Cabinet Office

I refer the Hon Member to the answer of 27 October 2025, Official Report, PQ 85501.

Access to the Wazoku Platform for One Big Thing 2024 was provided through an existing contract between Wazoku and the Ministry of Defence (MoD). MoD had access to unlimited external licences, which they made available to the Cabinet Office for use for One Big Thing.

The evaluation was done internally in the Cabinet Office by the Joint Data Analysis Centre.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of the 24th November is attached.

The appointment of the interim DG, Propriety and Constitution in August was a temporary promotion. A full recruitment campaign will be launched in the new year.

There is no eligibility for any form of salary sacrifice in relation to additional voluntary contributions to pensions for (a) Commons Ministers, (b) Lords Ministers, or (c) special advisers.

The Cabinet Office was found to have no nonconformities and no required actions. Currently, there are no plans to publish ISO14001:2015 audit results as they contain sensitive information for the building management.

The Cabinet Office provides guidance to departments on the subject of facility time for trade union learning representatives within its facility time framework. This guidance simply outlines the statutory rights of these representatives.

There is an established system in place for the declaration and management of special advisers' interests. As has been the case under successive administrations, interests deemed relevant for publication for special advisers in No10 and the Cabinet Office are published on an annual basis by the Cabinet Office.

The public-sector trade union facility time data for the period 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025 was published on 27 November 2025.

As committed in the Declaration on Government Reform and in order to better serve the public, the government must ensure it draws on the talent of people from the widest possible range of geographical, social and career backgrounds. We will make sure that citizens who have experienced disadvantages in their early lives are able to flourish in public service.

According to the Civil Service People Survey 2024, 33% of civil servants responding to the survey come from a working class background. Specifically, based on the NS-SEC index for parental occupation, 30% of respondents to the survey were from a routine background and 3% from a never worked one. To note that these figures are based on the 60% of civil servants that completed the survey in 2024.

The original contract for the Provision of Support and Maintenance for the Central Digital Platform was awarded following a competitive tender process conducted under the Digital Outcomes and Specialists (DOS) 6 Framework. The Voluntary Ex Ante Transparency (VEAT) notice was published to give notice of our intention to vary the contract. There was a clerical error when publishing the VEAT which inadvertently led to the notice advising that the change was in response to extreme urgency. This was not the case and the decision was made purely on the grounds of value for money.

No subcontractor resources which are deployed under the contract are located in or have supply-chain links to jurisdictions designated by the National Cyber Security Centre as high-risk for data-security purposes.

The original contract for the Provision of Support and Maintenance for the Central Digital Platform was awarded following a competitive tender process conducted under the Digital Outcomes and Specialists (DOS) 6 Framework. The Voluntary Ex Ante Transparency (VEAT) notice was published to give notice of our intention to vary the contract. There was a clerical error when publishing the VEAT which inadvertently led to the notice advising that the change was in response to extreme urgency. This was not the case and the decision was made purely on the grounds of value for money.

No subcontractor resources which are deployed under the contract are located in or have supply-chain links to jurisdictions designated by the National Cyber Security Centre as high-risk for data-security purposes.

Further to the Competition and Markets Authority findings, the Crown Commercial Service, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and the Cabinet Office are exploring measures to strengthen value for money and promote supplier diversification.

Procurement guidance is kept under regular review, and we will consider issuing further guidance as needed to support value for money.

The impartial IGR Secretariat intends to publish their 2024-25 Annual Report in the spring.

The specific measure we use to determine socio-economic background of an applicant for the Summer Internship Programme is the occupation of the ‘main household earner’ when the applicant was 14 years old. This is in line with the guidance from the ONS and Social Mobility Commission.

The specific measure we use to determine socio-economic background of an applicant for the Summer Internship Programme is the occupation of the ‘main household earner’ when the applicant was 14 years old. This is in line with the guidance from the ONS and Social Mobility Commission.

The GPA procured this service on behalf of the occupying tenant, who has a requirement for staff to hold high security clearance. This cost is fully recovered from the occupying tenant, and is not funded by GPA or Cabinet Office budgets.

Yes, the Cabinet Office holds a central list of Permanent Secretaries leavers who have received compensation payment since 4 July 2024.

Payments are published in departmental Annual Reports and Accounts for the financial years in which they were made.

The existing Cabinet Office facility time framework, implemented under the previous administration and unchanged, does not require departments to inform the Cabinet Office if they permit paid time off to undertake activities, although this does require the agreement of their Secretary of State or Chief Executive. Departments do not need Cabinet Office approval to amend their own policies on the use of facility time.

Information on the number of FTE civil servants by region is published annually as part of Civil Service Statistics. This information can be found at Table 10 of each of the annual publications data tables available at the link below.

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/civil-service-statistics#annual-statistics

I refer the Hon Member to the answer of 10 October 2025, Official Report, PQ 74211.

There are no plans to amend or update the Lieutenancies Act 1997.

The Government announced Community Help Partnerships (CHPs) at the Spending Review. Since then, we have been working closely with a wide range of stakeholders—including people with lived experience, the voluntary sector, and central and local government—to design a programme of preventative support for adults experiencing disadvantage.

This will build on learning from the Changing Futures’ crisis-focused programme. CHPs will go further in addressing systemic barriers to allow local services to provide better integrated, earlier preventative support. The Cabinet Office is working closely with MHCLG to coordinate the two programmes.

We are continuing to explore how to strengthen alignment with wider place-based public sector reform. Further details will be announced in due course.

The Government announced Community Help Partnerships (CHPs) at the Spending Review. Since then, we have been working closely with a wide range of stakeholders—including people with lived experience, the voluntary sector, and central and local government—to design a programme of preventative support for adults experiencing disadvantage.

This will build on learning from the Changing Futures’ crisis-focused programme. CHPs will go further in addressing systemic barriers to allow local services to provide better integrated, earlier preventative support. The Cabinet Office is working closely with MHCLG to coordinate the two programmes.

We are continuing to explore how to strengthen alignment with wider place-based public sector reform. Further details will be announced in due course.

The Government announced Community Help Partnerships (CHPs) at the Spending Review. Since then, we have been working closely with a wide range of stakeholders—including people with lived experience, the voluntary sector, and central and local government—to design a programme of preventative support for adults experiencing disadvantage.

This will build on learning from the Changing Futures’ crisis-focused programme. CHPs will go further in addressing systemic barriers to allow local services to provide better integrated, earlier preventative support. The Cabinet Office is working closely with MHCLG to coordinate the two programmes.

We are continuing to explore how to strengthen alignment with wider place-based public sector reform. Further details will be announced in due course.

I refer the Rt Hon Member to my answer on 21 November 2025 (PQ 91378).

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question's of 21st November is attached.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question's of 21st November is attached.

Guidance on Making Direct Ministerial Appointments was published on gov.uk on 30 October 2025. Section 21 of this guidance states “For transparency purposes, all Direct Ministerial Appointments should be announced publicly, along with their Terms of Reference. This should generally be done at the time at which the appointment is made and include information such as the time commitment expected of the role, expected end date of the appointment and remuneration details, where such is incurred.”

All ministers who are eligible for a severance payment are required to sign a waiver agreeing to forgo their entitlement to such a payment if, on leaving office, they have served in government for less than six months or if they leave as a result of a serious breach of the Ministerial Code. Through the waiver, ministers also commit to repaying their severance payment in the event that they are found to have seriously breached the Business Appointment Rules. Ministers also agree that if they are reappointed to government within three months of leaving office they will forgo their salary for the period overlapping with the severance payment period.

I can confirm that all ministers who are eligible for a severance payment have signed waivers.

The Investment Security Unit in the Cabinet Office is responsible for administering the National Security and Investment (NSI) Act 2021, which provides robust investment screening powers for the Government to scrutinise and, where necessary, intervene in acquisitions which could present a risk to the UK’s national security. If required, the Government has the ability to impose conditions, block or unwind acquisitions.

The Government welcomes investment as part of our mission to boost growth, but only where it meets our regulatory requirements and does not compromise our national security. We will not hesitate to use our powers to protect national security where we identify concerns.

Government Property Agency Capital projects will use tools such as Whole Life Carbon Assessments (WLCA) to analyse the cost and carbon impact of materials and products used during construction. This would favour local materials that naturally have a lower carbon footprint. The GPA would also factor in maintenance and replacement considerations on the choice and sourcing of material.

The Government Property Agency aims to utilise and support British businesses throughout our supply chain and in line with the principles of the Procurement Act 2023, which aims to support smaller local businesses and embeds social value into our contract delivery model.

The Cabinet Office has enforced strict commercial governance and, unlike the legacy arrangement, the new contract incorporates sharp, automatic financial penalties for failure to meet Key Performance Indicators. This will ensure that the supplier is held financially accountable for service delivery standards from the outset.

These measures include a rigorous period of parallel running and system testing to validate operational readiness, alongside extensive data integrity checks and migration audits prior to service commencement.

This process is underpinned by a strengthened governance structure with active Cabinet Office oversight to monitor progress against key milestones, whilst applying lessons learned from previous transitions to mitigate risks regarding payment timeliness. Ensuring scheme members receive their pensions accurately and on time remains the Government’s priority throughout this process.

The GPA requested £30 million of Capital AME in the estimate as cover for potential accounting adjustments around dilapidation provisions in accordance with HM Treasury’s Financial Reporting Manual and Consolidated Budgeting Guidance. This is not directly related to government hub projects or business cases. The cover was based on a worst-case scenario that didn't materialise and so was not required.

The Government Property Agency (GPA) uses BREEAM when retrofitting and building new capital projects as per the government buying standards requirements.This system is administered through a third-party certification process managed by licensed assessors and enforced primarily by contractual agreements and planning policies.

The Ministers’ Etc. Pension Scheme (Amendment) 2025 makes technical amendments to the rules to allow the cost control mechanism (CCM) process to be completed, and the Scheme does not incur a cost as a result of the changes.

All public service pension schemes are subject to the CCM as part of the valuation cycle in line with HM Treasury policy. The CCM is designed to ensure a fair balance of risk with regard to the cost of providing public service pension schemes between members of those schemes and the Exchequer (and by extension taxpayers). If, when the CCM is tested, those costs are not within agreed target levels the member contributions are adjusted accordingly.

Any administrative costs associated with drafting and implementing these regulations are negligible and have been absorbed within existing Cabinet Office budgets.

The initial intention to explore a National Centre of Policing was announced by the then Home Secretary at the APCC/NPCC Conference in November 2024, as part of outlining their ambition for police reform. The Home Office will publish a White Paper on Police Reform in due course. If those proposals include establishing a new Arm's Length Body (ALB), then the standard process for establishing an ALB will be followed.

Departments and their partner organisations are currently collecting the data for the next ‘high earner’ list. It will be published when the data set is complete and the personal information being released about individuals has been fully quality assured. Departments also publish salary information for all their Senior Civil Service (SCS) roles in quarterly organograms on data.gov.uk and for all SCS operating at Board level in their Annual Accounts.

The Government Property Agency (GPA) uses BREEAM when retrofitting and building new capital projects as per the government buying standards requirements. Where budget and time allows, GPA aims to deliver to the government buying standards requirements or better. As these buildings are not being developed the BREEAM standard is not relevant. If the buildings were to be retrofitted by the GPA in the future, BREEAM would be applied as per the government buying standards requirements.

In regards to existing commercial spaces, the GPA will deliver to the MEES (Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards, regulations) and produce Display Energy Certificates (DECs) and/or Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) where commercially relevant.

There will be no criminal sanctions for people who don’t enrol in Digital ID.

The new digital ID scheme will help drive forward the digitisation of Right to Work checks by the end of this Parliament. We will launch a major digital inclusion drive to support this and help ensure nobody is left behind.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

Please see the letter attached from the National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority.

Darren Tierney | Permanent Secretary

The Lord Risby

House of Lords

London

SW1A 0PW

25 November 2025

Dear Lord Risby,

As Permanent Secretary of the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I am responding to your Parliamentary Question asking which sectors have experienced (1) the highest growth in foreign investment, and (2) the largest decline in foreign investment, over the past three years (HL12068).

Our statistics for inward Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) positions measure the investment held by UK-resident companies that have foreign immediate parent companies. FDI positions are essentially the stock of investment held at a point in time. Our statistics are defined by the Standard Industrial Classification 2007 (SIC07), and our published results disaggregate UK total FDI into 18 industries.

· Table 1 shows the three industries with the biggest percentage increase and decrease in FDI positions at the end of 2023 compared with the end of 2020.

· Table 2 includes the three industries with the highest and lowest value increases for inward FDI positions at the end of 2023 compared with at the end of 2020.

· Table 3 gives the three industries with the highest annual percentage increase in FDI positions compared with the end of the previous year for each year between 2021 and 2023.

· Table 4 gives the three industries with the lowest annual percentage increase (biggest decrease) in FDI positions for each year between 2021 and 2023.

Yours sincerely,

Darren Tierney

Table 1: Industries with the highest and lowest percentage increase at the end of 2023 compared with the end of 2020 for inward foreign direct investment positions

Source: Foreign direct investment involving UK companies (directional): inward[1],2

Table 2: Industries with the highest and lowest value increase at the end of 2023 compared with the end of 2020 for inward foreign direct investment positions, £ million

Source: Foreign direct investment involving UK companies (directional): inward1,[2]

Table 3: Industries with the highest annual percentage increase for inward foreign direct investment positions, 2021 to 2023

Source: Foreign direct investment involving UK companies (directional): inward1,2

Table 4: Industries with the lowest annual percentage increase for inward foreign direct investment positions, 2021 to 2023

Source: Foreign direct investment involving UK companies (directional): inward1,2

[1] Foreign direct investment statistics disaggregated by main industrial activity does not include banks, bank holding companies, public corporations and property. The FDI of these entities is included in the UK total.

[2]https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/business/businessinnovation/datasets/foreigndirectinvestmentinvolvingukcompanies2013inwardtables/current

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

Please see the letter attached from the National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority.

Darren Tierney | Permanent Secretary

The Lord Risby

House of Lords

London

SW1A 0PW

25 November 2025

Dear Lord Risby,

As Permanent Secretary of the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I am responding to your Parliamentary Question to asking what proportion of foreign investment in the UK comes from countries situated in (1) the European Union, (2) the Commonwealth and (3) the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership area (HL12070).

Our statistics for inward Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) positions measure the investment held by UK-resident companies that have foreign immediate parent companies. These are essentially the stock of investment held at a point in time. Table 3.1 of our annual Foreign direct investment involving UK companies (directional): inward statistics shows that the stock of inward direct investment from the European Union was £758,137 million at the end of 2023[1]. This was equivalent to 34.8% of the UK total inward FDI position.

We do not publish a total value for inward FDI with the Commonwealth. However, we have published FDI statistics for all countries. Table 1 below includes the FDI inward FDI position values and percentage of the UK total FDI position accounted for by each Commonwealth country in 2023.

We also do not routinely publish a total value for inward FDI with the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) countries. However, we have published FDI statistics for all countries. Table 2 below includes the FDI inward position values and percentage of the UK total accounted for by each member of the CPTPP in 2023.

Yours sincerely,

Darren Tierney

Table 1: Inward foreign direct investment positions with Commonwealth countries at the end of 2023, £ million and as a percentage of the UK total inward FDI position[2],[3],[4],[5],[6]

Table 2: Inward foreign direct investment positions with Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership countries at the end of 2023,
£ million and as a percentage of the UK total 3,5,6,[7]

[1]https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/business/businessinnovation/datasets/foreigndirectinvestmentinvolvingukcompanies2013inwardtables/current

[2] There were 55 other members of the Commonwealth plus the UK as of 21 November 2025 according to the Commonwealth Secretariat: https://thecommonwealth.org/our-member-countries

[3] “c” denotes value suppressed to protect confidentiality so that individual companies cannot be identified.

[4] “low” denotes a value below £0.5 million.

[5] “z” is used where the country value is suppressed, and the percentage of the UK total will not be available.

[6]https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/nationalaccounts/balanceofpayments/adhocs/2904foreigndirectinvestmentfditotalsforinwardandoutwardflowspositionsandearnings2021to2023

[7] CPTPP membership was taken from gov.uk, and includes the members that had ratified the UK’s accession and those that had yet to ratify as of 21 November 2025

I refer the Noble Lord to the answer of 27 October 2025, Official Report, PQ 85501:

PQ 85501 Charlie Dewhirst: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to page 139 of the Cabinet Office annual report and accounts 2024-25, published on 23 October 2025, if he will provide a breakdown of the expenditure, including for individual fixtures and fittings, for the (a) refurbishment and (b) furnishing of the empty Downing Street flat; and if he will name which was empty flat.

Cabinet Office response on 4 November: As was the case under successive administrations, an itemised list is not routinely published.

The National Security and Investment (NSI) Act 2021 provides powers for the Government to scrutinise and, where necessary, intervene in acquisitions which could present a risk to the UK’s national security. If required, the Government has the ability to impose conditions, block or unwind acquisitions. The Act provides legally defined timelines and processes for decisions from the Government.

The Government welcomes investment as part of our mission to boost growth, but only where it meets our regulatory requirements and does not compromise our national security. We will not hesitate to use our powers to protect national security where we identify concerns.

The latest NSI Act annual report, published in July, can be found on GOV.UK, and shows that the National Security and Investment system is continuing to operate well to protect sensitive sectors, whilst supporting investment.