Cabinet Office

Details of Government contracts above £10,000 are published on Contracts Finder: https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Search.

Individual contracts will contain clauses covering the conditions under which a contract may be terminated. It is for the contracting authority to determine what those conditions may be.

The grounds for the exclusion of bidders from public procurement procedures are set out in the Public Contracts Regulations 2015. These rules set out the circumstances in which bidders must, or may, be excluded from a public procurement process. Individual contracting authorities are responsible for their own decisions on these matters.

Details of Government contracts above £10,000 are published on Contracts Finder: https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Search.

Individual contracts will contain clauses covering the conditions under which a contract may be terminated. It is for the contracting authority to determine what those conditions may be.

The grounds for the exclusion of bidders from public procurement procedures are set out in the Public Contracts Regulations 2015. These rules set out the circumstances in which bidders must, or may, be excluded from a public procurement process. Individual contracting authorities are responsible for their own decisions on these matters.

Details of Government contracts above £10,000 are published on Contracts Finder: https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Search.

Individual contracts will contain clauses covering the conditions under which a contract may be terminated. It is for the contracting authority to determine what those conditions may be.

The grounds for the exclusion of bidders from public procurement procedures are set out in the Public Contracts Regulations 2015. These rules set out the circumstances in which bidders must, or may, be excluded from a public procurement process. Individual contracting authorities are responsible for their own decisions on these matters.

Details of Government contracts above £10,000 are published on Contracts Finder: https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Search.

Individual contracts will contain clauses covering the conditions under which a contract may be terminated. It is for the contracting authority to determine what those conditions may be.

The grounds for the exclusion of bidders from public procurement procedures are set out in the Public Contracts Regulations 2015. These rules set out the circumstances in which bidders must, or may, be excluded from a public procurement process. Individual contracting authorities are responsible for their own decisions on these matters.

Our new National Cyber Strategy, launched in December 2021, sets out how we will ensure that the UK continues to be a leading, responsible and democratic cyber power, able to protect and promote our interests in the rapidly evolving online world. This includes our approach to making the UK more resilient to cyber attacks and countering cyber threats. It is supported by £2.6 billion of investment over three years.

Over the past three years, the National Cyber Security Centre has dealt with a total of 2158 significant cyber incidents affecting people and organisations across the UK: 658 in 2019, 723 in 2020 and 777 in 2021. The 2021 Cyber Security Breaches Survey shows that 39% of businesses identified a cyber attack in the last 12 months, 46% in 2020 and 32% in 2019. We are not in a position to be able to identify all cyber attacks against UK companies or attribute responsibility for every attack.

The UK will do what is necessary to protect ourselves through our world leading capability in this area. We are vigilant to cyber threats, wherever they come from, and ready to defend against them. We are continuing to work to make the UK more resilient to cyber threats and raise the cost for those who would do us harm.

Civil servants support Ministers in providing information to Parliament. When providing advice and briefing, civil servants are subject to the professional standards set out in the Civil Service Code and internal clearance procedures.

Ministers are accountable to Parliament for the statements they make to the House. Parliament has long-established mechanisms for the record to be corrected should any errors be identified.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have, therefore, asked the Authority to respond.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have, therefore, asked the Authority to respond.

The Border and Protocol Delivery Group, supported by HMRC and others, holds regular discussions with counterparts in EU Member States on all issues relating to the flow of freight and passengers.

It is not possible to provide a precise number for these contacts without incurring disproportionate costs.

The interpretation of each country’s VAT rules is ultimately a matter for the authorities of that country.

Government encourages employers to better support all employees to remain in and thrive through work.

Through our new approach to extend the use of the Social Value Act, effective from 1 January 2021, additional social benefits can be taken into account via the delivery of contracts.

To promote consistency across departments, we developed a tool called the ‘Social Value Model’ for use by all organisations in scope of the new policy. The tool has provisions to improve health and wellbeing in the contract workforce.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have, therefore, asked the Authority to respond.

I refer the Rt Hon. Member to the published correspondence between the Independent Adviser on Ministers' Interests and the Prime Minister.

The previous Freedom of Information request was processed in line with the provisions in the Act. For the reasons set out in that correspondence, no official information was held under the Act in scope of that request at the time.

After the Electoral Commission’s investigation concluded, the messages referred to in the Electoral Commission report were subsequently provided to the Independent Adviser.

That exchange is set out in an annex to that published correspondence; the letters are already in the Library of the House, further to the answer to the Rt Hon Member of PQ 98322.

I refer the Rt Hon. Member to the published correspondence between the Independent Adviser on Ministers' Interests and the Prime Minister.

The previous Freedom of Information request was processed in line with the provisions in the Act. For the reasons set out in that correspondence, no official information was held under the Act in scope of that request at the time.

After the Electoral Commission’s investigation concluded, the messages referred to in the Electoral Commission report were subsequently provided to the Independent Adviser.

That exchange is set out in an annex to that published correspondence; the letters are already in the Library of the House, further to the answer to the Rt Hon Member of PQ 98322.

The Government has published guidance on the use of confidentiality clauses and is clear that these types of clauses should not be used to stifle or discourage staff from raising concerns, and that they should only be used when necessary and not be included in settlement agreements as a matter of course.

All Government departments are expected to follow this guidance which can be found at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-settlement-agreements-special-severance-payments-and-confidentiality-clauses.

The Government has published guidance on the use of confidentiality clauses and is clear that these types of clauses should not be used to stifle or discourage staff from raising concerns, and that they should only be used when necessary and not be included in settlement agreements as a matter of course.

All Government departments are expected to follow this guidance which can be found at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-settlement-agreements-special-severance-payments-and-confidentiality-clauses.

The government encourages talented people from all backgrounds and from across the UK to apply for public appointments. This is important as part of our levelling-up agenda and to secure the benefits that having a diverse range of experiences and skills brings to boards and will ensure that we get the best services that deliver for everyone.

The Cabinet Office is working on the introduction of a single online application portal for public appointments which will assist in data collection and allow us to expand our understanding of those taking up appointments through analysis across a range of measures, including by socio-economic background.

The government encourages talented people from all backgrounds and from across the UK to apply for public appointments. This is important as part of our levelling-up agenda and to secure the benefits that having a diverse range of experiences and skills brings to boards and will ensure that we get the best services that deliver for everyone.

The Cabinet Office is working on the introduction of a single online application portal for public appointments which will assist in data collection and allow us to expand our understanding of those taking up appointments through analysis across a range of measures, including by socio-economic background.

The government encourages talented people from all backgrounds and from across the UK to apply for public appointments. This is important as part of our levelling-up agenda and to secure the benefits that having a diverse range of experiences and skills brings to boards and will ensure that we get the best services that deliver for everyone.

The Cabinet Office is working on the introduction of a single online application portal for public appointments which will assist in data collection and allow us to expand our understanding of those taking up appointments through analysis across a range of measures, including by socio-economic background.

Cabinet Office has not identified records of any live financial contracts with Clifford Chance LLP, FTI Consulting or Fenchurch Advisory Partners within the department in the last five years.

Details of ministerial meetings are published quarterly and can be found on GOV.UK.

The Government has put the recovery of public services at the heart of its building back better and levelling up agenda. We are investing £3.7 billion to build 40 new hospitals and we’re investing a further £4.7 billion in the core school budget by 2024-25. There are almost 10,000 more nurses and over 5,100 doctors now working in the NHS compared to last year, and we have recruited over 11,000 police officers.

The Government’s 2019 manifesto committed to encourage flexible working and consult on making it the default unless employers have good reasons not to. Since then, COVID-19 has changed working practices for many and led to the recognition of the need for more flexible working hours to balance work with other personal commitments. The Government intends to build on what we have learnt and ran a consultation proposing to reform the existing Right to Request flexible working from September to December 2021. We are currently analysing responses and will issue a formal Government response in due course.

Departmental annual reports and accounts, including financial statements, are laid before Parliament and published on GOV.UK.

Gross Resource Expenditure by Arms Length Bodies is published on GOV.UK.

The Treasury publishes Public Expenditure Statistical Analysis (PESA) which presents statistics on public expenditure, including government departmental administrative expenditure. Table 1.7 breaks down administration budgets by department and Table 2.1 by economic category (e.g. staff costs).

The number of central Government buildings in 2021 and 2020 is given in the below table. Equivalent data for 2019 is not held centrally by Cabinet Office.

There are a range of suppliers that compete to offer services via a number of framework agreements through the Crown Commercial Service, such as G-Cloud and Cloud Compute. Pricing and commercial offers in this industry are very competitive between suppliers.

Government does not place a cap on the proportion of cloud services provided by any of the current suppliers. Government Departments conduct their own assessments around value for money and implement their outsourcing strategies accordingly to meet their needs.

The total floor area for government bodies is published in the State of the Estate report on GOV.UK for 2020-21. The total floor area of the government general purpose estate was published in prior years.

The Cabinet Office total owned estate for 2020-21 was 726,917m² (In addition to this, 707,769m² is managed by the Government Property Agency, which is a part of the Cabinet Office, on behalf of departments). For all previous years, the total estate is published in the State of the Estate report on GOV.UK.

Central government space was only separated into owned and occupied space for 2019-20 for the general purpose estate which included offices, warehouses, job centres, courts, laboratories and other such general purpose uses.

In 2019-20, total owned and occupied space was 7,389,377 m² and 6,975,128 m², respectively.

Equivalent figures for other years are not held centrally in the Cabinet Office.

The office portfolio was reduced by 2%, from 3.5m m² to 3.4m m² from 2019-20 to 2020-21. Reductions were driven by a combination of departmental estate strategies and collaboration between departments to share space - for example - HMRC exiting 12 PFI properties led to a 25,000 m² reduction in floor area and relocation into government hubs.

The number of built assets in 2020-21 was 136,844m², and covers central government estate general and specialist estate, including hospitals and schools. Equivalent figures for previous years are not held centrally by Cabinet Office.

The number of buildings or land plots disposed of is not held centrally by Cabinet Office.

The disposal value for 2020-21 was £473.5m.

As a result of leaving the EU, we now have the freedom to conceive and implement rules that serve our own interests and that are specifically tailored to the needs of the UK economy.

Ministers across departments have responsibility for regulatory reform in their respective areas and for ensuring we seize the opportunities of Brexit. In September 2021, we announced a package of regulatory reforms covering areas as diverse as: data reform, gene editing, clinical trials directive, the Future of Transport and AI strategy. Cabinet Office officials will continue to work with departments to deliver further reforms.

An announcement will be made in due course to confirm which Minister will lead this work, following the resignation of my Rt Hon Friend Lord Frost.

The Brexit Opportunities Unit in the Cabinet Office is leading reviews of Retained EU law (REUL). The aim of these two reviews, into the substance and status of REUL, is to ensure that REUL - as established by the EU Withdrawal Act 2018 - does not stagnate on the UK statute book.

An announcement will be made in due course to confirm which Minister will lead these reviews, following the resignation of my Rt Hon Friend Lord Frost.

As set out in the Paymaster General’s Written Ministerial Statement of 9 December 2021, officials in the Cabinet Office are continuing to undertake two reviews into retained EU law, one into the substance of retained EU law and one into its status in law.

Any proposals for change will be finalised at the conclusion of the reviews. The Queen’s speech will set out the Government’s legislative programme in the normal way.

Success rates for lower socio-economic applicants in Fast Stream have been increasing annually since 2017, with 2021 success rates approximately three times the 2016 figure.

73% of Fast Stream appointments in 2021 were outside London (against 69.5% in 2019). Regional appointments are achieved through the widest possible spread of school and college work experience opportunities, apprenticeships, internships and Fast Stream roles. Attraction activity for roles is delivered both country-wide and through online sites to deliver geographic diversity and meet our levelling up ambitions.

Steps to support both diverse socio-economic and ethnic minority applicants are broadly similar except that partners and the target audiences differ, according to these groups. Outreach, attraction and marketing is designed to encourage applications from individuals from all backgrounds and locations via early stage schools, college and apprenticeship engagement, along with industrial placements. We have developed an inclusive website, and social media strategy, refreshed the target university list, and are undertaking outreach with diverse universities and engaging with diversity partners to support events. Activity also encompasses expanding the range of internships, undertaking cultural bias reviews of our selection processes, increasing assessor diversity, and continually improving our fair and inclusive selection processes, for example, incorporating more regional/virtual assessment.

Historical barriers to Fast Stream employment for applicants from lower socio-economic backgrounds were highlighted in the 2016 Bridge Group analysis, suggesting applications were more likely to come from less diverse universities and courses, and from higher socio-economic students, along with there being less awareness of Fast Stream amongst lower socio-economic graduates. There was also, amongst lower socio-economic students, a perception of a slow recruitment process, less geographic diversity in terms of selection and lower performance at selection stage. Significant improvements have been made against these areas, with socio-economic diversity improving consistently for appointments in the last 5 years.

Success rates for lower socio-economic applicants in Fast Stream have been increasing annually since 2017, with 2021 success rates approximately three times the 2016 figure.

73% of Fast Stream appointments in 2021 were outside London (against 69.5% in 2019). Regional appointments are achieved through the widest possible spread of school and college work experience opportunities, apprenticeships, internships and Fast Stream roles. Attraction activity for roles is delivered both country-wide and through online sites to deliver geographic diversity and meet our levelling up ambitions.

Steps to support both diverse socio-economic and ethnic minority applicants are broadly similar except that partners and the target audiences differ, according to these groups. Outreach, attraction and marketing is designed to encourage applications from individuals from all backgrounds and locations via early stage schools, college and apprenticeship engagement, along with industrial placements. We have developed an inclusive website, and social media strategy, refreshed the target university list, and are undertaking outreach with diverse universities and engaging with diversity partners to support events. Activity also encompasses expanding the range of internships, undertaking cultural bias reviews of our selection processes, increasing assessor diversity, and continually improving our fair and inclusive selection processes, for example, incorporating more regional/virtual assessment.

Historical barriers to Fast Stream employment for applicants from lower socio-economic backgrounds were highlighted in the 2016 Bridge Group analysis, suggesting applications were more likely to come from less diverse universities and courses, and from higher socio-economic students, along with there being less awareness of Fast Stream amongst lower socio-economic graduates. There was also, amongst lower socio-economic students, a perception of a slow recruitment process, less geographic diversity in terms of selection and lower performance at selection stage. Significant improvements have been made against these areas, with socio-economic diversity improving consistently for appointments in the last 5 years.

Success rates for lower socio-economic applicants in Fast Stream have been increasing annually since 2017, with 2021 success rates approximately three times the 2016 figure.

73% of Fast Stream appointments in 2021 were outside London (against 69.5% in 2019). Regional appointments are achieved through the widest possible spread of school and college work experience opportunities, apprenticeships, internships and Fast Stream roles. Attraction activity for roles is delivered both country-wide and through online sites to deliver geographic diversity and meet our levelling up ambitions.

Steps to support both diverse socio-economic and ethnic minority applicants are broadly similar except that partners and the target audiences differ, according to these groups. Outreach, attraction and marketing is designed to encourage applications from individuals from all backgrounds and locations via early stage schools, college and apprenticeship engagement, along with industrial placements. We have developed an inclusive website, and social media strategy, refreshed the target university list, and are undertaking outreach with diverse universities and engaging with diversity partners to support events. Activity also encompasses expanding the range of internships, undertaking cultural bias reviews of our selection processes, increasing assessor diversity, and continually improving our fair and inclusive selection processes, for example, incorporating more regional/virtual assessment.

Historical barriers to Fast Stream employment for applicants from lower socio-economic backgrounds were highlighted in the 2016 Bridge Group analysis, suggesting applications were more likely to come from less diverse universities and courses, and from higher socio-economic students, along with there being less awareness of Fast Stream amongst lower socio-economic graduates. There was also, amongst lower socio-economic students, a perception of a slow recruitment process, less geographic diversity in terms of selection and lower performance at selection stage. Significant improvements have been made against these areas, with socio-economic diversity improving consistently for appointments in the last 5 years.

Success rates for lower socio-economic applicants in Fast Stream have been increasing annually since 2017, with 2021 success rates approximately three times the 2016 figure.

73% of Fast Stream appointments in 2021 were outside London (against 69.5% in 2019). Regional appointments are achieved through the widest possible spread of school and college work experience opportunities, apprenticeships, internships and Fast Stream roles. Attraction activity for roles is delivered both country-wide and through online sites to deliver geographic diversity and meet our levelling up ambitions.

Steps to support both diverse socio-economic and ethnic minority applicants are broadly similar except that partners and the target audiences differ, according to these groups. Outreach, attraction and marketing is designed to encourage applications from individuals from all backgrounds and locations via early stage schools, college and apprenticeship engagement, along with industrial placements. We have developed an inclusive website, and social media strategy, refreshed the target university list, and are undertaking outreach with diverse universities and engaging with diversity partners to support events. Activity also encompasses expanding the range of internships, undertaking cultural bias reviews of our selection processes, increasing assessor diversity, and continually improving our fair and inclusive selection processes, for example, incorporating more regional/virtual assessment.

Historical barriers to Fast Stream employment for applicants from lower socio-economic backgrounds were highlighted in the 2016 Bridge Group analysis, suggesting applications were more likely to come from less diverse universities and courses, and from higher socio-economic students, along with there being less awareness of Fast Stream amongst lower socio-economic graduates. There was also, amongst lower socio-economic students, a perception of a slow recruitment process, less geographic diversity in terms of selection and lower performance at selection stage. Significant improvements have been made against these areas, with socio-economic diversity improving consistently for appointments in the last 5 years.

On 12 May 2021, the Prime Minister confirmed that a public inquiry into Covid-19 will be established on a statutory basis, with formal powers, and that it will begin its work in Spring 2022.

The Prime Minister has appointed the Rt Hon Baroness Heather Hallett as the chair of the inquiry. Draft terms of reference will be published in due course, following consultation with Baroness Hallett and ministers from the devolved administrations.

As set out in the Prime Minister’s statement on 15 December, Baroness Hallett will then lead the public consultation, including with bereaved families and other affected groups, before the terms of reference are finalised.

Every year, the Civil Service People Survey team publishes the Civil Service benchmark scores and the results for all participating organisations in the annual Civil Service People Survey, including for the Cabinet Office, on GOV.UK. The publication of the results for the Civil Service People Survey 2021 is scheduled for Thursday 28 April 2022.

The approval of consultancy and professional services spend of over £500k or 9 months duration by Cabinet Office is subject to central government spending control since October 2021. Prior to this, approval of consultancy and professional services spending of up to £10m was delegated to departments and other central government bodies. As a result, the data requested is not available.

The approval of contingent labour spend for engagements with day rates of £1,000 or over, excluding recoverable VAT and (b) durations of 18 months or over by Cabinet Office is subject to central government spend control since November 2021. Prior to this, spend decisions were fully delegated to departments and therefore no central dataset was collected on this specific spend.

The approval of consultancy and professional services spend of over £500k or 9 months duration by Cabinet Office is subject to central government spending control since October 2021. Prior to this, approval of consultancy and professional services spending of up to £10m was delegated to departments and other central government bodies. As a result, the data requested is not available.

The approval of contingent labour spend for engagements with day rates of £1,000 or over, excluding recoverable VAT and (b) durations of 18 months or over by Cabinet Office is subject to central government spend control since November 2021. Prior to this, spend decisions were fully delegated to departments and therefore no central dataset was collected on this specific spend.

National Statistics on employment numbers in the public sector are published each quarter by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and are available at the following link: https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/publicsectorpersonnel/datasets/publicsectoremploymentreferencetable.

These statistics provide quarterly estimates and time-series data of UK public sector employment by central government (including Civil Service), local government and public corporations.

As the terms of reference for the inquiry into staff gatherings make clear, where there are credible allegations into other gatherings, these may be investigated. This includes the allegations relating to 15 and 20 May 2020.

The Cabinet Office’s role is to support DHSC in delivering the priorities of the Prime Minister and the government, which includes training more doctors and nurses. The NHS has over 5,100 more doctors and over 9,700 more nurses than last year and is on track to train 50,000 more nurses by the end of this Parliament - as per our manifesto commitment. The Cabinet Office is also supporting DHSC with the Health and Care Bill, which delivers on the NHS reform proposals set out in the 2019 Long Term Plan.

The Integrated Review, published in March 2021, set a goal to strengthen the UK’s national resilience. The Integrated Review also committed to the development of a new Resilience Strategy to set out a new vision and approach to support improvements to our national resilience. Following a successful Call for Evidence in the summer of last year, the government plans to publish the Strategy in spring 2022.