theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
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James Asser:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to protect in-school resource provision for pupils with special educational needs. \p Georgia Gould: The department knows there are lots of great examples of mainstream schools delivering specialist provision through resourced provision and special educational needs (SEN) units. They have an important role to play in a more inclusive mainstream system, enabling children to achieve and thrive in a local school.

We are committed to encouraging schools and local authorities to set up resourced provision and SEN units to increase capacity in mainstream schools.

The department has published allocations for £740 million high needs capital in 2025/26 to support children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) or who require alternative provision, including setting up resourced provision or SEN units in mainstream schools.

It is the responsibility of local authorities to ensure there are sufficient school places for pupils in their area, including those with SEND. If a local authority identifies a shortage of places, resulting in a significant number of pupils needing to travel a long way to access a placement, they should consider creating, adapting, or expanding provision to meet that need.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-21)

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James McMurdock:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help improve consistency in the identification of special educational needs across genders. \p Georgia Gould: Effective early identification and intervention is critical in improving the outcomes of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). Many settings already have mechanisms in place to identify needs early and effectively.

The department wants to build on best practice and use further research to develop and support settings with evidence-based approaches for identifying needs early, whenever those needs may emerge, from early years through to post-16, and across all genders.

Recently published evidence reviews from University College London aim to help to drive inclusive practices by highlighting the most effective tools, strategies and approaches for teachers and other relevant staff to identify and support children and young people with different types of needs. In addition, the ‘What works in SEND’ research programme, led by a team from the University of Warwick, is researching tools that settings can use to identify the needs of neurodivergent children and young people.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-21)

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Pete Wishart:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when the Government was first advised by the Office for National Statistics that the information provided by coroners on death registrations relating to drug deaths could lack detail on the specific drugs involved. \p Josh Simons: The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 10th October is attached.

Letter from the National Statistician (pdf, 85.4KB)
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Ben Obese-Jecty:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent progress he has made on implementing the Falcon programme. \p Chris Ward: The Falcon Programme is facilitating the Cabinet Office's transition from Google Workspace to Microsoft 365.

Falcon has completed the design and build of the platform working with Microsoft and the Integrated Corporate Services, and is now progressing into the delivery phase. Full migration of the Cabinet Office and its Arms Length Bodies is anticipated in 2026.

This is part of the drive to improve the productivity, security and efficiency of systems in the Cabinet Office and across Whitehall.
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Ben Obese-Jecty:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make an estimate of the potential impact of the Falcon programme using Integrated Corporate Services on costs to the public purse of that programme. \p Chris Ward: The Falcon Programme is facilitating the Cabinet Office's transition from Google Workspace to Microsoft 365. The initial strategy, commenced under the previous administration, involved the Cabinet Office developing a bespoke IT system for this migration. Under this Government, the Cabinet Office has since identified and commenced the implementation of a more cost-effective strategy to deliver the Falcon Programme, entailing a move to the existing government service of Integrated Corporate Services. This will save over £20 million of public money compared to the strategy set under the previous administration.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-21)

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Ben Obese-Jecty:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Falcon programme will provide AI tools for use by his Department. \p Chris Ward: This Government is committed to harnessing Artificial Intelligence to increase productivity in Whitehall and across the public sector, so that it can better serve the public. As part of this, the Cabinet Office is actively working to include Artificial Intelligence provisions within the Falcon Programme.
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John Milne:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how Fujitsu Ltd’s central role in the Horizon IT failures is affecting its eligibility for future government contracts. \p Chris Ward: The impact that the Horizon scandal has had on postmasters and their families is horrendous. This Government is determined to hold those responsible to account.

Fujitsu’s culpability needs to be assessed in light of the final report of Sir Wyn Williams’s Inquiry. Once it is published we will carefully consider whether to launch debarment investigations based on the findings in that report.

In January 2024, Fujitsu committed to withdraw from bidding for contracts with new Government customers until the Post Office Horizon inquiry concluded – it would only bid for work with existing Government customers where it already has a contract with them, or where there is an agreed need for Fujitsu’s capabilities. Fujitsu’s correspondence on this matter is deposited in Parliament.

The Cabinet Office is monitoring Fujitsu’s compliance with these bidding constraints and carries out regular reviews of Fujitsu’s performance across their Government contracts. The Crown Representative meets regularly with the UK CEO to discuss this and other issues.
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Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the number of care workers working for less than the National Living Wage in Fylde constituency. \p Josh Simons: The Cabinet Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
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Ben Obese-Jecty:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy, CP 1337, published on 23 June 2025, what progress he has made on the 12-week consultation on updating definitions covering the 17 sensitive areas of the economy subject to mandatory notification under the National Security and Investment Act. \p Dan Jarvis: On 22 July 2025, the former Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, the Rt Hon Pat McFadden MP, published a 12-week consultation on updating the definitions of the 17 sensitive areas of the economy subject to mandatory notification requirements under the National Security and Investment Act 2021 through the Notifiable Acquisition Regulations.

The consultation closed on 14 October. The Government is currently considering the feedback received and will publish a consultation response summarising responses and setting out the proposals that will be taken forward, including possible secondary legislation, in due course.
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Mike Wood:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the total expenditure was on Government Car Service cars for Ministers in the week of (a) 1 September 2025 and (b) 8 September 2025. \p Dan Jarvis: Expenditure details for the period requested are not yet available. Invoicing for Ministerial car usage covering the specified dates has not yet been raised or processed.
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Helen Maguire:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps his Department is taking to increase the UK’s readiness against cyber-attacks. \p Dan Jarvis: The CEO of the National Cyber Security Centre said this week that the gap between the rising pace of the cyber threat and the UK’s collective resilience against it continues to grow. Cyber attacks are increasing in scale and impact. The number of nationally significant cyber incidents has more than doubled in the last year, including the recent attacks against Jaguar Land Rover, Marks & Spencer and other major British businesses.

The Government is committed to strengthening cyber security across the UK. I wrote to chief executives and chairs of the FTSE 350 this week asking them to make cyber security a top priority. The forthcoming Cyber Security and Resilience Bill will strengthen the UK’s cyber defences and ensure that critical infrastructure and the digital services that companies rely on are secure. Our proposed legislative measures on ransomware - a targeted ban on ransom payments, a payment prevention regime and mandatory reporting - will build on the foundation that the Cyber Security and Resilience Bill will set. Together they form part of a series of cyber legislation that will secure the UK against cyber threats.

Early next year the Government will publish a new National Cyber Action Plan that will set out how we will respond to the growing threat and work with industry to raise resilience levels across the economy.
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Ben Obese-Jecty:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many times the National Security Council (Nuclear) Committee has met since 4 July 2024. \p Dan Jarvis: Membership of the National Security Council (Nuclear) comprises the Prime Minister, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Secretary of State for the Home Department, Secretary of State for Defence, and Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero. The membership is published on Gov.uk.

It is a long-established precedent that information about the discussions that have taken place in Cabinet and its committees, including how often they have met, is not normally shared publicly.
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Ben Obese-Jecty:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to page 27 of the National Security Strategy 2025, CP 1338, published on 24 June 2025, what recent progress he has made on establishing national resilience goals. \p Dan Jarvis: The Government published the Resilience Action Plan on 8 July 2025 to set out its resilience strategy. It set out three core objectives to improve the UK’s resilience to the full range of risks: (1) continually assess how resilient the UK is in order to target interventions and resources; (2) enable the whole of society to take action to increase their resilience; and (3) strengthen the core public sector resilience system. These goals inform a series of activities to deliver greater resilience across the whole of society, as set out in the Resilience Action Plan.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-21)

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Ben Obese-Jecty:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to page 27 of the National Security Strategy 2025, CP 1338, published on 24 June 2025, what progress he has made on issuing public communications on preparedness for risks. \p Dan Jarvis: The Government’s Resilience Action Plan has committed to do more to provide households with preparedness information. In September, the Prepare website was included in the message sent out to UK mobile phones as part of the Government’s test of the Emergency Alerts system. Mobile Network Operators have confirmed that the test of the Emergency Alert capability on 7th September reached 96% coverage in the UK. This represents an increase of 6% on the previous test, held in April 2023.

We continue to work with our local and national partners, including organisations from the voluntary, community and faith sectors, to highlight the importance of preparing for risks.

In wider communications activities, as part of Flood Action Week, running this year from 13th-19th October, the Environment Agency is encouraging people to prepare for flooding by taking proactive steps such as knowing their flood risk, preparing a flood plan, and signing up for flood warnings.

The Government is currently considering what further public communications activities might support improvements to public preparedness for emergencies. For example, the Cabinet Office published the first annual UK Public Survey of Risk Perception, Resilience and Preparedness in July 2025, and the results will be used to inform the development of future public preparedness communications and to monitor trends.
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Ben Obese-Jecty:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to page 27 of the National Security Strategy 2025, CP 1338, published on 24 June 2025, when the next national exercise to test whole-of-society preparedness will take place. \p Dan Jarvis: The Government’s Resilience Action Plan has committed to the delivery of the National Exercise Programme (NEP). This covers a range of whole-system risks, with the priority areas for testing informed by our assessment of cross-cutting and systemic vulnerabilities and capability gaps. The NEP sets out a timetable of annual Tier 1 exercises requiring a central response and cross-government coordination. Tier 1 exercises are scalable national exercises involving devolved governments and regional and local tier responders, as well as relevant industry engagement such as critical businesses and voluntary and community organisations. Government departments fully participate at senior official and ministerial levels.

The national exercise for 2025 is a pandemic preparedness exercise led by the Department of Health and Social Care. It is the first of its kind in nearly a decade and is set to be the biggest in UK history. It aims to test our ability to respond to a pandemic arising from a novel infectious disease, involving all regions and nations of the UK and thousands of participants. It is currently underway, with every UK government department participating. As part of the National Exercise Programme future government exercises are being coordinated to test all levels of government and those from across society to increase preparedness across the whole of society.
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Ruth Cadbury:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department plans to review the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 in response to new threats from (a) state actors and (b) non-state actors. \p Dan Jarvis: The Civil Contingencies Act (CCA) 2004 and the associated Regulations deliver a single framework for civil protection in the UK. The Cabinet Office has a legal obligation to review the CCA every five years. The most recent review was published in March 2022 and concluded that the Act continues to achieve its stated objectives. The next review will be delivered by 2027.

The legislation is deliberately broad ranging and sets out the requirements to consider all emergencies that threaten serious damage to human welfare in the UK; the environment of a place in the UK; or war, or terrorism, which threatens serious damage to the security of the UK.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-21)

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Ruth Cadbury:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 for responding to cyber attacks. \p Dan Jarvis: The Civil Contingencies Act (CCA) 2004 and the associated Regulations deliver a single framework for civil protection in the UK. The Cabinet Office has a legal obligation to review the CCA every five years. The most recent review was published in March 2022 and concluded that the Act continues to achieve its stated objectives. The next review will be by 2027.

The legislation is deliberately broad ranging and sets out the requirements to consider all emergencies that threaten serious damage to human welfare in the UK; the environment of a place in the UK; or war, or terrorism, which threatens serious damage to the security of the UK.

We have been clear that cyber security is an absolute necessity to protect the British people, our public services and businesses. The UK has arrangements in place for a range of potential emergencies, including cyber attacks.
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Alex Burghart:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he has made a recent assessment with Cabinet colleagues of the threat level of the (a) Chinese Government and (b) Chinese Communist Party. \p Dan Jarvis: This Government recognises that China poses a series of threats to UK national security - from cyber-attacks, foreign interference and espionage targeting our democratic institutions, to transnational repression of Hong Kongers. We are also alive to the fact that China presents the UK with opportunities as the world’s second largest economy and - together with Hong Kong - the UK’s third largest trading partner. We will continue to develop a consistent and pragmatic approach to economic engagement without compromising on our national security.
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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 3 September 2025 to Question 73832 on Special Advisers: Political Parties, whether special advisers have been asked to undertake opposition research. \p Nick Thomas-Symonds: As has been the case under successive governments, special advisers are required to adhere to the Code of Conduct for Special Advisers at all times.
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Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will publish an account of the total cost of the government reshuffle, listing totals for (a) redundancy payments, (b) severance payments, (c) relocation costs, and (d) administrative costs associated with ministerial changes. \p Chris Ward: Severance reform

This Government has reformed ministerial severance payments to ensure that payments are both proportionate and fair. Ministers are now expected to forgo their entitlement to a ministerial severance payment if they have served in office for less than six months or leave office following a serious breach of the Ministerial Code. Ministers who return to office within three months of leaving will be asked to forgo their salary until the end of that three-month period and ministers who have seriously breached the Business Appointment Rules will be expected to repay any severance payment received.

Severance payments

Details of severance payments received by ministers and special advisers are routinely published in the relevant department’s Annual Report and Accounts. Any severance costs associated with the September reshuffle will be included as part of the 2025-26 Annual Report and Accounts which will be published in late summer 2026.

Relocation costs

Relocation costs are not recorded by the Cabinet Office

Administrative costs

Any administrative costs associated with the reshuffle will be part of the costs of running the department and will not be published separately in the Annual Report and Accounts.
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Sir John Hayes:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many new businesses have been registered in (a) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (b) Lincolnshire in each of the last five years. \p Josh Simons: The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 14th October is attached.

Letter from the National Statistician (pdf, 137.2KB)
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Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate she has made of the total value of funds likely to be recovered through the Voluntary repayment of Covid-19 funding scheme by 31 December 2025. \p Josh Simons: This government is leaving no stone unturned to investigate and recover public funds lost to fraud and error during the pandemic - getting back what is owed to the British people.

At the recommendation of the Covid Counter Fraud Commissioner, the government launched the Voluntary Repayment Scheme on September 12th. The scheme is one element in a wider package of measures recommended by the Commissioner and will provide crucial learnings for his final report.

The Public Sector Fraud Authority (PSFA) has not made an estimate of the value of funds likely to be recovered. The scheme is subject to uncertainty due to its novel nature, the time elapsed since the pandemic, and the time it takes for departments to report recovery success back to the PSFA. However, the PSFA will undertake a comprehensive assessment of the scheme’s impact once it’s concluded.

The scheme will continue to provide individuals who received money from COVID-19 support schemes which they did not need or were not eligible for, an opportunity to repay until December 2025, before the introduction of new investigatory powers in the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill.
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Gareth Thomas:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the level of (a) exports and (b) imports trade (i) to the nearest billion pounds and (ii) by share with the (A) EU, (B) US and (C) rest of the world in the last period for which data is available. \p Josh Simons: The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 10th October is attached.

Letter from the National Statistician (pdf, 108.0KB)
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Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to his Department's press release entitled Record fraud crackdown saves half a billion for public services, published on 24 September 2025, if he will set out how the AI fraud prevention tool will be deployed across departments; and whether training will be provided to civil servants to use it. \p Josh Simons: The Fraud Risk Assessment Accelerator is another example of how this government is staying one step ahead of fraudsters, making sure public funds are protected and used to deliver public services for those who need them most.

The Fraud Risk Assessment Accelerator is already being deployed and will be available to all departments by November, offering public bodies access to the latest AI advancements without the additional costs of building and hosting their own solutions.​

We've designed the tool with usability in mind. Users can upload schemes via a GOV.UK​-style frontend, and the AI will assess how fraudsters are likely to target them. The Public Sector Fraud Authority will also continue to provide user training to support wider adoption and usage across government.​
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Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will set how the Public Sector Fraud Authority is working with local authorities to prevent fraud at the local level. \p Josh Simons: The Public Sector Fraud Authority (PSFA) works closely with local authorities to prevent fraud through the National Fraud Initiative (NFI), which is one of the PSFA’s key data and analytics services.

The NFI specialises in data matching, which involves comparing sets of data electronically, such as the council tax records of an authority, against other records held by the same or another authority, to see to what extent they match.

The NFI is vital in tackling fraud in local authority spending. This includes the removal of fraudsters from social housing properties, ensuring they go to those families in genuine need, and cracking down on blue badge fraud - of which 22,000 fraudulent permits were cancelled in the last year alone. It also has a strong record of delivering outcomes for local authorities. To date, the NFI has detected, prevented and recovered over £3bn in fraud and error.

The NFI is collaborating closely with local authorities to tackle fraud in other areas of local spending. For example, the introduction of the Legislative Reform (Disclosure of Adult Social Care Data) Order 2025, will once again ensure that fraud in adult social care spending can be identified and investigated by local authorities.
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Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to his Department's press notice 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 set out the criteria used to determine whether a staff network event directly benefits an organisation. \p Anna Turley: In circumstances where organisers believe that the event could be attended during working time, it will be for the Senior Civil Servant signing-off the event to determine whether it is directly related to a business outcome or individual learning and development. Where this is the case individuals would also need to obtain line manager approval before attending.
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Mike Wood:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many Permanent Secretaries have left their posts since July 2024; and what was the cost to the public purse of exit packages. \p Anna Turley: Since July 2024, thirteen Permanent Secretaries have left their posts. Any exit package costs are published in Departmental Annual Reports and Accounts for the financial years in which they were made.
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Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to his Department's press notice 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, how many civil service staff network events were considered inappropriate in the 12 months prior to the issuance of the guidance on civil service staff networks. \p Anna Turley: The Cabinet Office does not hold data relating to the number of events deemed inappropriate.
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Mr Richard Holden:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps his Department is taking to expand the range of defibrillator manufacturers and suppliers available through Government procurement frameworks. \p Chris Ward: The Cabinet Office does not currently offer a commercial agreement for defibrillators. CCS (an agency of the Cabinet Office) agreements do not cover medical devices; departments procure these through their own routes. NHS Supply Chain operates a commercial agreement for defibrillation devices and related services and accessories for use by approved organisations.

The Procurement Act 2023, introduced in February 2025, opens up frameworks to give greater flexibility to both buyers and suppliers, and provide more opportunity for innovation.
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Mike Wood:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to his Department's guidance entitled Influencer Marketing Privacy Notice, updated on 10 September 2025, which agencies have been used by (a) his Department and (b) the Government Communications Service to select appropriate influencers to support government communication campaigns since July 2024. \p Nick Thomas-Symonds: Influencers have proven to be effective in reaching audiences that traditional marketing channels find hard to reach.

Influencers work is supported primarily via the agencies OmniGov and Pablo Unlimited via the Campaign Solutions 2 framework, detailed at the following link:

https://www.crowncommercial.gov.uk/agreements/RM6125
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Mike Wood:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 3 September 2025 to Question 71231 on New Media Unit: Staff, what the (a) operating costs and (b) budget for (i) marketing and (ii) advertising are for the New Media Unit. \p Nick Thomas-Symonds: Operational costs are charged at a departmental level, rather than being broken down to the team level. The New Media Unit has a budget of £13.2 million allocated for marketing, media, and advertising expenditures.
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Mike Wood:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will publish the (a) methodology and (b) guidance used under the Government Communication Service SAFE framework to assess website. \p Nick Thomas-Symonds: Beyond the information currently accessible via the provided link below, there are no plans to release further detail on the SAFE framework.

https://www.communications.gov.uk/publications/safe-framework-the-4-principles-for-hmg-brand-safety/
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Sir Edward Leigh:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what plans his Department has to mark the 200th anniversary of Catholic emancipation. \p Nick Thomas-Symonds: The 200th anniversary of the Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829 will take place in 2029.

The Act removed many of the legal barriers to participation in public life for Roman Catholics and was an important milestone in the development of religious freedom in the UK.

While the Government currently has no specific plans to mark the anniversary, the Government engages with the Catholic Church along with a wide range of other Churches at national, regional and local level, and remains committed to valuing the contribution which Christians make to society.
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Mike Wood:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 23 September 2025 to Question 74186 on Cabinet Office: Council Tax, if he will publish that policy. \p Nick Thomas-Symonds: The long-standing policy referred to in Question 74186 was set out in a parliamentary question to the then Prime Minister the Rt Hon Sir Tony Blair as follows:

“The level and responsibility for payment of council tax is determined on whether the property is the Minister's main or secondary residence. If a main residence, the responsibility for payment of the tax falls to the Minister. If the property is a secondary residence, responsibility for payment falls to the responsible Department.”

This question is available at the following link: https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm199900/cmhansrd/vo000605/text/00605w14.htm#00605w14.html_spmin0.
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Mike Wood:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 9 September 2025 to Question 75368 on Parliamentary and Political Service Committee: Public Appointments, what the remaining period of time is for each of the independent members’ current terms of office. \p Nick Thomas-Symonds: The Parliamentary and Political Service Honours Committee (PPS Committee) is one of ten specialist honours committees, made up of individuals with considerable experience of the area the committee covers.

The current membership of the PPS Committee comprises an independent chair and four independent members each appointed through a public appointments process, and three official members who are the incumbent chief whips from the three largest political parties in the House of Commons.

The current independent committee memberships appointment terms are as follows:

Chair: Dame Rosie Winterton DBE. Appointed August 2025 for a 5 year term.

Member: Lord Johnny Oates. Appointed July 2024 for a 5 year term.

Member:Lord Iain McNicol. Appointed July 2024 for a 5 year term.

Member: Professor Stephanie Rickard. Appointed November 2024 for a 5 year term.

Member: Craig Stephenson OBE. Appointed November 2024 for a 5 year term.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-21)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-10-21 conversation_413

Ruth Cadbury:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make an equalities impact assessment of the provisions within the (a) Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829 and (b) Jews Relief Act 1858 in the context of the appointment of bishops within the Church of England on the advice of (i) Catholic and (ii) Jewish Prime Ministers. \p Nick Thomas-Symonds: The Government recognises that there are historical restrictions in statute on Roman Catholic and Jewish people making and advising the Crown on Church appointments. The Government will keep this matter under review but, given other pressing issues, this is not a current priority.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-21)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-10-21 conversation_414

Mike Wood:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 23 September 2025 to Question 75722 on Government Departments: Advertising, how much was spent by each Department by (a) platform and (b) programme or activity. \p Nick Thomas-Symonds: For section (a) please see the below table, noting that some figures may differ slightly from those previously stated in the referenced parliamentary question. This is due to different accounting practices related to departmental reporting categorisations versus billing categorisations.

The information is being provided in this format to protect potential sensitivities.

META

LINKEDIN IRELAND LIMITED

NEXTDOOR

PINTEREST

REDDIT UK LIMITED

SNAPCHAT

TIKTOK INFO TECH UK LTD

WEARE8 LTD

£ 11,609,948.92

£ 5,387,475.63

£ 377,751.18

£ 484,954.15

£ 2,224,133.70

£ 5,590,619.38

£ 381,702.50

£ 10,000.00

For section (b), the information requested is not held in a format suitable for publication.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-21)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-10-21 conversation_415

Jess Asato:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the civil service has implemented a policy of paid leave for staff who have experienced domestic abuse. \p Anna Turley: The Civil Service is committed to raising awareness of domestic abuse and providing guidance and support to managers and employees in tackling its occurrence and effects. It is for departments to decide their domestic abuse policy and the provision of paid special leave to victims of domestic abuse.

Model policy guidance issued to departments by the Cabinet Office sets out a framework of advice and support for managers and their team members experiencing domestic abuse.

The model guidance advises managers to consider using special leave to support domestic abuse victims. Other forms of special leave may also be relevant such as emergency leave for dependants and leave for court attendances.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-21)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-10-21 conversation_416

Mike Wood:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 2 June 2025 to Question 41438 on Government Departments: Conditions of Employment, whether his Department has issued guidance on the use of (a) zero hour contracts and (b) contingent labour. \p Anna Turley: The Cabinet Office has not issued guidance on (a) zero hours contracts as the Department does not use this method of employment for Cabinet Office employees. In respect of (b) Contingent labour for Cabinet Office, guidance is published as part of the wider Cabinet Office Recruitment Controls.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-21)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-10-21 conversation_417

Blake Stephenson:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many civil servants are employed on Level 7 apprenticeships. \p Anna Turley: As of 31 December 2024, there were 1,635 Level 7 apprentices across the Civil Service. This government remains committed to apprenticeships as one pathway to break down barriers to opportunity.
wrans/answers2025-10-21 conversation_418
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-21)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-10-21 conversation_418

Mike Wood:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Civil Service 2024/2025 External Expenditure on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, published on 30 May 2025, whether his Department holds data on arm’s length bodies expenditure authorised by those bodies in 2024-25. \p Anna Turley: Expenditure which is exempted under the requirements of the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Expenditure Guidance must be reported to the Cabinet Office by departments and ALBs who employ civil servants.

Reported expenditure is published annually.
wrans/answers2025-10-21 conversation_419
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-21)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-10-21 conversation_419

Charlie Dewhirst:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 27 May 2025, to Question 52869 on Deputy Prime Minister: Admiralty House, if he will provide a breakdown of the costs on (a) refurbishment and (b) fixtures and fittings for each of the three flats since 4 July 2024. \p Anna Turley: Costs relating to the maintenance and use of Admiralty House are included in the Cabinet Office Annual Report and Accounts.
wrans/answers2025-10-21 conversation_420
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-21)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-10-21 conversation_420

Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much council tax was paid by his Department on the Deputy Prime Minister’s flat in Admiralty House in each month since 4 July 2024. \p Anna Turley: The council tax charges levied by Westminster City Council are available online on their website at https://www.westminster.gov.uk/council-tax/council-tax-bands-and-charges

Following the introduction of the second homes premium, this has been applied and paid in full in a one-off full payment in August 2025.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-21)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-10-21 conversation_421

Harpreet Uppal:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the social security system provides (a) supportive and (b) compassionate services for people experiencing (i) poverty and (ii) hardship. \p Dame Diana Johnson: This Government believes that the best way of helping people experiencing poverty and hardship is through a system that supports them into good work wherever possible. Through the proposals in our Get Britain Working White Paper we will deliver the biggest reforms to employment support in a generation. This will include reforming Jobcentre Plus and creating a new Jobs and Careers Service across Great Britain that will enable everyone to access good, meaningful work, and support them to progress in work including through an enhanced focus on skills and careers. Our new service will provide personalised support and move away from the one size fits all approach that Jobcentre Plus has today. We will also remove the stigma of going to a Jobcentre, ensuring it is somewhere that people go to receive support, rather than to feel penalised for receiving benefits. At Autumn Budget, we secured £55m to support the first steps to build, test, and trial the new service for 2025/26.

Universal Credit supports people on a low income in or out of work and is claimed by more than 7.5 million people, and we are committed to reviewing it to make sure it is doing the job we want it to, to make work pay and tackle poverty. We are fulfilling this commitment trough specific work on many of Universal Credit's core elements, and the extensive work taking place through the child poverty taskforce, our health and disability reforms and our employment reforms We have already shown our ambition with the changes made to the Fair Repayment Rate, giving 1.2m households an average of £420 per year. In addition, around 4 million households will benefit from the increase in the Universal Credit Standard Allowance from April 2026, the biggest permanent boost to out-of-work support since 1980, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies. This increase is estimated to be worth £725 annually by 2029/30 in cash terms - £250 annually above inflation for a single household aged 25 or over.

To further support struggling households, we are providing £742 million to extend the Household Support Fund (HSF) in England until 31 March 2026, enabling local authorities to continue to provide vulnerable households with immediate crisis support towards the cost of essentials, such as energy, water and food. Starting from 1 April 2026, we have announced a further £842 million a year (£1 billion including Barnett consequential) to reform crisis support with the new Crisis and Resilience Fund, supporting our wider mission to reduce child poverty by reducing dependence on food parcels, preventing homelessness and making sure people can access urgent support when they need it.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-21)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-10-21 conversation_422

Gregory Stafford:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will mandate the Health and Safety Executive to audit businesses employing outdoor workers to ensure that high factor sunscreen is provided on site. \p Sir Stephen Timms: The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) recognises the health risks posed by working in the sun in industries such as agriculture and construction. HSE’s guidance is informed by the NHS’s position and is available here: Skin at work: Outdoor workers and sun exposure - HSE.

The information in HSE's guidance encourages employers of outdoor workers to include sun protection advice in routine health and safety training and advises workers to keep covered up during the summer months. Where possible direct exposure to the sun should be avoided, for example by working in the shade. Employers should assess the risks and determine the best control measures.

Sunscreen with a protection factor of SPF30 or above, as per NHS guidelines, should be used to complement these measures and deal with any residual risk, but not as the primary protective measure.

HSE has a range of tools as its disposal to ensure employers are acting in accordance with their legal duties.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-21)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-10-21 conversation_423

Mr Peter Bedford:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions his Department has had with Motability on the (a) adequacy of its protections for disabled consumers in cases when vehicles provided under that scheme exhibit mechanical faults and (b) effectiveness of recourse available when Motability customers cannot use their vehicles due to unresolved safety concerns. \p Sir Stephen Timms: DWP is responsible for the disability benefits which passport people to the Motability scheme. Claimants who receive the higher rate mobility component for Disability Living Allowance (DLA), the enhanced rate of the mobility component for Personal Independence Payment, Armed Forces Independence Payment or War Pensioners Mobility Supplement can exchange part or all of their mobility component for a leased car, wheelchair or powered chair/scooter through the Motability Scheme. The Department directly transfers the mobility allowance to Motability on behalf of the eligible claimant once they elect to join the Scheme.

Motability Foundation is independent of government and regulated by the Charity Commission so is wholly responsible for the terms and the administration of the Scheme.