Committee publication · Correspondence · 27 January 2026

Letter from Rt Hon Darren Jones MP, Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster on the follow up written evidence, following the 16.12.25 oral evidence session, dated 15.1.26

From: Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee

Inquiry: The work of the Cabinet Office

Summary

Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister Darren Jones provides follow-up written evidence to the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee following his 16 December 2025 oral evidence session. He confirms government willingness to publish formal intergovernmental meetings through its engagement dashboard, notes practical constraints around short-notice meetings, and announces an upcoming public consultation on a new digital credential scheme.

Key findings

  • Government will provide notice of formal intergovernmental meetings via the intergovernmental engagement dashboard published on GOV.UK, or through other means
  • Government acknowledges that advance notice of intergovernmental meetings is not always possible where meetings take place at short notice
  • Government will consider what further transparency measures can be implemented that are both practicable and helpful to the Committee
  • A major public consultation on a new digital credential will be launched shortly; the credential is designed to be inclusive, secure and useful, learning from international best practice

Tone

Procedural

Topics

government-transparencyintergovernmental-relationsdigital-identity

Key actors

Darren Jones MP, Simon Hoare MP, Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee, Cabinet Office

Notable line

We will consider whether anything further can be done that is both practicable and helpful to the Committee.

Key Quotes

… we would be happy to give notice of formal intergovernmental meetings through our intergovernmental engagement dashboard or other means
Darren Jones MP · on transparency of government meetings
… this is not always possible where meetings take place at short notice
Darren Jones MP · acknowledging practical constraints on publishing meeting notifications
… we will shortly be inviting the public to have their say through a major public consultation on the new digital credential
Darren Jones MP · on planned digital identity consultation
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Source · parliament.uk record ↗