Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many (a) full time and (b) part time civil service personnel there were in each of the last five years.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The number of civil servants working full time and part time in each year from 2019 to 2023 on the stated reference date were:
Reference date | Full-time | Part-time |
2019/03/31 | 344,050 | 102,020 |
2020/03/31 | 350,790 | 104,850 |
2021/03/31 | 392,140 | 112,940 |
2022/03/31 | 409,040 | 102,060 |
2023/03/31 | 418,170 | 102,400 |
Figures are from the ONS public sector employment statistics publications. The total may differ slightly from other published figures due to rounding.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many posts there are for (a) press, (b) media and (c) other communications staff in his Department; and what the salary band is for each post.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Cabinet Office press and media team is made up of 17 employees. Roles range from grades HEO to SCS1 and have salaries between £32,250 - £117,800.
This figure is for Cabinet Office central departmental press office and media team only.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what targets his Department has set to help achieve the Government's commitments on net zero.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Cabinet Office Core Estate is currently focused on reducing its carbon emissions by 52% against its Greening Government Commitment 2017/18 baseline and the Net Zero target of 2050.
The Government set out how we would meet our commitments in the Net Zero Strategy in 2021 which included a detailed breakdown of actions required across all sectors in the economy. This was updated in 2023 through the publication of ‘Powering Up Britain’.
The UK has halved its emissions, ahead of every other major economy, and we have grown our economy by over 70% since 1990. The UK over-achieved against the first and second carbon budgets, and the latest projections show that we are on track to meet the third.
We have one of the most ambitious decarbonisation targets in the world, and we have set more stretching targets for 2030 than most countries. We plan to cut emissions by 68% by 2030, which is more than the EU, Japan or the United States.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the responsibilities of the Cabinet Secretary being covered by other civil servants during the Cabinet Secretary's absence on the effectiveness of the Civil Service.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Cabinet Secretary is currently on a period of medical leave. He is expected back in January. At the beginning of his medical leave, Ministers approved temporary arrangements under which a number of permanent secretaries and other senior officials are covering his responsibilities.
This includes Alex Chisholm, as Chief Operating Officer of the Civil Service and Chair of the Civil Service Board, Chris Wormald, as Chair of the Senior Leadership Committee, and Sarah Healey, as Chair of the People Board. These arrangements remain in place and are working well.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much each Secretary of State who has resigned in the last three years received as severance pay.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
Details of the severance payments made to ministers when leaving office are published in departments’ annual reports and accounts.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much funding his Department has requested from the Exchequer for next year’s Conflict, Security and Stability Fund allocation.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
As announced in March, the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF) fund will be replaced by a new UK Integrated Security Fund (UKISF) from 2024/25. The new Fund will support the implementation of key Integrated Review Refresh (IRR) objectives, funding projects both at home and overseas to tackle some of the most complex national security challenges facing the UK and its partners. As part of this approach, funding will be raised to almost £1 billion in 2024/25.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make it his policy to introduce legislation to amend the Ministerial Salaries Act 1975 to cover all ministerial positions.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Government has no current plans to amend the Ministerial and Other Salaries Act (1975), which covers all types of ministerial office.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent discussions he has had with the EU on references to the United Kingdom being removed from EU tender.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Following the UK’s exit from the EU, the UK is no longer bound by EU procurement laws. Through the Procurement Bill, we now have an opportunity to develop and implement a new procurement regime.
However, UK and EU suppliers continue to enjoy reciprocal access to each other's public procurement marketplaces through our commitments in free trade agreements such as the UK/EU Trade & Cooperation Agreement and the WTO Government Procurement Agreement.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate his Department has made of the number of British Citizens who were born overseas by country.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 1 September is attached.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department is taking steps to ensure that goods produced by the forced labour of Uyghur Muslims in China are not included in any Government procurement contracts.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
HM Government is committed to preventing modern slavery occurring in public sector supply chains. The Cabinet Office has published commercial policy and guidance setting out the steps that all Government departments must take to identify and mitigate modern slavery and labour abuse risks throughout the commercial life cycle - focusing on the areas of highest risk. This policy is mandatory for all Central Government Departments, their Executive Agencies and Non-Departmental Public Bodies.
The Government has taken a number of measures to help ensure that no British organisations are profiting from or contributing to human rights violations against the Uyghurs or other minorities. We have introduced guidance for UK businesses on the risks of conducting business in Xinjiang, implemented enhanced export controls, and committed to introducing new procurement guidance for Government bodies as well as financial penalties for non-compliance with section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act.
The Procurement Bill, which is being considered by Parliament, strengthens the rules around excluding suppliers due to serious misconduct anywhere in their operations, including the supply chain. This includes explicit provision for suppliers to be prevented from bidding for contracts where there is evidence of their involvement in modern slavery.