Government Departments: Facilities Agreements

(asked on 18th March 2026) - View Source

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether any changes are being made to the requirements of Whitehall departments and their agencies to publish trade union facility time information in their annual report and accounts, and the broader collection of such data by departments.


Answered by
Satvir Kaur Portrait
Satvir Kaur
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
This question was answered on 25th March 2026

The current published HMT financial reporting manual (FReM) requires organisations in scope of FReM to report facility time data in their annual accounts. However, the FReM requirement is linked to the Trade Union (Facility Time Publication Requirements) Regulations 2017. These regulations were repealed on 18 February 2026, when the relevant provisions of the Employment Rights Act 2025 came into force.

Therefore, Whitehall departments and agencies do not need to report facility time in their accounts published following the repeal.

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