Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what discussions he has had with the Office for National Statistics to (a) remove and (b) amend questions on gender identity in the next Census.
Answered by Josh Simons - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 14th January is attached.
Asked by: Jenny Riddell-Carpenter (Labour - Suffolk Coastal)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to improve cross-Government coordination on the delivery of Government priorities in rural areas.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
Since coming into office, this Government has taken action to ensure rural communities begin to feel the benefits of change they voted for at the last election.
We have allocated £1.9 billion into broadband and 4G connectivity, and £2.3 billion of transport funding for local places, across rural communities.
The Cabinet Office plays an important role in convening Ministers across Government and deploying the record £10.5 billion we have invested in flood defences; and to support rural communities through our Flood Resilience Partnership.
Asked by: Peter Swallow (Labour - Bracknell)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help protect democratic processes from foreign interference.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
Protecting UK democratic processes from foreign interference is a top priority for the Government.
The Joint Election Security and Preparedness Unit coordinates work across government to respond to a range of threats to elections, including foreign interference.
We are implementing our Counter Political Interference and Espionage Action Plan to harden UK politics against foreign interference, and the Rycroft review into foreign financial interference in UK politics is underway.
Asked by: Douglas McAllister (Labour - West Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent progress he has made on improving cooperation between the UK Government and the devolved Administrations.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
This government reset relations with the devolved governments, has delivered record funding settlements for Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, and is bringing pride to communities in every part of the UK with our groundbreaking Pride in Place scheme, including in West Dunbartonshire.
My honourable friend’s constituents are best served when both of Scotland’s governments work in partnership, to create jobs and opportunities for all Scots, and that is exactly the approach I have taken in this role.
Asked by: Harriet Cross (Conservative - Gordon and Buchan)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent discussions he has had with his EU counterparts on future trade agreements.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
Following the UK-EU Summit, we have started negotiations on a food and drink agreement, linking our Emissions Trading Schemes (ETS) and we have concluded exploratory talks on an electricity agreement. While the Government is focused on delivering these negotiations, future summits will provide us with opportunities to strengthen our relationship further.
Asked by: Tom Gordon (Liberal Democrat - Harrogate and Knaresborough)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to ensure newly retired civil servants receive their pension on time.
Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
The previous government awarded the contract to administer the Civil Service Pension Scheme to Capita in November 2023.
The administration transferred to Capita on 1 December 2025 and the first payroll ran successfully in the same month.
We recognise that a number of pension scheme members have experienced delays in receiving their pension payments. The Cabinet Office is meeting regularly with Capita to review their performance, identify priorities, and agree actions to improve the overall processing and service. We continue to work with our administrator, Capita, to increase the processing of retirement quotes. Alongside this, Capita is increasing staffing in key areas, such as the contact centre, to increase the level of support for members.
Asked by: Lord Jackson of Peterborough (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 18 December 2025 (HL12683), on what dates organised group telephone or video calls with consultant lobbyists not otherwise listed in gov.uk transparency publications have taken place since July 2024.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
I refer the Noble Lord back to HL12683.
GOV.UK transparency publications list details of Ministers and Senior Officials' meetings, including organised group telephone or video calls, where these replace or take the format of an official meeting.
As has been policy for successive administrations, the Government does not publish the details of meetings held by Special Advisers (with the exception of meetings with senior media figures) or the meetings of officials at Director rank or below (with the exception of Finance and Commercial Directors, or Directors who are Senior Responsible Owners of projects in the Government Major Projects Portfolio).
Asked by: Baroness Finn (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, with regard to paragraph 23 of Guidance on Making Direct Ministerial Appointments, published in October 2025, whether (1) the Cabinet Office Permanent Secretary, and (2) the Cabinet Propriety and Ethics Team, have approved any individual exemptions to the publication of details of direct ministerial appointments for appointees who are currently in post.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
There are no such cases.
Asked by: Lord Blunkett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many honours above OBE level were awarded to people who were (1) living in, or (2) working in or providing service to, the South Yorkshire area at the time of their nomination for an honour in the New Years Honours 2026 list.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Statistical information held in relation to the regional breakdown of all 1157 recipients for the King’s New Year Honours List 2026 can be found below. Percentages are rounded to 1 decimal point. Data for CBE and higher levels has been aggregated and is also included below. Data reflects the correspondence address provided by recipients.
Data is collected using city/town and county, then aggregated into regional figures at the time that the recipients were sounded for an award, not when they were originally nominated. There were 14 individuals who noted their location as South Yorkshire in the King’s New Year Honours List 2026 List, 2 of which were above OBE level. There were 0 individuals who noted their location as Sheffield.
Information on the number of nominations by mayoral authority in South Yorkshire is not captured, as we are unable to break down the data in that way. However, of those who listed their location as South Yorkshire, 3 individuals received an award above MBE level.
42 recipients of honours in the King’s New Year Honours List 2026 have received honours in previous lists.
This data relates only to the main Prime Minister’s List and does not include data from the Defence List or the Overseas and International List, which are not administered by the Cabinet Office.
Transparency data for the list by county, the level of award received and the service for which each recipient has been recognised, as well as information on recipients recognised in previous honours lists, is publicly available on gov.uk.
Honours are awarded on merit basis. A key aim of the honours system is to ensure that it is more representative of the country as a whole and we will continue to encourage more nominations from every corner of the UK, including South Yorkshire, in future honours lists.
There are currently 62 living recipients of the Companion of Honour. Data is collected using the region that the recipient gave as their correspondence address when the honour was originally awarded, therefore current address data for recipients prior to the King’s New Year Honours List 2026 round is not held. There were no recipients of the Companion of Honour on the King’s New Year Honours List 2026.
Region | BEM | BEM% | MBE | MBE% | OBE | OBE% | CBE & Higher | CBE & higher% | Total | % of the total NY26 list living in each region | % of UK population |
East | 28 | 8.8% | 36 | 7.4% | 21 | 9.4% | 11 | 8.7% | 96 | 8.3% | 9.5% |
East Midlands | 12 | 3.8% | 22 | 4.5% | 9 | 4.0% | 7 | 5.5% | 50 | 4.3% | 7.3% |
London | 28 | 8.8% | 89 | 18.2% | 58 | 25.9% | 42 | 33.1% | 217 | 18.8% | 13.0% |
North East | 9 | 2.8% | 14 | 2.9% | 6 | 2.7% | 1 | 0.8% | 30 | 2.6% | 4.0% |
North West | 31 | 9.8% | 44 | 9.0% | 17 | 7.6% | 5 | 3.9% | 97 | 8.4% | 11.0% |
Northern Ireland | 20 | 6.3% | 25 | 5.1% | 6 | 2.7% | 4 | 3.1% | 55 | 4.8% | 2.8% |
Scotland | 25 | 7.9% | 56 | 11.5% | 22 | 9.8% | 11 | 8.7% | 114 | 9.9% | 8.0% |
South East | 47 | 14.8% | 54 | 11.0% | 41 | 18.3% | 22 | 17.3% | 164 | 14.2% | 14.0% |
South West | 34 | 10.7% | 37 | 7.6% | 15 | 6.7% | 11 | 8.7% | 97 | 8.4% | 8.5% |
Wales | 18 | 5.7% | 38 | 7.8% | 8 | 3.6% | 3 | 2.4% | 67 | 5.8% | 4.6% |
West Midlands | 38 | 12.0% | 33 | 6.7% | 9 | 4.0% | 1 | 0.8% | 81 | 7.0% | 8.9% |
Yorkshire & Humberside | 27 | 8.5% | 39 | 8.0% | 10 | 4.5% | 8 | 6.3% | 84 | 7.3% | 8.2% |
Living abroad | 0 | 0.0% | 2 | 0.4% | 2 | 0.9% | 1 | 0.8% | 5 | 0.4% | - |
Total | 317 | 100% | 489 | 100% | 224 | 100% | 127 | 100% | 1157 | 100% | - |
Asked by: Lord Blunkett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many honours above OBE level were awarded to people who were (1) living in, or (2) working in or providing service to, the Sheffield City Region at the time of their nomination for an honour in the New Year Honours 2026 list.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Statistical information held in relation to the regional breakdown of all 1157 recipients for the King’s New Year Honours List 2026 can be found below. Percentages are rounded to 1 decimal point. Data for CBE and higher levels has been aggregated and is also included below. Data reflects the correspondence address provided by recipients.
Data is collected using city/town and county, then aggregated into regional figures at the time that the recipients were sounded for an award, not when they were originally nominated. There were 14 individuals who noted their location as South Yorkshire in the King’s New Year Honours List 2026 List, 2 of which were above OBE level. There were 0 individuals who noted their location as Sheffield.
Information on the number of nominations by mayoral authority in South Yorkshire is not captured, as we are unable to break down the data in that way. However, of those who listed their location as South Yorkshire, 3 individuals received an award above MBE level.
42 recipients of honours in the King’s New Year Honours List 2026 have received honours in previous lists.
This data relates only to the main Prime Minister’s List and does not include data from the Defence List or the Overseas and International List, which are not administered by the Cabinet Office.
Transparency data for the list by county, the level of award received and the service for which each recipient has been recognised, as well as information on recipients recognised in previous honours lists, is publicly available on gov.uk.
Honours are awarded on merit basis. A key aim of the honours system is to ensure that it is more representative of the country as a whole and we will continue to encourage more nominations from every corner of the UK, including South Yorkshire, in future honours lists.
There are currently 62 living recipients of the Companion of Honour. Data is collected using the region that the recipient gave as their correspondence address when the honour was originally awarded, therefore current address data for recipients prior to the King’s New Year Honours List 2026 round is not held. There were no recipients of the Companion of Honour on the King’s New Year Honours List 2026.
Region | BEM | BEM% | MBE | MBE% | OBE | OBE% | CBE & Higher | CBE & higher% | Total | % of the total NY26 list living in each region | % of UK population |
East | 28 | 8.8% | 36 | 7.4% | 21 | 9.4% | 11 | 8.7% | 96 | 8.3% | 9.5% |
East Midlands | 12 | 3.8% | 22 | 4.5% | 9 | 4.0% | 7 | 5.5% | 50 | 4.3% | 7.3% |
London | 28 | 8.8% | 89 | 18.2% | 58 | 25.9% | 42 | 33.1% | 217 | 18.8% | 13.0% |
North East | 9 | 2.8% | 14 | 2.9% | 6 | 2.7% | 1 | 0.8% | 30 | 2.6% | 4.0% |
North West | 31 | 9.8% | 44 | 9.0% | 17 | 7.6% | 5 | 3.9% | 97 | 8.4% | 11.0% |
Northern Ireland | 20 | 6.3% | 25 | 5.1% | 6 | 2.7% | 4 | 3.1% | 55 | 4.8% | 2.8% |
Scotland | 25 | 7.9% | 56 | 11.5% | 22 | 9.8% | 11 | 8.7% | 114 | 9.9% | 8.0% |
South East | 47 | 14.8% | 54 | 11.0% | 41 | 18.3% | 22 | 17.3% | 164 | 14.2% | 14.0% |
South West | 34 | 10.7% | 37 | 7.6% | 15 | 6.7% | 11 | 8.7% | 97 | 8.4% | 8.5% |
Wales | 18 | 5.7% | 38 | 7.8% | 8 | 3.6% | 3 | 2.4% | 67 | 5.8% | 4.6% |
West Midlands | 38 | 12.0% | 33 | 6.7% | 9 | 4.0% | 1 | 0.8% | 81 | 7.0% | 8.9% |
Yorkshire & Humberside | 27 | 8.5% | 39 | 8.0% | 10 | 4.5% | 8 | 6.3% | 84 | 7.3% | 8.2% |
Living abroad | 0 | 0.0% | 2 | 0.4% | 2 | 0.9% | 1 | 0.8% | 5 | 0.4% | - |
Total | 317 | 100% | 489 | 100% | 224 | 100% | 127 | 100% | 1157 | 100% | - |