what is included in the published data set as well as the period this data set covers.
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Sir Alex Chisholm was provided with his final advice from the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments on 30 October 2024. The advice was published on ACOBA’s page on GOV.UK on 12 March 2025, and is available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67b318fe7c070e71525f5801/ACOBA_advice-_Alex_Chisholm-_BCG.pdf
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The public appointments digital system, run by the Cabinet Office, enables departments to effectively and consistently manage their public appointment campaigns. It shows the current stage of a campaign and the outcome when completed. However, the system does not record if a campaign has been re-run, and where campaigns are re-run, the Cabinet Office does not collect the reasons for this. That would be a matter for individual sponsor departments and their ministers as part of the normal day-to-day management of the recruitment campaigns they run.
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Information on both the mean and median salary of civil servants is published annually as part of Civil Service Statistics. The annual publications from 2006 to 2024 with accompanying data tables containing mean and median salary measures can be found at the link below.
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/civil-service-statistics#annual-statistics
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 19th March is attached.
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The information you requested can be found from the quarterly transparency publication on Cabinet Office structure which can be found via the following link: Organogram of Staff Roles & Salaries - data.gov.uk
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
As in previous years, the Government Property Agency and the Crown Commercial Service engage with staff networks and other relevant stakeholders on any plans for diversity and inclusion days.
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
As part of their work, officials may handle commercial or market sensitive information, which may be in scope of the UK Market Abuse Regulation, in which case they should familiarise themselves with their obligations under the law.
As the relevant authority, the Financial Conduct Authority publish best practice guidance for government departments, industry regulators and public bodies to help them comply with the relevant obligations under the UK Market Abuse Regulations: https://www.fca.org.uk/markets/best-practice-note-identifying-controlling-and-disclosing-inside-information.
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
I refer the Hon. member to the answer to UIN 22184 of 14 January.
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Cabinet Office does not routinely produce salary cost projections for future years across the Civil Service. Pay and reward matters are delegated to individual departments for grades below the Senior Civil Service.
The Prime Minister has announced that the Government is committed to cutting bureaucracy across the state, in order to focus government on the priorities of working people and shift money to the frontline.
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The remit and function of Government People Group (GPG) is set out on gov.uk.
The annual staffing cost of all Civil Servants employed by GPG is estimated to be £49.5m for 2023/24, the last full financial year for which data is available. This excludes the payroll costs for all Fast Streamers currently employed on centrally managed Fast Stream programmes.
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
I refer the honourable gentleman to the response given to the previous question PQ 8429.
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
I refer the honourable gentleman to my previous response for PQ 14099.
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Government publishes information on the operation of the National Security and Investment Act in the NSIA Annual Report. The most recent report, covering the 2023/24 reporting period, can be found on GOV.UK. Of the 847 notifications reviewed by the Government in this period, 810 (96%) were told within 30 days that no further action would be taken. The other 37 (4%) were called in for further assessment.
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Employment in the public sector was estimated at 6.14 million in December 2024. This is an increase of 50,000 (0.8%) since June 2024.
This trend is due in part to the conversion of some local authority schools (classified in local government) becoming academies (classified in central government), with an estimated 17,000 (2.4%) people in employment converting during this period. Without these conversions, there would be an estimated employment increase of 8,000 (0.4%) in local government between June and December 2024.
Within central government, the NHS is the single biggest contributor to the increase, with employment up 24,000 (1.2%) between June and December 2024.
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
I refer the Honourable Member to the answer of 17 September 2024 (UIN 4672), which sets out the responsibilities of the Propriety and Ethics Directorate.
There are currently 20.47 FTE working on propriety and ethics functions within the directorate. Within that headcount, 2 FTE staff currently work in the Independent Adviser's Secretariat.
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
An internal awayday, staff days and celebrations policy was introduced in September 2023, under the previous administration. The previous administration did not publish this policy externally, and as with many internal staff policies, there are no current plans to publish it.
The policy seeks to provide a framework that delivers benefits of collaborative ways of working whilst prioritising and demonstrating value for money to the taxpayer. This policy is separate from the official hospitality policy.
The policy states that staff must exercise care when spending taxpayers’ money and ensure that value for money can be clearly evidenced. The public rightly expects to see civil servants setting modest standards for all expenditure, especially for internal meetings and events. Budgets holders must demonstrate a clear business justification, value for money and that they have sufficient budget. Approval from the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) is also required in some instances.
All public servants are bound by the Civil Service Code, Management Code and must operate within the guidance of Managing Public Money.
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Cabinet Office records when Sustainable Aviation Fuel is used, and on which flights. The Government uses sustainable aviation fuel wherever possible.
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The funding for the Vetting Transformation Programme (VTP) was provided by United Kingdom Security Vetting (UKSV) customers. Prior to the closure of the VTP, investments were made in digital system enhancements, resulting in increased assurance and improvement in the applicant user journey. Funding not used will be returned to UKSV customers.
In line with the practice followed by successive administrations, the Government does not otherwise comment on security matters.
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
I refer the Rt Hon Member to my answer of 6 March 2025, Official Report, PQ 34453.
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
As under previous administrations, details of official receptions are published in quarterly transparency returns on gov.uk.
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The information you requested can be found from the quarterly transparency publication on Cabinet Office structure which can be found via the following link: Organogram of Staff Roles & Salaries - data.gov.uk
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Secondments into the Civil Service from other sectors are encouraged as a means of bringing in individuals from outside the Civil Service to contribute to the work of Government by sharing critical capabilities and innovative thinking for a set period of time. All departments, functions, and professions have been encouraged to embed secondments as a key part of their resourcing strategies.
The Test, Learn and Grow Programme, will use an inward secondment programme for public service delivery experts working near the frontline to help drive public service reform in their field. The 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 have a specific target for the number of secondments over the course of the programme.
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
This was an official government event organised by officials and special advisors, as has been the case under successive administrations and in line with the relevant guidance. The lectern was loaned by the Labour Party.
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Gifts and hospitality declarations are made in line with guidance in the Ministerial Code.
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
A repair project is underway to preserve the integrity of this Grade 1 listed building. This followed a survey in December 2023 which indicated that work must be completed for safety reasons, with the work commencing in January 2024. Repair of exterior window frames will be undertaken at the same time.
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Any hospitality or gifts received by Ministers in their ministerial capacity is declared in accordance with the Ministerial Code. The Cabinet Office publishes details of ministers’ hospitality and gifts on a monthly basis. Hospitality and gifts received by ministers in a non-ministerial capacity are published on the parliamentary registers in line with the parliamentary codes of conduct.
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Any hospitality or gifts received by Ministers in their ministerial capacity is declared in accordance with the Ministerial Code. The Cabinet Office publishes details of ministers’ hospitality and gifts on a monthly basis. Hospitality and gifts received by ministers in a non-ministerial capacity are published on the parliamentary registers in line with the parliamentary codes of conduct.
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Discussions on a data protection agreement between the Cabinet Office and the Labour Party are in progress.
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)