Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the education system in circumstances where a national emergency alert is required to advise members of the public not to light fires during periods of hot and dry weather.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security) (Jointly with the Cabinet Office)
Young people have consistently expressed a strong desire for more education on climate change, so they are prepared for life and work in a changing world. Teachers have also highlighted previously that limited depth on environmental topics in the national curriculum has made it difficult to develop effective provision in this area.
The independent Curriculum and Assessment Review recommended earlier sequencing and updated environmental content within the subjects of citizenship, geography, science, and design and technology. The Secretary of State is considering the recommendations of the Review, and we expect there will be a public consultation on the proposals for the curriculum and assessment system in due course.
The department takes periods of hot weather and heatwaves seriously and has published a climate risk assessment and continues to support Responsible Bodies and schools to provide education in a safe environment. The department has published guidance on hot weather available via the Education Hub on www.gov.uk.
In addition to the recent guidance published by the Department for Education, on Friday 14 August, millions of people were sent wildfire emergency phone alerts warning against any activity that could start a fire. The Emergency Alerts system is used to amplify and complement other methods of warning and informing the public in emergency situations. In this case, we took the decision to use the system after a direct request from fire and rescue services on the front line of the fight against wildfires.
The Government furthermore released a press notice reminding the public not to light fires and to take litter home, and took action to implement a temporary ban on disposable barbecues. Various public information campaigns from the Fire and Rescue Services (national and local) include fire safety advice for the public.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the cost to the public purse was of planning, executing and reviewing the recent Emergency Alert regarding wildfires by department, mobile network operator and third-party contractors.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security) (Jointly with the Cabinet Office)
The planning and activation of the Emergency Alert capability on 14 August was issued at no cost to the taxpayer.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether government departments are revising their own policies with reference to the model Policy and Guidance: Supporting Trans and Non-binary Employees issued on 22 May 2026.
Answered by Mark Ferguson - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Departments are undertaking consultation with relevant stakeholders to revise their own policies.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what information her Department holds on the number of people who were employed in the automotive manufacturing sector in each month since January 2026.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with HM Treasury)
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
A response to the Hon lady Parliamentary Question of 8th September is attached.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 25 June 2026 to Question 10289 on Equality: Gender and Intersex and to the Written Answer of 14 July 2026 to Question HL1591 on Civil Service: Gender Recognition, whether the decision not to place the model Policy and Guidance: Supporting Trans and Non-binary Employees in the Library of the House was made on the basis of (a) a policy that internal HR guidance is not published externally or (b) section 36 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
Answered by Mark Ferguson - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
New model Gender Reassignment guidance has been issued to Civil Service departments for them to use as a template for their own departmental guidance. Internal HR policies and guidance are not published externally.
The Cabinet Office also believes disclosure of the model Policy and Guidance: Supporting Trans and Non-binary Employees would also contravene Section 36(2)(b)(i), (ii), and (c) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what maintenance and licensing fees are paid to mobile network operators and technical providers for the infrastructure powering the Emergency Alert system.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security) (Jointly with the Cabinet Office)
The Cabinet Office is committed to delivering value for money to the public. There is no additional or marginal cost of issuing a nationwide Emergency Alert; the most recent activation of the Emergency Alert capability on 14 August was issued at no cost to the taxpayer.
The government contracts with Mobile Network Operators to enable provision of the capability 24/7 nationwide, allowing for individual Alerts to be broadcast at no cost.
The Emergency Alerts system remains ready for activation at short notice around the clock, in response to a range of emergencies.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Answer of 14 July 2026 to Question HL1591, whether it is his Department's policy that exemptions under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 determine what information may be provided in answer to parliamentary questions.
Answered by Mark Ferguson - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
In line with the Ministerial Code, Ministers should be as open as possible with Parliament, refusing to provide information only when disclosure would not be in the public interest which should be decided in accordance with the relevant statutes and the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 17 July 2026 to Question 17031 on Government Departments: Aviation, how many of the 32 occasions on which an aircraft was commissioned were for Ministers in each Government department.
Answered by Mark Ferguson - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Of the 32 occasions on which aircraft were commissioned, 22 were for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, 8 for the Cabinet Office, one for the Home Office, and one for HM Treasury. All aircraft commissioned were for Ministers in accordance with the Ministerial Code.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps she is taking to hold Civil Service Pension Scheme administrators accountable for the time taken to respond to urgent queries from scheme members and parliamentary offices.
Answered by Sally Jameson - Parliamentary Secretary and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Cabinet Office awarded the contract to administer the Civil Service Pension Scheme to Capita in November 2023 under the previous government. The delays and unacceptable standard of communication facing scheme members and parliamentary offices are entirely unsupportable. This Government has taken robust action to enforce contractual accountability and rectify service delivery.
While Capita committed to a complete return to standard contractual service levels by the end of June 2026, they have failed to meet this critical milestone. In response, the Government has withheld £9.9 million in contract payments for undelivered milestones and is recovering all public sector surge team costs directly from Capita. To enforce strict compliance, independent auditors are conducting a comprehensive technical systems review, and an on-the-ground Remedial Adviser has been appointed at Capita’s expense. The contract includes an enhanced penalty architecture featuring automatic financial deductions linked directly to missed service metrics, including correspondence wait times.
To directly address the backlog of unacknowledged correspondence, a dedicated 140-person government support team was deployed to stabilise operations, successfully clearing the 15,000 inherited unread emails. These resources will remain in place while the Government conducts an intensive assessment of Capita's operational data post-June to ensure long-term stability. To safeguard urgent casework from parliamentary offices, the Cabinet Office has instituted dedicated, daily virtual surgeries for Members of Parliament and their staff to provide direct intervention and updates on priority cases.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps she is taking to hold the Civil Service Pension Scheme administrators accountable for failures to respond to urgent queries from scheme members and parliamentary offices.
Answered by Sally Jameson - Parliamentary Secretary and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Cabinet Office awarded the contract to administer the Civil Service Pension Scheme to Capita in November 2023 under the previous government. The delays and unacceptable standard of communication facing scheme members and parliamentary offices are entirely unsupportable. This Government has taken robust action to enforce contractual accountability and rectify service delivery.
While Capita committed to a complete return to standard contractual service levels by the end of June 2026, they have failed to meet this critical milestone. In response, the Government has withheld £9.9 million in contract payments for undelivered milestones and is recovering all public sector surge team costs directly from Capita. To enforce strict compliance, independent auditors are conducting a comprehensive technical systems review, and an on-the-ground Remedial Adviser has been appointed at Capita’s expense. The contract includes an enhanced penalty architecture featuring automatic financial deductions linked directly to missed service metrics, including correspondence wait times.
To directly address the backlog of unacknowledged correspondence, a dedicated 140-person government support team was deployed to stabilise operations, successfully clearing the 15,000 inherited unread emails. These resources will remain in place while the Government conducts an intensive assessment of Capita's operational data post-June to ensure long-term stability. To safeguard urgent casework from parliamentary offices, the Cabinet Office has instituted dedicated, daily virtual surgeries for Members of Parliament and their staff to provide direct intervention and updates on priority cases.