Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what information his Department holds on the number of people who were employed in the automotive manufacturing sector in each month since June 2025 up to and including the most recent month for which figures are available.
Answered by Josh Simons - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 12th January is attached.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 2 September 2025 to WPQ 69365, if he will publish a list of the changes made between the previous published version of the framework and the new version published on 16 June 2025.
Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
We do not routinely publish the list of changes made to the document, as the most up to date version is the one we are measuring the performance of the function against.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the net zero targets are for (a) their Department and (b) its arm’s-length bodies; and whether guidance has been issued on adopting net zero targets earlier than 2050.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Net Zero target in the Climate Change Act 2008, is a target for the whole of the UK, not individual departments or arms-length bodies.
Greening Government Commitments are the central framework setting out the actions UK government departments and their agencies will take to reduce their impacts on the environment, including setting targets to reduce emissions, during the framework period.
Defra are reviewing the Greening Government Commitments to ensure that they remain aligned with government priorities.
The Cabinet Office Annual Report and Accounts (24/25) includes a Sustainability Report which details all relevant metrics
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether ice cream vans parked on red lines on Westminster Bridge are monitored by the Government Secure Zone control room.
Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare
The Government can confirm that vehicles are monitored within the Government Secure Zone. However, the Government does not comment in detail on security arrangements within the Government Secure Zone.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what guidance or advice the National Cyber Security Centre has given to Government Departments regarding the maintenance, purchase or leasing of (a) internal combustion engine based vehicles and (b) electric and hybrid vehicles made in China.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Government does not routinely publish details of operational security matters or specific threats. The Cabinet Office works closely with agencies such as the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), alongside other government departments, to fully understand and address cyber vulnerabilities, proportional to the perceived threat, and support departments. This collaborative effort covers all connected vehicles, including those powered by internal combustion engines, as well as electric and hybrid models.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many pubs in England have closed in each month since 4 July 2024, broken down by (a) tied pubs, (b) managed houses and (c) freehold or free-of-tie pubs.
Answered by Josh Simons - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of the 2nd December is attached.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what information his Department holds on the number of people who were employed in the automotive manufacturing sector in each month since July 2024 up to and including the most recent month for which figures are available.
Answered by Josh Simons - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of the 2nd of December is attached.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps his Department is taking to strengthen supply chain resilience by supporting the use of British natural stone in public building projects.
Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
Government Property Agency Capital projects will use tools such as Whole Life Carbon Assessments (WLCA) to analyse the cost and carbon impact of materials and products used during construction. This would favour local materials that naturally have a lower carbon footprint. The GPA would also factor in maintenance and replacement considerations on the choice and sourcing of material.
The Government Property Agency aims to utilise and support British businesses throughout our supply chain and in line with the principles of the Procurement Act 2023, which aims to support smaller local businesses and embeds social value into our contract delivery model.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 28 March 2024 to Question 39576 on Prime Minister: Aviation, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of increasing the use of Sustainable Aviation Fuel for the Prime Minster's flights; and whether he plans to do so.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
Prime Ministerial flights are carbon offset where that is possible.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much (a) their Department and (b) its arm’s length bodies have spent on (i) installing electric vehicle charging facilities and (ii) purchasing electric vehicles since 4 July 2024; and what estimate their Department has made of the difference in capital cost between (A) the electric vehicles purchased by their Department and (B) comparable (1) petrol and (2) diesel models.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Department and its arm’s length bodies have not incurred any expenditure on the installation of electric vehicle charging facilities since 4th July 2024.
Since 4th July 2024, the Department and its arm’s length bodies have spent £221,472.32 on the purchase of electric vehicles. These purchases were made for the Government Car Service (GCS) Ministerial fleet. The GCS services Ministers from across departments.
The Department has not made an estimate of the difference in capital cost between the electric vehicles purchased and comparable petrol or diesel models.