Written questions by Holden.

Pursuant to the Answer of 19 November 2024 to Question 12231 on 10 Downing Street: Art Works, if he will list each of the other (a) works of art and (b) portraits that have been removed for restoration.

No further works of art or portraits have been removed for restoration.

Whether his Department has issued guidance on whether breaching the Business Appointment Rules is grounds for consideration by the Forfeiture Committee for the revocation of an honour.

Honours, by their very nature, are a form of recognition for creditable actions or service by an individual. The Forfeiture Committee considers cases put to it when the holder of an honour may be deemed to have brought the honours system into disrepute. This might include being found guilty of a criminal offence, behaviour which results in censure by a regulatory or a professional body, or any other behaviour that is deemed to bring the honours system into disrepute. The Cabinet Office provides wide-ranging guidance relating to the handling of potential forfeiture cases to all government departments. Each case is considered individually.

How many (a) people and (b) organisations were sent a hard copy official Christmas card delivered by Royal Mail from (i) the Prime Minister, (ii) the Cabinet Secretary, (iii) the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, (iv) him, (v) the Permanent Secretary of his Department and (vi) the National Security Adviser in 2024.

As was the case with previous Prime Ministers, Christmas cards are sent by the Prime Minister in an official capacity. Christmas cards sent by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and the Minister for the Cabinet Office were sent in their capacity as Members of Parliament and did not make any use of Government resources. Neither the Cabinet Secretary, National Security Adviser, nor the Permanent Secretary of the Cabinet Office sent any Christmas Cards in an official capacity.

With reference to para 3.3 of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Cabinet Office and the UK Statistics Authority, published on 30 April 2020, and pursuant to the Answer of 7 January 2025 to Question 21345 on Eurostat: Office for National Statistics, whether the Office for National Statistics plans to publish the agreement with Eurostat on statistical cooperation.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 14th January is attached.

Pursuant to the Answer of 27 November 2024 to Question 14712 on Honours: Public Appointments, what discussions he had with the Commissioner for Public Appointments on the closure and reopening of competitions for appointments to the (a) Community and Voluntary Service, (b) Parliamentary and Political Service and (c) Diversity and Outreach (formerly called Representation and Outreach) honours committees.

The Commissioner for Public Appointment regulates appointments listed on the Order in Council. Honours Committee appointments are not listed on the Order in Council. The Order in Council was last updated in November 2023. As appointments to the Honours Committee are not part of the Commissioner for Public Appointment’s regulatory remit, no discussions took place with the Commissioner regarding the campaigns listed in the question. Even for regulated roles, the decision to close or restart a competition lies with the relevant Minister, and would not require engagement with the Commissioner for Public Appointments.

With reference to the Register of Members' Financial Interests, on what dates he stayed in Lord Alli's accommodation since becoming Prime Minister.

I refer the Rt Hon Member to the Prime Minister's entry in the Register of Members' Financial Interests.

Pursuant to the Answer of 28 November 2024 to Question 15191 on Prime Minister: Anacta, where on gov.uk his Department publishes details of special advisers' meetings.

As was the case under the previous administration, details of Cabinet Office special advisers’ meetings with senior media figures are published quarterly in arrears on GOV.UK at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/special-advisers-transparency-publicationsData for the period of July to September 2024 will be published shortly.

Pursuant to the Answer of 8 January 2025 to Question 18205 on Former Prime Ministers: Convictions, and with reference to paragraph 1.6 of the Ministerial Code, if the Prime Minister will take steps to correct the record of his oral contribution of 4 December 2024, Official Report, column 291.

I refer the Rt Hon Member to my answer of 8 January 2025, Official Report, PQ 18205. The Prime Minister stands by the relevance of raising to the attention of the House that two former Conservative Prime Ministers were fined by the police for breaking the COVID rules that they put in place for others.

Pursuant to the Answer of 26 November 2024 to Question 14636, on Prime Minister: Tiktok, what meetings Downing Street special advisers have had with (a) senior media executives and (b) other executives from Tiktok that are not due to be routinely published on gov.uk transparency returns.

In line with longstanding process, relevant meetings are declared in the Special Advisor transparency publications.

What criteria was used to allocate locations for test-and-learn pilots; and how much funding will be allocated to each local authority.

The pilots were selected due to their potential impact and alignment with a new way of working (Test, Learn and Grow). No funding has been allocated in this initial phase but there is in kind resource from the Government complementing local teams. The Cabinet Office and MHCLG will be working across government and with local partners to co-design the detailed approach to the allocation of the Public Service Reform and Innovation Fund for next financial year. We will partner with the Local Government Association (LGA) on this process.

With reference to his Department's guidance entitled The Approvals Process for the Creation of New Arm’s-Length Bodies, published on 15 March 2018, which of the three tests in Chapter 2 the Regulatory Innovation Office meets.

The Regulatory Innovation Office is not an arm’s length body. On 8 October 2024, the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology announced that the Regulatory Innovation Office would be set up as an office within the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.

What the cost to the public purse was of repainting the Downing Street media room.

Information will be published in due course in the Cabinet Office’s dataset detailing expenditure above £25,000, which is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cabinet-office-spend-data.

Whether the Ministerial residence in 11 Downing Street pays council tax as a (a) sole or main residence, (b) single person discount and (c) second home.

The Prime Minister is allocated the flat in 11 Downing Street and personally pays full council tax.

Whether any products originating from China are stocked by the 10 Downing Street gift shop.

Most suppliers of the 10 Downing Street gift shop are British companies, and many of the items are made in the UK. A very small number of items are manufactured overseas, including China. This was the case under the previous government.

With reference to the Cabinet Secretary Letter to UK Government Ministers of 3 October 2024 on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, for what reason Ministers were told not to take part in the public debate.

The Cabinet Secretary’s letter set out for Ministers the Prime Minister’s decision on the government’s approach to legislation on assisted dying. As the letter said, collective responsibility on the merits of this Bill have been set aside and the Government will therefore continue to remain neutral on the passage of the Bill and on the matter of assisted dying. The letter was clear that the matter of assisted dying is one for Parliament and not Ministers to decide.

If he will issue new guidance to (a) the civil service and (b) public bodies to prevent practices which limit (i) recruitment and (ii) internships on the basis of protected characteristics.

Individual departments are responsible for recruitment decisions and they are required to meet all obligations of relevant legislation, including the Equality Act 2010. If a department wants to restrict an internship programme to a specific group or groups, it would be expected to ensure on a case by case basis that it complies with the relevant legislation. As a result, as was the case under the previous administration, no central guidance is provided on this matter.

Pursuant to the Answer of 6 January 2025 to Question 21256 on Film: Marketing, where on gov.uk her Department plans to publish departmental spending on (a) branding and (b) official events.

Departmental spending that meets the criteria are published in gov.uk transparency data publications, available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cabinet-office-spend-data

Pursuant to the Answer of 27 December 2024 to Question 20828 on the National Security Adviser, whether the new National Security Adviser (a) attends, (b) chairs and (c) otherwise participates in any Cabinet (i) committees and (ii) subcommittees; whether he has any role in the (A) preparation, (B) drafting, (C) clearance and (D) approval of (1) agenda items, (2) minutes and (3) other documentation related to Cabinet (a) committee and (b) subcommittee meetings; and for what reason he was appointed as a special adviser rather than as a civil servant.

It is a long-established precedent that information about the discussions that have taken place in Cabinet and its committees, their attendance, and how often they have met, is not normally shared publicly. The appointment of special advisers is at the discretion of the Prime Minister in compliance with the relevant codes.

Pursuant to the Answer of 13 November 2024 to Question 10698 on Ministers: Official Residences, who was allocated Admiralty House on a time limited basis.

Between 9 September 2024 and 4 November 2024 one of the flats in Admiralty House was allocated to the Secretary of State for Defence, on a limited time basis.

Whether his Department has issued recent guidance on the appointment of consultant lobbyists as non-executive directors of Government Departments.

There has been no change to the guidance or rules relating to the appointment of non-executive directors of Government Departments since the General Election.