Richard Holden MP: written questions
1068 published records · newest first.
Written questions
House of Commons: Morning StarHouse of Commons CommissionTabled 24 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 47830More
Question: To ask the hon. Member for Blaenau Gwent and Rhymney, representing the House of Commons Commission, how many copies of The Morning Star are purchased by the House of Commons each day.
Answer: The House of Commons purchases five copies of the Morning Star each day. These are made available in different locations around the Estate.
Answered 7 May 2025
Original Parliament recordAnimal ExperimentsHome OfficeTabled 24 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 47829More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the letter from Lord Sharpe to the Chair of the Animals in Science Committee, published on 1 March 2024, whether the Home Office will issue a policy advice note to (a) discourage and
Answer: The letter from Lord Sharpe was issued under the previous Government. I can however, issue an update. The Home Office Regulator has reviewed all licences authorising the use of the Forced Swim Test (FST) under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986....
Answered 29 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordRevenue and Customs: StaffTreasuryTabled 24 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 47828More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what diversity network time is available to staff at HM Revenue and Customs.
Answer: I refer the Right Hon. Member to the answer given by Lord Spencer Livermore in HL1114 which references the diversity network time available to staff at HM Revenue and Customs.
Answered 1 May 2025
Original Parliament recordMitie: ContractsTreasuryTabled 24 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 47827More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether Mitie is eligible for additional funding through Government contracts for the increase in employers' National Insurance contributions.
Answer: Allocation of employers’ National Insurance contributions support funding is administrated in line with the method used under the Health and Social Care levy.This funding has been allocated to departments, with the Barnett formula applying in the usual wa...
Answered 2 May 2025
Original Parliament recordIncome TaxTreasuryTabled 24 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 47826More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what guidance (a) her Department and (b) HM Revenue and Customs has produced on income tax liability where employees claim expenses for personal gifts (i) with and (ii) without the employer’s knowledge of that gift.
Answer: The normal rules for employment-related benefits apply to employment-related gifts, as set out in HMRC’s guidance at www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/employment-income-manual/eim20020 There is an exemption for small gifts received by employees costing a t...
Answered 1 May 2025
Original Parliament recordTreasury: RecruitmentTreasuryTabled 24 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 47825More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many civil servants in her Department have been disciplined for (a) plagiarism and (b) making false statements on a CV when applying for a job in the latest 12 month period for which figures are available.
Answer: HM Treasury has not taken any formal disciplinary action against any of its civil servants for plagiarism or making factually incorrect statements in a CV or a job application in the last 12 months.
Answered 29 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordCentral Government: ProcurementCabinet OfficeTabled 24 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 47824More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the cost of office solutions across central government; and what framework agreements exist for office stationery and paper.
Answer: Value for money in public procurement is essential for the efficient use of government resources. The Cabinet Office does not hold a central estimate of office solution costs. However, public sector organisations can benefit from procuring office supplie...
Answered 1 May 2025
Original Parliament recordPublic ExpenditureTreasuryTabled 24 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 47823More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 3 March 2025 to Question 31991 on Public Expenditure, what definition her Department uses of (a) a saving and (b) efficiency for the purpose of the 5% target; and whether cancelling program
Answer: The Government uses the Government Efficiency Framework to distinguish between efficiencies and savings.The cancellation of a programme would classify as a saving.
Answered 2 May 2025
Original Parliament recordGovernment Departments: ConsultantsTreasuryTabled 24 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 47822More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 3 March 2025 to Question 32970 on Government Departments: Consultants, if she will list the outturn figures for the spending on consultancy in each of the financial years from 2017-18 to 20
Answer: Outturn figures for consultancy spending from the government’s Online System for Central Accounting and Reporting II (OSCAR II) are contained within datasets that are published as part of the OSCAR Annual Release. For financial years 2019-20 to 2022-23, t...
Answered 2 May 2025
Original Parliament recordFinancial Conduct Authority: MergersTreasuryTabled 24 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 47821More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the press release entitled Regulator axed as red tape is slashed to boost growth, published on 11 March 2025, what the estimated reduction in staff numbers is from the merger of the Payment Service
Answer: The Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) has carried out important work to support the UK’s world leading payments sector. However, moving forward, the Government wishes to see a more streamlined regulatory environment with minimal overlap between regulators’ ...
Answered 29 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordGovernment Departments: AviationTreasuryTabled 24 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 47820More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Office for Value for Money has made an assessment of the use of non-scheduled flights for foreign travel.
Answer: The Office for Value for Money has an immediate focus on supporting value for money decisions surrounding the spending review, including developing efficiency targets and plans, scrutinising investment proposals and conducting VfM studies. It will also re...
Answered 2 May 2025
Original Parliament recordTreasury: USATreasuryTabled 24 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 47819More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 31 October 2024 to Question 11277on Treasury: USA, whether the flights for that journey were carbon offset; and at what cost.
Answer: Carbon emissions, including for flight travel, will be published later in the year in the Sustainability Report section of HM Treasury 2024-25 Annual Report and Accounts. This will be published at the following link. HMT annual report and accounts - GOV.U...
Answered 1 May 2025
Original Parliament recordBusiness: RegulationDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 24 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 47818More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to section 2, action 1 of his Department's policy paper entitled New approach to ensure regulators and regulation support growth, published on 17 March 2025, what methodology his Departm
Answer: The government has committed to cut the administrative costs of regulation to business by 25% by the end of this Parliament. To do this, we must determine the cumulative administrative costs of regulation that businesses face, which has not been done for ...
Answered 1 May 2025
Original Parliament recordMinistry of Justice: EqualityMinistry of JusticeTabled 24 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 47817More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 21 February 2025 to Question 29153 on Ministry of Justice: Equality, which company provided the EDI course; and what the title was of the course.
Answer: The “Creating inclusive Virtual Teams” course is procured through the Government Learning Framework provided via KPMG.
Answered 30 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordCabinet Office: Written QuestionsCabinet OfficeTabled 23 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 47351More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the letter from the Leader of the House to the Rt hon. Member for Basildon and Billericay of 14 April 2025 on Written Parliamentary Questions, reference LP/MP657, if he will provide a substanti
Answer: I have nothing further to add to the letter from the Leader of the House to the Rt Hon Member for Billericay and Basildon.
Answered 19 May 2025
Original Parliament recordPublic ExpenditureTreasuryTabled 23 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 47350More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 3 March 2025 to Question 31991 on Public Expenditure, what the proportional target for savings and efficiencies is the 2024-25 financial year is; what the baseline year is for the five per
Answer: This Government launched a Spending Review last year which is taking place in two phases. Phase 1 of that review concluded last October with departments expected to identify savings and efficiencies of 2% for 2025-26. Phase 2 of the review will conclude t...
Answered 1 May 2025
Original Parliament recordGovernment Departments: ConsultantsCabinet OfficeTabled 23 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 47349More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 3 March 2025 to Question 32970 on Government Departments: Consultants, how the baseline for the communication and marketing spending reductions were calculated; and what the baseline ag
Answer: The baseline for communication and marketing spending reductions was calculated using the planned spend figures submitted by departments to the Cabinet Office as part of the advertising, marketing and communications spending control process. As a result, ...
Answered 6 May 2025
Original Parliament recordConditions of EmploymentDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 23 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 47348More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what the budget will be of the Fair Work Agency; and what the budget is of the (a) Gangmaster and Labour Abuse Authority, (b) Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate and (c) Director of Labour Market
Answer: Establishing the Fair Work Agency will create a strong, recognisable single brand so individuals know where to go for help and lead to a more effective use of resources.We are working closely with partners to ensure that the Fair Work Agency will support ...
Answered 1 May 2025
Original Parliament recordTreasury: TiktokTreasuryTabled 23 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 47347More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether (a) Ministers and (b) special advisers from her Department (i) met and (ii) took hospitality from senior executives from TikTok at the Labour Party Conference in 2024.
Answer: Both Ministers and special advisers are required to regularly publish information on the meetings that they have taken and the hospitality that they have received. These publications can be found on gov.uk.
Answered 28 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordMinistry of Justice: Translation ServicesMinistry of JusticeTabled 23 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 47346More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what her Department's budget is for translation into foreign languages in the (a)2024-25 and (b) 2025-26 financial year.
Answer: The budget for translation services in the 2024-25 financial year was £2,911,000.While budgets are not set at the level of individual contracts, the figure represents the planned spend by HM Prison and Probation Service under its translation and transcrip...
Answered 1 May 2025
Original Parliament recordMarriage: CeremoniesMinistry of JusticeTabled 23 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 47345More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether she plans to bring forward legislative proposals to permit outdoor religious weddings.
Answer: The Law Commission’s 2022 report on weddings raises a number of issues around weddings law, including giving greater choice in how and where individuals can get married.Given marriage will always be one of our most important institutions, it is right that...
Answered 1 May 2025
Original Parliament recordWorkplace Pensions: Inheritance TaxCabinet OfficeTabled 23 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 47344More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 7 February 2025 to Question 21386 on Workplace Pensions: Inheritance Tax, what the benefits are of the The Pensions Increase (Pension Scheme for Keir Starmer QC) Regulations 2013; and h
Answer: The Pensions Increase (Pension Scheme for Sir Keir Starmer QC) Regulations 2013 only provide for pension increases. The pension scheme to which these regulations relate was made by the then Minister for the Cabinet Office and laid before Parliament on 15 ...
Answered 19 May 2025
Original Parliament recordForeign Investment in UK: National SecurityCabinet OfficeTabled 23 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 47343More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 6 January 2025 to Question 20698 on Foreign Investment in UK: National Security, if his Department will modify the National Security and Investment Act 2021 annual reporting to include
Answer: Transparency is a crucial part of the National Security and Investment (NSI) Act, whilst also balancing commercial and national security considerations. By publishing information on the origin of acquirer associated with acquisitions reviewed under the Na...
Answered 7 May 2025
Original Parliament recordForeign Investment in UK: National SecurityCabinet OfficeTabled 23 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 47342More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 6 January 2025 to Question 20702 on Foreign Investment in UK: National Security, if his Department will modify the National Security and Investment Act 2021 annual reporting to ensure a
Answer: Transparency is a crucial part of the National Security and Investment (NSI) Act, whilst also balancing commercial and national security considerations. Sectors are reported in line with definitions presented in the Notifiable Acquisition (Specification o...
Answered 7 May 2025
Original Parliament recordSenior Civil Servants: Business InterestsCabinet OfficeTabled 23 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 47341More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the previous Cabinet Secretary has received approvals from the Advisory Commission on Business Appointments.
Answer: In accordance with the Business Appointment Rules, former Cabinet Secretaries are obliged to submit applications to the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments for new appointments or employment that they wish to accept during the two year period foll...
Answered 7 May 2025
Original Parliament record
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