Richard Holden MP: written questions 2025
1652 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Arms Length Bodies: EqualityCabinet OfficeTabled 2 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 64566More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 9 June 2025 to Question 54781 on Arm’s Length Bodies: Equality, whether there is any monitoring of the EDI spending exemptions authorised by Arm’s Length Bodies; and whether there is an
Answer: The Civil Service Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Expenditure Guidance published on 14 May 2024 applies to all Arm’s Length Bodies (ALBs) who employ civil servants. As such, those ALBs are required to publish details of the exempted expenditure as White...
Answered 7 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordEuropean Parliament Members: Workplace PensionsCabinet OfficeTabled 2 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 64565More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 10 June 2025 to Question 57737 on European Parliament Members: Workplace Pensions, which public body holds information on the pension scheme liabilities for UK MEPs from 2009 up to the
Answer: The European Parliamentary (United Kingdom Representatives) Pension Scheme closed to new members in 2009. Active members were able to continue contributing to this scheme or to join a new European Union (EU) Members of the European Parliament (MEP) scheme...
Answered 7 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordGovernment Departments: Press ConferencesCabinet OfficeTabled 2 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 64564More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 9 June 2025 to Question 54800 on Government Departments: Press Offices, if he will publish the guidance on the use of party political commodities at Government press conferences.
Answer: I refer the Rt Hon Member to my answer of 21 March 2025, Official Report, PQ 47333.
Answered 7 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordGovernment Departments: Public RelationsCabinet OfficeTabled 2 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 64563More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 9 June 2025 to Question 54812 on Government Departments: media, what guidance is issued by the Government Communication Service on the procurement of external public relations companies
Answer: The Crown Commercial Service (CCS) provides a framework agreement that enables contracting authorities to access suppliers who provide services in this area. As with any procurement through established framework agreements, CCS provides guidance to ensure...
Answered 15 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordGovernment Departments: TrainingCabinet OfficeTabled 2 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 64562More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 9 June 2025 to Question 54825 on Government Departments: Training, if he will publish the updated guidance on the use of external venues.
Answer: A copy of the Cabinet Office's guidance on the use of external venues will be placed in the libraries of both Houses.
Answered 10 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordGovernment Departments: Public RelationsCabinet OfficeTabled 2 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 64561More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 9 June 2025 to Question 54812 on Government Departments: media, if he will list the 180 companies that expressed an interest in providing external public relations under the RM6364 Medi
Answer: The procurement process under RM6364 Media and Creative Framework is currently live. As such, we are unable to disclose details of the interest expressed by individual companies at this stage, as doing so would be likely to prejudice the commercial intere...
Answered 8 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordCabinet Office: ContractsCabinet OfficeTabled 2 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 64560More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the entry in his Department's publication entitled Cabinet Office Commercial Pipeline 2024-26, of 31 October 2024 P2465: CO COMMERCIAL: Venue Booking Services, who the supplier is of those serv
Answer: Calder Conferences Limited is the current supplier providing Venue Booking Services to the Cabinet Office. This contract started in February 2023 under the previous administration.
Answered 10 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordCabinet Office: Freedom of InformationCabinet OfficeTabled 2 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 64559More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will publish the response to the Freedom of Information Act request reference FOI2025/05753 of 12 June 2025.
Answer: The request document will be deposited in the House Libraries.
Answered 7 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordCabinet Office: RedundancyCabinet OfficeTabled 2 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 64558More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 17 June 2025 to Question 59366 on Cabinet Office: staff, whether his Department has a target for (a) voluntary and (b) compulsory exits; and what communications have been sent to civil
Answer: As set out in the Answer of 17 June 2025 to Question 59366, in line with the 2025 Spending Review, we are restructuring the Cabinet Office into a more strategic, specialised, and smaller department to achieve £110 million in annual expenditure savings by ...
Answered 8 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordMinisters: Official GiftsCabinet OfficeTabled 27 Jun 2025AnsweredUIN 63343More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether guidance has been provided on how the provisions of the Bribery Act 2010 could potentially apply to the provision of gifts and hospitality to Ministers.
Answer: The Ministerial Code sets out the standards of behaviour expected of Ministers, including the overarching duty to comply with the law. The Code sets out guidance on the acceptance of gifts and hospitality, stipulating that Ministers should not accept any ...
Answered 2 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordIntelligence and Security Committee: Press ReleasesCabinet OfficeTabled 27 Jun 2025AnsweredUIN 63342More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 3 June 2025 to Question 54011 on Intelligence and Security Committee, whether there will be a (a) formal and (b) public government response to the ISC press release of 1 May.
Answer: The Cabinet Office is engaging constructively with the Intelligence and Security Committee, and will continue to do so.
Answered 2 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordCivil Servants: PayCabinet OfficeTabled 27 Jun 2025AnsweredUIN 63341More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 4 June 2025 to Question 53899 on Cabinet Office: pay, what the median salary is of a civil servant in (a) the Civil Service and (b) the Cabinet Office averaged across all grades.
Answer: Data on median salaries for the Civil Service, also aggregated by department, can be found in the Civil Service Statistics publication. The latest data published on 31 July 2024 can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/civil-service-statis...
Answered 7 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordCivil Servants: LocationCabinet OfficeTabled 27 Jun 2025AnsweredUIN 63340More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 9 June 2025 to Question 54760 on Civil Servants: London, if he will publish his Department's relocation policy; and whether voluntarily relocated civil servants continue to receive a Lo
Answer: This policy has not been previously published, and as with many internal staff policies, there are no current plans to publish it.
Answered 7 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordCivil Servants: PayCabinet OfficeTabled 27 Jun 2025AnsweredUIN 63339More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to para 3.152 of the Review Body on Senior Salaries, Forty-seventh annual report on senior salaries, published in May 2025, CP 1329, what the past-service deficit payment is on the Alpha employer
Answer: The employer contribution rate is determined by the Civil Service Pension Scheme Valuation, which takes place every four years, with current rates being set following the 2020 valuation. Details of the past service deficit are available on pages 22-25 of ...
Answered 2 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordCivil Servants: PayCabinet OfficeTabled 27 Jun 2025AnsweredUIN 63338More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to para 3.61 of the Review Body on Senior Salaries, Forty-seventh annual report on senior salaries, published in May 2025, CP 1329, whether he plans to tackle the pay differentials for civil serva
Answer: The Government has recently accepted the recommendation from the Senior Salaries Review Body for a fundamental review of the Senior Civil Service pay and reward frameworks.
Answered 2 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordDisaster Relief and Emergencies: EqualityCabinet OfficeTabled 27 Jun 2025AnsweredUIN 63337More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 4 June 2025 to Question 54806 on Disaster Relief and Emergencies: Equality, for what reason the Risk Vulnerability Tool uses gender rather than sex.
Answer: The Risk Vulnerability Tool will use data that relates to both sex and gender, depending on data availability, alongside other vulnerability indicators.
Answered 4 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordDisaster Relief and Emergencies: EqualityCabinet OfficeTabled 27 Jun 2025AnsweredUIN 63336More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 4 June 2025 to Question 54806, on Disaster Relief and Emergencies: Equality, if he will publish the documentation on the Risk Vulnerability Tool.
Answer: A Quality and Methodology Information report on the Risk Vulnerability Tool will be published, as is usual for government statistics.
Answered 4 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordCivil Service: EqualityCabinet OfficeTabled 27 Jun 2025AnsweredUIN 63335More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 4 June 2025 to Question 53888 on Civil Service: Equality, how many civil servants work in the CSIP Team; and what the annual operating cost is of that business unit.
Answer: For the year 2024-2025, the CSIP Team had 11.16FTE; the annual operating cost including non-pay costs for that business unit the same year was £1,092,548.37. This includes all staff costs and overheads as well as operational non-pay costs and overheads (s...
Answered 7 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordAdmiralty House: MinistersCabinet OfficeTabled 27 Jun 2025AnsweredUIN 63334More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 4 June 2025 to Question 53528 on Admiralty House for what reason the offices in Admiralty House are no longer used for a Minister and Ministerial private office.
Answer: I refer the Rt Hon Member to the answer of the Parliamentary Secretary to the Cabinet Office, Official Report, PQ 43478.
Answered 7 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordCabinet Office: Electronic Purchasing Card SolutionCabinet OfficeTabled 27 Jun 2025AnsweredUIN 63333More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to his Department's publication entitled Government Procurement Card spend over £500 - April 2025 (Spending by Business Units no longer part of Cabinet Office), published on 29 May 2025, how many
Answer: The Cabinet Office has 37 staff who have access to raise virtual cards and has 214 physical Government Procurement cardholders. Approximately half of the physical cards are held by the Government Car Service, which was transferred to the Cabinet Office in...
Answered 7 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordCabinet Office: Electronic Purchasing Card SolutionCabinet OfficeTabled 27 Jun 2025AnsweredUIN 63332More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to his Department's publication entitled Cabinet Office: Government Procurement Card spend over £500 - March 2025, published on 24 April 2025, what the spending to the House of Commons was for.
Answer: The spending in question was incurred by the Civil Service Commission, and entailed room hire and catering for an event to recognise the award of Civil Service Commission’s Commissioners' Mark of Excellence (CME), held on 6 March 2025.
Answered 7 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordCabinet Office: Electronic Purchasing Card SolutionCabinet OfficeTabled 27 Jun 2025AnsweredUIN 63331More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to his Department's publication entitled Cabinet Office: Government Procurement Card spend over £500 - March 2025, published on 24 April 2025, what the spending to Made by Cooper was for.
Answer: The spend referred to was for the GREAT campaign, with the invoice dated 27 February 2025. The items procured were pin badges and associated branded packaging in support of GREAT events.
Answered 7 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordCabinet Office: Electronic Purchasing Card SolutionCabinet OfficeTabled 27 Jun 2025AnsweredUIN 63330More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the transparency data entitled Cabinet Office: Government Procurement Card spend over £500 - December 2024, published on 30 January 2025, what the spending on PYM ARTEMISPLUS EXPRE was for.
Answer: The spend on Pym Artemisplus Expre was for catering for an event delivered as part of the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office's funded "Green Cities and Infrastructure Programme".
Answered 7 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordCabinet Office: Electronic Purchasing Card SolutionCabinet OfficeTabled 27 Jun 2025AnsweredUIN 63329More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to his Department's publication entitled Government Procurement Card spend over £500 - April 2025 (Spending by Business Units no longer part of Cabinet Office), published on 29 May 2025, what the
Answer: The expenditure was for a training course for a member of the Government Commercial Function.
Answered 7 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordIntelligence and Security Committee: Press ReleasesCabinet OfficeTabled 27 Jun 2025AnsweredUIN 63328More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department plans to publish a response to the press release of the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament of 1 May 2025.
Answer: The Cabinet Office is engaging constructively with the Intelligence and Security Committee, and will continue to do so.
Answered 2 Jul 2025
Original Parliament record
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