Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 3 April 2025 to Question 41252 on 10 Downing Street: Libraries, whether any Ministers have been asked to donate a book to the Prime Minister's Library since 5 July 2024.
Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
No ministers have been asked to donate a book to the Prime Minister’s library. Ministers are focused on delivering on the Government’s Plan for Change.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he plans to provide a manual for householders on safety measures in the event of (a) military and (b) natural dangers.
Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Updated advice for the general public on how to prepare for emergencies is published on GOV.UK. GOV.UK/Prepare provides simple and effective steps that individuals, households and communities can take to be more prepared for a range of risks.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will provide a manual to each household on safety measures in the event of (a) military and (b) natural dangers.
Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Updated advice for the general public on how to prepare for emergencies is published on GOV.UK. GOV.UK/Prepare provides simple and effective steps that individuals, households and communities can take to be more prepared for a range of risks.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he considered flying the NATO flag from 10 Downing Street on 4 April 2025.
Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
NATO is the cornerstone of our defence, and the UK plays a leading role, having contributed to every NATO mission. To mark NATO Day, the NATO Flag was flown above the FCDO and above the MoD Main Building on 4th April 2025. The Union Flag and Ukrainian flag are flown in Downing Street as default.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the cost of office solutions across central government; and what framework agreements exist for office stationery and paper.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Value for money in public procurement is essential for the efficient use of government resources. The Cabinet Office does not hold a central estimate of office solution costs. However, public sector organisations can benefit from procuring office supplies through the Crown Commercial Service's RM6299 Office Solutions agreement. This framework covers various products, including stationery and paper, and streamlines procurement processes ensuring access to competitive pricing.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, Pursuant to the answer of 8 April 2025, to Question 43946, on Alex Chisholm, what steps have been taken to address the staffing issues, and what impact has this had on the processing time of Business Appointment applications to ACOBA.
Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Cabinet Office, as the sponsoring department of ACoBA, has supported the Committee’s secretariat to recruit the additional staff it required to ensure it is fully resourced to deliver its core functions to agreed timescales.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the (a) Office for National Statistics and (b) UK Statistics Authority plan to publish a response to the recommendations of the Independent review of data, statistics and research on sex and gender, published on 19 March 2025.
Answered by Georgia Gould - 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 28th April is attached.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 20 March 2025 to Question 37814 on Public Bodies: Reviews, which reviews have been paused.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
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.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he plans to introduce capability-based pay in the civil service.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
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.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 24 March 2025 to Question 39582 on Public Appointments, if he will provide the information in relation to public appointment competitions within the remit of (a) his Department and (b) 10 Downing Street.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
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.