Kevan Jones

In December 2023, United Kingdom Security Vetting (UKSV) processed 91.22% of routine initial Developed Vetting cases in 95 days and 8.62% of Developed Vetting review cases. For routine Security Check (SC)/Counter Terrorism Check (CTC) clearances UKSV completed 95.1% of routine cases within 25 days.

In 2023, UKSV implemented a stabilisation programme which included an increase in headcount. Under Ministerial direction, UKSV prioritised the recovery of initial Developed Vetting turnaround times, followed by Security Check and Counter Terrorist Check turnaround times. These first two targets were met on time. UKSV is currently focussing efforts to maintain the performance of these and is making good progress to meet the third target to recover the turnaround times of Developed Vetting review cases by the end of March 2024.

In line with the practice followed by successive administrations, the Government does not otherwise comment on security matters.

The Office for Government Property (OGP) conducted a data capture exercise to bring together the information we hold about the Government estate into one place, which we have since used in conjunction with individual departments to encourage them to conclude their identification stage. This has aided in identifying a list of confirmed Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete across individual department’s estates.

Each department owns the data relating to specific locations, identification and remediation plans within their estate.

Op FORTITUDE is the dedicated referral pathway to support veterans experiencing or at risk of homelessness secure housing.

Through Op FORTITUDE, the Government has ensured that no veteran should be facing the need to sleep rough due to lack of provision.

As part of the Government’s efforts to end veteran rough sleeping, we recently launched Op FORTITUDE. This is a first of its kind, central referral pathway which links veterans experiencing or facing homelessness with Local Authorities, housing providers and charities across the country.

This is supported by up to £8 million in the ‘Reducing Veterans Homelessness Programme’ which has made funding available to organisations across the UK. Providers are making available dedicated wrap-around support on health & wellbeing, recovery and employability in veteran supported housing.

An additional £20 million will go towards providing extra housing for veterans through the development of new builds and the refurbishment of existing social and charitable housing. An initial £2 million refurbishment and development grant has now been opened for applications via the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust.

Veterans and anyone else facing homelessness or rough sleeping, are also supported by the Government's ‘Ending Rough Sleeping for Good’ strategy which is backed by £2 billion to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping across the country.

We do not routinely publish this data, as has been the case under successive administrations. All Business Units within the Cabinet Office have a responsibility to keep official hospitality costs as low as possible and demonstrate good value for money.

The draft Border Target Operating Model covers the commercial import of live animals. It would apply to these species if they were commercially imported, for example for onward sale. However, non-commercial imports of these species as pets are out of scope and the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs will confirm the policy in due course.

Statistics on the composition of the Civil Service workforce, including regional, diversity and earnings data, are published every year on gov.uk, the last updated version was published in March 2023. On 15 May 2023, there were 4 members of private office staff to support the Minister for Veterans’ Affairs.

The two digital media officers are full time civil servants and are currently employed at HEO grade.

Please see below for the salary bands for HEOs within the Cabinet Office.

• London - £35,241 - £39,352

• National - £32,640 - £36,510

As of 22 June 2023 there were 23 Full Time Employees (FTE) in the Office of Veterans’ Affairs (OVA). In order to increase support to veterans, the Government is providing an additional £33 million to the OVA over the next three years.

It is optional for employees to disclose their ethnicity and sexual orientation and disclosing this data could breach the confidentiality of the individuals working in the OVA due to the size of the unit.

As of 22 June 2023 there were 23 Full Time Employees (FTE) in the Office of Veterans’ Affairs (OVA). In order to increase support to veterans, the Government is providing an additional £33 million to the OVA over the next three years.

It is optional for employees to disclose their ethnicity and sexual orientation and disclosing this data could breach the confidentiality of the individuals working in the OVA due to the size of the unit.

Details of the Minister for Veterans' Affairs meetings with external organisations and individuals are published quarterly in arrears on GOV.UK. Details of meetings for the period of January - March 2023 will be available shortly.

After digital content is published online it may be shared and reproduced by anyone.

All material produced by civil servants, ministers, government departments and agencies in the course of their work belongs to the Crown and is Crown copyright. The Cabinet Office digital team would not create bespoke content related to a Minister’s constituency work, their personal life or any party political events. In line with the civil service code, Cabinet Office officials do not work on Ministerial events that are deemed to be political or personal in nature.

We are now in a digital age, where social media and digital communications are an essential part of government, helping inform the public directly about matters which may affect their lives or interests.

It is often appropriate for content relating to Government policies, guidance and announcements, created by civil servants, to be amplified or posted on other channels including ministers' own social media accounts where this helps drive wider engagement from the public.

a) The following list provides the business units that make up the Cabinet Office at the time of answering the question. This is limited to the core department and does not reflect any arms length bodies or executive agencies. The makeup of the department is subject to change following shifts in ministerial priorities and objectives. This has changed over the course of the four years in scope of this question.

• Prime Minister's Office

• Propriety and Constitution Group

• Government in Parliament

• Economic and Domestic Secretariat

• Intelligence and Security Committee

• National Security Secretariat

• Joint Intelligence Organisation

• Cabinet Secretary Group

• Government Digital Service

• Central Digital and Data Office

• Government Communication Service

• Office of Government Property

• Infrastructure and Projects Authority

• Civil Service Human Resources

• Government Business Services

• Government Commercial Function

• Government Security Group (Includes UKSV)

• Borders

• Geospatial Commission (MOG Pending)

• Public Sector Fraud Authority

• Equality Hub

• Commercial Models (GCF)

• COP Presidency

• Chief Operating Officer's Office

• People and Places

• Strategy, Finance, and Performance

• Central Budgets

• CO Commercial

• CO Digital

• Public Bodies and Priority Projects Unit

• Public Inquiry Response Unit

• Modernisation and Reform Unit

• Office for Veterans' Affairs

• Delivery Group

• CO HMT Commercial

• Infected Blood Inquiry

• Grenfell Inquiry

• Covid Inquiry

b) We do not routinely publish this financial data, as has been the case under successive administrations.

My Private Office currently has six staff to support me in my role as Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, attending Cabinet.

In line with Cabinet Office policy, it is permissible for Business Units to provide hospitality for meetings with external partners such as industry or foreign governments.

All Business Units within the Cabinet Office have a responsibility to keep official hospitality costs as low as possible and demonstrate good value for money.

The Cabinet Office’s hospitality spend is published on GOV.UK in the usual way.

Digital officers' work is allocated in discussion between the Cabinet Office Communications team, policy teams and ministerial private offices. Allocation depends on a range of factors including subject, location and staff availability.

As a result, digital media officers attend various events with Ministers as and when needed.

Digital officers' work is allocated in discussion between the Cabinet Office Communications team, policy teams and ministerial private offices. Allocation depends on a range of factors including subject, location and staff availability.

As a result, digital media officers attend various events with Ministers as and when needed.

Digital officers' work is allocated in discussion between the Cabinet Office Communications team, policy teams and ministerial private offices. Allocation depends on a range of factors including subject, location and staff availability.

As a result, digital media officers attend various events with Ministers as and when needed.

Governments and ministers of all political parties have always used a wide variety of media to help inform the public about issues which may affect their lives.

We are now in a digital age, and social media channels are therefore an important part of government, ministers’ and parliamentarians’ communications.

In addition to the Civil Service Code, the Government Communications Service offers propriety in digital and social media guidance .

Statistics on the composition of the Civil Service workforce, including regional, diversity and earnings data, are published in the usual way to ensure they meet the highest standards of trustworthiness, quality and public value.

Setting out the budget may lead to inaccurate figures due to in-year budget changes. Instead, I can provide the actual spend.

The Cabinet Office Communications team employs two Digital Media Officers who support all Ministers in the Department. This is an essential part of helping to explain the Department's policies and priorities to a wider audience, such budgets have existed under successive administrations.

The budget for Communications team staff, including the two Digital Media Officers, is held by the Director of Communications and is accounted for in line with Cabinet Office personnel budget management processes.

The total actual expenditure for the Cabinet Office Communications cost centre, for the periods in question is as follows:

The Cabinet Office Communications team employs two Digital Media Officers who support all Ministers in the Department. This is an essential part of helping to explain the Department's policies and priorities to a wider audience.

The budget for Communications team staff, including the two Digital Media Officers, is held by the Director of Communications and is accounted for in line with Cabinet Office personnel budget management processes.

The Cabinet Office Communications team employs two Digital Media Officers who support all Ministers in the Department. This is an essential part of helping to explain the Department's policies and priorities to a wider audience.

The budget for Communications team staff, including the two Digital Media Officers, is held by the Director of Communications and is accounted for in line with Cabinet Office personnel budget management processes.

The Office for Veterans’ Affairs does not have a dedicated photographer and draws on resources from the Cabinet Office Communications team who support all Ministers in the Department.

The Cabinet Office Communications team employs two Digital Media Officers who support all Ministers in the Department. This is an essential part of helping to explain the Department's policies and priorities to a wider audience.

The Office for Veterans’ Affairs is located in the Cabinet Office and works with all UK Government departments and a large range of other private, charity and public sector organisations who collectively deliver support and services to veterans.

The Office for Veterans’ Affairs is headed by a Director and has approximately 23 staff, in addition to receiving support from colleagues in the Cabinet Office communications and external affairs team, as well as the Minister’s private office.

As announced in the Chancellor’s Spring Budget 2023, the Government is providing an additional £33 million to the Office for Veterans’ affairs over the next three years. This will allow for a significant expansion of the team in order to increase the service provided to veterans.

We are in a digital age, where social media and digital communications are an essential part of government. Photographers are a cross-government resource, supporting departments and Ministers, and play a critical role in the support of the Government’s digital communications activity and in progressing key policy areas.

The Major Project Leadership Academy (MPLA) is an 18 month programme aimed at senior leaders, SCS1 and above, of the projects in the Government's Major Projects Portfolio (GMPP).

The Cabinet Office has no record of receiving this correspondence. If the hon. Member would like to supply a further copy, a reply will be sent.

The Government is committed to publishing details of ministers’ and senior officials’ meetings with external organisations on gov.uk, and does so on a quarterly basis.

There is no record of any meetings taking place with Astra Asset Management UK in the past two years.

Details of Government contracts above £10,000, and £25,000 in the wider public sector, are published on Contracts Finder: https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Search.

The driving principle behind public procurement policy is to award contracts on the basis of value for money, which means the optimum combination of cost and quality over the lifetime of the project, not just price alone. The best way to test for and to demonstrate this principle is via an open competition, as is required in most cases by public procurement legislation.

It is open to organisations to consider and bid for contract opportunities where appropriate. This Government is committed to ensuring procurement opportunities are accessible to a range of organisations, and in supporting start-ups, small businesses and Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprises to participate in government procurement.

The Cabinet Office has examined its official records and found no communication with the BBC regarding the Rt Hon. Member for Tamworth between 29th June and 3rd July.

There is no record of any communication from the Cabinet Office to the BBC regarding the Rt Hon. Member for Tamworth between 29 June and 3 July.

The Prime Minister's office has no record of receiving this correspondence. If the hon. Member would like to supply a further copy, a reply will be sent.

This information is not held centrally.

Details of Government contracts above £10,000 and £25,000 in the wider public sector are published on Contracts Finder: https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Search.

The report undertaken by the Second Permanent Secretary - available in the Library of the House - did not identify any allegations relating to staff gatherings on this date.

For the avoidance of doubt, there was no such expenditure on 20 May 2020 either.

Details of Ministers’ official meetings with external organisations are published quarterly and can be found on GOV.UK.

The Forfeiture Committee last convened on 20th May 2021.

The OVA has looked at how the frequency of suicide within the veteran community can best be measured and has identifed a robust methodology which does not require the placing of new duties on coroners. The new approach utilises data collected through the 2021 England and Wales census to compare the health of the veteran population with the health of the general population, including looking at suicide related deaths of veterans.

This new approach does not prevent coroners from seeking information about veteran status where it is felt that this is relevant to the suicide being investigated and the coroner has previously been informed by family members that the person was a veteran. There is a single point of contact at the MOD for coroners to obtain information on whether the suicide victim was a former member of the UK’s armed forces.

The OVA has looked at how the frequency of suicide within the veteran community can best be measured and has identifed a robust methodology which does not require the placing of new duties on coroners. The new approach utilises data collected through the 2021 England and Wales census to compare the health of the veteran population with the health of the general population, including looking at suicide related deaths of veterans.

This new approach does not prevent coroners from seeking information about veteran status where it is felt that this is relevant to the suicide being investigated and the coroner has previously been informed by family members that the person was a veteran. There is a single point of contact at the MOD for coroners to obtain information on whether the suicide victim was a former member of the UK’s armed forces.