Neil O'Brien MP: written questions 2025
425 published records · newest first.
Written questions
UK Research and Innovation: FinanceDepartment for Science, Innovation and TechnologyTabled 18 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 101462More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to Table 2 in the UKRI Budget Allocation, published on 17 December 2025, if she will itemise the wider priorities category of targeted investment in industrial strategy g
Answer: In addition to funding for the Industrial Strategy sectors, UKRI’s allocations towards strategic governmental and societal priorities and innovative company support include dedicated funding for wider priorities. This category is intended to be open to ta...
Answered 12 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordForeign, Commonwealth and Development Office: Performance AppraisalForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 17 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 100979More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many and what proportion of staff in each grade were rated in the top performance category in the last year.
Answer: The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office employs approximately 17,500 staff across hundreds of locations worldwide, many of which operate with locally managed HR arrangements and procedures. While we are able to say that around 15 per cent of thes...
Answered 9 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordErasmus+ ProgrammeCabinet OfficeTabled 17 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 101070More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the number of UK students who will access the Erasmus scheme in 2027-28, 2028-29 and 2029-30.
Answer: We have now concluded negotiations with the European Commission on association to Erasmus+ in 2027. Our commitment covers the 2027/28 academic year. We will now work closely with institutions and our young people to maximise take-up, particularly among di...
Answered 12 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordErasmus+ ProgrammeDepartment for EducationTabled 17 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 101069More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of he number of UK students who will access the Erasmus scheme in 2027-28, 2028-29 and 2029-30.
Answer: The UK and European Commission have reached an agreement in principle for the UK’s association to Erasmus+ in 2027.The department expects that over 100,000 people could benefit from mobility and partnership opportunities from participation in 2027. Our im...
Answered 13 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordDepartment for Work and Pensions: UK Relations with EUDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 17 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 101068More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what funding has been allocated to programmes relating to the UKs relationship with Europe in the (a) 2026-7, (b) 2028-9 and (c) 2029-30 financial years.
Answer: The Department is currently undertaking its internal business planning process, through which it will set programme budgets ahead of the new financial year. Details on DWP budgets are to be published in the explanatory memo for the 2026/27 Main Estimate.
Answered 16 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordDepartment for Education: UK Relations with EUDepartment for EducationTabled 17 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 101067More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what funding has been allocated to programmes relating to the UKs relationship with Europe in the (a) 2026-7, (b) 2028-9 and (c) 2029-30 financial years.
Answer: The European Union is the UK’s largest trading partner, and cooperation with our European partners is, among other issues, central to the government’s work on trade, security, illegal migration, development and climate change, not to mention our support f...
Answered 12 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordCabinet Office: UK Relations with EU: FinanceCabinet OfficeTabled 17 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 101066More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what funding has been allocated to programmes relating to the UKs relationship with Europe in the (a) 2026-7, (b) 2028-9 and (c) 2029-30 financial years.
Answer: The European Union is the UK’s largest trading partner, and cooperation with our European partners is – among other issues – central to the Government’s work on trade, security, illegal migration, development and climate change, not to mention our support...
Answered 12 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordForeign, Commonwealth and Development Office: UK Relations with EUForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 17 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 101065More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what funding has been allocated to programmes relating to the UKs relationship with Europe in the (a) 2026-7, (b) 2028-9 and (c) 2029-30 financial years.
Answer: The European Union is the UK's largest trading partner, and cooperation with our European partners is - among other issues - central to the Government's work on trade, security, illegal migration, development and climate change, not to mention our support...
Answered 12 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordForeign, Commonwealth and Development Office: Disciplinary ProceedingsForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 17 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 100981More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many disciplinary cases were concluded against civil servants in (a) the Department and (b) its agencies broken down by (i) outcome and (ii) whether the primary allegatio
Answer: The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office employs approximately 17,500 staff across hundreds of locations worldwide, many of which operate with locally managed HR arrangements and procedures. While we are able to say that around 15 per cent of thes...
Answered 9 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordForeign, Commonwealth and Development Office: Performance AppraisalForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 17 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 100980More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what the total cost was of (a) settlement agreements and (b) special severance payments made to departing staff in the last year.
Answer: For the last financial year, the total cost to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office of payments associated with settlement agreements is set out in the Department's Annual Report and Accounts. Where relevant, this includes special severance pa...
Answered 9 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordForeign, Commonwealth and Development Office: Career DevelopmentForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 17 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 100978More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many and what proportion of staff were promoted (a) in-grade and (b) to a higher grade in the last year broken down by (i) performance marking in the previous year and (i
Answer: The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office employs approximately 17,500 staff across hundreds of locations worldwide, many of which operate with locally managed HR arrangements and procedures. While we are able to say that around 15 per cent of thes...
Answered 9 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordForeign, Commonwealth and Development Office: Sick LeaveForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 17 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 100977More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what the average number of working days lost to sickness absence per full-time equivalent member of staff was in (a) the Department and (b) its executive agencies in the last
Answer: I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 3 December to Question 94436.
Answered 9 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordCabinet Office: Disciplinary ProceedingsCabinet OfficeTabled 17 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 100976More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many disciplinary cases were concluded against civil servants in (a) the Department and (b) its agencies broken down by (i) outcome and (ii) whether the primary allegation related to (A) performance and (B)
Answer: The Cabinet Office does not centrally hold detailed data on all discipline cases required to answer this question.Minor misconduct cases are managed within the line management chain and details are held at that level.Serious and gross misconduct cases are...
Answered 6 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordCabinet Office: Redundancy PayCabinet OfficeTabled 17 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 100975More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the total cost was of (a) settlement agreements and (b) special severance payments made to departing staff in the last year.
Answer: For the last financial year, the total cost to the Cabinet Office of payments associated with settlement agreements is set out in Annual Report and Accounts. Please find attached link here Figures for 2025/26 are not yet available as the analysis has not ...
Answered 13 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordCabinet Office: Performance AppraisalCabinet OfficeTabled 17 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 100974More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many and what proportion of staff in each grade were rated in the top performance category in the last year.
Answer: All CO staff members (in scope) are allocated a performance marking at both the mid (Oct) and end of year (April) points of the performance year as part of their performance reviews.The below table sets out what proportion of staff in each grade were awar...
Answered 13 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordCabinet Office: Career DevelopmentCabinet OfficeTabled 17 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 100973More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many and what proportion of staff were promoted (a) in-grade and (b) to a higher grade in the last year broken down by (i) performance marking in the previous year and (ii) grade.
Answer: This data would be difficult to present, due to there being no definition of an in grade promotion and limited data on staff who go on promotion to another department. Collation and presentation of this data would require significant manual work and data ...
Answered 13 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordCabinet Office: Sick LeaveCabinet OfficeTabled 17 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 100972More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the average number of working days lost to sickness absence per full-time equivalent member of staff was in (a) the Department and (b) its executive agencies in the last year; and how many formal performanc
Answer: Sickness absence data for the Civil Service, including departmental breakdowns is published annually, and is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/sickness-absence The next update will be for the year ending 31st March 2025. Data on pe...
Answered 6 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordSocial Security BenefitsDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 16 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 100504More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many households are exempt from the household benefit cap because they meet the earnings rule.
Answer: The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
Answered 30 Dec 2025
Original Parliament recordSocial Security BenefitsDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 16 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 100503More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many households have been assessed as qualifying for each exemption from the household benefit cap in each of the last 12 months.
Answer: The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
Answered 30 Dec 2025
Original Parliament recordSocial Security BenefitsDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 16 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 100502More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many households received more than £1,835 per month in benefits in the last period for which data is available.
Answer: The Family Resources Survey (FRS) is an annual report that provides facts and figures about the incomes and living circumstances of households and families in the UK. The FRS uses a nationally representative sample of UK households and includes data on be...
Answered 30 Dec 2025
Original Parliament recordSocial Security BenefitsDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 16 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 100501More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many households received benefit payments above the level of the household benefit cap in each of the last 12 months.
Answer: The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
Answered 5 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordSocial Security BenefitsDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 16 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 100500More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many households left the benefit cap by reason of being in receipt of an exempting benefit and where the exempting benefit was receiving Universal Credit with limited capability for work and work-re
Answer: The Department publishes Official Statistics on the number of households in Great Britain on Housing Benefit or Universal Credit that have flowed off the benefit cap, including outcome at off-flow, which are published quarterly on Stat-Xplore and are curr...
Answered 8 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordSocial Security BenefitsDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 16 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 100499More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many households left the benefit cap by reason of being in receipt of an exempting benefit and where the exempting benefit was PIP during each of the following periods: the quarter to August 2025, t
Answer: The Department publishes Official Statistics on the number of households in Great Britain on Housing Benefit or Universal Credit that have flowed off the benefit cap, including outcome at off-flow, which are published quarterly on Stat-Xplore and are curr...
Answered 8 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordSocial Security BenefitsDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 16 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 100498More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many households left the benefit cap by reason of being in receipt of an exempting benefit during each of the following periods: the quarter to August 2025, the quarter to May 2025, the quarter to F
Answer: The Department publishes Official Statistics on the number of households in Great Britain on Housing Benefit or Universal Credit that have flowed off the benefit cap, including outcome at off-flow, which are published quarterly on Stat-Xplore and are curr...
Answered 8 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Disciplinary ProceedingsMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 16 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 100474More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many disciplinary cases were concluded against civil servants in (a) his Department and (b) his Department's agencies broken down by (i) outcome and (ii) whether the primary
Answer: The department is not responsible for collecting or maintaining data on disciplinary action for staff in its executive agencies. We do hold information on concluded disciplinary cases within the core department; however, producing the requested informatio...
Answered 23 Dec 2025
Original Parliament record
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