Asked by: Stephen Gethins (Scottish National Party - Arbroath and Broughty Ferry)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what percentage payment was made in 2024 (when the annual Pension Increase was 6.7%) to Civil Servants who had retired before 2016, for the Guaranteed Minimum Pension (GMP/COD) component of their public service pension in respect of each of the following: (a) pre ’88 GMP, (b) post ’88 GMP up to 3%, (c) post ’88 GMP over 3%, (d) and if PI is applied to the GMP part of all public service pension schemes in the same way as above.
Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Civil Service Pension Scheme (CSPS) provides for annual Pension Increases (PI) in line with the relevant September to September annual increase, using the relevant Consumer Prices Index (CPI) measure for indexation. In April 2024, this increase was 6.7%. The application of this increase to the Guaranteed Minimum Pension (GMP) component for members who retired before 2016 depends on the period in which the GMP was earned and the legislation governing the indexation of "contracted-out" benefits.
For a Civil Servant who retired before 2016 and reached State Pension Age before 6 April 2016:
(a) Pre-1988 GMP: In accordance with statutory requirements, the CSPS does not apply a pension increase to the pre-1988 GMP component. For these members, indexation on this part of the pension is traditionally provided by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) through the State Pension.
(b) Post-1988 GMP up to 3%: The CSPS is responsible for increasing the post-1988 GMP by the rate of the Pensions Increase Order, capped at 3%. For the 2024 increase, the scheme paid the maximum 3% on this component.
(c) Post-1988 GMP over 3%: The CSPS does not pay the increase on the post-1988 GMP above the 3% cap. For these members, the remaining 3.7% (the difference between the 6.7% CPI and the 3% scheme cap) is typically paid by the DWP as part of the member's State Pension.
Data regarding the specific proportion of a total pension payment that is comprised of GMP for each of the approximately 500,000 pensioners is not held centrally.
(d) Application across Public Service Pension Schemes: The rules for the indexation of GMP described above are derived from the Pensions (Increase) Act 1971 and the Social Security Pensions Act 1975 and apply across the main public service pension schemes.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many apprentices the Department recruited in 2025, compared with (a) 2022, (b) 2023, and (c) 2024.
Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Year | Number of New Apprentices Recruited | Total Apprenticeship Starts (New Recruits and Internal Conversions) |
|---|---|---|
2022 | 36 | 95 |
2023 | 35 | 126 |
2024 | 42 | 101 |
2025 | 29 | 65 |
The Department had a greater number of apprenticeship starts overall during this period, as the total figures include existing members of staff converting to an apprenticeship in addition to the new recruits shown above. These total apprenticeship starts were primarily composed of existing staff upskilling rather than new external recruitment.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to his Department’s press release entitled Ministers rip up consultation culture, published on 26 March 2026, what the projected savings to the public purse are as a result of reduced consultations.
Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Policy analysis is currently ongoing to develop recommendations to reduce unnecessary bureaucracy. We have already identified initial targeted first steps, but this is a significant piece of work requiring ministerial decisions across a range of policy areas. We are developing our plan of work and raising our ambition. Once this has been agreed, we will be in a position to develop quantifiable metrics in terms of resource savings to the public purse.
Asked by: Lord Gilbert of Panteg (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of any reasons for the 2.8 per cent take-up of His Majesty The King’s Portrait Scheme by hospitals.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
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.
The Cabinet Office did not require public bodies and institutions to ‘opt out’ of the scheme, and therefore the reasons for not applying for His Majesty's Official Portrait were not requested and so are not recorded.
Following the conclusion of the scheme, a breakdown of the take up, including percentage take-up figures was published on gov.uk.
Asked by: Baroness Scott of Bybrook (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, with reference to the Cabinet Office press release, Conclusion of His Majesty The King’s free Portrait Scheme, published on 28 November 2024, and the Social Cohesion Action Plan, published on 9 March, whether they plan to open a second round of the scheme to promote integration by ensuring all public buildings have a portrait of the Sovereign.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
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. The scheme ran from November 2023 to August 2024.
There are no plans to reopen the scheme. For those wishing to purchase a portrait of His Majesty The King, it is now available from Royal Images.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 24 March 2026 to Question 115555 on Independent Adviser on Ministerial Standards, whether the Cabinet Office review into Labour Together requested evidence from the journalists who had been included in the APCO Worldwide and Labour Together dossier.
Answered by Chris Ward - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the response given to PQ 116772.
Asked by: Lord Kempsell (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the average cost of (1) drafting a Government bill, and (2) its passage through Parliament.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The drafting and passage of a Government bill requires resource from a number of departmental teams including legal and policy officials as well as shared resource such as the Office of Parliamentary Counsel.
Each Government Bill requires a different amount of resource based on its size and complexity. The Guide to Making Legislation sets out that bill teams must be properly resourced, with a dedicated bill manager, separate to the policy team, in place to oversee progress from an early stage.
In addition, the passage of Government bills requires resource in both the House of Commons and House of Lords.
Government does not hold data on the average number of people required to, nor the cost of, producing and passing Government bills.
Asked by: Lord Borwick (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many Acts of Parliament include provisions that have not yet been commenced by the relevant Secretary of State; how many uncommenced provisions there are in total; and what is the distribution of these uncommenced provisions across Government departments.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Each Government department is responsible for ensuring adequate resourcing to keep uncommenced legislation under review.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Prime Minister has met the City Remembrancer Paul Wright; and if so, on how many occasions.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Details of ministerial meetings are published on gov.uk as part of the government’s transparency publications.
Asked by: Baroness Finn (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by the Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office on 18 March (HC119335), and with regard to Ministers' overseas travel and meetings: Publication Guidance, published on 30 January 2025, why the Palantir meeting did not meet the threshold for inclusion in the Prime Minister's quarterly transparency return in line with paragraphs 3(a), 3(b) and 16 of that guidance.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
I refer the Noble Lady to the answer given on 5 March, Official Report, PQ HC110411:
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 13 October 2025 to Question 77563 on Palantir, whether there is a record of who the Prime Minister (a) met and (b) spoke to during that visit.
Answer: The visit was part of the Prime Minister's trip to Washington. During this visit the Prime Minister listened to a short presentation about Palantir’s work, followed by a tour of the premises and an introduction to members of staff.
In December 2025, the MOD signed an extension to the Enterprise Agreement with Palantir that had been initially awarded in November 2022, by the previous Government, and via a direct award. This extension covered existing services and ensured there was no drop-off in MOD capability in critical areas.
This contract - and all other contracts for any firm - go through the usual rigorous departmental processes and their decision makers.