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 2,581–2,600 of 2,912 · this parliament
What diversity and inclusion (a) days and (b) weeks (i) his Department and (ii) the Office for Equality and Opportunity plans to mark in 2025.
In January, February and March the Carers’ networks are planning coffee drop-in sessions, but these are not linked to any particular days or weeks. We also expect to find appropriate ways to mark external events such as International Women’s Day on 8 March. We currently have no forward look of such events beyond the end of March.
Communities and Local Government, whether it is her policy to introduce increased roles for parish and town councils.
Local authorities act independently of central government. Town and parish councils can work with other tiers of local government to determine how they can best serve their communities in their area. The English Devolution White Paper was clear that we know people value the role of governance at the community scale, and that this can be a concern when local government is reorganised. We will therefore want to see stronger community arrangements when reorganisation happens in the way councils engage at a neighbourhood or area level.
What the policy of the Government Property Agency is on (a) retaining or (b) removing gender neutral toilets from the Government Estate, in the context of building regulations on toilets for new and refurbished buildings which came into effect in October 2024.
This policy is currently being reviewed following the launch of ‘Approved Document T: Toilet Accommodation’, including close consultation with MCLHG, the Health and Safety Executive and the Building Safety Regulator.
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.
What guidance her Department has issued on how the policy and work of non-ministerial departments can be scrutinised by (a) oral and (b) written Parliamentary Questions.
The Ministerial Code gives guidance to Ministers on their responsibilities. Section 1.6(a) states that “Ministers have a duty to Parliament to account, and be held to account, for the policies, decisions and actions of their departments and agencies”. It is expected that ministers from sponsoring departments can answer questions on behalf of non-ministerial departments they sponsor. This is true for both oral and written Parliamentary Questions.Additional guidance on answering Parliamentary Questions is available to departments in the Guide to Parliamentary Work.
Innovation and Technology, with reference to the Succession Select search tool published by Cabinet Office and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, on 17 December 2024, if he will make an assessment of the compatibility of the rationale for the Succession Select tool with the policy of external recruitment for Senior Civil Service vacancies.
Succession Select is an enhanced search assistant powered by a large language model (LLM). It is an efficiency tool which provides a list of potential candidates to human talent specialists for consideration and is not used to fill vacancies. When there is a SCS vacancy the usual recruitment practices, policies and procedures apply. This includes the ‘External by Default’ policy to ensure that, where a SCS role is being advertised, it is advertised outside the Civil Service as well as inside. Departments and agencies have authority to determine their practices and procedures for the recruitment of staff to the Civil Service. For Senior Civil Service vacancies, the relevant minister must approve circumstances when the role is not advertised externally.
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.
Pursuant to the Answer of 17 December 2024 to Question 18705 on Home Office: Equality, if she will hold discussions with Cabinet colleagues on the adequacy of the time taken to respond to written parliamentary questions where there is a Freedom of Information request on the same subject.
I have written to all Members of Cabinet to remind departments and Ministers about the importance of providing full and timely responses to parliamentary questions.The government's position regarding the relationship between the treatment of requests for information through parliamentary questions and the Freedom of Information Act 2000 is unchanged. The Guide to Parliamentary Work (available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guide-to-parliamentary-work), published by my office, states that “if information would be released under FOI, it would also be released in response to a WPQ”.The Procedure Committee monitors departmental PQ performance and their sessional reporting continues to be an effective tool.
Whether she plans to make updates to the Financial Reporting Manual.
The government financial reporting manual (FReM) for financial year 2024-25 has been updated and was published in December 2024. The draft FReM for financial year 2025-26 was also updated and published in December 2024. Updates made are reviewed by the Financial Reporting Advisory Board (FRAB) before publication on gov.uk. The 2024-25 FReM can be found here: Government Financial Reporting Manual: 2024-25 - GOV.UK
With reference to her oral statement on 15 January 2025 on Higher Education Regulatory Approach, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of encouraging higher education institutions to adopt The Chicago Principles on freedom of speech and academic freedom.
As my right hon. Friend, the Minister of State for Security said in the House of Lords on 16 December, the Home Office plans to lay the regulations that underpin the scheme in early 2025, ahead of the scheme going live in the summer. The department is keeping implementation of the overseas transparency measures under review whilst we work with the sector to assess their approaches to managing these risks, and to ensure that any new reporting requirements are proportionate and add value to existing and upcoming protections. We expect a decision on the overseas measures to be made before the implementation of the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme.My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education has not conducted an assessment of the potential merits of encouraging higher education (HE) institutions to adopt The Chicago Principles. HE providers are independent institutions and adopting the principles would be a matter for them individually.However, the implementation of the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023, in the manner set out by my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education in her oral statement on 15 January 2025, will seek to achieve many of the same underlying values, including commitment to free and open enquiry in all matters, ensuring the broadest possible latitude to speak, write, listen, challenge and learn, and a solemn responsibility to debate and protect freedom of expression when others attempt to restrict it.
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 her Department's press release, Government reaffirms commitment to Free Speech in universities, published on 15 January 2025, when she will implement the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme.
As my right hon. Friend, the Minister of State for Security said in the House of Lords on 16 December, the Home Office plans to lay the regulations that underpin the scheme in early 2025, ahead of the scheme going live in the summer. The department is keeping implementation of the overseas transparency measures under review whilst we work with the sector to assess their approaches to managing these risks, and to ensure that any new reporting requirements are proportionate and add value to existing and upcoming protections. We expect a decision on the overseas measures to be made before the implementation of the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme.My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education has not conducted an assessment of the potential merits of encouraging higher education (HE) institutions to adopt The Chicago Principles. HE providers are independent institutions and adopting the principles would be a matter for them individually.However, the implementation of the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023, in the manner set out by my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education in her oral statement on 15 January 2025, will seek to achieve many of the same underlying values, including commitment to free and open enquiry in all matters, ensuring the broadest possible latitude to speak, write, listen, challenge and learn, and a solemn responsibility to debate and protect freedom of expression when others attempt to restrict it.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether Lord Mandelson has disposed of his lobbying interests on his appointment as Ambassador to the United States.
Cabinet Office guidance outlines the process for declaring and resolving conflicts of interest for Senior Civil Servants. The guidance - which applies in this case - makes clear that, "Any actual conflicts of interest must be resolved in a way which removes the conflict."
If she will take steps with Cabinet colleagues to ensure that all Departments publish impact assessments to Bills when they are published at first reading.
The Government is committed to ensuring Parliament has the information it needs to hold the Government to account and to understand the impact of legislation. When a bill is published the Explanatory Notes include information regarding any financial implications.I have written to all members of Cabinet regarding their ministerial responsibilities to Parliament. Best practice guidance is also provided to departments through the Cabinet Office Guide to Making Legislation, available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guide-to-making-legislation.Published impact assessments, including their date of publication, are available on the Parliament website (https://bills.parliament.uk/).
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 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.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what flags other than the Union flag will be flown from his Department's buildings in London in 2025; and on which dates each flag will be flown.
The FCDO's flag flying schedule for all our buildings at home and overseas is agreed by the Permanent Under-Secretary. The FCDO's flag flying policy is that all our buildings should fly the Union flag, as appropriate, throughout the year on working days during office hours. In addition, the FCDO continues to fly the Ukrainian flag from the secondary flagpole at King Charles Street. Any other flags flown on the estate are considered on a case-by-case, year-by-year basis and must have a compelling reason for inclusion. The FCDO does not advertise in advance which additional flags it will be flying and when.
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 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.