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 2,681–2,700 of 2,912 · this parliament
Pursuant to the Answer of 2 December 2024 to Question 16598 on Ministers: Official Cars, whether he has a target date for the Government Car Service to move to a fully-electric fleet.
The Government remains committed to its target for all government vehicles to be zero emission by the end of 2027. The Government Car Service will continue working towards this goal, aligning its transition plans with the broader objectives set for the fleet.
Pursuant to the Answer of 11 December 2024 to Question 17545 on Prime Minister: Public Appointments, if he will list the public appointments for which the Prime Minister is directly responsible; and when the term of office ends for each.
I refer the Rt Hon Member to my answer of 11 December, Official Report, PQ 17545. The end dates of appointments are published alongside their announcement on gov.uk.
Pursuant to the Answer of 14 November 2024 to Question 14352 on Government Departments: X Corp, and with reference to the SAFE Framework: the 4 principles for HMG Brand Safety, how many platforms have been removed from the HMG Inclusion List in the last 12 months; what the reasons for their removal were; and what appeals process is available for platforms seeking reinstatement.
HMG operates an inclusion list of websites for programmatic advertising that meet the existing HMG acceptable standards. This inclusion list does not cover platforms, which are assessed separately. No platforms have been removed in the last 12 months.
Pursuant to the answer of 5 December 2024 to Question 16596 on Cabinet Office: Senior Civil Servants, how he plans to publish details of the panel members.
Details of panel members will be published on Gov.uk.
Pursuant to the answer of 10 December 2024 to Question 16595 on Cabinet Office: Pay, what the mean salary is of a civil servant in the (a) Women's Equality Unit, (b) Race Disparity Unit and (c) Disability Unit.
Salaries ranges for each civil servant grade are set by the Cabinet Office and are not at the discretion of the individual business units such as the Office for Equality and Opportunity. Details of Cabinet Office structure and salaries are due to be published on the 30th of January 2025 as part of transparency reporting.
With reference to Questions 10 to 12 of the oral evidence to the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee on 4 December 2024 on The work of the Cabinet Office, HC 463, whether his Department plans to publish a formal response to Lord Maude’s review on governance and accountability in the Civil Service.
The Department will consider Lord Maude's recommendations as this government develops its strategic plan for a more efficient and effective civil service.
Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 7 November 2024 to Question 12252 on Charity Commission: Correspondence, if she will publish the regulatory advice and guidance issued by the Charity Commission to the Hope not Hate Charitable Trust.
The Charity Commission is not subject to Ministerial or departmental direction or control. It is for the Charity Commission to decide whether to publish correspondence or statements about its work on specific regulatory cases. The Charity Commission does not usually publish statements about regulatory cases that are not statutory inquiries, unless there is significant public interest in doing so.
With reference to Question 28 of the oral evidence to the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee on 4 December 2024 on The work of the Cabinet Office, HC 463, what his planned timetable is for publishing the modernised public directory of Arm’s Length Bodies.
The Cabinet Office's Arm's Length Bodies Landscape Analysis 2023 was published on 17 December 2024.
Media and Sport, pursuant to the answer of 7 November 2024 to Question 12252 on Charity Commission: Correspondence, if she will publish that letter; and if the Charity Commission will issue a public statement on the contents of that letter.
The Charity Commission is not subject to Ministerial or departmental direction or control. It is for the Charity Commission to decide whether to publish correspondence or statements about its work on specific regulatory cases. The Charity Commission does not usually publish statements about regulatory cases that are not statutory inquiries, unless there is significant public interest in doing so.
Pursuant to the Answer of 11 December 2024 to Question 16510 on Public Sector: Procurement, if he will exempt SMEs from the new National Procurement Policy Statement’s requirements on (a) social value and (b) trade union recognition and access.
The government will publish a new National Procurement Policy Statement shortly. The Procurement Act, due to come into force in February 2025, requires contracting authorities to have regard to the particular barriers facing SMEs, and to consider what can be done to overcome them.
Pursuant to the Answer of 5 December 2024 to Question HL1878 on Armed Forces: Equality, if he will publish the report of the review into equality, diversity and inclusion spending in the Armed Forces.
The review into equality, diversity and inclusion spending in Government Departments, including Civil Service expenditure of behalf of the Armed Forces, was conducted between June 2023 and May 2024 at the request of the then Chancellor of the Exchequer. This work was collated by the Cabinet Office and the release of the associated information is therefore a matter for them.
Which Minister is the legal owner of 10 Downing Street.
The registered legal title of 10 Downing Street is held in the name of the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, as has been the case under successive governments.
Whether his Department has issued guidance to staff in the (a) Cabinet Office, (b) Office for Equalities and Opportunities and (b) Civil Service People Group on holding in-house Christmas parties.
The position on parties and personal conduct has not changed since the previous administration.The “Away days, staff days, and celebrations” policy covers any proprietary issues and the approvals required. Additionally, the standards of behaviour which all staff are expected to adhere to and their responsibilities both in and outside of the workplace are outlined in the Civil Service Code, and Cabinet Office “Personal conduct” and “Alcohol, drug misuse and smoking” policies. All internal policies are published on the Cabinet Office intranet and available to all staff.
Pursuant to the Answer of 22 November 2024 to Question 14298 on Workplace Pensions: Inheritance Tax, whether the pension scheme established under The Pensions Increase (Pension Scheme for Keir Starmer QC) Regulations 2013 is UK registered.
The pension scheme referred to is an unregistered UK statutory defined benefit scheme, with terms akin to those of the Judicial Pensions and Retirement Act 1993 (JUPRA). Defined benefit schemes do not have a dedicated fund which can be inherited as defined contribution schemes do. Lump sum death benefits under the pension scheme referred to, which are received after the member is no longer in service, are already subject to inheritance tax.
Whether she has made and assessment of the potential merits of the reform of super-injunctions; and whether she has had recent discussions with 10 Downing Street on the matter.
There are no plans to reform the law. The courts determine individual applications for interim injunctions to restrain publication of confidential information (and the existence of the injunction) on the merits of each case, and in accordance with the law and specific Practice Guidance. The Practice Guidance on Interim Non-Disclosure Orders was issued by the then Master of the Rolls as part of the implementation of the Superinjunctions Committee’s recommendations, which he chaired and whose final report was published in 2011. It provides detailed guidance on the law, principle of open justice and model court orders. The Ministry of Justice has had no recent discussions with the Prime Minister’s Office on this matter.
With reference to the Prime Minister’s speech of 5 December 2024 on Plan for Change at Pinewood Studios, what the cost to the public purse was of that event, including the cost of the backdrop and branding.
In line with successive governments, departmental spending on official events that meet the criteria are published online quarterly.
Food and Rural Affairs, what is (a) his Department's and (b) the Environment Agency's policy on the use of positive discrimination in the recruitment process for internships.
The core department, Defra, and its Non-Departmental Public Bodies, including the Environment Agency, comply with all legislation relevant to recruitment and will only target an internship recruitment campaign to a specific group as a proportionate form of positive action to address known workforce gaps, undertaken to achieve a legitimate aim in accordance with section 159 of the Equality Act 2010.
Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 11 December 2024 to Question 18400 on 10 Downing Street: Government Art Collection and to the answer of 4 December 2024 to Question 16604 on 11 Downing Street: Art Works, if she will publish a list of each of the Government Art Collection works that have been removed from the 10 Downing Street estate since 5 July 2024.
No. It is standard practice, as followed by the previous government of which he was a member, for new ministers to select works from the Government Art Collection for their ministerial offices. All such changes of displays of works from the Government Art Collection constitute 'business as usual' for the Collection. All artworks in the Government Art Collection are on the website and their present locations can readily be searched and identified. The Collection does not publish the history of the locations of artworks.
Whether (a) his Department and (b) the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service issue guidance on exemptions to trade union recognition.
Guidance on the trade union recognition scheme is at Gov.UK. This sets out that the scheme is available to unions where the workplace has 21 or more workers. Therefore the smallest workplaces that have 20 or less workers not in scope of the scheme. The Central Arbitration Committee has also published detailed guides to the parties to enable both unions and employers to understand the recognition process.
With reference to the video on prisons published by her Department on 11 December 2024, what steps she is taking to ensure compliance with the (a) Civil Service Code and (b) Government Communication Service's Propriety & Ethics Guidance for Government Communicators in relation to video content posted online by her Department.
This post was taken down from all channels on 12 December after civil servants identified the content did not meet expectations on impartiality.The Ministry of Justice Communication Team’s usual processes for checking the accuracy and appropriateness of social media posts were not followed properly in this instance. All staff involved have been spoken to and reminded of their responsibility to uphold the Civil Service Code.In addition to our usual mandatory training on the Civil Service Code and propriety and ethics, the Director of Communications will deliver mandatory refresher training across the Communications Directorate and all staff joining the team will be required to complete the training within the first two weeks of employment.