Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential implications for its policies of the Carnegie UK report entitled Life in the UK 2025.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
This government is already strongly committed to ensuring that everyone, no matter their background, can thrive. Our mission-led government is delivering on our Plan for Change to secure opportunity for all, economic stability, and improved living standards.
We are progressing our mission on opportunity for all to break the link between background and success. We are fixing the foundations of our education and care systems, hiring more teachers, social workers and nursery staff. We have also launched our Best Start in Life strategy and are rolling out Best Start Family Hubs investing £1.5 billion.
More widely, this government is investing £820 million creating 350,000 workplace opportunities to support young people not in education or training under the Youth Guarantee; and £5bn in the Pride of Place programme to empower local people to shape the future of their neighbourhoods.
Work is also underway to deliver our manifesto commitment to commence the socio-economic duty in England. The duty will require specified public bodies to actively consider how their strategic decisions might help to reduce the inequalities associated with socio-economic disadvantage.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to page 132 of the Cabinet Office Annual report and accounts 2024-2025, published on 23 October 2025, for what reason his Department retained £90 million of dividends and returned £71 million of dividends to HM Treasury from the Crown Commercial Service.
Answered by Chris Ward - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
In the spending review 2021, HM Treasury agreed that dividends received from Crown Commercial Service were to be returned to HMT and would be compensated with an annual reserve claim of up to £71 million.
In the Autumn Budget 2024, HMT approved that in 2024-25, in addition to the annual reserve claim, the Cabinet Office may retain up to £196 million in income from dividends from the Crown Commercial Service.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Information Commissioner decision notice of 29 October 2025, ref IC-362303-N0J6, if he will publish his Department's submission to the ICO, with personal information redacted.
Answered by Chris Ward - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Information Commissioner’s Office summarises the position of a public authority and the requester within its published decision notice.
As has been the case under successive administrations, the Cabinet Office does not publish the submissions it makes to the Commissioner during the course of his investigations.
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: 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: 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 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.
Asked by: Lord Jackson of Peterborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, with regard to the Public Appointments Data Report 2024/25, published on 2 December, whether they plan to set targets for the number of public appointments based on social class.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The government is committed to ensuring that public appointments are more representative of our nations and regions and will set out its approach in due course.
Asked by: Lord Jackson of Peterborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government on what dates calls have been held between the government and corporate lobbyists since 4 July 2024; which lobbying firms joined those calls; and which ministers have joined those calls.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Details of Ministers and Senior Officials' meetings, including those held using video or audio-conferencing technology, and including phone calls where these replace or take the format of an official meeting, are published by departments on GOV.UK every quarter.