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 25 March 2026 to Question 119977 on Proof of Identity: Digital Technology, for what reason the minimum age to join the People’s Panel is 18 years of age.
Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The minimum age agreed with Ipsos for the People’s Panel is 18 due to the requirement and process to stay overnight to attend the sessions.
The perspectives of 16 and 17 year olds remain important and will be captured through the broader consultation process including targeted engagement with these groups to ensure the voices of younger people are heard.
Asked by: Baroness Shawcross-Wolfson (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 24 March (HL14079), whether it is still their intention to set up teams modelled on the Vaccine Taskforce to deliver Prime Ministerial priorities; and, if so, whether these teams will be subject to the new departmental accountability framework.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The government is reforming the spending control and accountability framework in order to drive better value for money and enable the public sector to deliver the government’s priorities efficiently. This ultimately means better and faster outcomes for citizens. The reforms will reinforce accountability, enable the central government functions to focus more of their efforts on building capability, and be supported by open and collaborative ways of working. From 1 April, ‘delegated authority limits’ have increased across most of government and duplication in the approvals process has been removed.
Taskforces will be given the authority to exercise unique freedoms, including the freedom to get on with the job with prioritised business case approvals and increased delegated authority limits from the Treasury as appropriate.
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.
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 9 April (HL15974), whether they plan to amend Ministerial Pension Scheme legislation to allow for pension forfeiture in cases where a minister is found guilty of (1) misconduct in public life, and (2) improper performance under the Bribery Act 2010, relating to their ministerial conduct.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
I refer the Noble Baroness to the response already provided to HL 15974:
Question: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by the Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office on 23 March (HC120630), what consideration they have given to amending primary legislation to provide for the Ministerial Pension Scheme to be in scope of forfeiture for situations where a former minister is convicted for a criminal offence in relation to their activities while serving as a minister.
Answer: The government does not currently have any plans to amend the Ministerial Pension Scheme.
Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 28 November 2025 to Question 86239 on Deputy Prime Minister: Admiralty House, what the value was of that invoice.
Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
I refer the Honourable Member to the response to PQ 74185
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: 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: 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: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make an assessment of the effectiveness of the Government's Crown Commercial Service (CCS) agreement with Microsoft.
Answered by Chris Ward - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Government keeps the effectiveness of the Strategic Partnership Arrangement 2024 (SPA24) with Microsoft under review. Government Commercial Agency (GCA), formerly Crown Commercial Service (CCS), manages SPA24 with Microsoft, which provides enhanced value and discounted pricing for eligible UK public sector organisations.
The agency reviews Microsoft’s performance against SPA24 Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) quarterly, focusing on pricing commitments, financial transparency, social value delivery, and client satisfaction.
Microsoft’s key contracts are assessed by departments against a range of criteria. KPIs are available on gov.uk.