Written questions by Dewhirst.

How many people he plans to recruit for the test-and-learn teams funded through the Innovation Fund.

The £100 million Public Service Reform and Innovation Fund will be deploying Test, Learn and Grow teams around the country over the next three years to design and test innovative solutions to our biggest public service challenges in partnership with local places – ensuring that local learning informs national policy decisions. The Cabinet Office will be working across government and with local partners to codesign the detailed approach to the allocation of the Innovation Fund. As part of this co-design, we will formalise our resourcing requirements to provide support on the ground with multi-disciplinary teams helping local places respond to the public service challenges in their areas.

Pursuant to the Answer of 20 February 2025 to Question 30473 on Prime Minister: Press Conferences, for what reason members of the Labour party were invited to the event; and whether the Labour party contributed to the cost of the event.

I refer the Hon Member to my answer of 20 February 2025, Official Report, PQ 30473. The Labour Party did not contribute to the cost of the event.

What progress he has made on the new integrated transparency platform.

This Government is fully committed to transparency and ensuring information published is as useful as possible. For example, the Government introduced a central register of ministers’ gifts and hospitality on a monthly basis. These registers are published by the Cabinet Office and are available at:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/register-of-ministers-gifts-and-hospitality#:~:text=The%20Register%20details%20the%20gifts,available%20on%20departmental%20web%20pages.

What the status is of the industrial action in the Office for National Statistics over workplace attendance.

The Trade Unions PCS and Prospect are currently taking industrial action short of a strike with the Office for National Statistics.

Whether he plans to lay a new Official Statistics Order to designate Great British Railways’ statistical outputs as official statistics.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 11th March is attached.

If he will list the full membership of each Mission Board.

The membership of the Mission Boards - as outlined on gov.uk - is the lead Secretary of State as the chair of their respective Mission Board and the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster as Deputy Chair; other Ministers will be invited according to the agenda.

How much and what proportion of the Innovation Fund he plans to allocate to (a) staffing, (b) logistics, (c) management of the test-and-learn teams and (d) other administrative costs.

The Government is committed to reforming the state to deliver better public services. The work underway includes the £100 million Public Service Reform and Innovation Fund, which will be deploying Test and Learns teams around the country over the next three years to design and test innovative solutions to our biggest public service challenges in partnership with local places – and ensuring that local learning informs national policy decisions. The Cabinet Office will be working across government and with local partners to codesign the detailed approach to the allocation of the Innovation Fund.

Whether his Department provides guidance to departmental social media accounts on liking party political posts by (a) Ministers and (b) hon. Members.

The Government Communication Service has published guidance on propriety in digital and social media. It states that official social media accounts managed by departments must not be used for the further dissemination of messages from party political or otherwise partisan accounts. The guidance can be found at https://gcs.civilservice.gov.uk/guidance/professional-standards/propriety/propriety-in-digital-and-social-media/.

Pursuant to the Answer of 29 January 2025 to Question 25452 on Cabinet Office: Staff, what the longest period of time is that a member of the Skills Match Hub has been signed up excluding maternity leave.

I refer the hon. member to the answer of PQ 25452, given on 29 January 2025.

Pursuant to the Answer of 27 November 2024 to Question 14712 on Honours: Public Appointments, who has been (a) appointed and (b) appointed by open and fair competition to the Parliamentary and Political Service honours Committee since 5 July 2024; and what recruitment is ongoing.

All appointments are announced on the Honours Committee page of GOV.UK, which can be found at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/honours-committees. All appointments to the honours committees are made following a fair and open competition. This includes utilising reserve lists where appropriate.

Pursuant to the Answer of 27 November 2024 to Question 7442 on Prime Minister: Communication, how many staff work on digital communications in Downing Street; and at what cost.

As of 17 March 2025, there are 43 FTE Civil Servants in the overall communications team, covering a range of disciplines including digital, planning, press and private office. 15 FTE Civil Servants work on digital communications covering a number of responsibilities, as part of the wider communications team.

With reference to his Department's guidance entitled The Approvals Process for the Creation of New Arm’s-Length Bodies, updated on 15 March 2018, whether his Department's public bodies team assessed the National Energy Systems Operator against the guidance that the creation of a new ALB should only be considered as a last resort; whether the Department provided evidence of whether alternative delivery models were considered; and which of the three tests outlined in chapter 2 of that guidance it met.

The National Energy Systems Operator (NESO) is a public corporation and is therefore not administratively classified as an arm’s-length body. The guidance entitled ‘The Approvals Process for the Creation of New Arm’s-Length Bodies’ did not apply to NESO for this reason.The NESO will support the UK’s energy security, help to keep bills down in the long term, and accelerate the government’s clean power mission.

Whether he plans to reduce barriers to making civil servants redundant who do not deliver efficiency savings.

The Government remains committed to the 2016 Protocol and the need to avoid compulsory redundancies as far as possible. Separately to redundancies, the Government has set out plans to introduce mutually agreed exits to allow Civil Service employers to come to a sensible and pragmatic agreement with an employee regarding their future when it is clear that things aren’t working.

What his policy is on releasing details of ministerial meetings with external organisations in response to (a) Parliamentary Questions and (b) the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Details of ministers’ meetings with external individuals and organisations are published quarterly in arrears on GOV.UK. All freedom of Information requests are considered on their individual merits and in accordance with the legislation in all circumstances. Section 9 of the Ministerial Code sets the standard of conduct expected of ministers in relation to Parliament and how they discharge their duties, including for government responses to written parliamentary questions.

Pursuant to the Answer of 21 October 2024 to Question 8434 on Prime Minister: Aviation, if he will publish the percentage of sustainable aviation fuel used for each of the Prime Minister's last 10 domestic flights.

Ministerial travel is undertaken using efficient and cost-effective travel arrangements. Security considerations are also taken into account. It has been the practice that official Prime Ministerial flights are carbon offset and use Sustainable Aviation Fuel where either are possible.

With reference to page 9 of his Department's publication entitled Security and Intelligence Agencies Financial Statement 2023-24 published on 2 December 2024, what specific weaknesses in risk management and internal control the Principal Accounting Officer identified; and what corrective action has since been taken.

As has been the policy of successive governments, the government does not comment on matters relating to the intelligence agencies. The Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament scrutinises the policies, expenditure, administration and operations of the intelligence agencies on behalf of Parliament.

Pursuant to the Answer of 10 February 2025 to Question 29217 on Prime Minister: Aviation, what the cost of domestic air travel by the Prime Minister is since 4 July 2024.

The Government has ended the routine use of helicopter travel, unless operationally required. It has been the practice of successive administrations not to publish granular information relating to the official movements of protected individuals and those accompanying them within the United Kingdom. Information about official overseas ministerial travel is published as part of the Cabinet Office transparency returns and made available on the GOV.UK website.

Pursuant to the Answer of 14 January 2025 to Question HL3879 on Ministers’ Private Offices: Official Cars, what criteria his Department uses to determine whether departmental officials may have use of a car from the Government Car Service.

The Government Car Service (GCS) does not determine the allocation of vehicles to senior officials - this is carried out by individual Departmental Private Offices. The arrangements relating to the use of vehicles from the Government Car Service are set out in the Civil Service Management Code. There has been no change in this policy since 2023.

How many times the Cabinet Office’s Information Rights User Group (IRUG) has met since 5 July 2024; if he will publish minutes of the IRUG's meetings; when the IRUG's next meeting is; and whether a Cabinet Office Minister will attend the next meeting.

This Government is committed to freedom of information and to listening to its users. The Government will set out its plans for the Information Rights User Group, which last met in April 2024, in due course.

Pursuant to the Answer of 13 February 2025 to Question 29022 on Ministers: Aviation, whether the Prime Minister’s (a) RAF and (b) charter flights other than GBNI are carbon offset.

It has been the practice that official Prime Ministerial flights are carbon offset where that is possible.