Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to FOI2025/18430 and Internal Review IR2026/03033, concerning background papers relating to the meeting on 28 August 2019 attended by Boris Johnson, Peter Thiel and Dominic Cummings, what specific prejudice to the effective conduct of public affairs was identified as arising from disclosure of those papers.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds
As set out in its response of 4 February 2026, the Cabinet Office recognises that there is a public interest in the transparency in how it makes decisions on responses to written parliamentary questions.
However, effective responses to written parliamentary questions rely on a safe space within which issues can be discussed openly and frankly.
The disclosure of the requested information would have a prejudicial effect on these relationships, which would not be in the public interest.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 18 March 2026 to Question 117973, what comparative assessment his Department has made of the (a) scale, (b) scope and (c) criticality of the services provided by Palantir with the services provided by companies classified as cross‑Government Strategic Suppliers; and what his Department's process is for classifying a supplier as a cross‑Government Strategic Supplier.
Answered by Chris Ward
Suppliers are chosen as cross Government Strategic Suppliers following a supplier segmentation exercise based on the scale, scope and criticality of the services they provide. Those that are viewed as having the highest levels against these three criteria are chosen.
Palantir has not been designated as a cross-government Strategic Supplier.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will consider the implementation of enabling powers within the European Partnership Bill to support a future UK-EU youth mobility scheme for young professionals.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds
The European Partnership Bill will provide a framework of powers to ensure agreements with the European Union can be implemented now and in the future.
Any youth experience scheme with the EU would provide a dedicated immigration pathway for young people from the EU, and young British citizens, to study, work, travel, and switch between these activities. We anticipate that such a scheme would be implemented through changes to the Immigration Rules, rather than via enabling powers within the European Partnership Bill.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a written constitution.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds
The UK’s uncodified constitution has evolved over time and is made up of conventions, statutes, judicial decisions, principles and practices. It is the Government’s view that one of the strengths of our constitution is its flexibility and ability to evolve in response to changing circumstances. The Government therefore has no plans to introduce a codified constitution.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what information his Department holds on the proportion of retirement benefit calculations issued by Capita under the Civil Service Pension Scheme which were determined to be correct at first issue in the most recent period for which data is available.
Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Cabinet Office awarded Capita the contract to administer the Civil Service Pension Scheme in November 2023 under the previous government. The current delays facing scheme members are entirely unacceptable, and this Government has taken firm action to resolve them through a clear recovery plan with strict delivery milestones. We have deployed additional resources to expedite priority cases, ensuring that serving and former staff receive the high standard of service they deserve. Regular progress updates remain available to members via the pension portal and Gov.uk.
Capita is under a firm mandate to restore full service delivery to standard contractual levels by the end of June 2026. We are actively exploring the use of all available commercial and contractual levers and continue to withhold milestone payments for missed transition deliverables. All options remain on the table if they fail to meet the June deadline.
Pension quotation requests are prioritised on the basis of the retirement date to the extent that Capita has all of the required data and information to process the quotation. This may mean that some later retirement dates are processed ahead of earlier retirement dates. Death in service and ill-health cases are also prioritised.
All retirement benefit calculations issued by Capita under the Civil Service Pension Scheme are based entirely on the latest data provided by the employer. Because these calculations rely directly on verified employer inputs, all quotes are deemed to be correct at the point of first issue.
The Cabinet Office is unable to provide a specific breakdown of the number of Civil Service Pension Scheme members who reached their retirement date before receiving a retirement benefits quotation, as members retire at different times, including early, late, or partial retirement. Around 20,000 members currently await pension quotations from Capita, including outstanding historical cases left unprocessed by the previous administrator.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many members of the Civil Service Pension Scheme reached their retirement date before receiving a retirement benefits quotation in the most recent period for which data is available.
Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Cabinet Office awarded Capita the contract to administer the Civil Service Pension Scheme in November 2023 under the previous government. The current delays facing scheme members are entirely unacceptable, and this Government has taken firm action to resolve them through a clear recovery plan with strict delivery milestones. We have deployed additional resources to expedite priority cases, ensuring that serving and former staff receive the high standard of service they deserve. Regular progress updates remain available to members via the pension portal and Gov.uk.
Capita is under a firm mandate to restore full service delivery to standard contractual levels by the end of June 2026. We are actively exploring the use of all available commercial and contractual levers and continue to withhold milestone payments for missed transition deliverables. All options remain on the table if they fail to meet the June deadline.
Pension quotation requests are prioritised on the basis of the retirement date to the extent that Capita has all of the required data and information to process the quotation. This may mean that some later retirement dates are processed ahead of earlier retirement dates. Death in service and ill-health cases are also prioritised.
All retirement benefit calculations issued by Capita under the Civil Service Pension Scheme are based entirely on the latest data provided by the employer. Because these calculations rely directly on verified employer inputs, all quotes are deemed to be correct at the point of first issue.
The Cabinet Office is unable to provide a specific breakdown of the number of Civil Service Pension Scheme members who reached their retirement date before receiving a retirement benefits quotation, as members retire at different times, including early, late, or partial retirement. Around 20,000 members currently await pension quotations from Capita, including outstanding historical cases left unprocessed by the previous administrator.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to improve communication between Departments and the services those Departments offer.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds
Each department is accountable for the standard of communication between itself and the various services it maintains as this is not centrally managed.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many SMEs there are in Newton Abbot constituency.
Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 29th May is attached.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether (a) his Department and (b) any intelligence body holds written guidance, instructions, emails and briefings relating to supervision, accompaniment and activity restrictions concerning Lord Mandelson following his vetting outcome.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds
I refer you to the statement made by the Prime Minister on 20 April, and his answers to the questions raised in response, including his commitment that the Government would continue to comply with the instructions of Parliament in the Humble Address of 4 February.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps his Department is taking to ensure full transparency regarding meetings Ministers and senior officials have held with Palantir Technologies; and whether records of those meetings are held centrally.
Answered by Chris Ward
Government departments are required to publish details of Ministers’ and certain senior officials', including Permanent Secretaries and Director Generals, meetings with external individuals and organisations every quarter.