Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 9 June 2025 to Question 54760 on Civil Servants: London, if he will publish his Department's relocation policy; and whether voluntarily relocated civil servants continue to receive a London weighting.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
This policy has not been previously published, and as with many internal staff policies, there are no current plans to publish it.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to his Department's publication entitled Government Procurement Card spend over £500 - April 2025 (Spending by Business Units no longer part of Cabinet Office), published on 29 May 2025, what the spending at Total Conflict Mgmt was for.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The expenditure was for a training course for a member of the Government Commercial Function.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what his Department's policy is on flying the Armed Forces flag on Armed Forces Day.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Government Property Agency takes instruction from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport for when to fly flags as part of events, ceremonies and celebrations such as Armed Forces Day.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department plans to have further phases of civil service relocation; and whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of relocating civil servants to (a) Preston and (b) other host cities.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The next phase of Places for Growth will move thousands more roles out of London to bring the Civil Service closer to the communities it serves. Preston will continue to have a thriving Civil Service community as part of the North West Digital and Cyber Security corridor. Government departments can also continue to build on the existing Civil Service presence there if it aligns with their business needs.
Asked by: Harriett Baldwin (Conservative - West Worcestershire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what new Government contracts have been awarded to Fujitsu since 5 July 2024; and what the value was of those contracts.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
In January 2024, Fujitsu said it would withdraw from bidding for contracts with new Government customers until the Post Office Horizon inquiry concludes – and it would only bid for work with existing Government customers where it already has an existing customer relationship with them, or where there is an agreed need for Fujitsu’s skills and capabilities. Fujitsu's bid approach is detailed in correspondence deposited in the Houses of Parliament libraries on 4 March 2024 (DEP2024-0247).
Details of public sector awards are publicly available on Contracts Finder & Find a Tender services. In addition to extensions available under Fujitsu’s existing contracts, Contracts Finder and Find a Tender provide details of twelve new Fujitsu contracts since July 2024. These awards are compliant with Fujitsu's commitment not to bid for work with new customers. The majority are for services already provided by Fujitsu and were put in place as a direct award to ensure continuity of services whilst competitive procurements are being set up.
The Government is determined to hold those responsible for the Horizon scandal to account, and will continue to make rapid progress on compensation and redress. Fujitsu’s role in Horizon is one of the issues which is being reviewed by Sir Wyn Williams’s statutory inquiry. The Cabinet Office has been monitoring the situation, in addition to continuing its usual monitoring of Fujitsu as a strategic supplier. The Government will carefully consider volume 1 of the report, to be published on 8 July, which is limited in scope. Once the inquiry establishes the full facts, we will review its final report and consider any further action, as appropriate.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the Energy Performance Certificate rating is of the Deputy Prime Minister’s residence in Admiralty House.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The residences at Admiralty House are not separately measured for Energy Performance. The Energy Performance Certificate Rating for Admiralty House is B.
Asked by: Rebecca Paul (Conservative - Reigate)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the requirement for applicants to demonstrate three years of continuous residence in the UK to be considered for civil service roles on the ability of British nationals who have spent periods residing abroad to join the civil service.
Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
To join the Civil Service, individuals must pass pre-employment checks contained within the Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS). As part of the Right to Work check conducted within the BPSS, organisations need to assure themselves through obtaining documentation if individuals have resided overseas for six months or more within the last three years.
For Civil Service roles that require National Security Vetting (NSV), in order for meaningful NSV checks to be carried out, individuals will need to have lived in the UK for a sufficient period of time. This period varies depending on the level of clearance required, to enable appropriate checks to provide the required level of assurance. For the Counter Terrorism Check (CTC), the recommended UK residency is three years preceding the NSV application.
These NSV policies are long standing and are kept under regular review.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will require the National Security Adviser to publish details of meetings with external organisations other than senior media executives.
Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
As a special adviser, the National Security Adviser is bound by the transparency obligations set out in the Code of Conduct for Special Advisers.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Office for National Statistics holds comparative data on new dwellings in each nation of the UK in each year since 2008-09.
Answered by Georgia Gould - 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 30th June is attached.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 10 June 2025 to Question 57737 on European Parliament Members: Workplace Pensions, which public body holds information on the pension scheme liabilities for UK MEPs from 2009 up to the date the UK left the EU.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The European Parliamentary (United Kingdom Representatives) Pension Scheme closed to new members in 2009. Active members were able to continue contributing to this scheme or to join a new European Union (EU) Members of the European Parliament (MEP) scheme. HMT holds information on the pension scheme liabilities for this scheme and the information is available in the Consolidated Fund Accounts 2023 to 2024 page 37 section 7:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/consolidated-fund-account-2023-to-2024
In 2009, the EU implemented a uniform pension scheme for all MEPs, replacing the previous system where MEPs received pensions and salaries from their respective member states.
MEPs elected from 2009 onwards are members of the EU pension scheme and the UK’s share of the pension liabilities are covered by the EU Exit agreement. Information about the EU scheme liabilities can be found at the following link on the UK Parliament website:
https://committees.parliament.uk/work/3906/exiting-the-eu-the-financial-settlement-inquiry/#:~:text=As%20part%20of%20the%20ongoing,the%20estimated%20settlement%20and%20why.