Asked by: Greg Smith (Conservative - Mid Buckinghamshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department has issued guidance to departments and arm's length bodies on the use of public funds for public affairs, external affairs and lobbying activities.
Answered by Anna Turley - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Cabinet Office has not issued specific additional guidance on the use of public funds for public affairs and lobbying activities. Section 4.1 of the Code of Conduct for Board Members of Public Bodies states that it is an improper use of public funds for public bodies to employ consultants or other companies to lobby Parliament, government, or political parties. Public bodies are required to adhere to this Code, and responsibility for monitoring compliance rests with the relevant sponsoring department as part of the established accountability framework.
Asked by: Greg Smith (Conservative - Mid Buckinghamshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the answer of 25 February 2026 to Question 113349 on Airports: Immigration Controls, which Government Department assesses the economic impact of passenger delays at UK border control points on tourism, aviation and wider business activity.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds
The government is committed to easing the movement of passengers at border control points, while improving security in a changing threat landscape.
No single department assesses the economic impact of passenger delays. As per the response on 25 February 2026 to question 113349, published data for Q3 2025 showed 97.9% of sampled measurements were cleared within service standards.
Asked by: Greg Smith (Conservative - Mid Buckinghamshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Government Property Agency has made an estimate of staff time or resource allocated to measuring, collecting, reporting or validating greenhouse gas emissions across the parts of the estate for which it is responsible.
Answered by Anna Turley - Minister of State (Home Office)
I refer to my answer for 116583. The GPA calculates greenhouse gas emissions for office space occupied by GPA staff and provides utility consumption data for departments occupying other buildings within its managed estate. As this activity is performed by staff as part of their wider duties, the exact amount of time allocated to this specific activity is not centrally recorded.
Asked by: Greg Smith (Conservative - Mid Buckinghamshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the level of inward foreign direct investment was in each of the last 10 financial years.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 11th September is attached.
Asked by: Greg Smith (Conservative - Mid Buckinghamshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the timescales for businesses to prepare for the implementation of the Border Target Operating Model.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
The government published the draft Border Target Operating Model in April. This sets out plans to introduce security and biosecurity controls from 31 October in a way which implements critical protections at the UK border, while ensuring these new controls are as simple as possible for businesses to comply with.
The relevant business stakeholders informed us before publication that they will need time to prepare for these changes, and our phased approach to implementation is designed to give them this time.
We are working closely with businesses to get this right - the current period of engagement helps us to gather views on our draft proposals from businesses in the UK and overseas, to explore the costs of implementing the new model, and to ensure importing is as smooth as possible where checks are needed.
The cost of preparing for regulatory change will vary from business to business, however the Government is working closely with businesses to help them understand what they need to do.
We are also using the engagement period to ensure that UK and international businesses and their supply chains are aware of and understand the new requirements and are ready for these changes.
We will publish a final version of the Border Target Operating Model, providing further detail where needed, in the summer.
Asked by: Greg Smith (Conservative - Mid Buckinghamshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment has been made of the potential impact on supply chains of implementing the Border Target Operating Model.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
The government published the draft Border Target Operating Model in April. This sets out plans to introduce security and biosecurity controls from 31 October in a way which implements critical protections at the UK border, while ensuring these new controls are as simple as possible for businesses to comply with.
The relevant business stakeholders informed us before publication that they will need time to prepare for these changes, and our phased approach to implementation is designed to give them this time.
We are working closely with businesses to get this right - the current period of engagement helps us to gather views on our draft proposals from businesses in the UK and overseas, to explore the costs of implementing the new model, and to ensure importing is as smooth as possible where checks are needed.
The cost of preparing for regulatory change will vary from business to business, however the Government is working closely with businesses to help them understand what they need to do.
We are also using the engagement period to ensure that UK and international businesses and their supply chains are aware of and understand the new requirements and are ready for these changes.
We will publish a final version of the Border Target Operating Model, providing further detail where needed, in the summer.
Asked by: Greg Smith (Conservative - Mid Buckinghamshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment his Department has made of the costs to business of preparing for the implementation of the Border Target Operating Model.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
The government published the draft Border Target Operating Model in April. This sets out plans to introduce security and biosecurity controls from 31 October in a way which implements critical protections at the UK border, while ensuring these new controls are as simple as possible for businesses to comply with.
The relevant business stakeholders informed us before publication that they will need time to prepare for these changes, and our phased approach to implementation is designed to give them this time.
We are working closely with businesses to get this right - the current period of engagement helps us to gather views on our draft proposals from businesses in the UK and overseas, to explore the costs of implementing the new model, and to ensure importing is as smooth as possible where checks are needed.
The cost of preparing for regulatory change will vary from business to business, however the Government is working closely with businesses to help them understand what they need to do.
We are also using the engagement period to ensure that UK and international businesses and their supply chains are aware of and understand the new requirements and are ready for these changes.
We will publish a final version of the Border Target Operating Model, providing further detail where needed, in the summer.
Asked by: Greg Smith (Conservative - Mid Buckinghamshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he plans to publish guidance for businesses on the Border Target Operating Model.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
The government published the draft Border Target Operating Model in April. This sets out plans to introduce security and biosecurity controls from 31 October in a way which implements critical protections at the UK border, while ensuring these new controls are as simple as possible for businesses to comply with.
The relevant business stakeholders informed us before publication that they will need time to prepare for these changes, and our phased approach to implementation is designed to give them this time.
We are working closely with businesses to get this right - the current period of engagement helps us to gather views on our draft proposals from businesses in the UK and overseas, to explore the costs of implementing the new model, and to ensure importing is as smooth as possible where checks are needed.
The cost of preparing for regulatory change will vary from business to business, however the Government is working closely with businesses to help them understand what they need to do.
We are also using the engagement period to ensure that UK and international businesses and their supply chains are aware of and understand the new requirements and are ready for these changes.
We will publish a final version of the Border Target Operating Model, providing further detail where needed, in the summer.
Asked by: Greg Smith (Conservative - Mid Buckinghamshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much the Government has spent on advertising covid-19 restrictions.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Shadow Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
I refer the hon. Member to the answers given to PQ 33512 on 23 March 2020, and to PQ 40655 on 27 April 2020.
Asked by: Greg Smith (Conservative - Mid Buckinghamshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will publish (a) the terms of reference for the social distancing review announced by the Prime Minister on 22 February and (b) the membership of any review committee established.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt
As set out in the COVID-19 Response - Spring 2021, published on 22 February, the Government will review whether COVID-status certification could play a role in reopening our economy, reducing restrictions on social contact and improving safety. The Government will set out its conclusions ahead of Step 4 of the roadmap, which will happen no earlier than 21 June.