Lord Hennessy of Nympsfield

As a parliamentary programme, the delivery of the Restoration and Renewal (R&R) of the Palace of Westminster is a matter for both Houses of Parliament. I understand that the Queen’s consent may have to be sought in relation to the Bill to be brought forward in respect of R&R.

There are no longer any extended ministerial offices in existence. They were abolished in July 2016, when the current Prime Minister took office. Extended Ministerial Offices had previously been established in in the Cabinet Office, the Department for Communities and Local Government; the Department for Education, the Department for the Environment Food and Rural Affairs and the Scotland Office.

The Government has received the report of Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee on the Iraq Inquiry, and will be responding in due course, setting out the lessons learned.

The Review of National Security Assessment was completed in February 2017. The Joint Intelligence Organisation (JIO) is leading the implementation of the Review’s recommendations. We are not intending to publish the Review or a summary. However, the full Review will be passed to the Intelligence and Security Committee once it has been formed, in line with their role of Parliamentary oversight for the JIO. The ISC will be given regular updates by the JIO on the progress to implement the Review’s recommendations.

Work on a virtual National Security Academy has begun, with departments agreeing to take a shared approach and cross-community training being developed in specific areas. It has held its first course on Full Spectrum Effects. Open to staff across government, the FCO Diplomatic Academy has launched a Security, Defence and Intelligence faculty, which will further develop knowledge and skills on international security.

The Cabinet Office has transferred the papers of Lord Denning’s Report into the Profumo Affair to the National Archives. I refer the noble Lord to their publicly-available catalogue, which states that that they will remain closed until 1 January 2048. This follows a decision by the Advisory Council on National Records and Archives.

This date reflects the fact that individuals mentioned in the Denning files are still alive, and Lord Denning gave assurances to those from whom he took evidence that the papers would never be published.

I refer the Noble Lord to the answer given by my predecessor to his previous question on 13 December 2013. The Government is working with the National Archives to transfer the Denning papers to Kew. We will make a further announcement in due course.

Extended Ministerial Offices have been established (or are being established) in the Cabinet Office, the Department for Communities and Local Government, the Department for Education, the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Scotland Office.

The government regularly publishes information on the job titles and pay grades of senior civil servants along with the numbers of staff they manage and the budgets they are responsible for. A similar approach will apply to staff in extended ministerial offices.

No Extended Ministerial Offices have been established, but a number are being considered.

With the end of the cold war, separate arrangements for civil defence and emergency planning were combined and underpinned by the Civil Contingencies Act (CCA). The traditional Government War Books were archived.

Details of specific plans and arrangements are not held together in one compendium. The National Security Secretariat retains an overview to ensure that relevant material can be accessed quickly if needed.

The Strategic Defence and Security Review will, among other things, consider the changing risk picture and whether changes are needed to our current posture and arrangements.

The Cabinet Office Precedent Book has been largely superseded by the Cabinet Manual, the Ministerial Code, including Travel by Ministers and the Code of Conduct for Special Advisers, which are public documents.