Richard Holden

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.

Public authorities will be able to reach their own decisions as to how they wish to approach reducing inequalities associated with socio-economic disadvantage.

We will work in partnership with public authorities, civil society and others in order to ensure that the implementation of the duty is as effective as possible. As part of this, we have included questions in relation to the socio-economic duty in a call for evidence on equality law, which was launched on 7 April and will be open until 30 June. This will enable public authorities and others to input into plans in relation to the socio-economic duty at an early stage. We will also consult on draft statutory guidance in order to ensure it addresses the needs of public bodies and civil society and supports effective implementation.

The Public Sector Equality Duty (the PSED) requires organisations in scope to have due regard to the need to eliminate discrimination, advance equality of opportunity, and foster good relations between different people.

The scope of the PSED is set out in the Equality Act 2010 (the Act). It extends to all public authorities listed in Schedule 19 of the Act and all parties carrying out public functions. This includes private sector and voluntary organisations when carrying out public functions.

The government expects regulators to ensure organisations comply with their legal requirements. It is not the role of regulators to intervene where legal requirements do not apply and we have no evidence that this is occurring.

Registration requirements are set out in the Code of Conduct together with the Guide to the Rules relating to the Conduct of Members, approved by the House on 12 December 2022. (https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5803/cmcode/1083/1083.pdf)

Paragraph 5 of the Code provides that new Members must register all their current financial interests, and any registrable benefits (other than earnings) received in the 12 months before their election within one month of their election, and Members must register any change in those registrable interests within 28 days. Gifts, donations or hospitality are registrable from the day of receipt (whether or not subsequently repaid). The 28-day period is provided to enable time for registration for the purpose of transparency.

Members are encouraged to seek advice from the Registrar of Members’ Financial Interests if they are in any doubt about whether a proposed course of action is in line with the rules.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission has issued guidance and codes of practice covering philosophical belief. What is and is not a political belief as opposed to a philosophical belief is a question that is for individuals to consider and, if necessary, the courts to determine, if raised in the context of Equality Act 2010 protections.

The Equality Act 2010 (The Act) provides protections for people from discrimination in the workplace and in society. It makes it unlawful to treat someone unfairly or discriminate against anyone based on certain personal characteristics. This includes race and ethnicity.

The Act also makes it unlawful for recruiters to hire by race, where the person is to be paid under a contract for services. Under certain conditions, a recruiter choosing between candidates of equal merit can hire the candidate from the more disadvantaged or lower-participating race or ethnicity. This is one type of ‘positive action’. Positive action can deliver better outcomes for particular groups in order to overcome or minimise a disadvantage arising from a protected characteristic.

In April 2023, the previous government published guidance to help employers understand the difference between positive action and positive discrimination. The guidance is available on gov.uk at www.gov.uk/government/publications/positive-action-in-the-workplace-guidance-for-employers. Section 9 of this guidance explains the general positive action provision. Section 10.2 explains tie-breaking in more detail. With this considered, there are currently no plans to issue further guidance to public bodies on positive action.

The ‘Table of Kindred and Affinity’ is part of the Book of Common Prayer. The Book of Common Prayer can be changed by a Measure from the General Synod of the Church of England, which would come to Parliament for approval in the usual manner. The Church of England has no plans currently to change the text.

The duration of appointments of office holders in the Church of England is governed by statutory provisions. Under section 3 of the Ecclesiastical Offices (Terms of Service) Measure 2009, the term of office of a person who holds office under Common Tenure (which includes archbishops, bishops and most other clergy) is terminated:
• on the death of the office holder
• by resignation
• on attaining the mandatory retirement age (subject to any extension)
• where the office ceases to exist
• where the office holder is removed from office under the Clergy Discipline Measure 2003
• on the expiry of a fixed term appointment (where applicable)
• under the capability procedures.

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukcm/2009/1/contents

It is for the Equality and Human Rights Commission to determine what guidance it issues to political parties. Equalities Ministers will have periodic discussions with their Cabinet Office colleagues on matters of mutual policy interest. 'Belief’ is a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010, meaning any religious or philosophical belief, rather than political opinion. As such, the issue of guidance on political belief discrimination that purportedly related to the Equality Act’s protected characteristics would be misleading.

The Office for Equality and Opportunity’s role in informing Government policy on marriage relates to equality and discrimination, as it is responsible for the protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010, which include marriage and civil partnership.

While the Office for Equality and Opportunity work with the Ministry of Justice on issues relating to equality, the Ministry of Justice is responsible for marriage law.

Minimal costs were incurred in the rebranding of the Equality Hub to the Office of Equality and Opportunity as it was a renaming exercise rather than a Machinery of Government change. Therefore, there has been no programme or digital expenditure to date and only minimal administrative time by current employees.

The Public Bodies Review Programme closed as planned on 31st March 2025, and we will no longer be tracking reviews proposed as part of this programme.

On the 7th of April 2025, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster announced a process to rapidly review every arms length body across government.

The government believes pay and reward structures should incentivise expertise and high performance. The Cabinet Office is reviewing capability-based pay arrangements that already exist in the Civil Service to analyse their impact on organisations that have implemented such arrangements already.

It is important that any recommendations made by Advisory Assessment Panels, and any exchanges they have with Ministers, remain confidential to ensure the flow of free and frank advice during the public appointment process. To uphold this confidentiality, disclosure of such information would likely affect the effectiveness of central government and other public services and will therefore not be released.

As was the case under the previous administration, data on ministers’ travel is published on a quarterly basis which includes defining the mode of transport used. This can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/ministers-transparency-publications#2024

The Cabinet Office currently publishes performance data on departmental timeliness in responding to Parliamentarians only.

While the report on responding to MPs and Peers is published annually, the data is broken down in the report on a quarterly basis.

The Cabinet Office currently publishes performance data on departmental timeliness in responding to Parliamentarians only.

While the report on responding to MPs and Peers is published annually, the data is broken down in the report on a quarterly basis.

The current contract’s duration is from 1st August 2023 to 31st July 2025 with a value of £110,000 excluding VAT. The contract was procured via Single Tender Action.

I refer the honourable member to the answer given on 2 April 2025 in response to question 41107.

The Plan for Change set out clear and transparent milestones, and our plan to achieve them. These milestones allow the public to track our progress and hold the government to account for their delivery. There have been no changes to these milestones since the publication of the Plan for Change.

I refer the Hon Member to PQ43119.

The expectations surrounding the conduct of special advisers are outlined in the Code of Conduct for Special Advisers. No additional guidance has been issued by the Department to special advisers concerning the requirement to record informal lobbying approaches.

The Cabinet Office does not hold this information.

The government does not publish such information.

The referenced entry is unrelated to the 9 Downing Street media room. The cost of these works will be published in due course in Cabinet Office transparency returns.

An ALB needs to pass at least one of three tests: (1) it is a technical function that requires external expertise (2) it needs to be delivered with political impartiality, or (3) it needs to be delivered independently from Ministers to establish facts and figures with integrity. The Cabinet Office makes an assessment based on the information provided by the department.

Guidance on overseas visits by Ministers is found in Chapter 10 of the Ministerial Code.

As outlined in the Guide to Handling Correspondence, all Government departments and agencies must aim to respond to correspondence within 20 working days. Government departments and agencies can set their own more ambitious deadlines if they want to do so.

Downing Street holds 7 lecterns, all of which were inherited from previous governments.

Ministers and officials use a range of communication methods and there are longstanding appropriate arrangements and guidance in place for the management of electronic communications.

The Civil Service Recruitment principles outline the process by which grades below SCS can be appointed without fair and open competition. This includes guidance about the involvement of Ministers in the recruitment process.

The process and approach remains consistent with that applied by the previous administration.

The Ministerial Code sets out the standards of behaviour which the Prime Minister expects of ministers. As set out at paragraph 2.1, the Prime Minister is the ultimate judge of those standards of behaviour and of the appropriate consequences for any breach of those standards.

The Cabinet Office and HM Treasury are working together to determine how best this investment can be used by departments to support their individual exit schemes, the terms of which will vary from organisation to organisation.

Most Crown Commercial Service (CCS) commercial agreements use the public sector contract which does not permit increases in the framework rates for employer national insurance contributions as these are classed as General Change in Law. Where the framework contract allows for framework rates to be reviewed, any request by a supplier to do so would be considered by CCS on a case-by-case basis.

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

A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 31st March is attached.

The Department for Transport is currently working through the approval process to establish Great British Railways as an Arm’s Length Body. The completion of business cases as part of this process considers viable delivery mechanisms and the three tests.

His Majesty's Government can confirm that:

As was the case under the previous administration, the template is intended solely for internal departmental use and will not be released publicly.

The Government publishes notices of final orders made on GOV.UK - this includes cases that are blocked, unwound, or cleared subject to conditions. The notices include a high level summary of what mitigation measures are imposed on the parties.

Whilst the NHS and some wider public sector organisations will have their own arrangements, any individual who leaves under the terms of the Civil Service Compensation Scheme, and later returns to the same organisation, or another one that uses the Civil Service Compensation Scheme, within six months, must pay back a proportionate amount of their compensation.