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 Parliamentary Secretary to the Cabinet Office on 6 June 2025 (HC53886), how much was spent on the Prime Minister’s domestic flights in 2025; and whether this includes expenditure on carbon offsetting.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Ministerial travel is undertaken using efficient and cost-effective travel arrangements. Security considerations are also taken into account.
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 his speech entitled Move fast. Fix things, delivered on 20 January 2026, whether training delivered under Learning Frameworks 2.0 will cease to be procured from external suppliers.
Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Many of the Civil Service’s training needs can be delivered in-house, by civil servants. However, it is important to note that the Civil Service will always want to bring in expert knowledge, insight and learning from outside the Civil Service to ensure that civil servants have the right technical knowledge and skills.
The National School of Government and Public Services will deliver more training in house - especially for leadership and management, and core skills. Over the course of the next three years, Government Skills will increase the focus on in-house delivery where it is sensible to do so and, by April 2029, we will have moved to a new delivery model where we work directly with more suppliers.
Over this three year period, the Cabinet Office will use the Learning Frameworks 2.0 contracts to deliver training services to the Civil Service whilst the infrastructure needed by the National School of Government and Public Services is established.
Asked by: Baroness Finn (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 17 March (HL14055), why the Prime Minister’s meeting with Palantir and Lord Mandelson in Washington is not classed as a meeting for the purposes of the Downing Street’s quarterly transparency returns under the Cabinet Office guidance, Ministers' overseas travel and meetings: Publication Guidance, published on 30 January 2025.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
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.
Any contracts for any firm go through the usual rigorous departmental processes and their decision makers.
Asked by: Lord Watts (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Prime Minister has agreed a date to meet with victims of press abuse.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer of 02 February, Official Report, PQ HC107285:
PQ 107285: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Prime Minister has agreed a date to meet with victims of press abuse, following his remarks at the Liaison Committee on 15 December 2025.
Answer: Officials from the Prime Minister’s Office are in contact with representatives of the group to arrange a meeting.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will publish (a) Government People Group and (b) his Department's guidance on staff working compressed hours.
Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The government does not publish internal documents.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham Edgbaston)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department was invited by the Office for National Statistics to provide evidence or input into its review of the ethnicity harmonised standard.
Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
A review of the harmonised standard for ethnicity data collection is underway by the Government Statistical Service Harmonisation team.
A public consultation between October 2025 and February 2026 sought views from a wide range of users, including Government Departments and public bodies, to understand user needs for ethnic group data. This was supplemented by a programme of engagement activity, including with representatives of all government departments.
ONS have committed to providing an initial response to the public consultation in April, and a full report on the consultation in late summer 2026 will include more detailed information on the departments that responded to the consultation.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham Edgbaston)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what evidence his Department submitted to the Office for National Statistics' review of the ethnicity harmonised standard, including in relation to the recording of Sikhs and Jewish people as ethnic groups.
Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
An initial response to the public consultation is due to be published in April, followed by a full report on the consultation in late summer 2026. This report will include all formal responses to the consultation, and the names of the organisations that responded.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether Varun Chandra remains employed as a special adviser.
Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
In January, Mr Chandra was appointed as the Prime Minister’s Special Envoy to the United States on Trade and Investment.
Mr Chandra remains employed as a special adviser to the Prime Minister.
Asked by: Baroness Featherstone (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to provide compensation for career damage and financial loss for victims in the infected blood scheme who were unable to complete or build on their training or qualifications.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Financial Loss award is designed to compensate for past and future financial losses suffered as a result of infection. For people infected with HIV or chronic Hepatitis infections, this is calculated based on the average anticipated loss of earnings they would have suffered as a result of their infection and subsequent treatment.
In some exceptional cases, infected people will have suffered greater financial losses as a result of their infection than they will be compensated for as part of their core route award. This might be, for example, where they had particularly high earnings prior to their infection. Infected people in this situation can apply for an Exceptional Loss award through the Scheme’s supplementary route, and if eligible, receive additional financial loss compensation to reflect their circumstances.
The Inquiry’s Additional Report included a recommendation to consult on whether these evidence requirements mean that some people who ought to be eligible for the award are prevented from accessing it, and whether there are ways to address this.
The consultation asked respondents to consider forms of evidence for loss of earnings, fairness for applicants to the Scheme, and the types of evidence the Infected Blood Compensation Authority could take into account when someone no longer has documentary evidence to prove they earned beyond what is provided for under the core route. The consultation closed on 22 January. The Minister for the Cabinet Office hopes to update Parliament soon on the changes the Government intends to make to the compensation scheme, as a result of the public consultation.
Asked by: Baroness Finn (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 10 March (HL15172), on what date the guidance on speaking to the media was last updated.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
I refer the noble Lady to the answer given in HL15172:
Question: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent on 3 February (HL13976), and with reference to paragraph 223 of the Cabinet Office Guide to Parliamentary Work and paragraph 1.6(d) of the Ministerial Code, what is the reason why current policy development prevents the publication of the previous guidance to the Civil Service about speaking to the media. HL15172
Answer: This guidance is currently under development in a live policy area. Premature release of this information would inhibit the free and frank provision of advice for policy development.