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Written Question
Minsiters: Pay
Thursday 28th March 2024

Asked by: Baroness Royall of Blaisdon (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many times since 2015 ministers have asked to forego a ministerial salary, either full or in part; and who were those ministers.

Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

The number of ministerial salaries available to the government at any one time is 109. This is a statutory limit governed by the Ministerial and Other Salaries Act 1975.

It is routinely the case that some ministers will be asked to serve in an unpaid capacity given the statutory limitations on the number of available salaries. A list of ministers who are currently serving in an unpaid capacity are as follows:

  • Richard Holden MP, Minister of State (Minister without Portfolio) in the Cabinet Office (receives a salary from the Conservative Party)

  • The Rt Hon John Glen MP, Minister of State and Paymaster General, Cabinet Office

  • The Lord Johnson of Lainston CBE, Minister of State at the Department for Business and Trade.

  • The Baroness Neville-Rolfe DBE CMG, Minister of State at the Cabinet Office.

  • The Earl of Minto, Minister of State at the Ministry of Defence.

  • The Rt Hon. the Earl Howe, Minister of State and Deputy Leader of the House of Lords.

  • The Rt Hon. the Lord Benyon, Minister of State, jointly at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

  • The Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minister of State at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

  • Andrew Griffith MP, Minister of State at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.

  • The Baroness Barran MBE, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Education and Government Equalities Spokesperson in the Lords.

  • The Lord Douglas-Miller OBE, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

  • The Lord Markham CBE, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department of Health and Social Care.

  • The Lord Bellamy KC, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Ministry of Justice

  • The Viscount Camrose, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.

  • The Lord Offord of Garvel CVO, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Business and Trade.

  • The Lord Cameron of Lochiel, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Scotland Office.

  • The Lord Roborough, Lord in Waiting (Government Whip)

The list of all government ministers on GOV.UK is updated following each reshuffle. The current government list is on gov.uk at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/ministers.

It would be a significant undertaking to calculate the exact number of unpaid ministers since 2015, especially given some ministers have dual roles (where they are paid in one role but not in another) such as if they hold more than one ministerial position. We can estimate however that over the last decade, this number has been approximately 10-20 at any given time.

It is ultimately for the Prime Minister to decide how to organise the executive and which ministers are paid a salary. While the Cabinet Office provides advice to the Prime Minister on the number of salaries available, the department does not decide the allocation of salaries.


Ministers are continuing to voluntarily waive part of their salaries, foregoing any pay increase to their Ministerial salaries. This means ministers in the Commons’ salaries have not increased since 2010; and ministers in the House of Lords have received frozen salaries since 2019. Further information is published on GOV.UK at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ministerial-salary-data.


Written Question
Ministers: Pay
Thursday 28th March 2024

Asked by: Baroness Royall of Blaisdon (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many times since 2015 ministers have been asked to forego a ministerial salary; and what were the reasons for those requests.

Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

The number of ministerial salaries available to the government at any one time is 109. This is a statutory limit governed by the Ministerial and Other Salaries Act 1975.

It is routinely the case that some ministers will be asked to serve in an unpaid capacity given the statutory limitations on the number of available salaries. A list of ministers who are currently serving in an unpaid capacity are as follows:

  • Richard Holden MP, Minister of State (Minister without Portfolio) in the Cabinet Office (receives a salary from the Conservative Party)

  • The Rt Hon John Glen MP, Minister of State and Paymaster General, Cabinet Office

  • The Lord Johnson of Lainston CBE, Minister of State at the Department for Business and Trade.

  • The Baroness Neville-Rolfe DBE CMG, Minister of State at the Cabinet Office.

  • The Earl of Minto, Minister of State at the Ministry of Defence.

  • The Rt Hon. the Earl Howe, Minister of State and Deputy Leader of the House of Lords.

  • The Rt Hon. the Lord Benyon, Minister of State, jointly at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

  • The Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minister of State at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

  • Andrew Griffith MP, Minister of State at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.

  • The Baroness Barran MBE, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Education and Government Equalities Spokesperson in the Lords.

  • The Lord Douglas-Miller OBE, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

  • The Lord Markham CBE, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department of Health and Social Care.

  • The Lord Bellamy KC, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Ministry of Justice

  • The Viscount Camrose, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.

  • The Lord Offord of Garvel CVO, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Business and Trade.

  • The Lord Cameron of Lochiel, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Scotland Office.

  • The Lord Roborough, Lord in Waiting (Government Whip)

The list of all government ministers on GOV.UK is updated following each reshuffle. The current government list is on gov.uk at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/ministers.

It would be a significant undertaking to calculate the exact number of unpaid ministers since 2015, especially given some ministers have dual roles (where they are paid in one role but not in another) such as if they hold more than one ministerial position. We can estimate however that over the last decade, this number has been approximately 10-20 at any given time.

It is ultimately for the Prime Minister to decide how to organise the executive and which ministers are paid a salary. While the Cabinet Office provides advice to the Prime Minister on the number of salaries available, the department does not decide the allocation of salaries.


Ministers are continuing to voluntarily waive part of their salaries, foregoing any pay increase to their Ministerial salaries. This means ministers in the Commons’ salaries have not increased since 2010; and ministers in the House of Lords have received frozen salaries since 2019. Further information is published on GOV.UK at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ministerial-salary-data.


Written Question
Ministers: Pay
Thursday 28th March 2024

Asked by: Baroness Royall of Blaisdon (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many times since 2015 a minister has foregone a ministerial salary at the request of the Cabinet Office.

Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

The number of ministerial salaries available to the government at any one time is 109. This is a statutory limit governed by the Ministerial and Other Salaries Act 1975.

It is routinely the case that some ministers will be asked to serve in an unpaid capacity given the statutory limitations on the number of available salaries. A list of ministers who are currently serving in an unpaid capacity are as follows:

  • Richard Holden MP, Minister of State (Minister without Portfolio) in the Cabinet Office (receives a salary from the Conservative Party)

  • The Rt Hon John Glen MP, Minister of State and Paymaster General, Cabinet Office

  • The Lord Johnson of Lainston CBE, Minister of State at the Department for Business and Trade.

  • The Baroness Neville-Rolfe DBE CMG, Minister of State at the Cabinet Office.

  • The Earl of Minto, Minister of State at the Ministry of Defence.

  • The Rt Hon. the Earl Howe, Minister of State and Deputy Leader of the House of Lords.

  • The Rt Hon. the Lord Benyon, Minister of State, jointly at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

  • The Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minister of State at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

  • Andrew Griffith MP, Minister of State at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.

  • The Baroness Barran MBE, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Education and Government Equalities Spokesperson in the Lords.

  • The Lord Douglas-Miller OBE, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

  • The Lord Markham CBE, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department of Health and Social Care.

  • The Lord Bellamy KC, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Ministry of Justice

  • The Viscount Camrose, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.

  • The Lord Offord of Garvel CVO, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Business and Trade.

  • The Lord Cameron of Lochiel, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Scotland Office.

  • The Lord Roborough, Lord in Waiting (Government Whip)

The list of all government ministers on GOV.UK is updated following each reshuffle. The current government list is on gov.uk at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/ministers.

It would be a significant undertaking to calculate the exact number of unpaid ministers since 2015, especially given some ministers have dual roles (where they are paid in one role but not in another) such as if they hold more than one ministerial position. We can estimate however that over the last decade, this number has been approximately 10-20 at any given time.

It is ultimately for the Prime Minister to decide how to organise the executive and which ministers are paid a salary. While the Cabinet Office provides advice to the Prime Minister on the number of salaries available, the department does not decide the allocation of salaries.


Ministers are continuing to voluntarily waive part of their salaries, foregoing any pay increase to their Ministerial salaries. This means ministers in the Commons’ salaries have not increased since 2010; and ministers in the House of Lords have received frozen salaries since 2019. Further information is published on GOV.UK at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ministerial-salary-data.


Written Question
Rare Diseases: Health Services
Thursday 28th March 2024

Asked by: Lord Hay of Ballyore (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure equitable access to specialised care and support for patients with rare diseases across England.

Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

In January 2021, the Government published the UK Rare Diseases Framework, providing a national vision for how to improve the lives of those living with rare diseases. The framework lists four priorities, collaboratively developed with the rare disease community, which are: helping patients get a final diagnosis faster; increasing awareness of rare diseases among healthcare professionals; better coordination of care; and improving access to specialist care, treatment, and drugs. The principles of the UK Rare Diseases Framework commit the four nations to ensuring that any impacts on health inequalities are considered when developing action plans.

Each year since 2021 we have published an England Rare Diseases Action Plan, with health equity highlighted as a focus area. On 29 February 2024 we published the third England Rare Diseases Action Plan, which is working to address these priorities. Several actions have been committed to in this year and previous year’s action plans, that relate to equitable access to specialised care and support for patients with rare diseases.


Written Question
Haemochromatosis: Research
Thursday 28th March 2024

Asked by: Lord Hay of Ballyore (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support research and development of treatments for patients with haemochromatosis.

Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The National Institute for Health and Care Research is currently directly funding one ongoing study on haemochromatosis, and over the last five years, has funded infrastructure to support seven others.


Written Question
Public Libraries: Finance
Thursday 28th March 2024

Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent steps her Department has taken to help support libraries that have had a reduction in funding from local authorities.

Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Local authorities in England have a statutory duty to provide a comprehensive and efficient library service which meets local needs. It is for each local authority to consider how best to deliver this.

His Majesty’s Government has provided an additional £600 million on top of the £64 billion Local Government Finance Settlement for 2024-25 — an increase of 7.5% in cash terms. This uplift will help to reduce pressure on councils’ budgets, and protect services including public libraries.

In addition, DCMS announced on 25 March that 43 library services in England would benefit from Round 3 of the Libraries Improvement Fund which is allocating £10.5 million across this financial year and next. The Fund has allocated £20.5 million since 2021 to public library services across England to support them to upgrade their buildings and improve digital infrastructure so that they are better placed to respond to the changing ways people want to use them.


Written Question
Public Libraries: Finance
Thursday 28th March 2024

Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to ensure that libraries are receiving adequate funding from local authorities.

Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Local authorities in England have a statutory duty to provide a comprehensive and efficient library service which meets local needs. It is for each local authority to consider how best to deliver this.

His Majesty’s Government has provided an additional £600 million on top of the £64 billion Local Government Finance Settlement for 2024-25 — an increase of 7.5% in cash terms. This uplift will help to reduce pressure on councils’ budgets, and protect services including public libraries.

In addition, DCMS announced on 25 March that 43 library services in England would benefit from Round 3 of the Libraries Improvement Fund which is allocating £10.5 million across this financial year and next. The Fund has allocated £20.5 million since 2021 to public library services across England to support them to upgrade their buildings and improve digital infrastructure so that they are better placed to respond to the changing ways people want to use them.


Written Question
Cultural Heritage: Fees and Charges
Thursday 28th March 2024

Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will take steps to ensure that cost is not a barrier to people accessing heritage visitor attractions in their area.

Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Many heritage visitor attractions are free to visit or offer schemes to support access, and DCMS-sponsored museums are free to enter for people of any age. The vast majority of the 400 sites in the National Heritage Collection, which is managed by English Heritage Trust on behalf of HM Government, are also free to enter. Where the charity does need to charge visitors an entry fee to support its work, it works to increase engagement with under-represented groups, so that everyone has the opportunity to connect with our shared heritage. English Heritage is also one of the largest providers of free school visits in the UK.

The National Lottery also runs ‘National Lottery Open Week’ which provides free admission for holders of a lottery ticket or scratch card at venues across the UK, including English Heritage Trust, Historic Royal Palaces, and National Trust properties.


Written Question
Museums and Galleries
Thursday 28th March 2024

Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to ensure that important items from national collections are shared with museums and galleries around the country.

Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Museums with national collections have a long history of loaning objects from their collection and touring exhibitions across the country. The 15 museums and museum groups directly sponsored by DCMS report annually on their UK loans and regional engagement, encouraging strategic dialogue between national collections to lend and foster collaborations, with data from 2022/23 showing that over 1,100 UK venues received loans. Non-national museums are also supported to borrow, through public funding, via Arts Council England, to organisations like the Touring Exhibition Group.


Written Question
Parents
Thursday 28th March 2024

Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of parenting programmes on (a) levels of expenditure associated with (i) child and adult mental health and (ii) youth anti-social behaviour and (b) the proportion of parents able to return to the workplace as a result of a reduction in school refusal rates.

Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The department is clear that parents should do everything they can to ensure that their child is in school every day. Regular school attendance is vital for children’s attainment, mental wellbeing and long-term development. It is crucial that the department has a system of support in place to ensure every child attends school every day, ready to learn and thrive.

The government’s ‘Working Together to Improve School Attendance’ guidance, which will become statutory ahead of the next school year, includes a core set of functions that local authority attendance support staff, whether titled education welfare officers, attendance officers or early help practitioners, are expected to provide free of charge to all schools and funded centrally through the Central Schools Service Block and Supporting Families Grant. Some early adopters have reported benefits from integrating attendance into other services, and providing better, more joined up whole family support, that has the potential to reduce demand for higher cost crisis services over time.

The department’s attendance mentors pilot sees mentors supporting a group of persistently absent pupils and their families, on a one-to-one basis, to help identify and address their barriers to education. The department has had positive feedback from parents, pupils and schools who have engaged with the attendance mentors programme and have started to see some promising impact data. The department has recently announced an additional investment of £15 million to expand mentoring into ten new areas over the next three years.

The government’s Supporting Families programme continues to work with families where attendance issues are a significant concern. ‘Getting a good education’ is a headline indicator in the national Supporting Families Outcomes Framework, which requires sustained good attendance for all children in the family, across two consecutive school terms. It is important that those identifying attendance issues begin to explore and identify any issues which may be behind the attendance problems, including any needs and circumstances in the wider family as part of Early Help Assessment processes.

The department’s reforms are starting to make a difference. There were 440,000 fewer pupils persistently absent or not attending in 2022/23 than in the year before. Overall absence during the 2023/24 autumn term was 6.8%, down from 7.5% in the 2022/23 autumn term.

Alongside this, the department is currently considering options for widening access to parenting support through family hubs and is undertaking assessments of the effectiveness and value for money of evidence-based parenting programmes, as well as other forms of support for parents. As part of this work to inform future fiscal events, the department will consider the downstream economic impacts of parenting programmes.