Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 19 November 2025, to Question 90730, on Ministers: Official Cars, if he will provide equivalent figures for how much has been invoiced to each department in each month since July 2024 for non-Ministerial cars provided by the Government Car Service; and how much has been paid through an internal transfer for the Cabinet Office in each month since July 2024 for the same.

Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

I refer the Honourable Gentleman to the answer provided on Question 90730. Additionally, an invoice has been sent to the NCA for £9,694.47 for services rendered in October 2025.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many times the Resilience and Security Committee met between April 2024 and March 2025; and what the attendance record of each member was.

Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

It is a long-established precedent that information about Cabinet and its Committees, including the discussions that have taken place, how often they have met and attendance, is not normally shared publicly. The list of standing members of the National Security Council (Resilience) Committee can be accessed on GOV.UK.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 12 February 2025 to Question 28585 on Admiralty House, whether the Secretary of State for Defence occupied the residence as a (a) primary or (b) secondary residence from September to November 2024; and whether he occupied the same flat as subsequently occupied by the then Deputy Prime Minister.

Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)

As has been the case under successive administrations, the allocation of official Ministerial residences, including Admiralty House, is determined by the Prime Minister on the grounds of security or to enable Ministers to better perform their official duties. During the period from September to November 2024, the Secretary of State for Defence occupied Admiralty House on a time-limited basis. The property was used on a second residence basis.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the answer of 19 November 2025, to Question 90248, on Official Cars: Prime Minister, if she will set out the reason that disclosing the aggregated figure would impact national security.

Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

It is our long-standing policy not to provide detailed information on those arrangements, as doing so could compromise their integrity and affect individuals’ security.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what proportion of his Department's (a) leased and (b) owned estate meets a BREEAM rating of A or above.

Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

BREEAM ratings range from "Pass" to "Outstanding," reflecting performance across key areas such as energy, water, health, transport, and waste. Ratings are achieved by earning credits, with higher ratings indicating superior environmental performance.

In compliance with the Government Buying Standards, the Government Property Agency (GPA) aims to deliver retrofitting to a BREEAM Very Good standard and new capital projects to BREEAM Excellent.

Additionally, where the GPA manages commercial spaces, they aim to meet the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standard (MEES) regulations and produce Display Energy Certificates (DECs) and/or Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) where commercially relevant.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the guidance entitled Fast Stream and Emerging Talent (FSET) data privacy notice, updated on 13 November 2025, what questions are asked to ascertain an applicant's socio-economic background.

Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

The Fast Stream asks the questions recommended by the Social Mobility Commission which are published on gov.uk. This approach is the same as under the previous administration.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the guidance entitled Fast Stream and Emerging Talent (FSET) data privacy notice, published on 13 November 2025, for what reason the Fast Stream data is collected by gender.

Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

The Fast Stream collected data on applicant’s gender until November 2024. As of September 2025 we now collect data on an applicant’s sex. The references to gender remain in our privacy policy as we retain historical records of data in line with this agreement.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many civil servants are registered as coaches on the Internal Coaching Service platform.

Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

The current number of coaches recorded on the coaching platform (as of 18/12/2025) is 281.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate the Department has made of the total cost in staff time arising from the Internal Coaching Service, including the time spent by civil servants who act as coaches and the time spent by civil servants who receive coaching; and what assumptions underlie that estimate.

Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

In July 2025 a centralised, internal coaching database became available to the whole of the Civil Service. Its primary purpose is to match coaches across the Civil Service to appropriate coaches but it also (for the first time) facilitates the capture of hours spent on coaching by civil servants across government. As of 18/12/2025, 866.7 coaching hours have been recorded on the database.

Participation in the coaching service often forms an additional work objective, and coaches are responsible for discussing their participation with their line managers.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make an assessment of trends in the level of discrimination against civil servants not a member of a trade union in (a) employment and (b) promotion decisions.

Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

No assessment has been made as information about trade union membership is not collected during the recruitment process. Decisions on permanent employment into and promotion within the Civil Service are made in accordance with the Civil Service Recruitment Principles, which requires appointments to be made ‘on merit on the basis of fair and open competition’.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how his Department checks the office attendance of individual civil servants.

Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

The monitoring of office attendance remains the responsibility of individuals, line managers and business units. Line Managers are expected to be aware of, and ensure compliance with, the minimum 60% expectation for their direct reports.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 19 November 2025, to Question 87336, on Alex Chisholm and Simon Case, whether Ministers in his Department (a) were consulted on and (b) approved the severance payment.

Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

I refer to my answer for 87336. All payments were made in line with managing Public Money guidance and the approvals process outlined, with both being approved by the Chief Secretary to the Treasury.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answers of 9 December 2025 to Question 96208 on Public Appointments: Pay and Question 94701 on Baroness Shafik, how many direct ministerial appointments are currently in post in the Cabinet Office and Downing Street; and if he will set out their title, responsibilities and remuneration.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

I refer the Honoural Member to the answer given to PQ UIN 98100.

The responsibilities of these organisations and postholders can be found in their published terms of reference on GOV.UK

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the answer of 18 November 2025, to Question 88660, on Elections: Proof of Identity, what is the policy of Government Social Research on using the terms (a) sex and (b) gender.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government Social Research Profession is a professional membership body for social researchers working across government. It supports professional social researchers employed directly by departments through providing opportunities for learning, development, career support and technical development.

The Government Social Research Profession is part of the Government Analysis Function, which sets expectations for analysis, as set out in the Government Functional Standard. In using the terms ‘sex’ and ‘gender’, government analysts should have regard to relevant data harmonisation standards published by the Office for National Statistics and the Government Statistical Service.

The Office for National Statistics and the Government Statistical Service are currently partway through a review of their harmonised standards. That review is focused on developing updated and new harmonised standards for Sex, Gender Identity, Disability and Ethnicity

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will publish the Freedom of Information Act disclosure released by the Government Actuary’s Department on 4 August 2025 with reference Internal Review response to FOI252626.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government Actuary’s Department released information on 4 August 2025 in relation to a Freedom of Information request. The content of that response is provided alongside this PQ response.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many Freedom of Information requests his Department has received relating to the Government Car Service since 1 April 2025; and how many have been (a) refused and (b) disclosed.

Answered by Chris Ward - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The Government Car Service (GCS) transferred to the Cabinet Office from the Department for Transport, as a result of a machinery of government change, on 1st April 2025. Freedom of Information (FOI) requests relating to GCS prior to that date were answered by the Department for Transport.

Since 1 April 2025, the Cabinet Office has received 15 FOI requests relating to the GCS. Of the 11 requests that have been closed, five requests were granted in full and one request was refused in full. Other outcomes were that the information was already planned for publication, that the information was not held, or that responding to the request would have exceeded the cost limit.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he takes steps to ascertain whether Ministers occupy official Ministerial residences as primary residences.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

I refer the Hon Member to PQ 95895, PQ 81873, and HL 9337.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to pages 131–132 of the Cabinet Office Annual report and accounts 2024-2025, HC1372, 23 October 2025, what the annual cost is of operating the Office of the Registrar of Consultant Lobbyists; whether registration fee income was netted off against those costs; and what net (a) surplus and (b) deficit was recorded in each of the last three financial years.

Answered by Chris Ward - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

In each of the last three years - two of which were under the last government - the Office of the Registrar of Consultant Lobbyists has recorded a consistent net deficit as shown below:

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Cabinet Office Annual report and accounts 2024-2025, HC1372, 23 October 2025, whether any of the £90 million of Crown Commercial Service dividend income retained by his Department was (a) passed back to CCS, (b) used to subsidise its operations and (c) used to reduce management fees paid by departments and public bodies using CCS frameworks.

Answered by Chris Ward - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

None of the £90 million in Crown Commercial Service (CCS) dividend income retained by the Cabinet Office was returned to CCS. Consequently, none of the dividend was used to subsidise its operations and none was used to reduce management fees paid by departments and public bodies using CCS frameworks.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 2 January to Question 100339 on 9 Downing Street: Repairs and Maintenance, on what date was the invoice paid; and what is the transaction number for its entry in gov.uk transparency data.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

The indicative cost of these works was up to £80,000, as was reported at the time of undertaking the work. The final cost of these works will be published in due course in Cabinet Office transparency returns.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether Tim Allan has been recused on matters relating to (a) Sanctuary Counsel and (b) Thorndon Partners and (c) their clients.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

Before joining the government, Mr Allan sought and received advice on his interests. He has followed every element of the advice received.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the cost will be to the public purse of delivering the National Leadership Forum 2026 including venue costs, external speakers, staffing costs and preparatory work.

Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

The cost of the National Leadership Forum 2026 event has not been finalised. The event is in early design stages, and decisions have not been taken on the venues, speakers, and other costs.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, further to the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for government’s most important contracts, Data for July to September 2025, published on 25 December 2025, and the Defence Digital contracts with KPMG LLP, for what reason is Tackling Eco Inequality, Fighting Climate Change, Health & Wellbeing deemed to be key performance indicators for the defence contract.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

In relation to the defence contract, the social values chosen align to the requirements of the contract and the rationale of social value. Furthermore, it is also a mandatory requirement for Social Value to form Key Performance Indicators within public sector contracts, in accordance with guidance with the Procurement Policy Notice (PPN) 2.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the answer of 18 November 2025, to Question 88284, on Military Aircraft, what is the aggregate volume of CO2 emissions that have been reported for domestic and overseas Ministerial flights on the Envoy and Voyager since July 2024; and what was the aggregate cost of carbon credits for those flights.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The total volume of CO2 emissions in Tonnes (TCO2) and the cost of carbon credits of the flights for the duration of 1 July 2024 - 31 December 2024 is listed below.

UK Emissions Trading Scheme

240.285 TCO2

£12,975.38 Carbon credits including VAT

EU Emissions Trading Scheme

237.787 TCO2

£17,120.66 Carbon credits including VAT

TOTAL UK and EU Emissions Trading Scheme

478.072 TCO2

£30,096.04 Carbon credits including VAT

The same data is not available for 1 January 2025 - 31 December 2025 as it has not yet been released by EuroControl. The Ministry of Defence will not purchase carbon credits prior to establishing the total TCO2 figure for this duration. The total cost will not be available until 31 March 2026.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the answer of 15 December 2025, to Question 98492, on F-35 Aircraft: Nuclear Weapons, whether a decision to (a) launch a US sovereign nuclear weapon from the UK's F-35A planes whilst on a particular NATO mission, or to (b) participate more generally in a NATO nuclear mission, would require the authorisation of the Prime Minister.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

As with the answer given to the hon. Member on 15 December 2025 to Question 98492, I refer him to the answers I gave on 8 September and 11 November 2025 to Questions 70471 and 87345 respectively.

https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2025-08-29/70471

https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2025-11-03/87345

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 1 December 2025, to Question 93377, on Civil Service: Unpaid Work, who determines the main household earner in the case of an applicant with two different families where the parents have divorced or separated.

Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

We use an applicant’s response to determine socio-economic background, including the occupation of the ‘main household earner’ when the applicant was 14 years old. This is in line with the guidance from the ONS and Social Mobility Commission.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the VIP International Flights privacy notice, published 2 January, whether the Cabinet Office holds information on the (1) number, (2) cost and (3) destination of VIP flights for (a) the Prime Minister, (b) Cabinet Office Ministers and (c) other Ministers.

Answered by Chris Ward - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

In accordance with the Ministerial Code, the Government is committed to transparency regarding official travel. Information relating to relevant ministerial travel is published on a quarterly basis and can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/ministers-transparency-publications#2024

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what discussions he is having with his European counterparts on the recognition of (a) legal qualifications and (b) other professional qualifications.

Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

HMG remains committed to making it easier for UK and EU professionals to have their qualifications recognised across regulated professions.

In the 2025 Common Understanding, the UK and EU committed to setting up dedicated dialogues on the Trade and Cooperation Agreement provisions which enable regulator-led, sector-specific recognition agreements to be negotiated.

The annual Trade Specialised Committee on Services, Investment and Digital Trade also provides a forum for the UK and EU to discuss the recognition of professional qualifications.

HMG encourages and supports UK regulators, including legal regulators, to work with their EU counterparts to improve recognition of professional qualifications, including through guidance and funding.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 25 November 2025, to Question 91376, and of 23 December 2025, to Question 99834, on Government Hospitality: Wines, and to the answer of 30 January 2025, to Question 26019, on Written Questions, if he will provide a relevant hyperlink to the transparency data for spending on Berry Bros since 4 July 2024 for (a) non-GPC transactions under £25,000 and (b) GPC transactions under £500, or otherwise place unpublished spending data in the Library.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

Transparency publications are available and searchable here: https://www.gov.uk/government/government-efficiency-transparency-and-accountability

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether any (a) gifts and (b) hospitality he has received in a Ministerial capacity by Lord Alli have been (i) returned and (ii) refunded since July 2024.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

I refer the Hon Member to the answer of 26 November 2025, Official Report, PQ 92005.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether Dale Vince was invited to receptions at Downing Street in (a) November and (b) December 2025.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

As under previous administrations, details of official receptions are published in quarterly transparency returns on gov.uk.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he has a policy on access to (a) diary and (b) private secretaries for senior civil servants.

Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

It is up to each department to make their own policy. No such policy exists within the Cabinet Office.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what meetings Varun Chandra has had with external organisations excluding senior media executives since his appointment.

Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

In line with longstanding process, relevant meetings are declared in the Special Advisor transparency publications.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the answer of 2 January 2025, to Question 98109, on Ministry of Defence: public appointments, whether any of those appointments made a declaration of political activity.

Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)

All Direct Ministerial Appointees are required to complete a declaration, and any positive answers to the political question are considered, risk assessed and necessary mitigations put in place if required.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what is the forecast profile of yearly (a) defence and (b) security spending to meet the respective 3.5% and 1.5% GDP NATO targets by 2035.

Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

NATO qualifying defence spending will increase to 2.6 per cent of GDP by April 2027. The Government’s ambition is to spend 3 per cent of GDP on defence next Parliament, when economic and fiscal conditions allow, and 5 per cent of GDP on national security spending by the Parliament after next.

In 2029, when NATO review capability requirements and this pledge, the UK and Allies will review the trajectory and the balance of spending, which is currently 3.5 per cent on core defence and 1.5 per cent on security and resilience-related spend.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to the Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland regarding the Technology Prosperity Deal, published on 18 September 2025, what is the current legal status of the US-UK tech prosperity deal.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The US-UK Technology Prosperity Deal was signed as a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which does not constitute or create any legally binding obligations. The MoU represents a political and policy-level understanding between the two governments.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 5 January 2025, to Question 100331, on Ministers: Official Cars, what is the estimated, non-granular aggregate expenditure by the Government Car Service on official cars for civil servants in the last 12 months.

Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

The Government Car Service (GCS) offers vehicles to government departments as a shared resource. Each department independently determines the allocation of these vehicles. GCS does not invoice separately for ministerial or civil servant use.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Our management section of the Cabinet Office website and further to his Department's document entitled Special advisers: code of conduct, updated on 6 November 2024, for what reason Jonathan Powell is listed in the management section.

Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

The National Security Adviser sets direction – on behalf of the Prime Minister – for national security and foreign policy in the National Security Secretariat. Some leadership and corporate responsibilities – such as the line management of civil servants, accounting or matters affecting a civil servant’s career such as recruitment, promotion, reward and discipline – are not carried out by the National Security Adviser.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Integrated Security Fund Annual Report 2024–25, of 30 October 2025, if he will establish a due-diligence process to ensure that ISF programmes scored as principal for gender equality are not used to advance ideological objectives.

Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

The Integrated Security Fund delivers programmes which align to UK national security and resilience priorities. Programmes promote gender equality where it is relevant and appropriate.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 2 January 2025 to Question 100332 on Public Appointments: Political Impartiality, what was the source of the political activity data for 2024-25 contained within the 2024-25 annual report of the Commissioner for Public Appointments, page 41, published on 17 December 2025.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

Political activity information is collected from candidates as part of the public appointments digital service’s online application process. This was the source of the Commissioner’s data.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the publication entitled Ministers' overseas travel and meetings: Publication Guidance, January 2025, and the paragraph 1(a) guidance on foreign meetings, whether a meeting with a foreign government with an external organisation would require the publication as attendees of (a) the name of the foreign government and the name of the external organisation or (b) just the name of the external organisation.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

The same Publication Guidance the Hon Member quotes makes clear that in such scenarios, "the meeting should be declared including the names of these [external] organisations or individuals only”.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 2 January 2026 to Question 99828 on Cabinet Office: Social Media, what is the campaign or topic associated with (a) Government Digital and Data and (b) Great Futures.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

Government Digital and Data is related to recruitment, and Great Futures forms part of the wider GREAT campaign which encourages international audiences to visit, study and do business with the UK.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 4 September 2025, to Question 73325, on Armed Forces: Conferences, if he will place in the Library the equivalent Cabinet Office guidance for officials on contact with the media.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

There are currently no plans to publish this guidance as the area remains subject to ongoing policy development.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 2 January 2026, to Question 99825, on Tom Kibasi, whether he served the full two month secondment in Downing Street.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

I refer the Hon Member to the answer of 2 January 2026, Official Report, PQ 99825.