Written questions by Dewhirst.

How many transactions have been blocked under the National Security and Investment Act 2021 since 5 July 2024; and which transactions were blocked.

The Government publishes notices of final orders made on GOV.UK - this includes cases that are blocked, unwound, or cleared subject to conditions. The Government also 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 NSI Annual Report 2023-24 was published on 10 September 2024 and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-security-and-investment-act-2021-annual-report-2023-24. 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.

Who provided the lectern used by the Prime Minister for his press conference at Pinewood Studios on 5 December 2024.

The lectern was loaned by the Labour Party.

Whether (a) Downing Street and (b) his Department collates information on each (i) domestic and (ii) overseas flight undertaken by (A) the Prime Minister and (B) other Ministers.

Ministerial travel is undertaken using efficient and cost-effective travel arrangements. Security considerations are also taken into account. As was the practice under the previous Government, information about official overseas ministerial travel will be published as part of the Cabinet Office transparency returns and made available on GOV.UK.

With reference to his Department's publication entitled Special adviser data releases: numbers and costs, November 2024, published on 28 November 2024, for what reason his Department has not published the list of special adviser salaries for the current administration; and if he will publish the current list of special advisers before the end of the calendar year.

As was the case under the previous administration, annual reports on special advisers relate to the preceding financial year.The Annual Report on Special Advisers published on 28 November 2024, therefore relates to the 2023/24 financial year.The 2025 Annual Report on Special Advisers, which will relate to the 2024/25 financial year, will be published before the end of this year.

Pursuant to the Answer of 22 October 2024 to Question 8637 on Cabinet Office: Vacancies, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the length of the application window on the effectiveness the recruitment process.

The vacancy adhered to the Civil Service Commission Recruitment Principles, which state: “the time allowed for advertising must be suitable for attracting a sufficiently strong and diverse field of applicants, taking account of the nature of the role and the relevant job market.”

Pursuant to the Answer of 13 December 2024 to Question 18268 on Firearms: Licensing, when she last held discussions with (a) the police, (b) gun control groups, (c) the British Shooting Sports Council and (d) the British Association for Shooting and Conservation on firearms licensing in England, Scotland and Wales.

The Home Office regularly meets with the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for firearms licensing and other officers.We also meet with representatives of other relevant stakeholder groups from time to time, including most recently, on 13th January 2025.

Whether he has issued guidance to Cabinet colleagues on engagement with the 48 Group.

No guidance has been issued on engagement with the 48 Group specifically. The Cabinet Office routinely assesses information pertaining to external bodies and groups to guide Ministerial engagement.

How many Civil Service fast stream applicants self-declared a disability in each year for which figures are available.

The Fast Stream campaign data, including data pertaining to applicants with disabilities, is published annually and available on gov.uk.

How many special advisers have affiliated to the First Division Association; and whether special advisers are a collective bargaining unit.

Details of Trade Union memberships are not held by Civil Service employers. I refer to PQ 5303, which confirmed that there are currently no collective bargaining agreements for Special Advisers.

With reference to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government's web page entitled Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: spending over £0, published on 10 October 2024, if he will publish a corresponding copy of the spending by his Department on (a) electronic purchasing cards and (b) Government procurement cards over £0 for August 2024 broken down by (i) expense type, (ii) supplier, (iii) item text, (iv) merchant category, (v) amount and (vi) date.

The guiding policy setting out the requirement to only publish GPC transactions over £500 remains in place. Guidance is available to all government departments on gov.uk at the following link: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5e8b402686650c18ce2cb541/Procurement_Cards_-_Pan_Government_Policy_V4_06042020.pdfIn support of the Government’s Transparency agenda, the Cabinet Office publishes GPC spend data over £500 on gov.uk.

How much his Department has spent on carbon offsetting for Ministerial travel since 5 July 2024.

As was the case under the previous administration, the Cabinet Office does not offset business travel, choosing to reduce rather than offset carbon emissions. However, official Prime Ministerial flights are carbon offset as part of the contractual arrangement for the GBNI flight.

How many staff work in the mission delivery unit; and what its (a) function and (b) remit is.

The Mission Delivery Unit has c 30 FTE. The core purpose of the Mission Delivery Unit is to advise the Prime Minister and the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster on the delivery of the five Missions.

How many of the reviews by Departments of public bodies in the financial year 2023/24 as part of the Public Bodies Review Programme (a) have been completed, (b) remain outstanding and (c) have been abandoned.

Of the 50 public body reviews planned for 2023/24, 34 were completed. Nine remain in progress and seven are currently paused as the team progresses other work to deliver value for money.

With reference to his Department's guidance entitled Public Bodies Handbook – Part 2: The Approvals Process for the Creation of New Arm’s-Length Bodies, whether his Department's public bodies team assessed Great British Energy against the requirement that the creation of a new ALB should only be considered as a last resort; whether the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero provided evidence that alternative delivery models were considered; and which of the three tests in Chapter 2 of that guidance Great British Energy met.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero is working through the approval process, in parallel with the passing of the Great British Energy Bill, to establish Great British Energy (GBE).

Whether he plans to include appointments to the Industrial Strategy Advisory Council in the Public Bodies Order in Council; and whether the chair appointment will be classified as a significant appointment.

The Industrial Strategy Advisory Council (ISAC) is an independent, non-statutory, expert committee and as such these appointments are not in scope for addition to the Order in Council or Significant Appointments under Cabinet Office guidance. We have committed to putting the Council on a statutory footing, and this will be reviewed after doing so.

Pursuant to the Answer of 4 December 2024 to Question 15193 on Ministers: Code of Practice, for what reason the Prime Minister included the previously removed duty for ministers to comply with international law in the new Ministerial Code.

The reference has been reinserted into the Ministerial Code to provide clarity. This does not place any new duties on ministers; it brings together duties which exist elsewhere.

Pursuant to the Answer of 11 November 2024, to Question 5280, on Senior Civil Servants: Recruitment, if he will list each of the (a) job titles and (b) associated unit of the Senior Civil Service roles that were not open to external candidates.

I refer the honourable member to the answer provided on 11 November. We are unable to provide a more detailed breakdown without individuals potentially being identifiable.

Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 4 December 2024 to Question 16604 on 11 Downing Street: Art Works, if she will publish a corresponding list of the reference numbers of Government Art Collection works that have been (a) added and (b) removed from the (i) 10 Downing Street and (ii) the Prime Minister’s Ministerial residence since 4 July 2024.

No. It is standard practice, as followed by the previous government, for new ministers to select works from the Government Art Collection for their ministerial offices. All such changes of displays of works from the Government Art Collection constitute 'business as usual' for the Collection. All artworks in the Government Art Collection are on the website and their present locations can readily be searched and identified. The Collection does not publish the history of the locations of artworks.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of proposed changes to Agricultural Property Relief on the profitability of farming businesses.

The Government published information about the reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief at www.gov.uk/government/publications/agricultural-property-relief-and-business-property-relief-reforms. It is expected that up to around 2,000 estates will be affected by the changes to APR and BPR in 2026-27, with around half of those being claims that involve AIM shares. Almost three-quarters of estates claiming agricultural property relief (or those claiming agricultural property relief and business property relief together) are expected to be unaffected by these reforms. In accordance with standard practice, a tax information and impact note will be published alongside the draft legislation before the relevant Finance Bill.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help support people affected by changes made to (a) agricultural property relief, (b) Business Property Relief and (c) capital grants at the Autumn Budget 2024 in rural communities.

From 6 April 2026, 0% inheritance tax will be due on the first £1 million of combined agricultural and business property. Above this amount, landowners will access 50% relief from inheritance tax and will pay inheritance tax at a reduced effective rate up to 20%, rather than the standard 40%. This tax can be paid in instalments over 10 years interest free, rather than immediately, as with other types of inheritance tax. This is on top of all the other spousal exemptions and nil-rate bands that people can access for inheritance tax too. This means that two people who share ownership of a piece of farmland, depending on their circumstances, can pass on up to £3 million without paying any inheritance tax. Furthermore, if land is transferred 7 years before death, farmers pay no inheritance tax at all. Data from HMRC and supported by the independent Office for Budgetary Responsibility (OBR) indicates that around 500 estates a year will be impacted. The majority of those will be able to adapt their businesses. The exact number will depend on a wider range of factors based on their individual circumstances. It is not broken down to specific constituencies. With 73% of claims being for less than £1 million, the majority of estates will be unaffected, and they will be able to pass the family farm down to their children just as previous generations have always done. This is a fair and balanced approach that protects the family farm while also fixing the public services that we all rely on. As an outcome of the recent Spending Review, we have also committed £5 billion in the agricultural budget over the next two years – the biggest ever budget for sustainable food production and nature recovery in this country’s history. This enables us to keep momentum on the path to a more resilient and sustainable farming sector. In the first week of December, we paid £343 million into the rural economy, benefiting more than 31,000 farmers. Any farmer or land manager who received Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) payments at least up until October 2022 in England is also eligible for support from the Farming Resilience Fund (FRF). The FRF provides free business support (and mental health support, where appropriate) to farmers and land managers in England to help them through agricultural transition. It does this by awarding grants to organisations who help farmers and land managers to understand the changes that are happening, identify how, what and when they may need to adapt their business models, and access tailored support to adapt. The support is offered free of charge to farmers and land managers by organisations known and trusted in the farming community. The support will run until March 2025.