Cabinet Office

The Business Appointment Rules state that retrospective applications will not normally be accepted. While the Rules rightly discourage retrospective applications in order to ensure initial compliance from applicants, the Government believes that, should someone acknowledge their error and agree to follow the process, there should be an opportunity for them to receive advice and be subject to conditions.

The government does not intend to amend the Ministerial and other Pensions and Salaries Act 1991 to implement changes on ministerial severance payments. These changes will be implemented via a waiver system.

The Civil Service Management Code will be updated in due course to reflect the transfer of the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments' functions to provide independent advice on the application of the Business Appointment Rules in respect of the most senior civil servants and special advisers to the Civil Service Commission.

The transfer of responsibility for the administration and advice on applications for the most senior civil servants and special advisers from the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments to the Civil Service Commission, will only affect those at the SCS Pay Band 3 and equivalent, and above. Applications from those civil servants and special advisers at the SCS Pay Band 2 and equivalent, and below, will continue to be processed by their respective departments.

The reforms to ministerial severance payments, including the use of waivers, will take effect from 13 October.

The Government is determined to ensure the £385 billion of public money spent on public procurement annually, delivers economic growth and supports small businesses and start-ups. For too long, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and start-ups have been held back by government procurement processes that are too slow, bureaucratic, and difficult to navigate.

The Procurement Act, which came into force on 24 February 2025, introduces new measures to make it easier for start-ups, small businesses and social enterprises to access public sector supply-chains, removing unnecessary burdens and costs, and opening up opportunities to the most innovative and agile firms.

The Government is analysing responses to our recent consultation on further reforms to public procurement processes. These proposals aim to drive economic growth, support small businesses, and better support innovation. We will publish our conclusions and further actions to improve public procurement in due course.

The Government is determined to ensure the £385 billion of public money spent on public procurement annually, delivers economic growth and supports small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

The Government previously announced that all departments would set SME spend targets, and now plans to expand that requirement to the wider public sector - further prioritising and boosting spending with SMEs.

The Government is analysing responses to our recent public consultation on further reforms to public procurement processes. These proposals aim to drive economic growth, support small businesses, and better support innovation. We will publish our conclusions and further actions to improve public procurement in due course.

A range of internships exist across government, any decisions relating to eligibility are taken in line with the CS Commission rules and in accordance with UK Employment Law. Specifically relating to the CS Summer Internship Programme, as set out in August, it will be exclusively for undergraduates from lower socio-economic backgrounds for 2026. White British people that meet the eligibility criteria for the Summer Internship Programme will be able to apply.

The intelligence agencies, as with any arm to the Civil Service, must take any decisions seeking to improve the diversity of their workforce in-line with UK law and in adherence with the relevant measures of the Equalities Act 2010. These measures permit employers to take specific actions to enable or encourage those with protected characteristics to apply for particular roles. Such action is considered lawful and includes both individuals from White minority backgrounds, those from socially or economically underrepresented groups and those from an ethnic minority background.

I refer the member to the written statement that was provided to the House by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster on 21 July 2025 (HCWS870).

Further information on the new Business Appointment Rules process will be published when it becomes operational on 13 October 2025.

Elections guidance for civil servants is kept under review and published in advance of the relevant election period.

The information requested is published in Table 1.2 in section 7.3 of Annex A of the Civil Service Pensions 2015 Remedy (‘McCloud’) consultation – Equality Impact Assessment.

We have agreed to work towards the association of the UK to the EU Erasmus+ programme. We are taking forward the next stage of negotiations on the clear mutual understanding that the UK will only associate to Erasmus+ on terms that provide value for money for the UK taxpayer. The timelines for any association will be subject to further discussion as part of these negotiations.

The Parliamentary and Political Service Honours Committee (PPS Committee) is one of ten specialist honours committees, made up of individuals with considerable experience of the area the committee covers. The PPS Committee considers candidates for honours from the UK Parliament, the Devolved Legislatures, the staff of Westminster and other Assemblies, the staff of bodies which report to them, Party workers, councillors and others working for local government.

In order to broaden the pool of nominations considered by the committee and to increase transparency, the Liberal Democrat Chief Whip was asked to join the Committee in April 2025, in order to represent the third largest party in the House of Commons. The Liberal Democrat Chief Whip now sits on the committee alongside an independent chair and four independent members, appointed through a public appointments process, and the Chief Whips from the Government and the opposition.

The Cabinet Office works with Government departments and agencies to monitor the quality and timeliness of correspondence, providing support and guidance as necessary.

The Ethics and Integrity Commission will be established in Autumn by the Government strengthening and reforming the Committee on Standards in Public Life (CSPL). As with CSPL, the Ethics and Integrity Commission will continue to have political members nominated by the main political parties in the House of Commons.

The Ethics and Integrity Commission will be established on 13 October 2025 by the Government strengthening and reforming the Committee on Standards in Public Life (CSPL).

The appointment of independent members to the Ethics and Integrity Commission will continue to be subject to the Governance Code for Public Appointments and regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments, as has been the case with CSPL.

As an Arm's Length Body of the Cabinet Office, appointments to the Ethics and Integrity Commission will be the responsibility of Cabinet Office Ministers.

It is for the Prime Minister to make recommendations to the Sovereign on new peers. As set out in his written ministerial statement of 19 June 2025, in doing so he will continue to ask the House of Lords Appointments Commission to nominate individuals to sit as Crossbench peers.

Any such appointments will subsequently be announced by the Commission in the usual way.

His Majesty The King’s free Portrait Scheme was a voluntary programme offering a free, framed portrait of The King to any eligible public institution that requested one.

Following the conclusion of the scheme, a breakdown of the take up including UK Government departments and Arms Length Bodies, wider public authorities and other eligible institutions can be found at www.gov.uk/government/news/conclusion-of-his-majesty-the-kings-free-portrait-scheme

The Cabinet Office does not routinely publish public correspondence.

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

A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 29th August is attached.

The selection process for this role was open and fair competition, overseen by the independent Civil Service Commission, chaired by the First Civil Service Commissioner. The salary range is £170,000 – £200,000.

There are no current plans to publish the Guidance for Influencer Marketing. As per Advertising Standards Authority regulation, influencers must make sure ‘advert’ or ‘#Ad’ is clearly visible at the start of any paid for influencer content and it is obvious that it is an advert paid for by the UK Government or part of a government campaign.

The title of the training course was Team Facilitated Conversations.

The purpose of the training was for the individual to gain the necessary skills and processes to resolve team conflicts across various sectors.

The Government follows the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) guidance derived from The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992. The minimum temperature for workplaces is already stipulated by HSE and is readily available online. See here. There is currently no equivalent maximum temperature.

The Government Communication Service has a contract with Storyzy which can be used to track and identify disinformation trends. This tool is used to understand the threat posed by hostile actors where manipulating the information environment can be a threat to national security, democracy and public safety.

As many flexible working arrangements, including compressed hours working, are agreed and recorded at a team level, the information requested can only be provided at disproportionate cost.

The procurement of social influencers in Cabinet Office can be done through the CCS Framework RM6125 - Lot 1 End to end campaign solutions, which can be found on this link here.. There is no roster of preferred or recommended influencers.

36 Whitehall requires major repairs and refurbishment to bring back into use and is being actively considered as part of the plans for London's government office estate.

Guidance on Mutually Agreed Exits will be published in due course.

Following the appointment of the current Cabinet Secretary, a review of the Civil Service Governance arrangements took place, to identify what steps could be taken to make it simpler and more effective. As a consequence of the review, CSB ceased operations in January 2025.

CSB’s functions are undertaken by a combination of the Head of Department, the People Board and the Civil Service Operations Board.

The datasets previously held on the Electronic Property Information Mapping Service comprised information on property, buildings, land, occupation, vacant space, and surplus assets. These were made publicly available on gov.uk at https://www.data.gov.uk/dataset/c186e17f-654d-4134-aed7-b3f13469546a/epimstransparency.

These datasets have now been superseded by the datasets now held on the InSite system, which include property, contract, building, land, occupation, vacant space, and surplus assets. These are also published on gov.uk at https://www.data.gov. uk/dataset/a3ad62cf-d8a2-4d3b-b3c6-24c35c5e0f71/the-government-property-estate-including-buildings-and-land to ensure continued transparency.

The current model Gender Reassignment HR policy and guidance was issued in 2019. A review to update it was started in 2023 under the previous administration. The recent Supreme Court ruling in the For Women Scotland case and revision of the Equality and Human Rights Commission Code of Practice has had implications for this review. This is therefore ongoing and the revised policy and guidance will be shared with departments in due course.

In recent years, UK Intelligence Community (UKIC) has run a number of internships and placement schemes. They are designed to provide insight about what it is like to work in UKIC to individuals who have particular skills and experience, want to work in a particular area and/or are from demographics and backgrounds under-represented across Government.

Any internship participant wishing to subsequently apply for employment with UKIC or the Civil Service is required to take part in a fair and open competition, in the normal way, with selection based on merit.

The 540 refers to the number of applications that were approved and is subject to the individual's final acceptance.

The voluntary exit process has not yet concluded, so we are unable to report on which business units individuals will be leaving from.

Government Communications is made up of around 6,000 professional communicators from across the UK, supporting and promoting the work of 25 ministerial departments, 21 non-ministerial departments and over 300 agencies and other public bodies. The list provided for the response to IR2025/05101 breaks this down further, and will be submitted for entry into the House of Commons library.

The Government Communication Service headcount can be found on Gov.uk at this link here.

Government Communications is made up of around 6,000 professional communicators from across the UK, supporting and promoting the work of 25 ministerial departments, 21 non-ministerial departments and over 300 agencies and other public bodies. The list provided for the response to IR2025/05101 breaks this down further, and will be submitted for entry into the House of Commons library.

The Government Communication Service headcount can be found on Gov.uk at this link here.

Government Communications is made up of around 6,000 professional communicators from across the UK, supporting and promoting the work of 25 ministerial departments, 21 non-ministerial departments and over 300 agencies and other public bodies. The list provided for the response to IR2025/05101 breaks this down further, and will be submitted for entry into the House of Commons library.

The Government Communication Service headcount can be found on Gov.uk at this link here.

The Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Civil Service is responsible for the operation of the honours system, but as is customary, delegates this responsibility to another senior Permanent Secretary.

As we set out in August, we will be opening our Fast Stream Summer Internship Programme exclusively for undergraduates from lower socio-economic backgrounds for 2026. We will determine eligibility based on parental occupation at age 14 in line with guidance from the Social Mobility Commission. The Fast Stream Summer Internship Programme is a cross government internship programme led by the Cabinet Office. All other internship programmes across the Civil Service, arm’s length bodies and public corporations are responsible for setting their own eligibility criteria to suit the specific needs of the recruiting organisation. The exact number of other internship programmes and their eligibility criteria is not held centrally.

For those who do not meet the criteria for the Summer Internship Programme but wish to pursue a career in the Civil Service, there are other opportunities for them to explore via the Civil Service Jobs website (https://www.civilservicejobs.service.gov.uk/) or the Civil Service Fast Stream (https://www.civil-service-careers.gov.uk/fast-stream/).

As we set out in August, we will be opening our Fast Stream Summer Internship Programme exclusively for undergraduates from lower socio-economic backgrounds for 2026. We will determine eligibility based on parental occupation at age 14 in line with guidance from the Social Mobility Commission. The Fast Stream Summer Internship Programme is a cross government internship programme led by the Cabinet Office. All other internship programmes across the Civil Service, arm’s length bodies and public corporations are responsible for setting their own eligibility criteria to suit the specific needs of the recruiting organisation. The exact number of other internship programmes and their eligibility criteria is not held centrally.

For those who do not meet the criteria for the Summer Internship Programme but wish to pursue a career in the Civil Service, there are other opportunities for them to explore via the Civil Service Jobs website (https://www.civilservicejobs.service.gov.uk/) or the Civil Service Fast Stream (https://www.civil-service-careers.gov.uk/fast-stream/).

The Ministerial Code sets out guidance for Ministers on engaging with external stakeholders.

Separate guidance relating to the regulation of consultant lobbying is published by the Office of the Registrar of Consultant Lobbyists.

Established processes are in place to monitor and manage actual and perceived conflicts of interest.

I refer the hon Member to 4667. The Civil Service Commission is operationally independent of the government.

The Government will consider resumption of the Official History Programme when circumstances allow.