Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will ensure that direct ministerial appointments publish a declaration of interests on gov.uk.

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

It is the responsibility of individual sponsor departments to publish details of the direct ministerial appointments that they make, including their terms of reference. Information about managing conflicts of interest and the public announcements that should be made for Direct Ministerial Appointments is set out in the Guidance on Making Direct Ministerial Appointments.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment they have made of the impact of vetting delays on (a) recruitment and (b) project delivery across government departments and national security agencies.

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

Since April 2024, United Kingdom Security Vetting (UKSV) has consistently met its agreed Key Performance Indicators (KPI), across each product type.

With the appropriate Ministerial oversight, UKSV works closely with the departments and decision-making authorities they serve to understand their forecasted demand for the provision of vetting services.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 23 September 2025 to Question 75722 on Government Departments: Advertising, if he will publish equivalent data for spending on (a) hard copy advertising, (b) public relations and (c) marketing.

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

The requested information is not held centrally or in the specific categories outlined in the question.

Please refer to departmental transparency data.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people are employed by UK Security Vetting by (a) permanent civil servants, (b) fixed-term appointees and (c) contingent labour.

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

United Kingdom Security Vetting (UKSV) delivers National Security Vetting services to departments and agencies across government, police and industry. UKSV’s workforce planning is driven by the demand forecasting and operational employment requirements of these departments and agencies. The resourcing of UKSV includes a diverse range of staffing contracts to meet forecast demand.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what is the most recent estimate of (a) the headcount size of the Government Communication Service and (b) staff who work in communications functions in the Civil Service who are not GCS.

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

I refer the Hon Member to the response provided for PQ 92419 for the headcount size of the Government Communication Service.

Information regarding Civil Service staff working in communications functions who are not part of the Government Communication Service is not held centrally.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the answer of 28 October 2025 to Question HL10808 on Official Residences, how long the other residences have been unoccupied.

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

There are two additional flats in Admiralty House which can be allocated to ministers as official residences at the Prime Minister’s discretion. Neither flat has been allocated to a minister under the current administration.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Office for National Statistics has made an assessment of the adequacy of GDP deflation forecasts.

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 the 1st of December is attached.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the due diligence on the appointment of special adviser, Tim Allan, included the work of his company, Portland, for the Russian Government.

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

There is a rigorous process to ensure any potential conflicts of interest are captured, and have appropriate mitigations in place to reflect specific circumstances. Ahead of his appointment, the new Executive Director of Communications in 10 Downing Street fully complied with this process.

This is set out in the Special Adviser Code of Conduct and lists of Special Adviser interests are published annually.

Mr Allan is not a shareholder in Portland, and hasn’t been since 2019, and has no interest in it.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 17 November 2025 to Question 88705, on the Spectator: Advertising, whether the SAFE framework permits government advertising on the (a) Daily Express, (b) GB News and (c) the Morning Star.

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

Following assessment under the SAFE Framework, government advertising is permitted on The Daily Express (now express.co.uk).

No SAFE framework assessment has been conducted on GB News or the Morning Star.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 20 October 2025, to Question 81325, on Baroness Shafik, and further to the revised Cabinet Office guidance on Direct Ministerial Appointments of October 2025, para 21, whether the remuneration of Direct Ministerial Appointments will be published.

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

In the new Guidance on Making Direct Ministerial Appointments, which was published on 30 October 2025, it is stated that all Direct Ministerial Appointments announcements should include “remuneration details, where such is incurred”.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 3 November 2025, to Question 84247, on Public Appointments: Political Impartiality, what communications has the Cabinet Office had with the Commissioner for Public Appointments in relation to previous political activity, which is outside the scope of the Code of Conduct for Board Members of Public Bodies but in scope of the Governance Code for Public Appointments, not being publicly declared.

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

The Governance Code on Public Appointments covers the processes departments should follow for recruiting public appointees, whereas the Code of Conduct for Board Members of Public Bodies covers the behaviour of such appointees once they are in post. The codes set out processes for the publication of political activity for successful candidates and existing public appointees respectively.

Candidates for public appointment roles are asked to declare potential conflicts of interest in their applications - and are advised to err on the side of declaring if in doubt - so that the Advisory Assessment Panel can take a view on whether any actual or perceived conflicts can be appropriately managed. These wider declarations cover a full range of interests, including financial interests, and are for assessment as part of the recruitment process, not for publication. As mentioned above, the Governance Code sets out the political activity that needs to be published.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to page 30 of the Cabinet Office Annual report and accounts 2024-2025, HC1372, 23 October 2025, how the cross-government charges levied by his Department’s functional business units were calculated; and for what reason income rose to £1.29 billion in 2024–25.

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

Departmental income has steadily risen since 2020. This reflects an increase in the uptake of the Department’s services year on year.

The Cabinet Office's functional income arises principally from the services it provides across government. Under this model, certain government functions are headquartered in the Cabinet Office and departments pay to access and use them.

For instance, the GPA provides departments and ALBs with office space across the country. They have continued to onboard properties nationally, delivering a fully integrated property management service across government.

Another primary source of income that the Department generates is in relation to the Government People Group who provides specialist human resource services to Government.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff will receive a (a) performance and (b) Christmas bonus.

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

Special Advisers are not entitled to bonuses. Special Adviser remuneration is included in the Annual Report on Special Advisers, published on gov.uk.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 10 October 2025, to Question 70464, on Government Communication Service: Audit, what is the timetable for the completion of the current annual data collection.

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

The 2025 data collection is complete.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the answer of 2 December 2025 to question 95074 , how many of the businesses classified as holiday sites in the Valuation Office Agency draft 2026 rating lists have had their rateable value i) decrease ii) stay the same iii) increase compared to their 2023 rateable values.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The VOA published the Draft non-domestic rating list on 26 November 2025, which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/non-domestic-rating-change-in-rateable-value-of-rating-lists-england-and-wales-2026-revaluation-draft-list

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the annual cost is of the Senior Leaders Scheme; and how many deputy directors participated in the last year.

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

This year there are 114 deputy directors taking part in the Senior Leadership Programme established in 2018. The programme is 14 months’ long and costs a total of £1,373,401.91.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the answer to question 95074 of 2 December 2025, how many of the businesses classified as restaurants and cafes in the Valuation Office Agency draft 2026 rating lists have had their rateable value i) decrease ii) stay the same iii) increase compared to their 2023 rateable values.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The VOA published the Draft non-domestic rating list on 26 November 2025, which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/non-domestic-rating-change-in-rateable-value-of-rating-lists-england-and-wales-2026-revaluation-draft-list

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the answer to question 95074 of 2 December 2025, how many of the businesses classified as hotels etc in the Valuation Office Agency draft 2026 rating lists have had their rateable value i) decrease ii) stay the same iii) increase compared to their 2023 rateable values.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The VOA published the Draft non-domestic rating list on 26 November 2025, which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/non-domestic-rating-change-in-rateable-value-of-rating-lists-england-and-wales-2026-revaluation-draft-list

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the answer to question 95074, how many of the 52,080 businesses classified as pubs and wine bars in the VAO draft 2026 rating lists have seen their rateable value i) decrease, ii) stay the same and iii) increase compared to their 2023 rateable values.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The VOA published the Draft non-domestic rating list on 26 November 2025, which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/non-domestic-rating-change-in-rateable-value-of-rating-lists-england-and-wales-2026-revaluation-draft-list

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant 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 if he will place in the Library a copy of the new guidance on diversity networks.

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

The Staff Network Policy is an internal Civil Service staff policy. It is not in the public domain and as such a copy will not be placed in the Library.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 3 September 2025, to Question 70509, on Government Departments: Buildings, what is the current ownership and freehold, leasehold or rental status, of the Department for Education building on Great Smith Street, London.

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

The property occupied by the Department for Education on Great Smith Street, London is known as Sanctuary Buildings. GPA, on behalf of the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, holds the leasehold interest in the property and pays the rent. The freehold interest is held by Legal and General Assurance (Pensions Management) Limited.

Information on property registered in England and Wales is available to the public by following the following link to HM Land Registry - Search for land and property information

https://www.gov.uk/search-property-information-land-registry

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what his policy is on severance payments to outgoing Cabinet Secretaries and Permanent Secretaries not provided for in the model contract.

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

The Permanent Secretary model contract sets out the contractual detail on compensation payments for all Permanent Secretaries. This applies to the Cabinet Secretary and there is no separate internal guidance. A copy of the model contract has been placed in the House Library.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 2 September 2025 to Question 69278 Cabinet Office: Electronic Purchasing Card Solution, if he will itemise the £7,395 spent.

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

The £7,395 covered in the response to Question 69278 was part of the £8,500 budget referred to in Question 65788 asked by the same MP on 8 July 2025. Under EDI Expenditure rules that budget was listed in the data published on 30 May 2025 and was the maximum approved budget, a ceiling rather than actual spend. Expenditure within this budget facilitated a presence on behalf of the Civil Service at 26 Pride events across the UK.

Itemising spend across all supplier organisations may breach commercial agreements between the department and suppliers.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 24 October 2025 to Question 82675 on Civil Service: Redundancy, which public body collated and provided that data to the National Audit Office.

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

The Cabinet Office provided this information to the National Audit Office. This information was already held under the Redundancy and Compensation Control process.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will publish the Permanent Secretary model contract released under FOI reference FOI2025/09712 of September 2025.

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

I refer to my answer to 88716, where I confirm a copy of the model contract has been placed in the House Library.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he has issued guidance on civil servants claiming trade union facility time and diversity network time.

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

The Cabinet Office Facility Time Framework, issued to Civil Service departments, provides guidance on the granting of time off for trade union facility time for civil servants who are trade union representatives. Civil Service staff network activity is separate to trade union activities and duties carried out by trade union representatives in the Civil Service. The Staff Network Policy covers the allocation of time for specific staff network roles and duties.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many and what proportion of officials at each Senior Civil Service grade completed the One Big Thing 2024 Innovation Masterclass from each Department and executive agency; and if he will provide this information in tabular form showing, for each organisation, the total number of officials in scope, the number completing the Masterclass, and the resulting completion rate, alongside the corresponding figures for all staff in that organisation.

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

All publicly available data related to completions of the training can be found in the Evaluation of One Big Thing 2024, published on 10 October 2025.

A breakdown of the proportion of officials at each Senior Civil Service grade who completed the One Big Thing 2024 Innovation Masterclass from each Department and executive agency is not publicly available.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to reduce the time taken for Developed Vetting renewals.

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

I refer the Honourable Gentleman to the responses given on 27 November 2025 to PQs 93373 and 92997.

Question

To ask the Right hon. Member for Kenilworth and Southam, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, how many donations received as cryptocurrencies has Reform UK declared to the Electoral Commission; what the value of those donations were; and on what dates those donations were received.

Answered by Jeremy Wright

Parties are required to report donations in cryptocurrencies as non-monetary donations, with the type and amount of crypto asset identified.

No political party has reported any donations to the Electoral Commission that they have identified as cryptocurrency.

Last week, the Commission published the latest donations to political parties for the third quarter of 2025. Information about all reported donations is available on the Commission’s website, providing important transparency for voters.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what guidance he has issued to the Electoral Commission on the (a) acceptance and (b) reporting of political donations received through cryptocurrencies by political parties and regulated donees; and whether he plans to discuss this matter with (i) the Electoral Commission and (ii) political parties.

Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The rules around political donations must be abided by regardless of the type of donation made, which includes cryptoasset donations. Political donations can only be accepted from permissible sources, and the recipients of the donations must make an honest assessment of the value of the donation at the time they receive it. Those who receive political donations from an impermissible or unidentifiable source must return them.

The Electoral Commission provides guidance on donations, including for non-standard donations such as those made in cryptocurrencies.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance has been issued by (a) his Department and (b) NHS England on expenditure on flags.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department follows general Government guidance on flying flags, which is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/flying-flags-a-plain-english-guide/flying-flags-a-plain-english-guide

Neither the Department nor NHS England has issued guidance regarding expenditure on flags.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether launching a US sovereign nuclear weapon from the UK's F-35A planes would require the authorisation of the Prime Minister.

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

I refer the hon. Member to the answers I gave him 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, whether the second homes council tax premium has been paid on the Prime Minister’s residence in Chequers since 1 April 2025.

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

Chequers is owned by The Chequers Trust, and therefore payment of Council Tax is not a matter for the government.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 28 April 2025 to Question 47529 on Government Departments: TikTok, whether (a) the Prime Minister and (b) Number 10 officials have installed TikTok on their corporate communication devices.

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

The existing policy regarding TikTok on government devices remains unchanged. It is a longstanding principle that for security reasons, it would not be appropriate to comment on 10 Downing Street’s IT systems.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 10 October 2025 to Question 73728 on Cabinet Office: OCS Group, whether the Social Value Outcome and Diversity reports produced by OCS are retained by his Department.

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

The Government Property Agency (GPA) collates information in line with the contract via a third party supplier, who report this into the Social Value Portal. The GPA does not therefore directly hold the information.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 27 October 2025, to Question 73829, on Admiralty House: Council tax, if he will publish a copy of the council tax bills issued by Westminster City Council to the Government Property Agency or Cabinet Office for each of three Admiralty House residences in March 2025, redacting the reference/account numbers.

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

The Government Property Agency (GPA) does not routinely publish invoices under £25k. Admiralty House sits within Council Tax Band H and details of the bands, current Council Tax charges, additional premiums and published notices about Council Tax can be found at the following page: https://www.westminster.gov.uk/council-tax/council-tax-band-and-charges

Found: Veterans • Clive Jones: Secondary breast cancer • Dame Siobhain McDonagh, Charlie Maynard and Mike Wood