Richard Holden MP: written questions 2025
1652 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Cabinet Office: DirectorsCabinet OfficeTabled 27 Jun 2025AnsweredUIN 63327More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Government’s Lead Non Executive Director is a member of any Government (a) board and (b) committee.
Answer: The Government Lead Non Executive is not currently a member of any Government board or committee. Baroness Casey oversees non-executives from across government to support the delivery of the Plan for Change. She works closely with the Prime Minister, Chan...
Answered 7 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordPrime Minister: AviationCabinet OfficeTabled 27 Jun 2025AnsweredUIN 63326More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answers of 18 June and 6 March 2025 to Questions 54778 and 34454 on Prime Minister: Aviation, whether the Carbon Offsetting Reduction Scheme offsets other domestic flights; and if the Government
Answer: Official Prime Ministerial flights are carbon offset where that is possible.
Answered 7 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordArmed Forces Day: FlagsCabinet OfficeTabled 27 Jun 2025AnsweredUIN 63325More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what his Department's policy is on flying the Armed Forces flag on Armed Forces Day.
Answer: The Government Property Agency takes instruction from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport for when to fly flags as part of events, ceremonies and celebrations such as Armed Forces Day.
Answered 7 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordCabinet Office: London AllowanceCabinet OfficeTabled 26 Jun 2025AnsweredUIN 63008More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 12 June 2025 to Question 56482 on Civil Service: London allowances, if he will take steps to ensure that the London weighted salaries for his Department's civil servants only apply to e
Answer: I refer the Hon Member to the answer on 10 June 2025 (PQ 56482). Pay arrangements, including those for London, are delegated to each department. The Cabinet Office does not have a London Weighting Allowance. There are separate London and National pay rang...
Answered 3 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordGovernment Departments: EqualityCabinet OfficeTabled 26 Jun 2025AnsweredUIN 63007More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 12 June 2025 to Question 54833 on DCMS: Equality, whether his Department has issued guidance on employing Standalone EDI roles.
Answer: The Civil Service Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Expenditure Guidance, published on 14 May 2024, sets out a number of controls in relation to Equality Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) spend and activity across the Civil Service, including: Standalon...
Answered 4 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordCabinet Office: BuildingsCabinet OfficeTabled 26 Jun 2025AnsweredUIN 63006More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the planning application submitted to Westminster City Council on 19 May 2025, reference 25/03467/CLLB, what the nature is of the internal alterations being made to 70 Whitehall; and what the b
Answer: As part of the ongoing refurbishment works on the 4th Floor of 70 Whitehall, the Cabinet Office has submitted an application for the installation of a ceiling within the southern lift shaft. The total budget for this work, including all fees and VAT, is £...
Answered 4 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordPrime Minister: AviationCabinet OfficeTabled 26 Jun 2025AnsweredUIN 63005More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many and what proportion of the Prime Minister’s international flights on (a) the Envoy IV, (b) Voyager and (c) GB-NI have been carbon offset since July 2024.
Answer: Official Prime Ministerial flights are carbon offset where that is possible.
Answered 7 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordCivil Servants: Workplace PensionsCabinet OfficeTabled 26 Jun 2025AnsweredUIN 63004More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that Capita PLS meets its contractual milestones for the administration of the Civil Service Pension Scheme.
Answer: The pension scheme administration is transitioning from MyCSP to Capita, with a formal transfer scheduled for December 2025. The Cabinet Office has outlined 12 Transition Milestones to ensure a smooth transfer, with payments to Capita contingent on meetin...
Answered 3 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordDepartment for Culture, Media and SportCabinet OfficeTabled 26 Jun 2025AnsweredUIN 63003More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Government has made an assessment of the potential merits of abolishing the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
Answer: There are no plans of this kind.
Answered 3 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordDepartment of Health and Social Care: Permanent SecretariesDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 26 Jun 2025AnsweredUIN 63002More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 2 June 2025 to Question 52906 on Department of Health and Social Care: Permanent Secretaries, whether she has been employed under the terms of the model permanent secretar
Answer: The Department launched a fair and open competition to appoint a Permanent Secretary in January 2025. As a result of this process, Samantha Jones was found to be an appointable candidate for this role. However, during the recruitment process, it was annou...
Answered 10 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordDepartment of Health and Social Care: StaffDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 26 Jun 2025AnsweredUIN 63001More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to install customer experience machines in his Department to measure staff morale.
Answer: The Department currently has no plans to install customer experience machines to measure staff morale.The Department does, however, have mechanisms to measure staff engagement. The Department uses the annual Civil Service People Survey to understand staff...
Answered 14 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordAntimicrobial Resistance and Cancer: Health EducationDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 26 Jun 2025AnsweredUIN 63000More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to Cabinet Office FOI disclosure FOI2025/05753 of 12 June 2025, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of cancelling the (a) Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) a
Answer: The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has not conducted a formal assessment regarding the potential impact of cancelling the Keep Antibiotics Working campaign. UKHSA remains committed to promoting the importance of using antibiotics correctly, and in Spri...
Answered 8 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordDepartment for Energy Security and Net Zero: AviationDepartment for Energy Security and Net ZeroTabled 26 Jun 2025AnsweredUIN 62999More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 17 June 2025 to Question 58273 on DESNZ: Aviation, if he will publish details of his domestic travel since 5 July 2024.
Answer: Details of internal domestic flights are not published.
Answered 4 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordChurches: FlagsChurch CommissionersTabled 26 Jun 2025AnsweredUIN 62998More
Question: To ask the hon. Member for Battersea, representing the Church Commissioners, what the Church's policy is on the flying of flags from churches.
Answer: The Church of England has specific rules regarding the flying of flags from its buildings. These policies relate to exterior flagpoles, and the display and the laying up of military standards or regimental colours.Policies and advice relating to the flyin...
Answered 6 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordMI6: StonewallForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 26 Jun 2025AnsweredUIN 62997More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 20 May 2025 to Question 51155 on MI6: Stonewall, if he will make it his policy to request MI6 cancel their Stonewall contract.
Answer: I refer the Hon Member to the answer to question 51155.
Answered 2 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordGovernment Departments: Contracts for ServicesCabinet OfficeTabled 25 Jun 2025AnsweredUIN 62772More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how the Crown Commercial Service determines when to insert break clauses in procurement contracts.
Answer: This information is not held by the Cabinet Office. Contracts are established by the contracting authority (customer) with the supplier. It is the contracting authority's responsibility to assess the need for, and timing of, any break clauses in the contr...
Answered 3 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordCabinet Office: Electronic Purchasing Card SolutionCabinet OfficeTabled 25 Jun 2025AnsweredUIN 62771More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the transparency data entitled Government Procurement Card spend over £500 - April 2025 (Cabinet Office Core), published on 29 May 2025, for what reason his Department spent £729.99 at Maray Al
Answer: The referenced cost declared in the Cabinet Office transparency return was associated with the UK-Ireland Summit.
Answered 30 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordCabinet Office: Electronic Purchasing Card SolutionWomen and EqualitiesTabled 25 Jun 2025AnsweredUIN 62770More
Question: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, with reference to the transparency data entitled Cabinet Office: Government Procurement Card spend over £500 - December 2024, published on 30 January 2025, for what reason her Department spent £790.50 on 23 De
Answer: Following the British Sign Language (BSL) Act coming into force in April 2022, which legally recognises BSL as a language of England, Scotland and Wales, a non-statutory BSL Advisory Board of 17 predominantly BSL users was established to advise the Govern...
Answered 9 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordCompanies House: DatabasesDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 25 Jun 2025AnsweredUIN 62769More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to his Department’s publication entitled Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023: second progress report, published on 16 June 2025, what steps he is taking to remove (a) fals
Answer: The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 has given Companies House new powers to tackle false, incorrect or misleading information on its registers. To 31 May 2025, the use of these powers by Companies House has impacted 121,800 companies an...
Answered 30 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordLiving Wage and Minimum Wage: PublicityDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 25 Jun 2025AnsweredUIN 62768More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 28 May 2025 to Question 52687 on Pay: Publicity, which digital influencers were commissioned for the campaign; and how much was paid to each.
Answer: As part of the National Minimum and Living Wage Campaign, the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) selected six digital influencers who could reach the campaign’s target audiences through their social media channels.We are unable to provide details of ...
Answered 2 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordLiving Wage and Minimum Wage: PublicityDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 25 Jun 2025AnsweredUIN 62766More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 28 May 2025 to Question 52687 on Pay: Publicity, which (a) publications, (b) channels and (c) sites paid-for advertising was undertaken on.
Answer: a). Publications: No paid advertising for this campaign ran in print publications.b). Channels: These were:o Online digital display advertisingo Digital online video (YouTube)o Social media (Snapchat, Meta - Facebook/Instagram, Reddit)o Radioo Out of home...
Answered 3 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordGreat British Energy: StaffDepartment for Energy Security and Net ZeroTabled 25 Jun 2025AnsweredUIN 62765More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many office desks are allocated to staff in GB Energy; and how many staff are employed by GB Energy.
Answer: Great British Energy will be headquartered in Aberdeen, Scotland, recognising the expertise, skilled workforce, and diversity of projects already in place. In the interim, Great British Energy is headquartered in DESNZ’s second headquarters in Aberdeen, C...
Answered 4 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordDepartment for Energy Security and Net Zero: Public ExpenditureDepartment for Energy Security and Net ZeroTabled 25 Jun 2025AnsweredUIN 62764More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to paragraph 2.97 of HM Treasury's publication entitled Spending Review 2025: Departmental Efficiency Plans published on 11 June 2025, what the evidential basis is that insourc
Answer: Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) will reduce its reliance on external consultants and contractors by building internal capability in key corporate functions. DESNZ benchmarking and commercial frameworks show external consultants and con...
Answered 4 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordMyCSP: CorrespondenceCabinet OfficeTabled 25 Jun 2025AnsweredUIN 62763More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the average length of time is for MyCSP to respond substantively to a query relating to the Civil Service Pension Scheme.
Answer: I refer the right hon. member to the answer given to PQ 60018, given on 19 June 2025.
Answered 3 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordCivil Servants: Media and Public SpeakingCabinet OfficeTabled 25 Jun 2025AnsweredUIN 62762More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 18 June 2025 to Question 59753 on Civil Servants: Media and Public Speaking, whether guidance has been provided on Permanent Secretaries giving press conferences with Ministers.
Answer: The Government Communication Service (GCS) Propriety & Ethics Guidance applies to all civil servants.
Answered 3 Jul 2025
Original Parliament record
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