Every parliamentary written question tabled by Charlie Dewhirst this session, with the full answer and department. See how every department answers, or back to the MP page.
Showing 641–660 of 990 · this parliament
Whether the Prime Minister met organisations at Labour Party Conference 2024 which required him to report back the discussions to his private office.
Any ministerial meetings with external organisations will be published in the usual way on gov.uk. There are processes in place where Ministers are officially supported at political events or engagements, as was the case under the previous administration.
How long routinely deleted Downing Street emails are held for the purposes of (a) public inquiries, (b) subject access requests and (c) Freedom of Information requests.
All emails generated, or received, in the Prime Minister’s Office, including any attachments, may be public records and therefore are subject to records management policies and procedures. The fact that they may be public records does not mean that all emails will be kept for ever. Most will be archived in accordance with standard record keeping procedures. If it is decided that an email needs to be kept for more than a very short period it is placed on the official record keeping system.
Pursuant to the answer of 19 March 2025, to Question 34730, on Civil Service: Redundancy, if he will place in the Library a copy of all revised guidance on (a) new and (b) updated protocols on Civil Service performance, management and termination; and whether senior civil servants who do not deliver expected efficiency savings will be made redundant.
Many of the documents pertaining to the management of civil servant performance and termination are already published on gov.uk. This includes the Senior Civil Service Performance Management Policy and accompanying formal poor performance guidance, the Cabinet Office Redundancy Protocol 2016 and the Civil Service Management Code. In March, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster announced a new exit process termed “Mutually Agreed Exits” to bring the Civil Service more in line with the private sector. The plans will give managers more tools to address substandard performance and introduce a more efficient and flexible system that will save money for the taxpayer. More information will be provided in due course. Under the Senior Civil Service performance management framework, civil servants who do not meet the expected minimum standards of their role will be placed onto formal poor performance measures.
With reference to the speech entitled PM remarks on the fundamental reform of the British state, published on 13 March 2025, on what methodological basis the Prime Minister said that compliance costs for businesses would be cut by a quarter.
On 13 March, the Prime Minister issued a new target for the government to cut the costs of regulation to business. This target for government departments and regulators will lead to less red tape, more delivery and renew the country with economic growth. Government also successfully delivered a similar 25% reduction target between 2005 and 2010. The government will bring forward its plans to meet the target and its method for assessing progress towards it later this year.
What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the National Security Adviser being appointed as a special adviser on (a) the effectiveness and (b) parliamentary scrutiny of that role.
Special Advisers are accountable to Ministers who in turn are accountable to Parliament.
Whether the Prime Minister held discussions with media organisations during the Labour Party conference relating to government business without officials being present; and how many readouts on meetings with external organisations were provided to his private office.
Any ministerial meetings with external organisations will be published in the usual way on gov.uk. There are processes in place where Ministers are officially supported at political events or engagements, as was the case under the previous administration.
If he will update the (a) ministerial, (b) special adviser and (c) senior official transparency guidance on the definition of senior media executives to include large social media organisations.
Details of ministers’ and senior officials’ official meetings with all external individuals and organisations, including with social media organisations, are already published on a quarterly basis. Under long-standing guidance, special advisers are only required to declare meetings with senior media figures. There are no current plans to change the guidance.
Whether emails in Downing Street inboxes are automatically deleted.
All emails generated, or received, in the Prime Minister’s Office, including any attachments, may be public records and therefore are subject to records management policies and procedures. The fact that they may be public records does not mean that all emails will be kept for ever. Most will be archived in accordance with standard record keeping procedures. If it is decided that an email needs to be kept for more than a very short period it is placed on the official record keeping system.
Whether the Prime Minister plans to donate a copy of Three Pillars to Liberty to the Prime Minister’s Library.
No donations have been made to the Prime Minister's Library since 5 July 2024.
With reference to the press release entitled Prime Minister: I will reshape the state to deliver security for working people, published on 12 March 2025, what the Government’s is for the (a) number of civil servants and (b) cost of civil service pay.
The Prime Minister has set out his ambition to deliver long-term, impactful changes to reshape the British state and the Government is taking forward a number of measures to deliver greater efficiency and transformation in the Civil Service. Each department will take a decision on its individual size and shape as per the financial settlement it agrees with HMT in the Spending Review, due for conclusion in June 2025. The Prime Minister has announced that the Government is committed to cutting bureaucracy across the state, in order to focus government on the priorities of working people and shift money to the frontline. As part of this, the Prime Minister announced the abolition of the arms-length body NHS England. The government has also announced the first zero-based review of government spending in 17 years, with departments expected to go line-by-line to find savings and efficiencies, including in bodies and agencies that they sponsor.
Innovation and Technology, with reference to the speech entitled PM remarks on the fundamental reform of the British state, published on 13 March 2025, on what methodological basis the Prime Minister said that the Government would make £45 billion savings in efficiency; and over what time period this would be.
The Government’s £45 billion estimate is based on a detailed analysis employing three levers: automating routine tasks (£36 billion), migrating services online (£4 billion) and reducing fraud via digital compliance (£5 billion). This work scaled bespoke analysis conducted on the Civil Service to the wider public sector, with overlaying case studies. A more detailed methodology will be published online in due course.The £45 billion therefore represents the steady‑state annual savings / productivity gains achievable once these efficiency measures are fully embedded across the public sector.
Communities and Local Government, with reference to the speech entitled PM remarks on the fundamental reform of the British state, published on 13 March 2025, on what evidential basis the Prime Minister said that jumping spiders stopped the development of an entire new town.
The Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) at the Swanscombe Peninsula was designated in 2021 due to the presence of a number of rare plant, bird and invertebrate species, including the rare Distinguished Jumping Spider. The SSSI includes a significant area of land that had been purchased by the Ebbsfleet Development Corporation to bring forward an important part of the new Garden City at Ebbsfleet.As a consequence of the designation and the need to comply with National Planning Policy on SSSI’s the Development Corporation took the decision to re-masterplan the area leading to the loss of approximately 1,300 new homes and some 30,000sqm of commercial development.The Ebbsfleet Development Corporation continues to progress its plans for c15,000 new homes and facilities across its wider development area.
What assessment he has made of trends in the level of health inequalities in coastal communities.
The Honourable Member for Bridlington and the Wolds is right that coastal communities face unique challenges when it comes to health inequalities. Through our health mission, we are looking to halve the gap in healthy life expectancy between the richest and poorest regions.The NHS also has a programme to reduce health inequalities in the most deprived 20% of the population and improve outcomes for groups that experience the worst access, experience, and outcomes within the NHS. 6 Coastal Integrated Care Boards have been launched in coastal communities and are working to reduce economic inactivity as a mechanism for reducing health inequalities.
Whether the Chief Operating Officer for the Civil Service has a role in approving contracts issued by the Cabinet Office.
The Chief Operating Officer for the Civil Service is an approving member of the Cabinet Office Commercial Spend Control Panel, which oversees spend controls for the whole of the HM Government, including non-ministerial departments, executive agencies, and other arms-length, non-commercial bodies that are majority controlled and/or financed by departments (Non-Departmental Public Bodies). This includes the Cabinet Office. Cabinet Office Commercial Spend Controls apply to all commercial activity with a value of £20m or more, excluding VAT. ).
Pursuant to the Answer of 20 February 2025 to Question 30473 on Prime Minister: Press Conferences, how many people attended the event.
This was an official government event, with attendees and an audience that included members of the public, business people, and public sector workers. 286 people RSVPed to attend.
Pursuant to the Answer of 5 February 2025 to Question 26831 on Civil Servants: Recruitment, what assessment he has made of the compatibility of the publication of job titles in transparency data with his data protection obligations.
The publication of job titles is compatible with data protection obligations. It is noted that SCS organograms are published. However, the SCS data is anonymised at Deputy Director level (SCS1). Although the details are published for SCS2 and above, there are provisions within the guidance for redactions or further anonymity for data privacy and security purposes.
If she will publish the performance data sent to her Department on firearms licensing by the firearms and explosives licensing working group of the National Police Chiefs’ Council since October 2022.
The issuing of firearms certificates and the efficiency of police forces is a matter for individual Chief Officers of Police and they are held to account by Police and Crime Commissioners.However, the performance of forces is actively being monitored by the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for firearms licensing, Deputy Chief Constable David Gardner, and he is developing a new performance framework for firearms licensing teams, which it is intended will be published soon, to provide greater transparency on application turnaround times.
Pursuant to the Answer of 12 December 2024 to Question 18209 on Ministerial and Other Pensions and Salaries Act 1991, what progress she has made on her review of eligibility for ministerial severance payments based on time in office.
The review of ministerial severance payments under the terms of the Ministerial and Other Pensions and Salaries Act 1991 is ongoing. An update will be provided in due course.
Pursuant to the Answer of 5 December 2024 to Question 16512 on Government Communication Service, if he will provide a breakdown of the 6,500 communications staff employed by each individual public body.
I refer the Hon. Member to Question 1208, answered on the 31st July 2024.
Pursuant to the Answer of 27 November 2024 to Question 14974 on Procurement: National Security, for what reason the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Northern Ireland Programme evaluation is exempt from publication.
The information related to this programme is exempt from publication, as it meets one or more of the seven reasons for exemption listed in the Freedom of Information Act.