Asked by: Samantha Niblett (Labour - South Derbyshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what mechanisms are in place under the Strategic Partnership Arrangement 2024 with Microsoft to (a) monitor price changes for existing services and (b) assess the potential impact of prior purchasing decisions on the Government's ability to (i) switch providers and (ii) ensure the competitiveness of future contract awards.
Answered by Chris Ward - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Strategic Partnership Arrangement 2024 (SPA24) provides discounts and favourable terms to UK public sector customers. Contract prices are locked at the time of each authority's contract, for the duration of that contract. Any global price changes implemented by Microsoft during the life of the contract do not have an impact until an individual contract is renewed.
Under SPA24, Microsoft reports any global price changes to the Crown Commercial Service but again, these do not impact individual authority contracts until they are renewed. SPA24 includes governance in the form of both monthly meetings and confidential communications for Microsoft to share advance notice of price changes.
SPA24 is designed not to restrict the ability of public sector organisations to switch providers or ensure competitiveness because customers accessing Microsoft products through SPA24 are required to carry out a compliant procurement process and make their own assessment of value for money. There is no obligation on any public sector organisation to use Microsoft, or any of its specific offerings.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people aged 66 and over are estimated in 2025 to be in (a) full time employment, and (b) part time employment.
Answered by Josh Simons - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 15th of December is attached.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the estimated cost is of the Census 2031 in cash terms.
Answered by Josh Simons - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 12th of December is attached.
Asked by: Baroness Maclean of Redditch (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent on 21 July (HL9153), and to the Written Answer by the Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office) on 20 November (HC88718), whether the answer to HL9153 was correct at the time of writing.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Yes the answer was correct at the time of writing.
Asked by: Viscount Hanworth (Labour - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether a compulsory retirement age of 70 years old for Church of England clergy has legal sanction; and whether they plan to encourage the Church of England to allow incumbent ministers to remain in post for longer, where they have the capacity to do so.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
There is a mandatory retirement age of 70 prescribed by section 1(3) of the Ecclesiastical Offices (Age Limit) Measure 1975 which applies to all Archbishops, Bishops, Deans, Archdeacons, residentiary Canons, parish incumbents and curates. Archbishops may be continued in office until the age of 71 at the Sovereign's discretion. Clergy other than Archbishops may continue beyond the age of 70 provided they hold Common Tenure, which covers almost all clergy; they are covered by regulation 29A of the Ecclesiastical Offices (Terms of Service) Regulations 2009. That Regulation makes comprehensive provision for holding office beyond the age of 70. For bishops and certain other clergy, their period in office can be extended until they reach the age of 75. For parish clergy, they can be extended in office beyond the age of 70 where certain conditions are met; there is no upper age limit in these cases. The Archbishops’ Council has issued guidance under regulation 29A of the attached.
Asked by: Lord Murray of Blidworth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to ensure that all departments, including the Cabinet Office, comply with guidelines about the frequency of departmental board meetings set out in the guidance Corporate governance in central government departments: code of good practice, published in April 2017.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Each department, including the Cabinet Office, is required to publish their compliance with the Corporate governance code for central government departments 2017, on a comply or explain basis, within their annual report and accounts.
Asked by: Lord Jackson of Peterborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Answer by the Minister for the Cabinet Office on 25 November (HC91373), whether guidance has been given informally to special advisers through cross-government special adviser meetings about (1) including, or (2) excluding, information on email or other corporate communications.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
There is guidance in place when it comes to the use of non-corporate communications channels, available on gov.uk.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether anyone in the Prime Minister's Office advised against proceeding in the China spy case for diplomatic reasons, and if so, what that advice was.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Director of Public Prosecutions took an independent decision to not proceed with the case as the evidential bar was not met. There was no political interference or direction in the provision of evidence.
Asked by: Lord Jackson of Peterborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government why the Director General of the Propriety and Constitution Group has been removed from the 'our management' section of the Cabinet Office website homepage; and whether that position has been downgraded.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Director General, Propriety and Constitution group remains a SCS3 civil service post. The Cabinet Office gov.uk page will be updated in due course.
Dec. 17 2025
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