Cabinet Office

The answer provided to 104159 was inaccurate and has been corrected. The Cabinet Office does not hold the requested information.

The most recent public-sector trade union facility time data, including the total cost of facility time broken down by Government body, for the period 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025 is published here on .gov.uk.

The Senior Civil Service (SCS) Performance Management Framework is publicly available online on GOV.UK.

Departments and agencies have authority to determine their practices and procedures for the recruitment of staff to the Civil Service, including the Senior Civil Service. There are no plans to publish internal-facing guidance to the public domain, as it constitutes HR-to-HR guidance designed for departments to integrate into their respective policies and processes.

Pay and reward arrangements below the Senior Civil Service (SCS), including the operation of non-consolidated performance pay (cash bonuses), are delegated to individual departments to determine within the parameters set out in the Civil Service Pay Remit Guidance. Pay for the SCS is subject to an independent pay review body process.

The 2026-27 Pay Remit Guidance for delegated grades will be published in due course. For the SCS, the Government will respond to the Senior Salaries Review Body after it has received its report for 2026-27.

This government remains committed to apprenticeships as one pathway to break down barriers to opportunity. On 20th August we launched the application window for a new cross-Government Level 3 apprenticeship programme in Business Administration, The ‘Civil Service Career Launch Apprenticeship’ (CLA) will see new apprentices kick start their careers, across various departments in London, Manchester and Birmingham. In addition, each department is responsible for its own workforce planning and determining the capacity and capability that it needs to deliver its priorities.

The Cabinet Office team whose responsibilities previously included, amongst other duties, collating public sector trade union facility time data has five members of staff. Each year the data was published on gov.uk (here). The information is not stored on any databases maintained by the Cabinet Office.

This government remains committed to apprenticeships as one pathway to break down barriers to opportunity. It is for individual departments to identify the need and assess effectiveness of apprenticeships, including the use of level 2 and 3 apprenticeships, within their workforce and development plans.

This government remains committed to apprenticeships as one pathway to break down barriers to opportunity. It is for individual departments to identify the need and assess effectiveness of apprenticeships, including the use of level 2 and 3 apprenticeships, within their workforce and development plans.

The Cabinet Office’s centrally issued facility time framework states that should a department wish to provide paid time off for activities, it will need to be agreed by the Secretary of State or Chief Executive. Chief Executive refers to the head of the organisation, e.g. Permanent Secretary or Chief Executive of an Arms Length Body.

The framework also states that these principles are expected to be applied across the Civil Service including all departments and agencies employing civil servants. NDPBs outside of this scope are also expected to adopt these principles.

Civil Service data is not collected for the 18-24 age bracket. However, we can confirm that 3,010 of on-programme apprentices on 31 December 2024 were aged between 16 and 24. The Cabinet Office no longer collates cross-government data on apprenticeships beyond December 2024, so we are unable to provide data for 2025.

I refer the Noble Lord to the answer of 23 July 2025, Official Report, PQ HL9556:

PQ HL9556 Lord Jackson of Peterborough: To ask His Majesty's Government what correspondence the Prime Minister’s Office has had with Greta Thunberg since 4 July 2024. HL9556

Cabinet Office response: It is not routine to publish correspondence between the Prime Minister and any individual

The Spending Review 2025 set each department’s yearly administration budget and committed to reduce them by 16% in total and in real terms by 2029-30. The Spending Review details the planned administration Budgets for each department for each year between 2025-26 and 2029-30.

The reductions will be delivered through savings and efficiencies, supported by the £150 million announced at Spring Statement 2025 to help deliver employee exit schemes, and with greater embedding of a cost-conscious culture across Whitehall, including reducing travel costs.

There are currently no plans to publish this guidance as the area remains subject to ongoing policy development.

The SAFE inclusion list currently comprises 607 sites. Following the most recent review, 55 of these sites were categorised as posing a medium risk, and 8 were assessed as high risk.

Although these sites are excluded from the active inclusion list because of the potential risks to the government. It is important to note that this may not completely prohibit use for government communications. A publisher may still be utilised for relevant campaigns, provided appropriate campaign-specific guardrails are implemented to mitigate potential risks.

The SAFE inclusion list currently comprises 607 sites. Following the most recent review, 55 of these sites were categorised as posing a medium risk, and 8 were assessed as high risk.

Although these sites are excluded from the active inclusion list because of the potential risks to the government. It is important to note that this may not completely prohibit use for government communications. A publisher may still be utilised for relevant campaigns, provided appropriate campaign-specific guardrails are implemented to mitigate potential risks.

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

A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 26th January is attached.

These campaigns are used to raise awareness about government schemes and initiatives and promote the UK internationally.

The government recognises content creators as an important way to reach and engage audiences online.

Please note, some data has been withheld due to commercial and wider sensitivities.

I refer the Hon. Gentleman back to PQ 103784.

It is a requirement of the published Guidance on Making Direct Ministerial Appointments that departments should announce publicly such appointments generally at the time at which an appointment is made. The Direct Ministerial Appointments announcement portal, which went live in December 2025, brings together these announcements from across government. Direct Ministerial Appointment announcements prior to the creation of the portal were published on departmental news pages.

We have agreed that we will work towards the establishment of a balanced youth experience scheme with the EU. We are committed to implementing the outcomes of the May 2025 Summit in a timely manner and so are working towards concluding negotiations by the time of the next EU-UK summit.

We have been clear that the scheme should be in line with the UK’s existing schemes, such as Australia and New Zealand, but the exact parameters are subject to ongoing negotiation. This will not include financial contributions to the European Union - that is not how youth mobility schemes operate.

Influencers are selected based on their reach and alignment with the communications campaign.

To protect commercial confidentiality and interests, information relating to specific individuals will not be released.

Missions Boards are the responsibility of each of the lead Secretaries of State:

Kickstarting Economic Growth - Chancellor of the Exchequer

An NHS Fit for the Future - Secretary of State for Health

Safer Streets - Secretary of State for the Home Department

Break Down Barriers to Opportunity - Secretary of State for Education and Minister for Women and Equalities

Make Britain a Clean Energy Superpower - Secretary of State for Energy and Net Zero

The Cabinet Office has retained a record of the contributions of the3million and British in Europe made at the Specialised Committee on 18 December. The3million and British in Europe can be contacted directly to discuss their assessment of citizens’ rights implementation. Information on matters discussed at the Specialised Committee on Citizens’ Rights is available here: Citizens’ Rights Specialised Committee meeting, 18 December 2025: joint statement - GOV.UK. As is stipulated by Rule 13 of Annex VIII of the Withdrawal Agreement, meetings of the Specialised Committee are confidential.

The majority of EU Member States already recognise Blue Badges. In 2025, the UK agreed further mutual recognition with France and agreed in the 2025 strategic bilateral framework with Spain to work to sign an arrangement to ensure mutual recognition of parking permits and Blue Badges for Disabled people. The Department for Transport will continue to engage bilaterally with Member States where they don't recognise Blue Badges.

Further information on Blue Badge recognition can be found here: Using a Blue Badge in Europe - GOV.UK.

All of the records of former Prime Ministers are held by the Cabinet Office Public Records and Archives unit. The unit searched both physical and digital records. The physical record of the meeting is brief, simply noting the timing of the meeting, and that it was a private meeting. No other details have been found.

All of the records of former Prime Ministers are held by the Cabinet Office Public Records and Archives unit. The unit searched both physical and digital records. The physical record of the meeting is brief, simply noting the timing of the meeting, and that it was a private meeting. No other details have been found.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer of 31 March 2025, Official Report, PQ 39119.

Disclosing specific contract details is likely to damage international relations and compromise the UK's interests abroad, and could prejudice commercial interests.

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

A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 27th January is attached.

The Prime Minister values the independent and robust oversight which the Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) provides. Following discussions with the Committee, the Cabinet Office is conducting a review of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Prime Minister and the Committee. Any changes made to the MOU would need to be agreed by both the Prime Minister and the ISC.

The Government Car Service does not provide advice or guidance on the provision of cars outside its remit, including arrangements made by the Metropolitan Police or private contractors.

By following the advice on gov.uk/prepare, people can improve their preparedness for various types of disruption or emergency, irrespective of the cause. We also work closely with local and national partners to ensure they are aware of – and can share – this important advice with the public.

We regularly review the website's content and continue to explore options for improving it, and for increasing public awareness of emergency preparedness advice beyond the website.

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

Please see the letter below from the Permanent Secretary of the Office for National Statistics.

Lord Wigley

House of Lords

London

SW1A 0PW

28 January 2026

Dear Lord Wigley,

As Permanent Secretary of the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I am responding to your Parliamentary Question asking what the gross domestic product per capita was in (1) Wales, (2) England, (3) Scotland, (4) Northern Ireland, and (5) the United Kingdom, in (a) 2000, (b) 2005, (c) 2010, (d) 2015, (e) 2020, and (f) 2025 (HL13812).

The figures requested, shown in Table 1, are taken from the Regional economic activity by gross domestic product, UK 1998 to 2023 release, which is the latest annual publication of regional gross domestic product (GDP) estimates. We are unable to provide figures for 2025 currently, so we have given estimates for 2023 instead.

All the estimates in our regional GDP release are consistent with those for the UK published in the preceding UK National Accounts, the Blue Book. The current edition is consistent with Blue Book 2024, and for comparability we have reported UK figures from that edition in this response. Please note that more recent estimates for the UK have subsequently been published by the UK National Accounts, but those estimates will lack direct comparability with the estimates we have for nations of the UK.

GDP per capita is calculated by dividing the total GDP for a nation by its total resident population, using the ONS mid-year population estimates. GDP for the UK includes some activity that cannot be assigned to any region, which we call extra-regio. This activity includes offshore oil and gas extraction, the activities of UK embassies abroad and UK armed forces posted overseas. For direct comparability with estimates for individual UK nations we advise use of GDP per capita for the UK less extra-regio, which removes this unallocated element of UK GDP.

Yours sincerely,

Darren Tierney

Table 1: Gross domestic product per capita (£ pounds)

Source: ONS, Gross domestic product per capita in current market prices

1. https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/grossdomesticproductgdp/bulletins/regionaleconomicactivitybygrossdomesticproductuk/1998to2023

2. GDP for the UK includes some activity that cannot be assigned to any region, which we call extra-region.

The Government believes that the Recall of MPs Act 2015 is operating well and as intended. There are no plans to increase the number of conditions that can trigger a recall petition.

The Government Art Collection is a working collection, used across government buildings in the UK and the global estate, which means that artworks may change their display location from time to time. The portrait was pre-planned to be moved by the Government Art Collection prior to the General Election in July 2024.

Officials from the Prime Minister’s Office are in contact to arrange a meeting.

The review is ongoing. Outcomes will be communicated in due course.

The information requested is not held centrally by the Cabinet Office.

As set out in the Cabinet Office accounts (page 86), the payment for the former Cabinet Secretary was a severance payment, with the value calculated using the Civil Service Compensation Scheme tariff.

As set out previously (UIN 54797), the government’s policy is that pay awards for special advisers are considered annually, and any such award is linked to the approach taken for the Senior Civil Service. In line with the headline award for senior civil servants, the 2024/25 pay award for special advisers was 5% and the 2025/26 pay award for special advisers was 3.25%.

The FDA is recognised as a trade union for special advisers.

Capita, having assumed responsibility for the Civil Service Pension Scheme in December 2025, is currently preparing a delivery plan for the remaining 2015 Remedy work.

The Cabinet Office expects the majority of the remaining Remediable Service Statements (RSS) will be issued by April 2027.

Our approach to hiring for the Senior Civil Service (SCS) is changing to place greater value on frontline delivery, innovation, and private sector experience.

A refreshed Construction Playbook is now due to be published in Summer 2026.

Officials will engage with a wide range of stakeholders, including the Institute of Civil Engineers, to ensure that the Playbook continues to reflect procurement best practice in the usual way.

The data referenced is held by Cabinet Office Commercial.