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Written Question
Government Departments: Communication
Thursday 28th March 2024

Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he is taking steps to (a) ensure consistency in the accessibility of departmental communications and (b) support the use of (i) sign language videos, (ii) audio recordings and (iii) other accessible formats in such communications across Departments.

Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The Cabinet Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.


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
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 whether there is a cap on the combined total for ministerial salaries in any financial year.

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
Marine Protected Areas: Territorial Waters
Thursday 28th March 2024

Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of classifying all territorial waters as Marine Protected Areas.

Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The UK has signed up to the Kunming Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework to protect at least 30% of the global ocean by 2030 (30by30 target). Domestically, we have designated a comprehensive network of MPAs covering 40% of English waters, based on recommendations from our scientific advisors (Natural England and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee). Our priority is to ensure all sites are managed appropriately to meet our statutory MPA target.


Written Question
Shoplifting
Thursday 28th March 2024

Asked by: Lord Swire (Conservative - Life peer)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with Retailers Against Crime on the rise in organised shoplifting.

Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

The Government recognises the significant impact shoplifting and violence towards shopworkers has on businesses, communities, and consumers, as well as the loss to the economy. The Government has been clear we expect a zero-tolerance approach to retail crime and shoplifting.

It’s difficult to produce reliable estimates of the cost of shoplifting. Many incidents do not come to the attention of the police, so data on the number of shoplifting crimes recorded by them only provide a partial picture. While official statistics from the Commercial Victimisation Survey (CVS) provide reliable estimates of the prevalence and frequency of shoplifting, the CVS no longer collects data the number of shoplifting offences or the overall cost of these crimes. When the CVS has collected this information in the past, retailers found it difficult to recall precise numbers of crimes they experienced, and the associated costs. As a result, these estimates we judged to be insufficiently reliable.

Home Office ministers have not met Retail Against Crime. The National Retail Crime Steering Group (NRCSG), which the Minister for Crime, Policing and Fire, the Rt Hon Chris Philp, co-chairs alongside the British Retail Consortium, ensures the response to retail crime is as robust as it can be. The NRCSG meets quarterly and comprises senior representatives from policing, the retail sector, retail trade associations, security providers and Government departments.

At this forum, the Retail Crime Action Plan is a standing agenda item. At the last NRCSG, policing colleagues updated me on the implementation of the plan. Statistics published by the National Police Chiefs’ Council show early signs of progress. A dip-sample of data from 31 police forces of over 1,500 crimes show police attended 60% of incidents reported by retailers where violence had been used, with 16% of forces sampled reporting 100% attendance to this type of incident.

The Government is supporting Pegasus, a unique private-public partnership, which involves retailers providing data, intelligence and evidence to Opal, the national police intelligence unit on organised acquisitive crime, to develop a better strategic picture and help forces crack down on serious offenders.

The Home Office will continue to work with members of the NRCSG, including policing and retailers to tackle shoplifting, including organised, as well as other crime experienced within retail settings through our wider work.


Written Question
Prisons: Travellers
Thursday 28th March 2024

Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department has made an assessment of the adequacy of the treatment of (a) Romani, (b) Roma and (c) Irish Traveller people in the prison estate.

Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

His Majesty’s Prison & Probation Service (HMPPS) pursues an evidence-based approach to improving treatment and outcomes for prisoners, people on probation and children in our care from Romani, Roma, and Traveller Communities.

The HMPPS Gypsy, Roma and Traveller Strategy, first produced in May 2023, was drawn up, and continues to be developed, in consultation with Third Sector partners. It is informed by a range of internal and external reports and data. The strategy is implemented via a comprehensive action plan, which targets key areas for development, including data improvement, family interactions and health inequalities.

Some specific examples of activity include the further expansion of Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller (GRT) Forums in prisons. Forums are being regularly held in several establishments across the prison estate, providing a supportive platform for communications and helping to respond to local needs. Staff awareness continues to be improved, with Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller specific information embedded into various guides across the organisation, improving the capability of staff to respond to individuals’ needs.


Written Question
Economic Growth
Thursday 28th March 2024

Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government, following reports that the economy returned to growth in January after entering a recession in the second half of 2023, what steps they are taking to (1) support, and (2) sustain positive momentum in, sectors of the economy which have shown signs of growth in 2024.

Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

The government is pursuing an ambitious policy agenda to increase growth and productivity across the economy. This includes making full expensing permanent, a tax cut to companies of over £10 billion a year, to ensure the UK has one of the most generous capital allowances regimes in the world and backing the UK’s priority growth sectors. At Spring Budget 2024, the government set out the next steps in delivering a £4.5 billion funding package for strategic manufacturing sectors over the five years to 2030 and announced over £1 billion of new tax reliefs for creative industries.

The IMF forecasts that the UK will have the third fastest cumulative growth in the G7 over the 2024-2028 period and the OBR expects that policies announced in the previous three fiscal events will increase the size of the economy by 0.7% by 2028-29.


Written Question
White Fish: Monitoring
Thursday 28th March 2024

Asked by: Daniel Zeichner (Labour - Cambridge)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many pollack otolith bones were analysed by his Department in International Centre for the Exploration of the Seas area (a) VI and (b) VII in 2021.

Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Data is provided only for International Centre for the Exploration of the Seas Area VII. My department has not analysed pollack otolith bones from Area VI.

In 2021, 818 otolith bones were analysed by Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science.


Written Question
Windsor Framework (Implementation) Regulations 2024
Thursday 28th March 2024

Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)

Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government which department will answer questions on matters relating to the Windsor Framework (Implementation) Regulations 2024.

Answered by Lord Caine - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

Consistent with responsibility for the Windsor Framework, the Cabinet Office is responsible for the Windsor Framework (Implementation) Regulations 2024 overall. Any matters relating to the constitutional position of Northern Ireland or devolution would be for the Northern Ireland Office to answer.