Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, which organisation administers the defined contribution staff pension scheme for the National Wealth Fund; and what information her Department holds on the proportion of the funds are invested outside the UK.

Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

The National Wealth Fund selected a pension provider adhering to Cabinet Office guidance. As an operationally independent body, the National Wealth Fund administers its pension scheme in accordance with its framework document and public sector pay guidance.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many times the Growth Mission Board has met; and on what dates she attended.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the Chair of the Growth Mission Board and has attended, and chaired, all meetings of the Board. Beyond this, it is a long-established precedent that information about the discussions that have taken place in Cabinet and its committees - including mission boards - including their attendance, and how often they have met, is not normally shared publicly.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to her Department's Guidance on Public Sector Exit Payments: Use of Special Severance Payments, updated on 28 July 2025, for what reason the guidance no longer requires all special severance payments to be approved by her Department.

Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

Departments are fully accountable for ensuring that exit payments are appropriate and proportionate. HMT scrutiny will now focus on the largest and most contentious payments.

This change supports greater departmental autonomy while maintaining strong standards of financial control.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the correspondence entitled DAO 02/25 Updates to Managing Public Money, published on 12 June 2025, what the business case was for the changes of guidance on (a) the propriety of using the Companies Act 2006 to establish Government-owned companies and (b) revisions permitting the setting of delegations by the Treasury for the approval of special severance payments.

Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

The guidance contained in Managing Public Money is produced by the Treasury, and reflects the ongoing dialogue between the Treasury and the Committee of Public Accounts regarding Parliament’s expectations for the use of public money. It also includes operational guidance in the interests of effective administration.

While the government has used the Companies Act and its precursors since their original passage, the position on the propriety of this, and its interaction with the 1932 PAC Concordat, was unclear. Following correspondence between the Treasury Officer of Accounts and the Public Accounts Committee in late 2024, the revised approach was incorporated into the latest edition of Managing Public Money.

Similarly, the introduction of the ability to set delegations for special severance payments supports greater departmental autonomy while maintaining strong standards of financial control.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 16 September 2025 to Question 74666,on Intelligence Services: Unpaid Work, which internship schemes with the security services are white British people eligible to apply to.

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

In recent years, the UK Intelligence Community (UKIC) has run a number of internships and placement schemes. They are designed to provide insight about what it is like to work in UKIC to individuals who have particular skills and experience, want to work in a particular area and/or are from demographics and backgrounds under-represented across Government.

The eligibility criteria for specific internship schemes in UKIC are made publicly available on agency websites at the time when they are advertised.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how long it takes on average for a new member of UK Security Vetting staff to become fully accredited to handle (a) Counter Terrorist Check and Security Check and (b) Developed Vetting cases.

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

The training, learning and development needs of vetting officials within United Kingdom Security Vetting (UKSV) is kept under regular review, in line with changes in policy, legislation or the external environment. This approach allows UKSV to maximise skills and meet resourcing requirements whilst ensuring that HMG risk appetite is underpinned by a National Security Vetting provision that is both rigorous and assured.

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

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 21 October 2025 to Question 82339 on Ministers: Official Cars, whether departments are invoiced (a) by his Department for the use of Ministerial cars and (b) for the use of cars by officials; whether his Department invoices itself for car use; and whether invoicing is done by (i) month, (ii) quarter and (iii) year.

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

The Government Car Service (GCS) issues monthly invoices to each department for the use of its vehicles and drivers. Departments are responsible for determining the appropriate use of these vehicles, whether for Ministers or senior officials. Separate invoicing procedures are not applied for Ministers and officials.

GCS does not directly invoice the Cabinet Office for its services. These transactions are managed through internal budget transfers on a monthly basis.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Prime Minister has had recent discussions with the Chinese government on the planning application for the Chinese Embassy in London.

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

The decision to call in the planning application for the proposed Chinese Embassy was made by the former Deputy Prime Minister, in line with current policy on call-in. This decision is subject to a quasi-judicial process and independent from the rest of government.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he his Department applies nationality criteria to contractors who work on Government IT programmes.

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

All contractors working in central government will go through National Security Vetting at a level that is appropriate for the work they are expected to deliver, as decided by the relevant departmental body.

As a minimum, all government contractors will be cleared at Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) level. This vetting includes identity checks, employment history, unspent criminal convictions, and the right to work in the UK. If the role is deemed to require additional security clearances, such vetting will be undertaken.

The government will engage the best qualified individual for the role regardless of nationality, as long as they have the appropriate security clearance deemed necessary for the role (including the right to work in the UK).

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 18 July 2025 to Question 62320 on Farm: Domestic Visits, if he will provide an aggregate and anonymised number of farm visits since 4 July 2025.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Defra ministers regularly visit farms in a range of counties and meet with farmers and the wider industry.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) disciplinary actions and (b) dismissals of Home Office officials have there been for unauthorised access to personal data since July 2024.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

We do not hold data specifically on the number of cases involving unauthorised access to personal data and would otherwise be disproportionate effort to retrieve.

The nearest category for which we hold data is ‘Unauthorised Access IT Systems, Databases and Record Systems’, the following have been prepared using these figures.

Question

To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, whether White Irish is included in the Government’s ethnicity definition of White Other.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The Government Statistical Service’s Ethnicity Harmonised Standard provides best practice for data collection across government, and it recommends that White Irish is collected as a standalone category, distinct from White Other.

Question

To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, pursuant to the Answer of 19 May 2025 to Question 51461 on the Equal Pay Regulatory and Enforcement Unit, whether the Unit will be separate to the Fair Work Agency.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

As set out in Next Steps to Make Work Pay, the government is committed to establishing an Equal Pay Regulatory and Enforcement Unit.

In April we launched a call for evidence on how enforcement of the equal pay scheme could be improved as well as a number of other areas of equality policy. This included consideration of the establishment of the Unit and its institutional home.

We will consider the responses to the call for evidence, which closed at the end of June, and confirm next steps in due course.

Question

To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, whether she plans to extend the number of public bodies subject to the socio-economic duty under section 2 of the Equality Act 2010.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The Government is committed to commencing the socio-economic duty in the Equality Act 2010. The duty will require specified public bodies, when making strategic decisions, to consider actively how their decisions might help to reduce the inequalities associated with socio-economic disadvantage.

We will consider whether the list of public authorities to which the duty will apply requires updating as part of our research programme and evidence gathering.

Question

To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, whether there are restrictions on internship applications to the (a) Office for Equality and Opportunity and (b) Equality and Human Rights Commission in (i) 2025 and (ii) 2026.

Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

As the Office for Equality and Opportunity is part of the Cabinet Office, we follow Cabinet Office recruitment policies, including recruitment of interns. There is not a single universal rule for Cabinet Office internships as eligibility and restrictions vary by the specific internship scheme and the individual advert.

In August 2025, a new policy was introduced to broaden access for working-class students to the Civil Service. OEO will apply this guidance to future intern recruitment, with the programme launching in 2026.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission is an independent regulator and follows a similar approach as all roles are advertised Civil Service Jobs.

Question

To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, if she will issue guidance to regulators that they should not impose equality, diversity and inclusion requirements which have not been approved by legislation.

Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

I refer the Hon Member to the answer given on 12 June 2025 to PQ 59367.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 20 October 2025 to Question 78297 on Department for Work and Pensions: Social Media, which campaigns influencers were used on.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

For privacy and confidentiality reasons, we do not disclose our influencer database.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much her Department has spent on external training courses involving actors since July 2024.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Data on external training involving actors is not tracked separately and is spread across various expense codes and expenditure types. Isolating this would require manual review of large volumes of data, making it impractical to extract reliably without disproportionate effort and cost.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will her Department's contracts with Inter Mediate.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer of 25 September 2025 to question 70453.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 21 October 2025 to Question 81327 on Government Departments: Advertising, on which (a) programmes and (b) topics his Department used each contractor.

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

As with any communication campaign approach, channels are selected based on their ability to engage with audiences in alignment with the government's priorities.

Social media has been utilised on campaigns of varying scale and reach, supporting missions communications and government priorities.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will publish the 2025 Honours Committee handbook.

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

As noted in our answer to PQ 43222, the Honours Committee handbook is a document used to induct newly appointed independent chairs and committee members to the honours system and the committee process. This document is intended for internal use only. More information on these can be found on gov.uk.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Future of Work Committee has (a) met and (b) carried out business via correspondence since 5 September 2025.

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

It is a long established precedent that the frequency and business of Cabinet Committee meetings is not usually publicly disclosed.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 13 October 2025 to Question 77545 on Cabinet Office: Social Media, whether his Department has undertaken expenditure (a) directly and (b) through contractors on digital influencers outside the New Media Unit since 4 July 2024.

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

The Cabinet Office has worked with influencers outside of the New Media Unit.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 21 October 2025 to Question 82668 on New Media Unit: Marketing, how the £13.2 million is allocated by (a) topic and (b) programme.

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

This allocation has enabled multiple campaigns of varying scale and reach, supporting missions communications and government priorities.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 20 October 2025 to Question 81876 on Government Departments: Advertising, which publications have been assessed as appropriate for government advertising under the SAFE framework.

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

There are currently no plans to publish the full list of publications assessed under the SAFE framework.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 8 September 2025 to Question 73352 on Government: Cryptoassets, in which accounting funds cryptocurrency assets are assigned; and whether external companies are used to hold the crypto assets.

Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

HMT and central government do not hold any cryptoassets.

The seizure, recovery and management of cryptoassets, under the Proceeds of Crime Act, is for independent law enforcement and the courts to consider.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 17 October 2025 to Question 77460 on Department for Business and Trade: Social Media, on which campaigns influencers were used.

Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The Department for Business and Trade used influencers as part of the National Minimum and Living Wage campaign, to raise awareness of the wage rate increases for workers that came into effect from 1st April 2025. This ensured workers understood their new entitlements and encouraged them to check their pay and act if they were paid incorrectly.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether Nigel Topping has made a declaration of political activity.

Answered by Katie White - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The appointment of Nigel Topping as Chair of the Climate Change Committee was made in line with the Governance Code on Public Appointments. In supporting evidence for his pre-appointment scrutiny by the Energy Security and Net Zero Committee on 16 July 2025, Nigel Topping confirmed he had no political activity to disclose.

Nigel Topping brings a wealth of experience to the CCC Chair position, having been appointed to several public roles under previous governments, including as High-Level Climate Action Champion for COP26 in 2020 and as a Board Member of the UK Infrastructure Bank in 2022.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the answer of 24 October 2025 to Question 82329 on Department for Business and Trade: Mr Money Jar, whether his Department has paid Mr Money Jar for social influence or digital work since 4 July 2024.

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

The department has not paid Mr MoneyJar (Rotimi Merriman-Johnson) for any social media content since 4 July 2024.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when severance payments to (a) Simon Case and (b) Alex Chisholm were approved by the Chief Secretary to the Treasury.

Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

HM Treasury applies rigorous scrutiny when approving special severance payments.

(a) Simon Case’s severance payment was approved by the Chief Secretary in March 2025.

(b) Alex Chisholm’s severance payment was approved by HM Treasury officials in accordance with published guidance.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development, pursuant to the Answer of 13 October 2025 to Question 77563 on Palantir, whether the visit to Palantir was arranged through Global Counsel; and whether Lord Mandelson was involved in arranging that visit.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Officials from our Embassy in Washington arranged this trip in the normal way.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether the Information Commissioner has issued guidance on the amount of time that a Freedom of Information request applicant should wait following a decision notice before (a) seeking an internal review from a public authority and (b) making an appeal to the Information Commissioner.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Whilst DSIT sponsors the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), government policy for Freedom of Information (FOI) sits with the Cabinet Office. The ICO has not issued specific guidance for applicants on how long to wait after a decision notice before seeking an internal review or making an appeal. Under the FOI Act, internal reviews are not statutory, and authorities set their own timelines. The Code of Practice on FOI issued by the Cabinet Office states that it is usual practice for public authorities to accept a request for an internal review within 40 working days. The ICO advises applicants to complain to the ICO within three months of the final response or last substantive contact with the public authority, or risk ineligibility.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 13 October 2025 to Question 70512 on Government Hospitality: Wines, what the cost of each transaction from Berry Bros was since 4 July 2025; and which items were purchased.

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

As has been the case under successive administrations, a detailed breakdown of each item in a purchase is not routinely published. Details of Government Procurement Card spending over £500 is published on gov.uk.

In March this year, the Government took action to cancel government procurement cards and this is working. In the first 4 months after introducing these changes, spend on GPCs has decreased by £25m (30%) across government compared with the previous 4 months.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to page 91 of his Department’s Annual Report and Accounts 2024-25, published on 15 September 2025, HC 1274, for what reason was facility time increased from £49,777 in 2023-24 to £69,892 in 2024-25; what was the increase in facility time as a proportion of the pay bill; and what assessment he has made of the potential merits of funding trade union activities from facility time.

Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The increase results from an increased headcount and pay bill in the department; ongoing transformation work necessitating high levels of Trade Union engagement and increased engagement following the change of Government in July 2024.

The increase in pay bill from 2023/24 to 2024/25, accounted for 0.0058% of the 2024/25 paybill.

No assessment has been made.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what data sources have been used to train the Parlex AI tool on forecasting parliamentary reactions; and whether a data privacy impact assessment has been produced.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Parlex tool has not been trained as a new AI model, nor does it involve the development of a novel forecasting system. Instead, it is a search and analysis tool that enables users to research existing parliamentary records to support policy development and parliamentary handling.

Parlex uses only publicly available parliamentary data, including Hansard transcripts, Parliamentary Questions, and Select Committee materials. All tools developed by the Incubator for AI, including Parlex, are assured in line with government guidelines, which include data protection assessments.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what discussions he has had with Ofcom on the use of third-party providers to (a) assess, (b) index and (c) identify disinformation.

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

DSIT’s National Security Online Information Team (NSOIT) leads the operational response to information threats, including disinformation, capable of posing a risk to UK public safety and national security. Information on contracts awarded by the department to third-party contractors to support this activity is available on GOV.UK.

Details about Ministerial meetings are published quarterly on GOV.UK.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether his Department uses third-party providers to (a) assess, (b) index and (c) identify disinformation.

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

DSIT’s National Security Online Information Team (NSOIT) leads the operational response to information threats, including disinformation, capable of posing a risk to UK public safety and national security. Information on contracts awarded by the department to third-party contractors to support this activity is available on GOV.UK.

Details about Ministerial meetings are published quarterly on GOV.UK.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what is the statutory basis of the work of the National Security and Online Information Team.

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

The National Security Online Information Team (NSOIT) leads the department’s operational response to information threats which present a public safety or national security risk to UK audiences, working closely with other departments including the Home Office and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

The team's remit and work is kept under review by DSIT ministers who remain accountable to parliament, including regarding the work of the NSOIT.

Question to the Attorney General:

To ask the Solicitor General, whether the law officers plans to seek to negotiate reforms of the European Convention of Human Rights at Council of Europe level.

Answered by Ellie Reeves - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)

As the Prime Minister has made clear, the United Kingdom will not withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights. To leave would be entirely contrary to this country’s national interest.

We need to work with our friends and partners in Europe to tackle all our major issues from irregular migration to combatting climate change. The solutions to these problems will not be met by isolating ourselves from our allies. But the status quo is not an option, and we are looking at various options to modernise our approach both domestically and internationally to the Convention.

As Chief Legal Advisors to Government, any advice that might be given by the Law Officers would be protected by the Law Officers’ Convention.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Government Response to the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament Report on Iran, published on 4 September 2025, what is the timetable for the review on vetting policy by the Government Security Group.

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

Security vetting policy and processes are kept under constant review by the Government Security Group (GSG) in the Cabinet Office. This ongoing review is designed to ensure security vetting policy and processes are fit for purpose, to provide the greatest possible assurance for all individuals, including parliamentary staffers.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what is the Office for National Statistics’ National Statistics Socio-economic classification of (a) Members of Parliament and (b) peers in receipt of the Writ of Summons.

Answered by Josh Simons - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Questions of 21st October is attached.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether (a) the Social Mobility Commission and (b) Office for National Statistics classifies police officers as (i) working class.

Answered by Josh Simons - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Questions of 21st October is attached.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the award of Contract_17123 for the Test, Learn and Grow Strategic Delivery Partner, what portion of the contract is retained by Bloom Procurement Services Ltd in (a) management fees, (b) commission and (c) administrative charges.

Answered by Chris Ward - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The Cabinet Office appointed Bloom Procurement Services Ltd as a Strategic Sourcing Partner for the Professional Services Category in September 2023, under the previous government. A Managed Services Fee of 5% is applicable for all Work Orders procured through this framework.

The Cabinet Office procured this contract following a full options analysis and value for money exercise of all potential routes to market.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the security of A2P messaging used for two-factor authentication by gov.uk websites.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Security is a key priority for all government services, alongside accessibility and inclusion (i.e. points 4, 5 and 9 of the Service Standard). There isn't a cross-government standard or mandate, as use of A2P depends on the particular needs and user base of individual services. While there are more secure methods of 2FA / MFA, use of A2P for 2FA significantly reduces the risk of account compromise and ensures the widest compatibility and usability across all user bases.

Though we note that the NCSC has affirmed it's acceptable as a second factor in certain cases.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether the Climate Change Committee is subject to (a) the Civil Service Code and (b) guidance from the (i) Cabinet Office and (ii) Government Communication Service on political impartiality.

Answered by Katie White - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

As an independent, statutory body, the Climate Change Committee (CCC) is not subject to the Civil Service Code. Board Members are expected to adhere to the Cabinet Office's code of conduct for Board Members of public bodies, as well as other central guidance around conduct. Staff are subject to the CCC's own code of conduct. There is a long-standing principle that public bodies must be politically impartial, and all public bodies must comply with the rules on lobbying, attendance at party conference, advertising, marketing and PR.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to the ContractFinder entry entitled Disinformation Analysis Software awarded to Storyzy, award date 1 July 2025, for what reasons does her Department use this software.

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

DSIT leads the operational response to information threats by analysing narratives and trends from publicly available information online, within its ministerially defined remit - public safety or national security risk to the UK.

This does not include the monitoring of individuals.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to transparency data on FCDO ministerial meetings, April to June 2025, published on 25 September 2025, if she will publish the minutes of the ministerial meeting with the TUC on 16 June 2025; and whether the recognition of Palestine was discussed in that meeting.

Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

As has been the case under successive governments, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office does not routinely publish the details of meetings with external bodies.

Question to the Attorney General:

To ask the Solicitor General, whether the Attorney General held discussions with the (a) CPS and (b) Director of Public Prosecutions on the available evidence prior to the decision not to proceed with prosecution in the case on Chinese espionage.

Answered by Ellie Reeves - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)

Decisions to prosecute are, rightly, made independently of Government by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

Consent was given by my predecessor on 3 April 2024. Following that date, no Law Officer intervened in the case at any stage.

Where a case can no longer proceed because of evidential reasons, as in this case, then the requirement is that the CPS informs the Attorney General of the decision as soon as it is taken.

The decision to offer no evidence was a decision made by the CPS, without any political influence, by the Attorney General or me, as the CPS has already confirmed.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 3 September 2025 to Question 70517 on Government Departments: Directors, which departments did the five leave from; and what was the cost to the public purse of exit packages.

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

Although the directors may have left their post, they have not necessarily left their organisation, or the Civil Service.

The Government Departments were:

• Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

• Department for Energy Security and Net Zero

• Department for Education

• Department for Business and Trade

• Department for Science, Innovation and Technology

Any cost to the public purse would not be centrally held as directors are directly employed by their department.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answers of 26 September 2025, to Questions 75632, 74515, 74202, on Civil Service: Unpaid Work, whether the Office for National Statistics classifies the occupations of (a) tool-makers, (b) factory owners, (c) Members of Parliament, (d) Ministers of the Crown and (e) civil servants as working class under the NS-SEC framework.

Answered by Josh Simons - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 22nd October is attached.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 7 July 2025 to Question 63340 on Civil Servants: Location, if he will publish the Civil Service relocation policy released by Cabinet Office under the Freedom of Information Act, ref: FOI2025/12570 of 28 August 2025.

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

We will place a copy of the Cabinet Office's relocation policy, as released in FOI2025/12570, in the Library of the House. The policy in question applies only to Cabinet Office staff rather than the wider Civil Service.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 16 September 2025 to Question 75447on Trade Union Officials: Facility Agreements, whether the Cabinet Office guidance on facility time has changed since July 2024; what is the maximum permitted amount of facility time as percentage of the overall paybill.

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

The Cabinet Office guidance on facility time has not changed since July 2024. The guidance states that facility time costs in the Civil Service should not represent more than 0.1% of a department’s paybill.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to his Department's press release entitled Civil Service staff networks to only meet outside working hours and have all events signed off by senior managers, published on 23 September 2025, what approvals have been given in (a) his Department and (b) the Office for Equality and Opportunity since 23 September 2025.

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

The cross Civil Service Network Policy applies as published to all cross-Civil Service Staff Networks only.

However it also acts as a model policy for Departments to adopt or adapt depending on business needs for their departmental networks. The Cabinet Office is now working to be able to adopt this policy for internal departmental networks and will carry out their own engagement with internal stakeholders to be able to adopt the policy.

The sign off and approval process for events will be part of this policy development for the Cabinet Office.The guidance will apply to all networks in Cabinet Office.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 21 July 2025 to Question 67904 on Universities: Fees and Charges, whether the European Commission has requested that EU students be given home fee status under the proposed UK-EU youth mobility scheme.

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

We have agreed, under the UK-EU Common Understanding, that we will work towards the establishment of a balanced youth experience scheme with the EU. We have agreed that any scheme will be capped and participants’ visas time-limited. We have not agreed to offer home fee status to EU students. We have also been clear that it should be in line with the UK’s existing schemes with countries like Australia and New Zealand. The exact parameters are subject to discussion and we cannot give a running commentary of ongoing negotiations.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether any guidance has been issued to (a) Ministers and (b) special advisers on (i) ministerial and (ii) special adviser conduct during the Labour Party deputy leadership contest in addition to existing (A) ministerial and (B) special adviser codes.

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

Ministers, special advisers and civil servants are expected to adhere to their respective codes of conduct at all times and a reminder of these obligations in the context of the deputy leadership elections was provided.

Question to the Attorney General:

To ask the Solicitor General, if she will publish legal advice provided to the Crown Prosecution Service on the case relating to the alleged breach of Official Secrets Act on behalf of China.

Answered by Ellie Reeves - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)

Decisions to prosecute are, rightly, made independently of Government by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

Consent was given by my predecessor on 3 April 2024. Following that date, no Law Officer intervened in the case at any stage.

Where a case can no longer proceed because of evidential reasons, as in this case, then the requirement is that the CPS informs the Attorney General of the decision as soon as it is taken.

The decision to offer no evidence was a decision made by the CPS, without any political influence, by the Attorney General or me, as the CPS has already confirmed.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment her Department has made of (a) the cyber-security of services provided to the Government by Global Switch, (b) the potential implications of its Chinese ownership for national security and (c) the decision of the Australian Government to stop using the company.

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

We do not comment on specific national security cases or specific companies.

Ensuring the security of UK data is a priority for the government. When the government procures any service, cybersecurity is a paramount requirement. Government departments conduct thorough cybersecurity checks on all suppliers before sharing data and continuously monitor their compliance with these requirements throughout the contract's duration. If there is evidence of threats to our data, including in relation to data centres, we will not hesitate to take the necessary action to protect our national security.

We have taken decisive action to monitor, and mitigate, potential future threats to data centres. Last year this Government designated data centres as Critical National Infrastructure, putting them on a level footing with emergency services systems. We work closely with industry to understand risks and manage threats to the UK’s infrastructure.

We do not comment on the security decisions of other governments.

Question

To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, with reference to the style guide entitled Writing about ethnicity, updated in October 2024, for what reason references to travellers were capitalised.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

In October 2024, the style guide ‘Writing about ethnicity’ on the Ethnicity facts and figures website was updated. While the guide makes no direct reference to the capitalisation of references to Travellers, a capital letter was used to align with the Government Analysis Function's harmonised standard for ethnicity, based on the 2011 Census.

This standard is also followed by the Office for National Statistics in its service manual.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will publish the letter of 16 May 2025 from FCDO staff to the former Foreign Secretary on HM Government's Middle East policy.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

It is a long-standing principle that Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office staff should be free to express their views internally without concern that their views will be made public.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 14 October 2025 to Question HL10630, on Lord Mandelson, what role her Department played in the due diligence undertaken prior to the appointment of the former Ambassador to the United States.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer provided on 22nd September to question 74188.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether Inter-Mediate has received funding from the Government for work on (a) China and (b) North Korea.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

I refer the Hon Member to the answer he was provided on 25 September to Question 70454.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make it his policy to review his Department's guidance entitled Government Function: People – Continuous Improvement Assessment guidance, in the context of the judgment of the Supreme Court in For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers [2025] UKSC 16.

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

A Continuous Improvement Assessment Framework is a management tool designed to provide consistent, comparable management information that supports functional assurance and continuous improvement.

We will review and update policy wherever necessary to ensure it complies with the latest legal requirements.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will publish the Model Contract for Senior Civil Servants.

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

Contracts for SCS are not published publicly, so we will not be publishing a model contract.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the recruitment process was for her Department's new Permanent Secretary; and whether he plans to publish any declarations of interest.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The new Permanent Secretary for the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, was recruited under a fair and open competition managed by the Cabinet Office. Any declarations of interest will be made, published and updated in accordance with Cabinet Office guidance.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether Policy Lab will fund the MANIFEST programme in 2025-26.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

There are currently no commitments by Policy Lab to fund the MANIFEST programme further in 2025/26.

Question

To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, pursuant to the Answer of 3 July 2025 to Question 62348o n EHRC: Public Appointments, whether he will announce to appointment on conclusion of the competition on the Public Appointments website.

Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

Dr Mary-Ann Stephenson was confirmed as the next Chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission on 31 July 2025. This was announced in a press release which you can view here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-confirms-dr-mary-ann-stephenson-as-the-next-ehrc-chair

On 31 July 2025, the announcement was posted on the Public Appointments website on a separate webpage here:https://apply-for-public-appointment.service.gov.uk/announcements?titleSearch=+Equality+and+Human+Rights+Commission+%28EHRC%29+Chair&body=&regulated=&bodyJustice=&sort=announcementDate%3Adesc#search-results

Question

To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, pursuant to the Answer of 3 July 2025 to Question 62348 on EHRC: Public Appointments, what interests of regulated appointees by the Governance Code on Public Appointments are required to be published.

Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

Section 9.1 of the Governance Code for Public Appointments states “candidates must be asked to declare potential conflicts of interest in their application.”.

The EHRC publishes the declarations of interests of its Chair and Commissioners on their website: https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/about-us/how-we-operate/our-commissioners/commissioner-declarations-interests

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answers of 3 September 2025 to Questions (a) 70458 on Government Departments: Directors and (b) 71225 on Public Appointments: Political Impartiality, through which process previous political activity of a regulated appointee is publicly declared if that political activity falls under the definition of political activity under the Governance Code on Public Appointments but does not fall under the definition of political activity under the guidance for Non-Executive Board members interests.

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

The Governance Code on Public Appointments requires the public disclosure of political activity within the last five years for successful candidates. The Code of Conduct for Board Members of Public Bodies requires appointees to comply with the rules of the appointing body on handling conflicts of interests, which typically require the public declaration of potential conflicts, usually in the body’s register of interests.

The general guidance on the declaration of interests process for Non-Executive Board Members, which would include political activity, is published on Gov.uk, with the intention of standardising the management and publication of such interests across UK Government departments in order to increase consistency and transparency around those interests, as recommended by the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has issued guidance to universities on admissions based on the socio-economic background of the applicant.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The government encourages higher education (HE) providers to consider all applications on a case-by-case basis and offer equity of opportunity to all students, regardless of background or circumstance. However, it does not issue direct guidance. Universities are autonomous bodies independent from government and are responsible for their own admissions decisions.

The department works with key sector stakeholders, such as Universities UK, The Sutton Trust, UCAS and The Russell Group, who are co-leading work to consider how to improve access and participation.

The department will also develop options to address regional disparities in access and tackle the most systemic barriers across the journey into HE. To deliver this we will bring together a task and finish group of sector experts, charities, the Office for Students and UCAS to focus on how the system can best widen access for those from disadvantaged backgrounds. The task and finish group will be chaired by Professor Kathryn Mitchell, vice chancellor of the University of Derby.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 16 September 2025 to Question 74773 on Civil Servants: Resignations, whether any civil servants have resigned in response to the letter from the Permanent Under-Secretaries.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

It is the longstanding policy of the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office under successive governments not to comment on internal HR matters.