Every parliamentary written question tabled by John Cooper this session, with the full answer and department. Back to the MP page.
Showing 41–60 of 123 · this parliament
What discussions she has had with the Welsh Government on strengthening the Union.
The Spending Review demonstrated how our two Labour Governments are investing in Wales’ future and strengthening our Union for generations to come.With a record settlement for the Welsh Government, an historic investment of at least £445m into Welsh rail, money to keep coal tips safe and protecting every penny of Wales’ growth funds, we have ended Tory austerity.
What plans his Department has to review the convictions of postmasters affected by Capture errors in instances where those convictions have not already been quashed.
There is no definitive number or record of the number of convictions related to Capture. The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) has received 31 pre-Horizon applications to date. Incomplete due to the passage of time complicates confirming they are Capture-related. To support the CCRC, we commissioned the Post Office to review its branch files for the period from 1992 to 2000 for potential prosecutions. 448 potential cases have been reviewed with 31 confirmed Capture-related cases. The findings have been sent to the CCRC. If convictions related to Capture are overturned by the courts, we will provide appropriate redress. For non-convicted postmasters, the Government announced the Capture scheme design on 19 June. We expect to launch in Autumn, starting with an initial 150 claimants before broader rollout.
What estimate his Department has made of the number of postmasters convicted as a result of failures in the Capture software; and how many of those convictions have been quashed.
There is no definitive number or record of the number of convictions related to Capture. The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) has received 31 pre-Horizon applications to date. Incomplete due to the passage of time complicates confirming they are Capture-related. To support the CCRC, we commissioned the Post Office to review its branch files for the period from 1992 to 2000 for potential prosecutions. 448 potential cases have been reviewed with 31 confirmed Capture-related cases. The findings have been sent to the CCRC. If convictions related to Capture are overturned by the courts, we will provide appropriate redress. For non-convicted postmasters, the Government announced the Capture scheme design on 19 June. We expect to launch in Autumn, starting with an initial 150 claimants before broader rollout.
What progress he has made on providing (a) redress and (b) justice for people affected by Capture software.
There is no definitive number or record of the number of convictions related to Capture. The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) has received 31 pre-Horizon applications to date. Incomplete due to the passage of time complicates confirming they are Capture-related. To support the CCRC, we commissioned the Post Office to review its branch files for the period from 1992 to 2000 for potential prosecutions. 448 potential cases have been reviewed with 31 confirmed Capture-related cases. The findings have been sent to the CCRC. If convictions related to Capture are overturned by the courts, we will provide appropriate redress. For non-convicted postmasters, the Government announced the Capture scheme design on 19 June. We expect to launch in Autumn, starting with an initial 150 claimants before broader rollout.
What discussions his Department had with the Scottish Government on the planned visits of the Scottish Government's (a) Minister for Business and Employment to China and Japan in April 2025 and (b) Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care to Japan in June 2025.
The Scotland Office, in coordination with the FCDO, regularly engages with the Scottish Government to discuss and coordinate overseas ministerial visits. This ongoing engagement ensures alignment with UK foreign policy objectives. Discussions of this nature took place in relation to the planned visits mentioned by the Hon. Member.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions his Department had with the Scottish Government on the planned visits of the Scottish Government's (a) Minister for Business and Employment to China and Japan in April 2025 and (b) Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care to Japan in June 2025.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and our Embassies in Beijing and Tokyo engaged with Scottish Government officials in support of the visit of the Scottish Government's Minister for Business and Employment to China and the visits of Minister Lochhead and the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care to Japan. Such support is common practice supporting Devolved Government Ministerial visits overseas.
How many permanent civil servants in her Department are staff without assigned posts; and how many are placed in an equivalent (a) people action team, (b) priority movers list, (c) redeployment register, (d) talent pool and (e) skills match hub in the most recent period for which data is available.
There are no permanent Civil Servants in my Department without assigned posts and no permanent Civil Servants are placed in a people action team, priority movers list, redeployment register, talent pool, or skills match hub in the most recent period for which data is available.
How many permanent civil servants in his Department are staff without assigned posts; and how many are placed in an equivalent (a) people action team, (b) priority movers list, (c) redeployment register, (d) talent pool and (e) skills match hub in the most recent period for which data is available.
The Scotland Office has no permanent civil servants without assigned posts and no staff are placed in the referenced categories.
How many permanent civil servants in his Department are staff without assigned posts; and how many are placed in an equivalent (a) people action team, (b) priority movers list, (c) redeployment register, (d) talent pool and (e) skills match hub in the most recent period for which data is available.
At any point in time, there is likely to be a small number of individuals who have been displaced due to restructures within their cost centres or, for example, have returned from a loan from another department and their role no longer exists. The exact number changes on a day-to-day basis.
Innovation and Technology, how many permanent civil servants in his Department are staff without assigned posts; and how many are placed in an equivalent (a) people action team, (b) priority movers list, (c) redeployment register, (d) talent pool and (e) skills match hub in the most recent period for which data is available.
At any point in time, there is likely to be a small number of individuals who have been displaced due to restructures within their business units or, for example, have returned from a loan from another department and their role no longer exists. The exact number changes on a day-to-day basis.
Food and Rural Affairs, how many permanent civil servants in his Department are staff without assigned posts; and how many are placed in an equivalent (a) people action team, (b) priority movers list, (c) redeployment register, (d) talent pool and (e) skills match hub in the most recent period for which data is available.
At any point in time, there is likely to be a small number of individuals who have been displaced due to restructures within their business units or, for example, have returned from a loan from another department and their role no longer exists. The exact number changes on a day-to-day basis but remains insignificant.
How many permanent civil servants in his Department are staff without assigned posts; and how many are placed in an equivalent (a) people action team, (b) priority movers list, (c) redeployment register, (d) talent pool and (e) skills match hub in the most recent period for which data is available.
At any point in time, there is likely to be a small number of individuals who have been displaced due to restructures within their business units or, for example, have returned from a loan from another department and their role no longer exists. The exact number changes on a day-to-day basis.
How many permanent civil servants in his Department are staff without assigned posts; and how many are placed in an equivalent (a) people action team, (b) priority movers list, (c) redeployment register, (d) talent pool and (e) skills match hub in the most recent period for which data is available.
The Department for Energy, Security and Net Zero currently has 34 individuals in the redeployment register.
How many permanent civil servants in her Department are staff without assigned posts; and how many are placed in an equivalent (a) people action team, (b) priority movers list, (c) redeployment register, (d) talent pool and (e) skills match hub in the most recent period for which data is available.
There are no permanent civil servants within DfTc and the Agencies without assigned posts.The Department for Transport (DfTc and the Agencies) has a priority movers list/redeployment register. Within a payroll workforce of over 16000*, the number of people currently on the register for DfTc and the Agencies as of 6th June 2025 is 61.*Payroll staff total headcount DfT: workforce management information, April 2025 - GOV.UK
How many permanent civil servants in her Department are staff without assigned posts; and how many are placed in an equivalent (a) people action team, (b) priority movers list, (c) redeployment register, (d) talent pool and (e) skills match hub in the most recent period for which data is available.
The exact number changes on a day-to-day basis. At any point in time, there is likely to be a small number of individuals who have been displaced due to restructures within their business units or, for example, have been on loan to another department during which time their role has been phased out.
How many permanent civil servants in her Department are staff without assigned posts; and how many are placed in an equivalent (a) people action team, (b) priority movers list, (c) redeployment register, (d) talent pool and (e) skills match hub in the most recent period for which data is available.
At any point in time, there is likely to be a small number of individuals who have been displaced due to restructures within their business units or, for example, have returned from a loan from another department and their role no longer exists. The exact number changes on a day-to-day basis.
How many permanent civil servants in his Department are staff without assigned posts; and how many are placed in an equivalent (a) people action team, (b) priority movers list, (c) redeployment register, (d) talent pool and (e) skills match hub in the most recent period for which data is available.
As of 6 June 2025, the Department has five civil servants without a permanent assigned post. These individuals are undertaking temporary assignments until a permanent post can be found. The Department does not hold any of the equivalent programme categories as requested, from people action team to skills match hub. As such, no individuals are allocated to these.
How many permanent civil servants in her Department are staff without assigned posts; and how many are placed in an equivalent (a) people action team, (b) priority movers list, (c) redeployment register, (d) talent pool and (e) skills match hub in the most recent period for which data is available.
We do not currently operate any of the systems listed in the question. At any point in time, there is likely to be a small number of individuals who have been displaced due to restructures within their business units or, for example, have returned from a loan from another department and their role no longer exists. The exact number changes on a day-to-day basis, and these people are still actively working on temporary and priority projects.
How many permanent civil servants in his Department are staff without assigned posts; and how many are placed in an equivalent (a) people action team, (b) priority movers list, (c) redeployment register, (d) talent pool and (e) skills match hub in the most recent period for which data is available.
At any point in time, there is likely to be a number of individuals who have been displaced due to restructures within business units or have returned from a loan from another department and their role no longer exists. The exact number changes on a day to day basis.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many permanent civil servants in his Department are staff without assigned posts; and how many are placed in an equivalent (a) people action team, (b) priority movers list, (c) redeployment register, (d) talent pool and (e) skills match hub in the most recent period for which data is available.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) operate a Directorate Flexible Resource (DFR) pool. The DFR is the FCDO's resourcing model for when staff are between substantive roles in our rotational model of home and overseas roles. The DFR offers important agility for the Department, and to support staff in between roles/when returning from overseas. Those in between roles are working within their Directorates whilst looking for a substantive position.Each Department is responsible for setting their redundancy procedures in line with the Cabinet Office issued 2016 Civil Service Redundancy Protocol. This document is publicly available guidance, published on gov.uk. The Civil Service does not formally use the terms, 'redeployment registers', 'people action teams', or 'priority movers lists', but the Redundancy Protocol does set out the expectations placed on departments when it comes to managing their employees who are without posts due to restructuring or job reduction plans.There is no central policy relating to 'Talent pools' in the Civil Service. Departmental approaches to managing talent vary and are not governed by any central guidance or policy.