Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much funding (a) his Department and (b) the Crown Commercial Service has provided to the DigiGov Expo 2025.
Answered by Josh Simons - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
No funding has been provided to DigiGov Expo 2025 by either the Crown Commercial Service or the Cabinet Office.
Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much has been spent on alcohol for the 10 Downing Street business unit via (a) the Government Wine Cellar, (b) Berry Bros and (c) other suppliers since 4 July 2024.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
Official receptions in 10 Downing Street are hosted by Ministers across Government, with details published each quarter as part of the Government's transparency returns. The cost of hospitality in 10 Downing Street is published in the Cabinet Office Annual Report and Accounts.
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 12 March 2025 to Question 32929 on Cabinet Office: Palantir, which non-civil service organisations have seconded staff to the Downing Street business unit since July 2024.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
There have been no secondments from non-Civil Service organisations to Downing Street since July 2024.
Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to his Department's press release entitled Extension of Generalist Member to the Senior Salaries Review Body, published on 5 August 2025, whether the Public Appointments Commissioner was consulted on the decision to reappoint the Generalist Member for 12 months.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
Under the Governance Code on Public Appointments, departments must notify the Commissioner for Public Appointments of “exceptional reappointments or extensions”. An exceptional reappointment or extension is one that requires a postholder to serve for more than two terms or ten years.
On 10 July 2025, Pippa Greenslade’s appointment to the Senior Salaries Review Body was extended for 12 months. This is not considered an “exceptional extension” and therefore the Commissioner for Public Appointments was not notified.
Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the written ministerial statement of 21 July 2025, HCWS870, on Government of service, what criteria will be used to distinguish a breach from a serious breach for the purposes of severance payment recovery.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
Issues that arise under the Ministerial Code are handled on a case by case basis. From 13 October 2025, if a minister leaves office having been found to have seriously breached the Ministerial Code, they will be expected to forgo a ministerial severance payment.
Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what his policy is on the (a) re-use and (b) disposal of branded (i) goods and (ii) signage out of date following machinery of Government changes.
Answered by Chris Ward - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Cabinet Office does not issue guidance on the re-use and/or disposal of branded goods and signage made obsolete as a result of Machinery of Government changes. It is the responsibility of individual departments to ensure their branded assets are managed appropriately following changes in government structures.
Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Written Statement of 21 July 2025 on Government of service, HCWS870, whether the appointment of members to the Ethics and Integrity Commission will be made under the Public Appointments Order in Council; and which Department will be responsible for approving those appointments.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Ethics and Integrity Commission will be established on 13 October 2025 by the Government strengthening and reforming the Committee on Standards in Public Life (CSPL).
The appointment of independent members to the Ethics and Integrity Commission will continue to be subject to the Governance Code for Public Appointments and regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments, as has been the case with CSPL.
As an Arm's Length Body of the Cabinet Office, appointments to the Ethics and Integrity Commission will be the responsibility of Cabinet Office Ministers.
Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority's Annual Report 2024–25, published on 11 August 2025, for what reason no evaluation was completed for the Rosa renewal project.
Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare
The Rosa Renewal Project was subject to the appropriate National Infrastructure Service Transformation Authority oversight, with the project coming to a formal close in March 2025. The project achieved a GREEN Delivery Confidence Assessment as part of its final Gate 5 assessment. Delivery of the specific products set out in the business case was achieved and, therefore, has now formally closed but evaluation and lessons learned activity continue under the Rosa Service Organisation’s business as usual governance.
Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether (a) the National Security Adviser and (b) his Department has had meetings with Inter Mediate since 4 July 2024.
Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare
The National Security Adviser meets with a range of individuals and organisations as part of his role providing advice to the Prime Minister and the Cabinet on national security matters. Such meetings are often sensitive in nature, and the Government does not routinely comment on them or their content.
Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the implications for his Department's policies of the Review of the Arms Length Body Landscape; and if he will provide an update.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The government is undertaking a comprehensive review of the entire Arm's Length Body (ALB) landscape, as announced on 6 April 2025, and is a core part of creating a productive and agile state. The review is ongoing, and outcomes will be communicated in due course.