Written questions by Burghart.

If he will make it his policy that the Civil Service Commission should be informed of recent political donations from people appointed to the Civil Service by exception.

The Civil Service Commission’s prior approval is required for appointments by exception at SCS PB2 or above. Individual Civil Service departments and organisations have delegated authority to appoint by exception at grades below SCS PB2. For appointments by exception delegated to departments, the department is responsible for both carrying out background checks on individuals who may be appointed, and addressing any potential propriety matters.

Whether his Department has issued guidance on non-contingent labour contracts.

Departments are directed that Contingent labour contracts should only be used in government where better value alternatives are not available and that a justifiable need to use contingent labour has been identified as part of their workforce plans. Cabinet Office manages a spend control for contingent labour for which guidance is set out at gov.uk.

With reference to the Answer of 18 September 2024 to Question HL835 on Government Departments: Remote Working, whether the Civil Service meets the requirement to attend the office or work face-to-face with colleagues at least 60% of the time.

The Civil Service Headquarters (HQ) Occupancy statistics are published quarterly on GOV.UK.

In what circumstances people in receipt of a civil service pension who re-join the civil service are subject to abatement.

The circumstances have not changed since the Rt Hon Gentleman was a Minister in the department, and can be found at https://www.civilservicepensionscheme.org.uk/.

Whether he plans to publish the civil service EDI dataset.

We are considering the Civil Service Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Expenditure Review commissioned by the previous Government.

If he will publish an updated transparency report on decisions made under the National Security and Investment Act 2021.

Transparency is a crucial part of the National Security and Investment (NSI) Act, whilst also balancing commercial and reputational considerations. Information related to publication of final orders is available on GOV.UK. The Government also publishes annual reports to provide information about the transactions that it has been notified about and those it subsequently called in for a national security assessment. The NSI Annual Report 2023-24 was published on 10 September 2024. The period from 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025 will be covered in next year’s annual report. The annual reports include the proportion of notifications for each sector, however, cybersecurity falls under the artificial intelligence sector and is not reported separately. The reports do not specifically include the number or proportion of transactions that relate to links to a company owned in (a) part or (b) whole by a foreign state, however, they include the number of accepted notifications, call-in notices issued, final notifications issued, withdrawals from a called in acquisition and final orders issued by origin of investment.

How many referrals to his Department under the National Security and Investment Act 2021 of acquisitions of UK firms in the (a) defence, (b) cybersecurity and (c) AI sectors have resulted in a transaction being (i) modified, (ii) delayed and (iii) blocked since 5 July 2024.

Transparency is a crucial part of the National Security and Investment (NSI) Act, whilst also balancing commercial and reputational considerations. Information related to publication of final orders is available on GOV.UK. The Government also publishes annual reports to provide information about the transactions that it has been notified about and those it subsequently called in for a national security assessment. The NSI Annual Report 2023-24 was published on 10 September 2024. The period from 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025 will be covered in next year’s annual report. The annual reports include the proportion of notifications for each sector, however, cybersecurity falls under the artificial intelligence sector and is not reported separately. The reports do not specifically include the number or proportion of transactions that relate to links to a company owned in (a) part or (b) whole by a foreign state, however, they include the number of accepted notifications, call-in notices issued, final notifications issued, withdrawals from a called in acquisition and final orders issued by origin of investment.

How many acquisitions of UK firms in the (a) defence, (b) cybersecurity and (c) AI sectors have been referred to his Department under the National Security and Investment Act 2021 since 5 July 2024.

Transparency is a crucial part of the National Security and Investment (NSI) Act, whilst also balancing commercial and reputational considerations. Information related to publication of final orders is available on GOV.UK. The Government also publishes annual reports to provide information about the transactions that it has been notified about and those it subsequently called in for a national security assessment. The NSI Annual Report 2023-24 was published on 10 September 2024. The period from 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025 will be covered in next year’s annual report. The annual reports include the proportion of notifications for each sector, however, cybersecurity falls under the artificial intelligence sector and is not reported separately. The reports do not specifically include the number or proportion of transactions that relate to links to a company owned in (a) part or (b) whole by a foreign state, however, they include the number of accepted notifications, call-in notices issued, final notifications issued, withdrawals from a called in acquisition and final orders issued by origin of investment.

How many reviews under the National Security and Investment Act 2021 have resulted in the Government requiring companies to take mitigation measures since 5 July 2024.

Transparency is a crucial part of the National Security and Investment (NSI) Act, whilst also balancing commercial and reputational considerations. Information related to publication of final orders is available on GOV.UK. The Government also publishes annual reports to provide information about the transactions that it has been notified about and those it subsequently called in for a national security assessment. The NSI Annual Report 2023-24 was published on 10 September 2024. The period from 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025 will be covered in next year’s annual report. The annual reports include the proportion of notifications for each sector, however, cybersecurity falls under the artificial intelligence sector and is not reported separately. The reports do not specifically include the number or proportion of transactions that relate to links to a company owned in (a) part or (b) whole by a foreign state, however, they include the number of accepted notifications, call-in notices issued, final notifications issued, withdrawals from a called in acquisition and final orders issued by origin of investment.

How many and what proportion of transactions under review under the National Security and Investment Act 2021 relate to links to a company owned in (a) part and (b) whole by a foreign state.

Transparency is a crucial part of the National Security and Investment (NSI) Act, whilst also balancing commercial and reputational considerations. Information related to publication of final orders is available on GOV.UK. The Government also publishes annual reports to provide information about the transactions that it has been notified about and those it subsequently called in for a national security assessment. The NSI Annual Report 2023-24 was published on 10 September 2024. The period from 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025 will be covered in next year’s annual report. The annual reports include the proportion of notifications for each sector, however, cybersecurity falls under the artificial intelligence sector and is not reported separately. The reports do not specifically include the number or proportion of transactions that relate to links to a company owned in (a) part or (b) whole by a foreign state, however, they include the number of accepted notifications, call-in notices issued, final notifications issued, withdrawals from a called in acquisition and final orders issued by origin of investment.

Innovation and Technology, which (a) Departments, (b) arms length bodies and (c) Government programmes have (i) migrated to and (ii) plan to migrate to One Login.

All major government departments have committed to onboarding their services to GOV.UK One Login, and are actively developing delivery plans. They are supported by our Onboarding and Engagement team who share best practices and provide advice and assets to enable technical service teams to onboard their services smoothly.As of December 2024, users can access over 50 government services across multiple government Departments, within GOV.UK One Login. The list of public-facing services can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/using-your-gov-uk-one-login/services.Some services are still in an early testing phase and are currently available to only a select group of users, therefore not listed in the service list.We expect to have onboard over 100 services next year, with more to follow. Future services to include those from HM Revenue and Customs, Department for Work and Pensions, Companies House, Office for Public Guardian, and the Department for Education.

Whether (a) he and (b) the Paymaster General has met the Ulster Farmers Union since the general election.

Details of official meetings held in a ministerial capacity with external organisations or individuals are published quarterly on GOV.UK

Pursuant to the Answer of 14 October to Question 6418 on Further Education: VAT, for what reason further education colleges do not meet the rationale for admission to either refund scheme.

I refer the member to the answer given on the 14 November to PQ 13459.

Whether the Office for Equality and Opportunity formally recognises any (a) genders, (b) sexual orientations and (c) gender identities.

There is no list of genders, sexual orientations or gender identities formally recognised by the Office for Equality and Opportunity.

If he will publish a list of the Committee on the Grant of Honours, Decorations and Medals' sub-committees.

The Committee on the Grant of Honours, Decorations and Medals (known as the HD Committee) has one sub-committee, the Advisory Military Sub-Committee. The terms of reference for this committee can be found on gov.uk.

Whether non-executive director appointments to HM Revenue and Customs are classified as regulated public appointments.

The bodies and offices that are classified as regulated appointments are listed, by department, in Schedules 1 and 2 of the Public Appointments (No. 2) Order in Council 2023. Appointments to the Board of HM Revenue and Customs, as a non-ministerial department, are not classified as regulated public appointments.

Whether senior representatives of Tiktok are classified as as senior media executives for the purposes of gov.uk transparency returns by Ministers, special advisers and senior officials.

Guidance on ministers’, special advisers’, and senior officials’ transparency returns is published on GOV.UK and includes details of who would be considered senior media figures for these purposes.

Whether she plans to commission an equality impact assessment on the proposed commencement of the socio-economic duty in the Equality Act 2010.

The Government is committed to commencing the socio-economic duty in the Equality Act 2010. The duty will require public bodies, when making strategic decisions, to actively consider how their decisions might help to reduce the inequalities associated with socio-economic disadvantage. To ensure effective implementation, we will certainly give due regard to the equality impacts of commencement.

If he will publish the framework agreement between his Department and the House of Lords Appointments Commission.

The House of Lords Appointments Commission (HOLAC) is an independent advisory non-departmental body of the Cabinet Office. As was the case when the honourable member was a Minister in the department, there is not currently a Framework Document between HOLAC and the Cabinet Office. As with all independent advisory bodies, the Government keeps its arrangements with HOLAC under review to ensure they reflect current best practice and standards of corporate governance.

If he will list the members of the Permanent Secretary Remuneration Committee.

The Committee is chaired by the Government Lead Non-Executive. Membership includes two other Departmental Non-Executive Directors and the Chair of the Senior Salaries Review Body. The Civil Service members are: the Cabinet Secretary/Head of the Civil Service, the Chief Operating Officer for the Civil Service and Permanent Secretary to the Cabinet Office, the Chair of the Senior Leadership Committee, and the Permanent Secretary of HM Treasury. The Director of Senior Talent in the Cabinet Office also attends in an advisory capacity.