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 1,741–1,760 of 2,902 · this parliament
For what reason the Cabinet Secretary has delegated his attendance to the Main Honours Committee.
The Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Civil Service is responsible for the operation of the honours system, but as is customary, delegates this responsibility to another senior Permanent Secretary.
What guidance his Department provides on holding departmental receptions at the offices of consultant lobbying firms.
The Ministerial Code sets out guidance for Ministers on engaging with external stakeholders. Separate guidance relating to the regulation of consultant lobbying is published by the Office of the Registrar of Consultant Lobbyists.
Pursuant to the Answer of 23 July 2025 to Question HL9412 on Heathrow Airport: Planning Permission, what the provisional timetable is for the review of the Airports National Policy Statement; and what her planned target date is for (a) publication for consultation and (b) ratification by Parliament of a revised National Policy Statement.
The Government published a letter to potential promoters inviting proposals for a third runway at Heathrow to be brought forward by the summer. The Government is now assessing the proposals against the criteria set out in the letter. Once this is complete the Government will move quickly to review the Airports National Policy Statement. We cannot speculate on the timings of the review at this stage, however when conducting the review, the Secretary of State will comply with the requirements in the Planning Act 2008, including consultation, publicity and parliamentary requirements.
Pursuant to the Answer of 8 July 2025 to Question HL8627 on Cabinet Office: Managers, which business units the 540 staff leaving are from.
The 540 refers to the number of applications that were approved and is subject to the individual's final acceptance. The voluntary exit process has not yet concluded, so we are unable to report on which business units individuals will be leaving from.
Pursuant to the Answer of 14 July 2025 to Question 65153 on Government Communications Service: Reviews, whether the Director of Government Communications is being recruited externally through open and fair competition; and what the salary range is.
The selection process for this role was open and fair competition, overseen by the independent Civil Service Commission, chaired by the First Civil Service Commissioner. The salary range is £170,000 – £200,000.
Pursuant to the Answer of 7 July 2025 to Question 63329 on Cabinet Office: Electronic Purchasing Card Solution, what the (a) title and (b) purpose of that training was.
The title of the training course was Team Facilitated Conversations.The purpose of the training was for the individual to gain the necessary skills and processes to resolve team conflicts across various sectors.
Whether her Department has a policy on airlines using (a) individualized and (b) surveillance pricing when setting air fares.
The UK aviation market operates predominantly in the private sector with the cost of flights determined by airlines according to a range of factors. The Minister for Aviation and officials from the Department for Transport meet regularly with airlines to discuss a range of topics, including pricing. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has statutory competition functions in relation to airline markets. In addition, the CMA and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) both have responsibilities for enforcing consumer protections relating to price transparency, contract terms and passenger rights, including those during flight disruption.
With reference to the College for National Security Privacy Notice published on 19 June 2025, what steps he has taken to ensure that diversity data collected by the College for National Security is not used to inform (a) recruitment, (b) promotion, and (c) access to training decisions, (i) directly and (ii) indirectly.
I refer to my answer for [PQ 69607] provided on [21/07/2025]. CfNS does not at the moment collect diversity data. Personal data is currently collected and processed in line with the College’s Privacy Notice, which can be accessed on GOV.UK here.
With reference to the press release of the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament of 1 May 2025, and pursuant to the Answer of 3 June 2025 to Question 54011 on Intelligence and Security Committee, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his Department’s policies of the Committee's representation to the Government that safeguards against conflicts of interest have now been comprehensively dismantled.
Established processes are in place to monitor and manage actual and perceived conflicts of interest.
Whether she plans to adopt working parking taxes.
The power to introduce a workplace parking levy sits with the local traffic authority.
Pursuant to the Answer of 14 February 2025 to Question 29554 on Prison Accommodation, how many prison places were created as a result of crowding between (a) May 1997 and (b) 2010.
The previous Labour Government added nearly 28,000 places to the prison estate between 1997 and 2010. However, available records do not provide a breakdown for these figures of these places by category. It is therefore not possible to provide the number of places created through crowding. Prison crowding data is published annually in Annex 2 of the HMPPS Annual Digest, April 2024 to March 2025 - GOV.UK. This publication provides the percentage of prisoners held in crowded accommodation in each year in each prison since 1999. There is no earlier information on crowding available. This Government is delivering the largest expansion of prison places since the Victorian era – with 2,500 new spaces already delivered and 14,000 on track for delivery by 2031.
What assessment she has made of the potential impact of insurance premium tax on the cost of car insurance; and whether she plans to increase insurance premium tax.
Last year, we established a cross-government motor insurance taskforce with a strategic remit to set the direction for UK government policy, identifying short- and long-term actions for departments that may contribute to stabilising or reducing car insurance premiums. The taskforce's final report will be published in the autumn. Insurance pricing is a decision which is affected by a wide range of factors, and the taxes that insurers pay are just one part of this. There is additionally no guarantee that any reductions in IPT would be passed on to consumers. We keep all taxes under review and the Chancellor makes decisions at Budgets in the context of the overall public finances
What plans she has to support the roll out of automated train operation technology on (a) rail, (b) light rail, (c) Tube and (d) metro lines.
There are already a number of automated systems currently in use on various networks, the most notable being the Docklands Light Railway. Semi-automated systems are also operational on parts of Thameslink, the Elizabeth line and several London Underground lines. Further roll out would be subject to a full assessment of regulatory, technical and operational factors.
What guidance (a) Network Rail, (b) her Department and its agencies and (c) Great British Railways have produced on trade union facility time for railways staff.
Facility time arrangements are matters for individual rail employers and the trade unions to agree, in accordance with trade union and labour relations legislation.
What role (a) her Department and (b) its agencies will play in making agreements with trade unions on the nationalised railways.
As the employers, Network Rail and individual train operators, including those owned by DfT Operator Ltd, are responsible for negotiating agreements with the trade unions, under established collective bargaining arrangements. The future role of Great British Railways in this process has still to be determined.
What steps her Department has taken to strengthen guidance to help ensure bus lanes operate only (a) when buses are running and (b) when traffic is heavy enough to cause delay to buses.
It is for local authorities to decide whether bus lanes are appropriate on their network, and to set the times of operation. The Department published Local Transport Note 1/24: Bus User Priority in March 2024 which includes advice on all aspects of bus priority including the design of bus lanes and their times of operation. LTN 1/24 is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/bus-user-priority-ltn-124.
Pursuant to the Answer of 16 July 2025 to Question 65879 on Ethics and Integrity Commission: Correspondence, if he will publish correspondence from external organisations on the Ethics and Integrity Commission received since 4 July 2024.
The Cabinet Office does not routinely publish public correspondence.
Pursuant to the Answer of 8 July 2025 to Question 64832 on King Charles III: Artworks, if he will provide a hyperlink to the breakdown of the take up for (a) UK Government departments and (b) arm's-length bodies on gov.uk.
His Majesty The King’s free Portrait Scheme was a voluntary programme offering a free, framed portrait of The King to any eligible public institution that requested one. Following the conclusion of the scheme, a breakdown of the take up including UK Government departments and Arms Length Bodies, wider public authorities and other eligible institutions can be found at www.gov.uk/government/news/conclusion-of-his-majesty-the-kings-free-portrait-scheme
Pursuant to the Answer of 30 May 2025 to Question 53201 on Cabinet Office: Building, what major repairs are required to bring the building back into use.
36 Whitehall requires major repairs and refurbishment to bring back into use and is being actively considered as part of the plans for London's government office estate.
With reference to paragraph 5.91 of the Autumn Budget 2024, published on 30 October 2024, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of changes to the treatment of double cab pick-up vehicles on (a) SMEs, (b) the self-employed and (c) people who work in the construction industry; and what estimate she has made of the number of taxpayers impacted by those changes in 2025-26.
Double Cab Pick Up vehicles (DCPUs) have in the past been treated as goods vehicles for tax purposes, rather than cars. Following a judgement by the Court of Appeal, DCPUs must be treated as cars, rather than goods vehicles, for certain tax purposes, based on their primary suitability. At Autumn Budget 2024, the government had to make difficult decisions, and in the given fiscal situation was not willing to legislate to change this treatment and provide a significant tax break worth hundreds of millions per year for these vehicles. The transitional arrangements put in place meant that this would not affect the capital allowances treatment of any business that already owned a DCPU, or that purchased one before April 2025; and businesses that purchase or have purchased a DCPU after this date will still be able to deduct the cost from their taxable profits at 18% or 6% per year. Under the transitional arrangements for Benefit-in-Kind treatment, anyone who accessed a DCPU before 6 April 2025 will not be impacted until the sooner of disposal of the vehicle, 5 April 2029 or when their lease expires. In addition, there are alternatives to DCPUs (such as Single Cab Pick Ups, or 4x4 vans) that are still treated as goods vehicles.