Written questions by Holden.

Pursuant to the Answer of 8 April 2025 to Question 43474 on Business: Regulation, whether the target to reduce the cost of compliance includes the costs of assimilated EU law.

Assimilated law, formerly retained EU law, is domestic law. It was created by the EU (Withdrawal) Act 2018 (EUWA) and came into effect at the end of the United Kingdom’s post-Brexit transition period, on 31 December 2020. The government’s target to cut the administrative cost of regulation includes the administrative costs of assimilated law.

What estimate her Department has made of the proportion of the cost of the increase in employers National Insurance contributions that will be met by (a) additional support from her Department and (b) schools in (i) Essex and (ii) England.

The government has agreed that public sector employers will receive support in recognition of the increase in their National Insurance contributions (NICs) from April 2025.Schools have autonomy over their budgets in order to respond to the needs of their pupils. The NICs grant announced on 18 March was designed to distribute funding in a way that is close to how core funding for schools is allocated through the national funding formula, introduced under the last government. A long-standing principle of the funding system is that it is designed to distribute funding according to pupil need and not to match the precise spending of each individual institution, as their spending patterns, including NICs costs, will vary.The department is providing schools and high needs settings with over £930 million in the 2025/26 financial year to support them with their increased NICs costs. This support is additional to the £2.3 billion increase to core school funding announced at the Autumn Budget 2024. This means that the core schools budget, which includes the core revenue funding for schools and high needs, will total over £64.8 billion in 2025/26.The amount of public sector support for NICs is based on HM Treasury analysis of the proportion of employer NICs receipts paid by public sector organisations and allocated between departments based on headcount and wage/salary data.The department has distributed this funding in proportion to the need of the different sectors and phases of education at a national level for England. The department will continue to monitor cost pressures, as it usually does. The department’s most recent assessment, which included consideration of the impact of the change in NICs, was published in the ‘Schools’ Costs’ technical note on 18 March 2025 and can be accessed here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67d974935bad4b1a7f01ed62/Schools_costs_technical_note_2024_to_2026.pdf.We have published a calculator tool for mainstream schools and academies to estimate their NICs grant funding for the 2025/26 financial year, with allocations being published shortly.

How many members of the Senior Civil Service in his Department are in post on a temporary basis, at each grade.

There were 60 SCS1, 21 SCS2, and less than 5 SCS3 in post on a temporary basis on the 31st of March 2025.

What recent progress her Department has made on setting up the child protection authority.

The government has committed to consulting on a roadmap to establish a Child Protection Authority for England by the end of 2025. The design and delivery of this Authority requires consultation, including with child protection experts and victim groups, to ensure it has the right constitution and powers to make a tangible difference to child protection practice. It is important, and right, that we take the time needed to work through the details before introducing a Child Protection Authority. Following consultation, we will set out the functions of the Child Protection Authority and a clear delivery timetable.

Whether she has made an assessment of Network Rail's compliance with his Department's guidance entitled Rules on lobbying for Non-Departmental Public Bodies.

As a Non-Departmental Public Body, Network Rail is subject to Cabinet Office rules which prohibit attendance at party conferences and the use of consultancies for lobbying activities. I have received assurances from Network Rail that they adhere to the guidelines.

What recent estimate she has made of the proportion of school budgets spent on (a) teaching staff, (b) other staff and (c) non-staff costs.

School funding and costs varies on a school-by-school basis as each school operates in their own unique contexts. Each school has autonomy to allocate their budgets to best meet the needs of their pupils to ensure they have the best opportunities in life.On 18 March the department published the schools’ costs technical note, which projected, at the time of publication, the proportions of spend in previous years at a national level for the 2023/24 financial year. The data showed that, on average, 52% of schools’ spending was on teaching staff, 29% was on support staff and 20% was on non-staff costs. These percentages do not sum to 100% due to rounding.

Pursuant to the Answer of 12 April 2025 to Question HL6032 on Arm’s Length Bodies, whether the Public Sector Fraud Authority is in the process of being set up.

The government introduced the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill in January, giving us more tools to combat fraud, allowing the government to investigate fraud and recover public money.The Bill also provides the potential for the Public Sector Fraud Authority (PSFA) to become an arm’s-length statutory body in the future, providing flexibility as to how the government conducts their future counter fraud activities. It was assessed that it would be disproportionate to establish PSFA as one at this current time.On 6 April, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster announced a full review of all arm’s length bodies to ensure their existence can be strongly justified against key principles. Any future decision to set up any new ALBs would need to demonstrate alignment with these principles and follow the joint HMT and Cabinet Office approval process for new bodies.

Pursuant to the Answer of 17 April 2025 to Question 41110 on Government departments: political activities, whether there are limits on the amount of party political content that Ministers can deliver in speeches with scripted party political content in government departments which are not ministerial residences.

While guidance is not expressed in terms of specific limits, the primary purpose of any ministerial speech must be government business and the essential nature of the speech should not be party political.

Pursuant to the Answer of 17 April 2025 to Question 43964 on Cabinet office: stress, how many (a) civil servants and (b) special advisers were signed off absent due to stress in the business unit of 10 Downing Street in the most recent week for which data is available.

Information about sickness absence in the Cabinet Office is published regularly on gov.uk. The latest data publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-sickness-absence-2024/civil-service-sickness-absence-2024-report#by-organisation

Pursuant to the Answer of 17 April 2025 to Question 44026 on 9 Downing Street: Repairs and Maintenance, what the purpose associated with the referenced entry of £122,086.70 on OCS was.

The referenced entry of £122,086.70 for OCS on the February disclosure notice relates to OCS' regular monthly Fixed Facilities Management services provided to Government Property Agency properties in the North. For clarity, this does not include the No. 9 media suite.

Whether the (a) Office for National Statistics and (b) UK Statistics Authority plan to publish a response to the recommendations of the Independent review of data, statistics and research on sex and gender, published on 19 March 2025.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 28th April is attached.

Pursuant to the answer of 8 April 2025, to Question 43946, on Alex Chisholm, what steps have been taken to address the staffing issues, and what impact has this had on the processing time of Business Appointment applications to ACOBA.

The Cabinet Office, as the sponsoring department of ACoBA, has supported the Committee’s secretariat to recruit the additional staff it required to ensure it is fully resourced to deliver its core functions to agreed timescales.

What funding is available to Ramsden Hall Academy to help secure the school site; and if she will meet the Rt hon. Member for Basildon and Billericay to discuss that funding.

The department supports academy trusts, local authorities and voluntary-aided school bodies, who are responsible for managing the safety and maintenance of their estates, with capital funding, rebuilding programmes and extensive guidance on effective estate management.We have recently confirmed the details of £2.1 billion of capital funding for the 2025/26 financial year to improve the condition of the school estate, up from £1.8 billion committed for the 2024/25 financial year.For the 2025/26 financial year, Parallel Learning Trust met the eligibility criteria for the Condition Improvement Fund (CIF), and its schools, including Ramsden Hall Academy, were invited to bid into CIF for capital projects. We expect to confirm outcomes of CIF later in the spring.Capital funding to improve school buildings beyond 2025/26 will be confirmed following the next phase of the spending review.I would be happy to meet to discuss capital funding for Ramsden Heath Academy.

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 the Independent Football Regulator against the requirement that the creation of a new arm's length body should only be considered as a last resort; whether the Department for Culture, Media and Sport provided evidence that alternative delivery models were considered; and which of the three tests in Chapter 2 of that guidance Independent Football Regulator met.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport is currently working through the approval process to establish the Independent Football Regulator as an Arm’s Length Body, in parallel to the passage of the Football Governance Bill.

If he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill on the Salisbury-Addison Convention in the House of Lords.

The conventions concerning the relationship between the House of Commons and the House of Lords are unaffected by the House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill. The Bill fulfills a manifesto commitment to remove the right of hereditary peers to sit and vote in the House of Lords. As such, the Bill clearly engages the Salisbury-Addison convention.

Whether appointments to Great British Energy will be included in the Public Bodies Order in Council; and whether the chair will be classified as a significant appointment.

Once Great British Energy (GBE) is formally designated following Royal Assent of the GBE Bill, we will consider whether to propose an amendment to the Public Bodies Order in Council; and whether the GBE Chair will be classified as a significant appointment.

Whether the new Civil Service Jobs service will be open to the public.

There will be no change to what information and services will be open to the public when the new Civil Service Jobs platform is in place.

For what reason the public appointment process for the (a) Advisory Committee on Business Appointments and (b) House of Lords Appointments Commission members has been cancelled.

Ministers exercised their rights under the Governance Code on Public Appointments not to appoint any candidates for the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments Chair role. The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster informed the Chair of the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee (PACAC) of his decision on 27 February 2025. The letter is available on PACAC’s website: https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/46905/documents/242018/default/The outcome of the appointment process for Independent Members to the House of Lords Appointments Commission will be announced once that process has concluded.

If he will make an estimate of the average number of days for a write-round clearance to be approved by the (a) Parliamentary Business and Legislation Committee and (b) Economic and Domestic Affairs Secretariat since 5 July 2024.

The principle of collective responsibility requires that the privacy of ministerial discussions at Cabinet and its committees should be maintained. It is therefore a long-established precedent that information relating to the proceedings of Cabinet and its committees, including decisions reached via correspondence, is not normally shared publicly.

Innovation and Technology, what plans he has for (a) digital identity cards and (b) a national identity database.

The Government has no plans to create digital identity cards or a national identity database.