Written questions by Dewhirst.

Pursuant to the answer of 2 December 2024 to Question 8803 on Cabinet Office: Software, whether additional work under existing contracts has been awarded to Fujitsu since 4 July 2024.

Details of central government contracts where the contract value is above £12,000 are published on Contracts Finder: https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Search As with any service, during the life of the contract there may be periods when suppliers are required to perform more work, as allowed under the contract, and periods when they do less. The ability of the authorities to vary the amount of work is detailed in each specific contract. If there is significant additional work required, which exceeds what is allowed under the contract, that is also published on Contracts Finder, in line with the publication requirements.In January 2024, Fujitsu said it would withdraw from bidding for contracts for new work with new Government customers until the Post Office Horizon inquiry concludes – it would only bid for work with existing Government customers where it already has a contract with them, or where there is an agreed need for Fujitsu’s skills and capabilities.Fujitsu's bid approach is detailed in this letter, deposited in Parliament. For more details, please see here.

If he will make an assessment of the (a) efficiency and (b) effectiveness of the propriety and ethics team.

All teams within the Cabinet Office are subject to the department's performance management processes.

Pursuant to the Answer of 25 November 2024 to Question 13808 on 9 Downing Street: Media, what (a) alterations and (b) other works have taken place in the media room since November 2024; what the cost of those works was; which contractors were used; and which Department authorised the cost of these works.

A one-off refresh of the facility was undertaken in December 2024. This has restored the room back to its original politically neutral state. The cost of these works will be published in due course in Cabinet Office transparency returns. The works were carried out by OCS, and authorised by the Cabinet Office.

Pursuant to the Answer of 12 December 2024 to Question 18216 on Senior Civil Servants: Training, where the two SCS Leadership Conferences took place; and what the cost was of each event.

The two SCS Leadership Conferences were delivered as part of a wider leadership development programme. The SCS Conference (Summer 2024) took place at the DeVere Grand Connaught Room, London. The venue hire and catering for this event cost £12,520.42. The SCS Conference (Autumn 2024) took place at The Royal Horseguards Hotel, & One Whitehall Place, London. The venue hire and catering for this event cost £11,250.00.

Whether the Second Permanent Secretary, European Union and International Economic Affairs has made a declaration of political activity; and if he publish the declared interests of the Second Permanent Secretary.

There are established processes in place to declare and manage interests in the Civil Service, which were followed during the Second Permanent Secretary's appointment.

Pursuant to the Answer of 11 December 2024 to Question 17545 on Prime Minister: Public Appointments, what the (a) bodies and (b) offices are.

There is nothing further to my answer of 11 December 2024, Official Report, PQ 17545. Individual appointments made by the Prime Minister are publicly announced on gov.uk at the time of appointment.

If he will make it his policy to reduce the size of the Government Communications Service as part of the Spending Review Phase 2.

The Government Communications Service constantly assesses all teams to ensure they are delivering value for money and operating in the most effective and efficient way possible. Decisions on the outcome of Spending Review Phase 2 will be announced in the normal way.

Whether guidance has been issued to Government Departments on the difference between (a) positive action and (b) positive discrimination in recruitment processes.

Under the previous administration, guidance for employers was published in regards to positive action in the workplace which highlights the difference between positive action and positive discrimination.It is the responsibility of each department to ensure their recruitment practices align fully with all relevant legislation, including the Equality Act 2010. Managers and vacancy holders are accountable to their HR Director for ensuring that vacancies are filled in accordance with departmental processes and legislation. HR Directors are responsible for assurance of the process.

How many members of the senior civil service in his Department have been in post on an interim basis for more than 12 months.

There are 13 Senior Civil Servants in the Cabinet Office who have been in post on a temporary promotion for more than 12 months as of the 31st of December 2024.

Whether agreement is required from a Minister in his Department before departments employ recruitment consultants for use in public appointment campaigns.

The Governance Code on Public Appointments sets out the process for departments to follow when considering the use of recruitment consultants for public appointment campaigns.The Governance Code requires departments to seek ministerial agreement on the use of recruitment consultants. It also requires the Cabinet Office to be consulted.

With reference to the Civil Service Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Expenditure Guidance, published on 14 May 2024, who is responsible for authorising external equality, diversity and inclusion expenditure in his Department.

The Cabinet Office complies with the Civil Service Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Expenditure guidance published on 14 May 2024, where approval of any external spend is signed off by a Minster or delegated to the Permanent Secretary.

Pursuant to the Answer of 11 December 2024 to Question 18218 on Ministers: Convictions, whether the established process for appointing Ministers involves the Cabinet Office Ethics and Propriety Team asking if an appointee has previous criminal convictions.

Appointees have a declaration of interests conversation with the Propriety and Ethics Team on appointment, the details of which are confidential. All ministers are expected to adhere to the high standards of conduct set out in the Ministerial Code.

Pursuant to the Answer of 26 November 2024 to Question 14113 on the Permanent Secretary Remuneration Committee, whether decisions on Permanent Secretary remuneration are subject to ministerial (a) review and (b) approval.

The Prime Minister makes the final decisions on Permanent Secretary remuneration following recommendations made by the Permanent Secretary Remuneration Committee.

With reference to the Answer of 13 November 2024 to Question HL2210 on Government Departments: Communication, which communications campaigns have been (a) downsized and (b) ended following the review.

I refer the Honourable Member to the answer provided by HMT to Question 20957 on 10 January 2025.

Who are the members of the Civil Service Board; how often does it meet; and where does it meet.

The members of the Civil Service Board are listed on the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/civil-service/about/our-governance The Civil Service Board meets approximately 10 times per year. Meetings are generally held at 70 Whitehall, London and virtually.

What steps his Department has taken to safeguard British semiconductor firms from hostile foreign involvement; and how many transactions in that sector have been referred to his Department under the National Security and Investment Act 2021 since 5 July 2024.

The National Security and Investment (NSI) Act 2021 gives the Government powers to scrutinise and potentially intervene in acquisitions of control over entities and assets in or linked to the UK that may pose national security risks. All areas of the economy are within scope, and qualifying acquisitions of entities in 17 areas of the economy - of which semiconductors are typically covered by both the Advanced Materials and Computing Hardware areas - must be notified to and receive approval from the Government. The Government publishes annual reports to provide information about the transactions that it has been notified about and those it subsequently called in for a national security assessment. The period from 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025 will be covered in the next annual report, which will be published later this year.

With reference to paragraph 60 of the Government response to the 17th Report of Session 2022-23 of the House of Lords Constitution Committee, Permanent Secretaries: their appointment and removal, HL 258, published on 20 October 2023, what recent progress his Department has made on preparing guidance on best practice; whether that guidance will apply to civil servants in the devolved administrations on areas relating to reserved matters; and when he plans to publish that guidance.

I refer to the answer to PQ 14099.

Whether the new Cabinet Secretary has recused himself from any policy areas.

Any relevant outside interests for the new Cabinet Secretary will be published in the usual way.The Cabinet Secretary has previously recused himself from aspects related to Infected Blood issues and this remains the case in his current role.

With reference to the Security and Intelligence Agencies Financial Statement 2023-24, for what reason the net cash requirement for the Security and Intelligence Agencies was £419.85 million lower than the estimate; and what assessment he has made of the impact of this underspend on the delivery of planned programmes.

As has been the policy of successive governments, the government does not comment on matters relating to the intelligence agencies. The Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament scrutinises the policies, expenditure, administration and operations of the intelligence agencies on behalf of Parliament.

With reference to his Department's press notice on start-ups published on 9 December 2024, how will the new secondment scheme differ from previous secondment schemes.

The scheme will be an inward secondment programme into the Public Sector Reform, Test & Learn team, for public service delivery experts, working near the frontline to help drive public service reform in their field. The scheme will be flexible in terms of duration and location, and specifically for those with experience relevant to the public service reform project. In addition, the Government is encouraging people from startups and tech companies to enter Government for six to twelve month “Tours of Duty”, putting their skills to use tackling big challenges such as criminal justice or healthcare reform in the next phase of the No 10 Innovation Fellows Programme.