Every parliamentary written question tabled by Richard Holden this session, with the full answer and department. See how every department answers, or back to the MP page.
Showing 2,181–2,200 of 2,912 · this parliament
Pursuant to the answer of 17 April 2025 to Question 43230 on Prime Minister: Electronic Purchasing Card Solution, whether his Department is (a) stopping future transactions being made on the Downing Street cards and (b) stopping the procurement of additional cards for Downing Street.
All areas of the Cabinet Office have significantly reduced the number of cards held and strict processes are in place for new applications.
What (a) discussions and (b) correspondence staff in 10 Downing Street have had with (i) Tony Blair and (ii) the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change on (A) identity cards and (B) climate change since July 2024.
Relevant meetings are declared in transparency publications.
How are aggregate disproportionate cost thresholds reviewed for (a) written Parliamentary Questions and (b) Freedom of Information Act requests; how often do these reviews take place; and on what dates have changes been made since 2000.
The Guide to Parliamentary Work, which is published online and available here, sets out that there is an advisory cost limit known as the disproportionate cost threshold which is the level above which departments can decide not to answer a written question. The current disproportionate cost threshold is £850; the limit does not apply to oral questions. The threshold is pegged at 140% of the Freedom of Information Act cost limit, currently £600, to the nearest £50. Where a change in the FOI cost limit occurs, the Cabinet Office will make a written statement to advise Parliament of the new disproportionate cost threshold. Section 12 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 allows public authorities to refuse to deal with any requests where they estimate that responding to the request would exceed the “appropriate limit”, known as the “cost limit”. If a public authority calculates that responding to a request will take it over the appropriate limit it is not obliged to provide a substantive response. The cost limit is calculated at a flat rate of £25 per hour and since 2004 has been set at £600 for central government departments and £450 for other public authorities.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 16 January 2025 to Question 23482 on 11 Downing Street: Council Tax, whether he pays council tax on his official Ministerial residence in Carlton Gardens as a (a) sole or main residence, (b) single person discount and (c) second homes premium in 2025-26.
The Foreign Secretary pays the necessary council tax on 1 Carlton Gardens.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 19 December 2024 to Question 20252 on Universities: China, what the terms of reference are of the audit of the UK’s interests with regards to China; and whether he plans to publish a report at the end of the exercise.
The China Audit will improve the UK's ability to understand and respond to the challenges and opportunities China poses. The widespread consultation process, within and beyond government, has already informed the government's approach to and engagement with China. The audit will set out a long-term, consistent approach to our relationship. Its findings, which will also inform other important developments such as the forthcoming National Security Strategy and Industrial Strategy, will be shared with Parliament and other stakeholders in due course.
With reference to the Civil Service Commission's publication entitled How Departments are doing on fair and open recruitment: what the Commission’s audits found, published in April 2025, in which departments audits found errors on the management of appointments by exception.
The Civil Service Commission is operationally independent of the Government. The Commission reports on its audit activity each year in its Annual Report but does not publish individual departmental audits. The Commission additionally published a review into appointments by exception in November 2024.
Pursuant to the Answer of 18 November 2024 to Question 13326, on Government Departments: Flags, if he will publish a list of the flags purchased by the Government Property Agency since 4 July 2024; how much each cost; and the purpose for which each flag was bought.
Since 4th July 2024 the Government Property Agency has purchased two flags: Pride Flag - Darlington - Purchased for flying during events - Cost: £674.17Flag of Ukraine - London - Purchased to show solidarity with Ukraine - Cost: £104.60 All costs include supplier fees and exclude VAT. There have been no changes to the range of flags held by the department since the election.
What the assumed cost of an hour of staff time is for assessing the disproportionate cost threshold for written parliamentary questions; what the assumed hourly cost was of responding to (a) written parliamentary questions and (b) freedom of information requests in each year since 2000; and what methodology his Department uses to estimate these costs.
As was the case under the previous administration, the methodology for assessing the disproportionate cost threshold for written parliamentary questions is available in the Guide to Parliamentary Work, at paragraphs 218-220: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/673372f9c10bb403d96bf2f8/Guide_to_Parliamentary_Work.pdf In respect of Freedom of Information requests, Section 12 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 allows public authorities to refuse to deal with any requests where they estimate that responding to the request would exceed the “appropriate limit”, known as the “cost limit”. If a public authority calculates that responding to a request will take it over the appropriate limit it is not obliged to provide a substantive response. The cost limit is calculated at a flat rate of £25 per hour and since 2004 has been set at £600 for central government departments and £450 for other public authorities.
Media and Sport, with reference to Disney+ making available the 'uncut' version of The Abyss, what steps is she taking to ensure that streaming services ensure their content is not in breach of UK law.
I refer the Rt. Honourable Member to the answer I gave on 29 April 2025 to Question UIN 47833.
Pursuant to the Answer of 17 April 2025 to Question 43463 on Prime Minister: Email, whether emails which are automatically removed after 90 days that have not otherwise been saved for long-term storage are still considered to be held under (a) the Freedom of Information regime and (b) Subject Access Request regime.
As under previous administrations, guidance set out by the Information Commissioner’s Office is followed here: https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/foi/freedom-of-information-and-environmental-information-regulations/determining-whether-we-hold-information/
Whether appointments to the Ethics and Integrity Commission will be included in the Public Bodies Order in Council; and whether the chair will be classified as a significant appointment.
We are restoring confidence in government and the highest standards in public life. This government is committed to establishing the right structures to do so and have already taken steps to improve probity and transparency, including through introducing a new Ministerial Code with emphasises the principles of public life, by strengthening the Terms of Reference for the Independent Adviser, and by introducing a new monthly Register of Gifts and Hospitality.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 11 April 2025 to Question 41270 on MI6: Stonewall, for what reason the Secret Intelligence Service has a membership.
The Secret Intelligence Service does not comment publicly on internal policy decisions.
With reference to his Department's data entitled Cabinet Office: spend data over £25,000 - March 2025, published on 24 April 2025, what the expenditure with Tullo Marshall Waren Ltd was for.
Tullo Marshall Warren Ltd operates as part of the Unlimited Group. The Cabinet Office appointed Pablo Unlimited (Unlimited Group) as a standby agency through a competitive tender process under the Campaign Solutions 2 Framework. The agency delivers end-to-end campaign solutions to support public service campaigns.
Pursuant to the Answer of 9 April 2025 to Question 41642 on Office for National Statistics (ONS): Industrial Disputes, what the mandated return to the office is; what the previous office attendance rate was in each ONS building; and what the expected office attendance rate is in those buildings.
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 9 May is attached.
Pursuant to the Answer of 21 October 2024 to Question 7754 on Senior Civil Servants: Recruitment, whether a public sector equalities duty assessment was made when appointing the five mission delivery board civil service roles.
The appointment of Directors General (DGs) as Mission Senior Responsible Officers was undertaken as part of the standard management of roles within the DG workforce.
Pursuant to the Answer of 17 April 2025 to Question 42606 on Civil Servants: Remote Working, how figures are collated for overall workforce attendance in offices other than the departmental HQ; and whether such figures are reviewed centrally.
Central data on Civil Service Headquarters (HQ) occupancy is collected and published quarterly on GOV.UK for all HQ buildings of Whitehall Departments, Office for Scotland, Office for Wales and Northern Ireland Office. Until May 2024 Departments provided data to the Cabinet Office on the average number of employees working in their departmental HQ buildings only, for each week. This moved to quarterly publishing from June 2024 with no change to the methodology of reporting.Departments manage their own arrangements for monitoring workforce attendance. No other information on occupancy data or workforce attendance is gathered centrally.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what guidance his Department has issued to ambassadors on (a) declaring and (b) reporting their interests.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has established comprehensive policies and procedures to ensure transparency and accountability among its ambassadors. These guidelines are designed to mitigate conflicts of interest and maintain high ethical standards. Ambassadors are required to declare any personal or business interests that may influence their judgement in performing their duties. They must also report any gifts and hospitality they receive. The FCDO maintains an internal register for these declarations, which is regularly reviewed to uphold the integrity of the diplomatic service.
What estimate he has made of the number of redundancies arising from the abolition of NHS England.
Ministers and senior Department officials will work with the new executive team at the top of NHS England, led by Sir Jim Mackey, to lead the formation of a new joint centre.The abolition of NHS England will strip out the unnecessary bureaucracy and cut the duplication that comes from having two organisations doing the same job. We will empower staff to focus on delivering better care for patients, driving productivity up, and getting waiting times down. As part of these changes, we intend to reduce the headcount across the Department and NHS England, with further details to become available as we take the programme forward.These changes are no reflection of the tireless work carried out by talented professionals across the health sector. These changes are about forming a more agile and efficient system, in the interests of patients and the public.
What information his Department holds on the total cost in staff time for Cabinet Office all-staff calls since 4 July.
As was the case under the previous administration, all-staff calls are organised to share updates on key policies, projects and priorities and allow staff to raise questions directly with leadership. Typically the calls last for around 45 minutes and around 2500 civil servants attend.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to support global health initiatives.
The UK has long been a champion of global health, and we are one of the largest donors to global health multilaterals worldwide. From our WHO partnership, helping to save over 40 million lives, to our investment in Gavi to support them to immunise 300 million children, and in the Global Fund to save over 1.2 million lives, our dedication and commitment to combating global health challenges is clear. And through the Pandemic Accord, we will help safeguard lives, livelihoods and economic stability in this country and globally from future pandemics.