Asked by: John Glen (Conservative - Salisbury)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Prime Minister has had discussions with His Majesty's household on potential steps to support His Majesty in maintaining the Protestant Reformed Religion established by law.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
We do not routinely comment on discussions between the Government and the Royal Household.
Asked by: John Glen (Conservative - Salisbury)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to his Department's publication entitled Cabinet Office: Government Procurement Card spend over £500, August 2024, (a) who and (b) what the payment to the Chief of Staff Association was for.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The payment made on 29 August 2024 to the Chief of Staff Association was for membership of the association, for a permanent civil servant below senior civil servant (SCS) level. It is standard practice to not publicly reference civil servants by name below SCS. The relevant process for approvals was followed before the payment was made.
Asked by: John Glen (Conservative - Salisbury)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether diversity content has been standardised in civil service job adverts.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The text on diversity in Civil Service Job adverts has not changed since it was standardised under the previous administration, of which the Rt Hon Gentleman was a member.
Asked by: John Glen (Conservative - Salisbury)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether machinery of Government changes have been made to the AI and data science capability functions in the Prime Minister's Office since 4 July 2024.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
As my Right Hon. Friend the Prime Minister announced in a Written Statement, HCWS19, the Incubator for Artificial Intelligence (i.AI) will move from the Cabinet Office to the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. The data science capabilities in the Prime Minister’s Office remain the same.
Asked by: John Glen (Conservative - Salisbury)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people, other than special advisers, have been appointed to civil service posts in (a) his Department, (b) the Government Equalities Office and (c) 10 Downing Street without open competition since 4 July 2024; what their (a) job titles and (b) salary bands are; and on what basis each was appointed.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The Civil Service Commission (CSC) requires that departments provide a quarterly return on their use of Exceptions at SCS2 and above. This information can be found on the CSC website.
Details of appointments below SCS2 are not published.
Asked by: John Glen (Conservative - Salisbury)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the (a) Prime Minster, (b) Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff and (c) No10 appointments team played a role in decisions relating to the departure of (i) non-executive directors and (ii) chairs of public bodies since 4 July 2024.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
As was the case under previous administrations, in order to ensure effective oversight and scrutiny of public bodies central to delivering government objectives, the Prime Minister's Office is consulted by the relevant departments on some appointments, as is normal practice for high profile issues.
Asked by: John Glen (Conservative - Salisbury)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether there is a (a) staff and (b) budget allocation for the Deputy Prime Minister other than those allocated to the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The Deputy Prime Minister’s core staff and budget allocation is assigned to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. The Deputy Prime Minister is also supported by staff in other Government Departments where relevant.
Asked by: John Glen (Conservative - Salisbury)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many senior civil servants in the Prime Minister's office have (a) left and (b)announced their intention to leave since 4 July 2024.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
3 Senior Civil Servants have left the Prime Minister’s Office since 4th July 2024.
Asked by: John Glen (Conservative - Salisbury)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 13 September 2024, to Question 4663, on 70 Whitehall, how many work desks are available for civil servants in 70 Whitehall as a percentage of the staff assigned to work in that building.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
It has been the practice of successive governments not to comment, on grounds of both national security and staff safety, on the physical capacity or staffing numbers for individual buildings of the government estate.
Asked by: John Glen (Conservative - Salisbury)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department plans to make a submission to the Civil Service Commission review of appointments made by exception at delegated grades.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The Cabinet Office has provided the information requested by the Civil Service Commission regarding their review of appointments made by exception at delegated grades.