Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 13 January 2025 to Question 21391 on Cabinet Office: Christmas, if he will publish the guidance on away days, staff days and celebrations.

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.