Written questions by Glen.

Whether he plans to update the guidance entitled (a) Special advisers’ gifts and hospitality received, and meetings with Senior Media Figures, published on 2 April 2024, and (b) Senior Officials’ business expenses, hospitality received and meetings with external organisations and individuals, published on 2 April 2024.

This Government has committed to looking at how the range of data published can be improved and made as useful as possible.

What proportion of special advisers have signed a contract.

All special advisers are subject to the Model Contract for Special Advisers, which is published online at GOV.UK.

Whether there is a cost to the public purse of the upkeep of cats at 10 Downing Street.

There is no cost to the public purse.

What financial interests have been declared by Varun Chandra.

As was the case under the previous Administration, interests deemed relevant for publication by the appropriate permanent secretary, for special advisers in No10 and the Cabinet Office, are published on an annual basis by the Cabinet Office.For special advisers in other departments, interests deemed relevant for publication by the appropriate permanent secretary are published by the relevant department on an annual basis in, or alongside, the department’s Annual Report and Accounts.

Whether there is an (a) informal and (b) formal quadrilateral committee or sub-committee of the Cabinet.

The list of Cabinet committees has been published in the House of Commons library and on gov.uk.

What estimate has been made of the value of the donation in kind from Arsenal to the Prime Minister of use of the Directors Box in the next twelve months.

I refer the Right Hon. Member to the entry made to the Register of Members’ Financial Interests by my Right Hon. Friend the Member for Holborn and St Pancras.

Whether there is a (a) staff and (b) budget allocation for the Deputy Prime Minister other than those allocated to the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government.

The Deputy Prime Minister’s core staff and budget allocation is assigned to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. The Deputy Prime Minister is also supported by staff in other Government Departments where relevant.

Whether (a) the Prime Minister's Chief of Staff and (b) the Cabinet Office have developed contingency plans for (i) a strike and (ii) a work to rule by special advisers.

I refer the Right Honourable Member to the answer given on 25th July 2024.

Which special advisers (a) are members of and (b) attend as observers of the National Security Council.

Membership of the National Security Council is restricted to Ministers. A list of members can be found on Gov.uk. To protect cabinet collective responsibility, observer attendance is strictly controlled.

Which Minister is responsible for ethics and integrity in government.

I refer the Honourable Gentleman to the answer given to PQ6394.

Whether individuals of pension age receiving a pension from the security and intelligence services are able to accrue a civil service pension if employed by the civil service.

The security and intelligence services' pension scheme is separate from the Civil Service Pension Scheme. It is possible for an individual, in receipt of benefits from the pension scheme for the security and intelligence services, to accrue a Civil Service pension if employed in the Civil Service, and then receive a pension from both schemes when they retire.

Pursuant to the Answer of 16 September 2024 to Question 4703 on Public Sector: Pay, if he will take steps to collate this information.

This information was not collected centrally by previous administrations, including the administration in which the Right Honourable member served as a minister in this department, and there are no plans to do so in the future.

Pursuant to the Answer of 25 September to Question 5051 on Civil Servants: Trade Union Officials, whether the Government plans to (a) issue new guidance on and (b) renegotiate existing facility time agreements.

The Government is committed to ensuring there is sufficient facility time for all trade union representatives in the public sector. Existing guidance remains in place.

Whether the Civil Service has employed any (a) staff and (b) contractors on zero-hours contracts since 5 July 2024.

The number of (a) civil servants and (b) contractors employed on zero hour contracts is not held centrally by the Cabinet Office. Zero hours contracts are not the normal practice or a recommended approach within the Civil Service. Departments may use them in very limited circumstances to help meet exceptional or fluctuating demands on the business. The flexibility offered by zero hours contracts, zero hour arrangements and low hour contracts can benefit both workers and employers, but without proper safeguards this flexibility can become one-sided, with workers bearing all the financial risk. The Government’s Employment Rights Bill will end one-sided flexibility, ensuring that jobs provide a baseline of security and predictability so workers can better plan their lives and finances. We will consult extensively on the implementation of the legislation to ensure it works for workers and employers alike, and anticipate this meaning the majority of reforms will take effect no earlier than 2026. Government understands that adjusting to these new reforms will take time and is committed to ensuring that all stakeholders receive appropriate time to prepare for these changes ahead of their commencement.

Pursuant to the answer of 17 September 2024 to Question 4655 on Public Sector: Directors, which Non-Executive Board Members have left which Departments since 4 July 2024.

The list of Non-Executive Board Members who have left government departments since 4 July 2024 was provided in my previous answer of 13th November, PQ 9162.

What the (a) substantive information requested and (b) decision was for each (i) Freedom of Information Act and (ii) Environmental Information Regulation request received by his Department since the general election; and what exemption was used to (A) refuse and (B) part-refuse each request.

I refer the Rt Hon Member to the answer I gave on 22 October. (UIN 8811)

Pursuant to the Answer of 23 September 2024 to Question 5009 on Government Departments: Disclosure of Information, whether he has issued guidance to Departments on the frequency of publishing (a) core and (b) other transparency data.

Transparency reporting requirements remain in place, with data regularly being published on GOV.UK. I refer the Right Honourable Member to the debate in the House on Reporting Ministerial Gifts and Hospitality, debated on Monday 14 October 2024. The Government will set out further details in due course.

With reference to the answer of 16 September 2024 to Question HL667 on Government Departments: Remote Working, when he plans to provide an update on future publication plans.

Civil Service Headquarters (HQ) Occupancy Data publication resumed on 24 October 2024, for the period July - September 2024, with further publications to now happen on a quarterly basis. Data can be found on GOV.UK.

Pursuant to the answer of 2 September 2024 to Question 2301 on Cyber-security: EU law, whether the National Cyber Security Centre has made an assessment of the potential risks to (a) public and (b) private sector cyber security of his policy on kernel level software; and whether he plans to amend that policy.

Technical experts at the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) have reviewed this issue, including in the context of the global IT outage that occurred in July. Allowing third party software into the kernel is still necessary to ensure a vibrant, diverse, effective and adaptive cyber security ecosystem on some platforms. This is because not all operating systems provide non-kernel routes to get the data that third party security tools need for their analyses. Vendors that have a genuine need to run code in the kernel have a responsibility for doing that in the lowest risk way that they can. This includes running thorough tests on new versions of that code, keeping the kernel code simple, and moving code out of the kernel that doesn't need the full power, or justify the associated risk, that such access offers.

With reference Answer of 26 September 2024 to Question HL978 on Ministers: Members' Interests, whether declarations made by Ministers to the House of Commons or House of Lords register of Members’ interests constitute a Ministerial declaration under the Ministerial Code.

The ministers’ interests process, which is set out in the Ministerial Code, is distinct from the parliamentary regimes that exist for Members of the House of Commons and House of Lords to register interests as parliamentarians. All ministers must comply with both the Ministerial Code and the Codes of Conduct of their respective House.