Written questions by Holden.

With reference to the guidance entitled Having honours taken away (forfeiture), published on 27 December 2017, whether political views may be grounds for the removal of an honour.

Honours can be revoked if an individual is deemed to have brought the honours system into disrepute. Each case is considered on its own merits, but holding a particular political viewpoint would not be grounds for forfeiture.

How many pricing reviews of contracts managed by his Department the Crown Commercial Service has undertaken due to changes to employer’s National Insurance contributions in April 2025; and if he will make an estimate of the number of pricing reviews that will be required for this reason.

Most Crown Commercial Service (CCS) commercial agreements use the public sector contract which does not permit increases in the framework rates for employer national insurance contributions as these are classed as General Change in Law. Where the framework contract allows for framework rates to be reviewed, any request by a supplier to do so would be considered by CCS on a case-by-case basis.

With reference to his Department's guidance entitled Public Bodies Handbook – Part 2: The Approvals Process for the Creation of New Arm’s-Length Bodies, whether his Department's public bodies team assessed Great British Railways against the requirement that the creation of a new arm's length body should only be considered as a last resort; whether the Department for Transport provided evidence that alternative delivery models were considered; and which of the three tests in Chapter 2 of that guidance Great British Railways met.

The Department for Transport is currently working through the approval process to establish Great British Railways as an Arm’s Length Body. The completion of business cases as part of this process considers viable delivery mechanisms and the three tests.

Pursuant to the Answer of 6 January 2025 to Question 20702 on Foreign Investment in UK: National Security, if he will publish mitigation measures taken as a result of final orders issued in the last year with the 2024-2025 NSI annual report.

The Government publishes notices of final orders made on GOV.UK - this includes cases that are blocked, unwound, or cleared subject to conditions. The notices include a high level summary of what mitigation measures are imposed on the parties.

Whether the Government plans to lay a new Official Statistics Order to designate the Fair Work Agency’s 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 31st March is attached.

Pursuant to the Answer of 29 November 2024 to Question 15471 on Office for Equality and Opportunity: Gender and Sexuality, whether the Civil Service People Group formally recognises any (a) genders, (b) sexual orientations and (c) gender identities.

Data collection on gender identities, genders or sexual orientation is delegated to departments.

Pursuant to the Answer of 27 November 2024 to Question 14354 on Civil Servants: Pay, what the budget for civil service pay is (a) including and (b) excluding National insurance employer contributions in (i) 2024-25 and (ii) 2025-26.

Departments are responsible for pay, terms and conditions of civil servants, within the parameters set out in the Civil Service Pay Remit Guidance, this includes setting budgets for annual increases for its own workforce. Salary data for the Civil Service is published annually as part of Civil Service Statistics, an Accredited Official Statistics release. Civil Service Statistics 2025 is due to be published on 30 July 2025. For 2025/26, departmental pay awards have not yet been made and the 2025/26 Pay Remit Guidance will be published in due course.

With reference to the Answer of 17 February 2025 to Question HL4631 on Cabinet Office: Standards, if he will publish that template.

His Majesty's Government can confirm that:As was the case under the previous administration, the template is intended solely for internal departmental use and will not be released publicly.

Whether he has issued guidance to (a) the civil service and (b) arm’s length bodies on paying back severance payments if civil servants made redundant rejoin the (a) civil service, (b) NHS and (c) wider public sector.

Whilst the NHS and some wider public sector organisations will have their own arrangements, any individual who leaves under the terms of the Civil Service Compensation Scheme, and later returns to the same organisation, or another one that uses the Civil Service Compensation Scheme, within six months, must pay back a proportionate amount of their compensation.

What guidance his Department has issued on delivering efficiency savings through reducing spending on external public relations.

The Government regularly evaluates the effectiveness of all communication activities to ensure they are delivering and providing the best value for money for taxpayers. An example of this is the recent comprehensive communications Spending Review that delivered savings of £85 million in 2024-25 and up to £96 million in 2025-26.

Whether (a) Permanent Secretaries and (b) Second Permanent Secretaries are employed on fixed term contracts.

The majority of Permanent Secretaries (First and Second) are permanent civil servants, on permanent contracts. Exceptionally, fixed term contracts may be offered to external candidates, for example in the case of specialist roles. When appointed to a Permanent Secretary role, Permanent Secretaries (First and Second) are appointed on fixed term tenures, typically for five years. Where appropriate, and with the Prime Minister and relevant Minister’s approval, tenure may be extended.

Pursuant to the Answer of 19 September 2024 to Question 4697 on Civil Servants: Incentives, at what point in the year Cabinet Office civil servants are typically given such incentive payments of shopping vouchers; whether such vouchers can be used for paying utility bills; and how much his Department has spent on Love2Shop Gift Cards since 5 July 2024.

In-year vouchers can be given at any point in the year. The vouchers cannot be directly redeemed for utility bills, but have a wide range of retail outlets where they can be spent. The Cabinet Office does not use Love2Shop vouchers.

Pursuant to the Answer of 26 February 2025 to Question 32268 on Freedom of Information and Parliamentary Questions: Impact Assessment, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that information which is routinely disclosed under the Freedom of Information Act regime is disclosed to Parliament when similar requests for information as made through Parliamentary Questions.

The information that is published in response to Parliamentary Questions is handled on a case by case basis, as is the information that is published in response to any request under the Freedom of Information Act. The Cabinet Office takes seriously both its obligations to Parliament and its obligations under the Freedom of Information Act.

Whether the (a) Office for National Statistics, (b) National Audit Office, (c) Northern Ireland Civil Service, (d) Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, (e) GCHQ, (f) MI5, (g) SIS and (h) Crown Commercial Service pay subscription fees to Stonewall.

As the sponsoring department for the following bodies, the Cabinet Office can confirm that the Office for National Statistics, the Public Health Service Ombudsman, and the Crown Commercial Service do not pay subscription fees to Stonewall. All other bodies asked about are not sponsored by the Cabinet Office, and are therefore a matter for their individual sponsoring departments.

If he will take steps to undertake an audit of whether other Government departments are meeting the publication requirements outlined in the then Prime Minister's letter entitled Government transparency and open data, published on 14 December 2017.

I refer the honourable member to my response to PQ 30681.

Pursuant to the Answer of 16 October 2024 to Question 7760 on Marian Mazzucato, whether she is an adviser to the Government in any other capacity.

Ministers regularly liaise with a wide range of stakeholders. Mariana Mazzucato is not employed within government as a special adviser. Nor does she hold a position in a role as a regulated public appointee.

What guidance he has issued on efficiency savings through reducing spending on public opinion research.

The Prime Minister has set out his ambition to deliver long-term, impactful changes to reshape the British state and the Government is taking forward a number of measures to deliver greater efficiency and transformation in the Civil Service. The Government has announced the first zero-based review of government spending in 17 years, with departments expected to go line-by-line to find savings and efficiencies, including in bodies and agencies that they sponsor. While spending on public opinion research to support evidence-based policy is a matter for individual departments, the Government regularly evaluates the effectiveness of all communication activities to ensure they are delivering and providing the best value for money for taxpayers. An example of this is the recent comprehensive communications Spending Review that delivered savings of £85 million in 2024-25 and up to £96 million in 2025-26.

If he will publish the response to the Freedom of Information Act 2000 request with reference FOI2024/14571.

I refer the Rt Hon Member to the response to PQ23470, PQ25857 and PQ28578. A copy of the information released in FOI2024/14571 relating the special advisers appointments by the Prime Minister has been deposited in the House Library.

Pursuant to the Answer of 31 October 2024 to Question 10990 on Civil Servants: Trade Union Officials, whether he plans to increase the amount of facility time to recognised trade unions in his Department following the passage of the Employment Rights Bill.

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 and no decisions have been made about changes to Facility Time in the civil service.

With reference to the Security and Intelligence Agencies Financial Statement 2023-24, published on 2 December 2024, what (a) risks and (b) performance issues were identified during the Performance and Risk Reviews conducted in 2023-24 for those agencies; and what steps he is taking to tackle those risks and issues.

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.