Written questions by Holden.

Whether former civil servants are required to make a business appointment rules application to undertake (a) temporary and (b) one-off items of work during the regulated period after their departure from Crown employment.

Civil servants at SCS payband 2 and below only have to make business appointment rules applications if their proposed role meets one of the seven triggers set out in the Rules. Civil servants at ACOBA level (SCS payband 3 and above) have to make an application for all roles that they wish to take up, including temporary roles.ACOBA does not regard ‘one-off’ activities such as speeches, broadcasts, or newspaper articles to be in scope of the Rules. These rules and processes are the same as under the previous administration.

Whether declarations of interest by (a) special advisers, (b) direct ministerial appointments, (c) non-executive directors and (d) other public appointments are published on a public Register of Interests.

With regards to publication of special adviser interests, I direct the Rt Hon member to PQ5030.For departmental non-executive directors, individual boards publish all relevant interests of individual board membersDeclarations of interest for public appointments and direct ministerial appointments are not routinely published.

What the cost was of civil service pay (a) including and (b) excluding National Insurance employer contributions in the most recent 12 months for which data is available.

The Cabinet Office does not hold actual outturn payroll costs for all Civil Service departments and organisations. However, the estimated total snapshot paybill cost as at the 31st March 2024 is £28.1bn. This includes salary costs, in year and end of year non consolidated performance related payments (NCPRPs), and estimated employer national insurance and pensions payments using 2024/25 employer contribution rates. Excluding estimated NI employer contributions the estimated paybill is £26.0bn. Source: Annual Civil Service Employment Survey (ACSES), Cabinet Office. Analysis of the pay data collected through ACSES as at 31st March 2024.

If he will make an estimate of the potential cost to the Civil Service of proposed changes to (a) statutory rights for trade union equality representatives and (b) facility time and associated office facilities via the Employment Rights Bill.

The Employment Rights Bill is a significant step towards ensuring workplace rights are fit for a modern economy and aims to strengthen the work of unions and union representatives in the workplace and support growth. The Government published impact assessments alongside the Bill which covered the expected benefits and costs to employers of the new measures and has committed to carrying out a post implementation review in five years of the repeal of the 2016 Trade Union Act.

What steps his Department is taking to ensure that public sector bodies use the King's cypher rather than Queen Elizabeth II’s cypher.

The Cabinet Office, in collaboration with the Royal Household and the College of Arms, has developed and issued guidance on the use of all state symbols, including the royal cypher.This guidance is intended for use by the entire public sector.

What steps she is taking to help tackle pavement parking.

In 2020, the Department undertook a public consultation on options for changing the way pavement parking is managed outside London. Our plan is to publish a formal response to the consultation, summarising the views received and announcing the Government’s next steps for pavement parking policy. The formal consultation response will be available to view at: www.gov.uk/government/consultations/managing-pavement-parking

What steps his Department is taking to help ensure that civil servants can express their lawful beliefs on (a) biological sex and (b) other issues.

Civil servants can express their lawful beliefs, as long as how they do so is consistent with the Civil Service Code, which outlines the standards of behaviour all civil servants are expected to uphold.

What the cost was of re-branding the Equality Hub as the Office for Equality and Opportunity.

Minimal costs were incurred in the rebranding of the Equality Hub to the Office of Equality and Opportunity as it was a renaming exercise rather than a Machinery of Government change. Therefore, there has been no programme or digital expenditure to date and only minimal administrative time by current employees.

Communities and Local Government, what steps she plans to take to reduce new build freehold estate management fees.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer to Question UIN 13718 on 15 November 2024.

With reference to Table 14.1 of his Department's publication entitled Statistical bulletin - Civil Service Statistics: 2024, published on 31 July 2024, if he will publish a breakdown of the communications staff by public body.

Information on the number of civil servants by profession (including communications) in each government department and agency are published annually by Cabinet Office as part of the accredited official statistics publication ‘Civil Service Statistics’. Statistics for 2024 can be found at Table 8 in the data tables available at the following web address: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/civil-service-statistics-2024/statistical-bulletin-civil-service-statistics-2024#overview

Innovation and Technology, whether his Department has made a recent assessment of (a) whether project objectives have been met and (b) the value for money of its contract with Fujitsu Services Ltd for the GDS Digital Service Platforms One Login project.

The GOV.UK One Login programme is subject to regular scrutiny and reporting to assess and ensure project objectives have been met, including through the Government Major Projects Portfolio. The Infrastructure and Projects Authority has provided positive reviews of GOV.UK One Login for the last three years. The programme is also working with the Evaluation Task Force to publish a comprehensive evaluation plan which will assess the programme’s key objectives. The GOV.UK One Login programme has not had a contract with Fujitsu Services Ltd. The development of Emergency Alerts included a contract awarded to Fujitsu.Emergency alerts is a mobile network based system for warning the public if there is a danger to life nearby and action to take to stay safe. The system is owned by COBR, Civil Contingencies Unit, with GDS maintaining authority for the product’s development and managing the risks.Fujitsu was awarded the contract WP2083, which was a compliant procurement run through the Crown Commercial Services framework (RM6100). In accordance with procurement regulations, a fair, open and transparent procurement process was conducted. A fair evaluation was completed and the award made to the supplier offering the best MEAT (Most Economically Advantageous Tender).The contract with Fujitsu is currently in its Initial Term, which spans 36 months and is set to conclude on 09 October 2025. There is provision for an Extension Period of up to 12 months, subject to Cabinet Office Approval. The contract was agreed and signed by the Cabinet Office on 7th October 2022.It is confirmed that Year 3 of the contract will proceed with Fujitsu as planned. The potential utilisation of the Extension Period remains under consideration, pending future decisions on ownership, funding, and operational structure.A review of the contract's future beyond the Initial Term will be undertaken, accounting for evolving organisational needs and HMG best practice guidelines.

Pursuant to the Answer of 21 October 2024 to Question 8125 on Government Departments: Staff, whether the transparency team in his Department reminds other Departments to update their organogram data; and how often Departments should publish that data.

Each individual department is required to publish this information regularly on gov.uk and is responsible for their own publication. Where possible departments should publish this information quarterly, and they have been issued guidance which contains a publishing schedule.

Which Minister will be responsible for the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority; and what progress has been made on setting up that Authority.

The National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority (NISTA) will combine the functions of the National Infrastructure Commission and Infrastructure and Projects Authority. NISTA will bring oversight of strategy and delivery into one organisation, driving more effective delivery of infrastructure across the country.As announced by the government in October, NISTA will be operational by Spring 2025. NISTA’s governance will be confirmed in due course.

When the Committee on the Grant of Honours, Decorations and Medals last met.

The Committee on the Grant of Honours, Decorations and Medals (known as the HD Committee) which is the policy-making body for the honours system, last met on 19th November 2024.

What the terms of reference of the Ethics and Integrity Commission will be.

I refer the honourable member to the answer given to PQ 1251 on 31 July 2024.

Which Minister is responsible for the Infrastructure and Projects Authority; and for what reason the Authority is not in the List of Ministerial Responsibilities updated on 6 November 2024.

As Parliamentary Secretary in the Cabinet Office, I am the Minister responsible for the Infrastructure and Projects Authority. The List of Ministerial Responsibilities does not cover all responsibilities relating to every Arms-Length Body. The Chief Secretary to the Treasury announced on 10 October that the Government will be establishing the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority (NISTA), which will be operational by spring 2025. NISTA will be formed by combining the functions of the National Infrastructure Commission and the Infrastructure and Projects Authority.

What the estimated aggregate cost was of employer contributions to Civil Service pension schemes in the most recent year for which figures are available.

The answer to the question raised is available in the public domain and can be found in the 2022/23 Civil Superannuation accounts on the UK Government website and the resources section of the Civil Service Pension website.

Food and Rural Affairs, how much sewage sludge was used in the agricultural sector in each of the last 10 years.

The 9 English Water and Sewerage Companies (WaSCs) submit data to the Environment Agency on the total quantity of sludge sent to different outlets to meet the European reporting requirements. The total sludge sent to the agriculture outlet over the last 10 years is shown in the table below. YearTotal sludge to agriculture – England only (tonnes dry solids)2014716,9282015696,3552016750,0492017726,0632018752,9922019698,5972020761,2462021759,5782022766,6302023764,810

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of placing restrictions on marriage between first cousins.

Part 1 of Schedule 1 to the Marriage Act 1949 sets out prohibited degrees of relationship for marriage. Section 1 of the Marriage Act 1949 sets out that any marriages that take place within prohibited degrees of relationship are void. Under the legislation, prohibited degrees of relationship for marriage include marriages to a sibling, parent or child, but not marriages between first cousins. The Sexual Offences Act 2003 also makes sexual activity with the above family members, amongst others, a criminal offence, but this does not include first cousins. Placing restrictions on first cousin marriage would require changes to the Marriage Act 1949 and potentially the Sexual Offences Act 2003.We are aware that all aspects of weddings, including first cousin marriage, are important issues. We will take the time as a new Government to properly consider our marriage law, including the Law Commission’s 2022 wedding report, before publicly setting out our position.

If she will bring forward legislative proposals to put the Code of Practice for Victims of Crime in England and Wales on a statutory basis.

The Victims’ Code, which sets out the minimum level of service that victims and survivors of crime should receive, is already a statutory code of practice, that primary legislation requires the Secretary of State to issue. This means agencies must act in accordance with the Code unless they have good reasons not to do so. Part 1 of the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024, once implemented, will put the obligation to comply with the Code on a clear statutory footing. It will also keep the Victims’ Code as a statutory code of practice, which allows the flexibility for future amendments to be made to the Code to better serve the changing needs of victims, without requiring amendments to primary legislation. We will consult on a new version of the Code next year.We will go further as we consider the best ways to scrutinise compliance once the new Code is in place, including by increasing the powers of the Victims’ Commissioner, to ensure there is more accountability where the needs of victims are not being met.