Written questions by Holden.

Whether appointments to Great British Railways will be included in the Public Bodies Order in Council; and whether the Chair will be classified as a Significant Appointment.

After the Railways Bill is scrutinised by Parliament, and as part of the design of Great British Railways, we will consider whether to propose an amendment to the Public Bodies Order in Council. We expect that the GBR Chair will be classed as a significant appointment.Parliament will have an opportunity to scrutinise GBR’s duties when the bill is taken through Parliament later this session.

Pursuant to the Answer of 26 February 2025 to Question 32268 on Freedom of Information and Parliamentary Questions: Impact Assessment, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that information which is routinely disclosed under the Freedom of Information Act regime is disclosed to Parliament when similar requests for information as made through Parliamentary Questions.

The information that is published in response to Parliamentary Questions is handled on a case by case basis, as is the information that is published in response to any request under the Freedom of Information Act. The Cabinet Office takes seriously both its obligations to Parliament and its obligations under the Freedom of Information Act.

Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, for what reason his Department intends to establish Great British Energy as an arm’s length body.

It is our intention that Great British Energy will be a publicly owned energy company and an Arm’s Length Body in line with Cabinet Office guidance. Setting up GBE in this way will ensure the right balance between operational independence and accountability to Parliament.

Whether the (a) Office for National Statistics, (b) National Audit Office, (c) Northern Ireland Civil Service, (d) Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, (e) GCHQ, (f) MI5, (g) SIS and (h) Crown Commercial Service pay subscription fees to Stonewall.

As the sponsoring department for the following bodies, the Cabinet Office can confirm that the Office for National Statistics, the Public Health Service Ombudsman, and the Crown Commercial Service do not pay subscription fees to Stonewall. All other bodies asked about are not sponsored by the Cabinet Office, and are therefore a matter for their individual sponsoring departments.

If he will take steps to undertake an audit of whether other Government departments are meeting the publication requirements outlined in the then Prime Minister's letter entitled Government transparency and open data, published on 14 December 2017.

I refer the honourable member to my response to PQ 30681.

Pursuant to the Answer of 16 October 2024 to Question 7760 on Marian Mazzucato, whether she is an adviser to the Government in any other capacity.

Ministers regularly liaise with a wide range of stakeholders. Mariana Mazzucato is not employed within government as a special adviser. Nor does she hold a position in a role as a regulated public appointee.

What guidance he has issued on efficiency savings through reducing spending on public opinion research.

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. The Government has 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. While spending on public opinion research to support evidence-based policy is a matter for individual departments, the Government regularly evaluates the effectiveness of all communication activities to ensure they are delivering and providing the best value for money for taxpayers. An example of this is the recent comprehensive communications Spending Review that delivered savings of £85 million in 2024-25 and up to £96 million in 2025-26.

If he will publish the response to the Freedom of Information Act 2000 request with reference FOI2024/14571.

I refer the Rt Hon Member to the response to PQ23470, PQ25857 and PQ28578. A copy of the information released in FOI2024/14571 relating the special advisers appointments by the Prime Minister has been deposited in the House Library.

Pursuant to the Answer of 31 October 2024 to Question 10990 on Civil Servants: Trade Union Officials, whether he plans to increase the amount of facility time to recognised trade unions in his Department following the passage of the Employment Rights Bill.

The Government is committed to ensuring there is sufficient facility time for all trade union representatives in the public sector. Existing guidance remains in place and no decisions have been made about changes to Facility Time in the civil service.

Media and Sport, with reference to the report by the Local News Commission entitled Regenerating Local News in the UK, published in March 2025, whether the recommendations of this report will be included in the Local Media Strategy.

Sustainability of the local media sector across the country is an area of particular concern for this Government. We are developing a Local Media Strategy, in recognition of the importance of this vital sector. Our vision is a thriving local media that can continue to play an invaluable role as a key channel of trustworthy information at local level, reporting on the issues that matter to communities, reflecting their contributions and perspectives, and helping to foster a self-confident nation in which everyone feels that their contribution is part of an inclusive national story.Officials have met with the Public Interest News Foundation, founders of the Local News Commission, as part of our continued engagement with key external stakeholders. Government welcomes the publication of the Commission’s report and will consider its recommendations as part of our wider work on the Strategy. Our work is also being informed by the range of studies conducted into the state of local journalism in the UK in recent years.

With reference to the Security and Intelligence Agencies Financial Statement 2023-24, published on 2 December 2024, what (a) risks and (b) performance issues were identified during the Performance and Risk Reviews conducted in 2023-24 for those agencies; and what steps he is taking to tackle those risks and issues.

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.

What his planned timeline is for the appointment of a new Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman.

The House of Commons leads on the recruitment of the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, which is ongoing. We expect that further information will be made available shortly.

What steps he is taking to tackle regional disparities in access to community-based eating disorder treatments in (a) rural areas and (b) general.

NHS England is working with the integrated care boards with the aim of increasing the capacity of eating disorder services, to provide community and day treatment services. By improving care in the community, the National Health Service aims to improve outcomes and recovery, reduce rates of relapse, prevent children’s eating disorders continuing into adulthood and, if admission is required as a very last resort, reduce the length of time that people have to stay in hospital.NHS England has commissioned the Royal College of Psychiatrists to deliver a national, all-age eating disorders audit. This aims to drive improvement in the identification and appropriate management of eating disorders, and the quality and consistency of services for all ages in England. This will help ensure that services across the country, including in rural areas, are safe, effective, patient centred, timely, efficient, and equitable.In addition, NHS England is currently refreshing the guidance on children and young people's eating disorders to highlight the importance of awareness and the early recognition of eating disorders within schools, colleges, primary care, and broader children and young peoples’ mental health services.

Whether he plans to use recruitment consultants for staffing test-and-learn teams.

The Test, Learn and Grow Programme will use existing government recruitment channels to staff the programme for the three years of the initiative. This includes the use of loans for existing Civil Servants, and fixed term appointments for external candidates. The programme will also leverage an inward secondment programme for public service delivery experts working near the frontline to help drive public service reform in their field. This scheme will be flexible in terms of duration and location, and specifically for those with experience relevant to the public service reform project. We do not plan to use recruitment consultants for these staffing needs.

What steps he is taking to expand intensive (a) community and (b) day treatments for eating disorders across NHS Integrated Care Systems.

NHS England is working with the integrated care boards with the aim of increasing the capacity of eating disorder services, to provide community and day treatment services. By improving care in the community, the National Health Service aims to improve outcomes and recovery, reduce rates of relapse, prevent children’s eating disorders continuing into adulthood and, if admission is required as a very last resort, reduce the length of time that people have to stay in hospital.NHS England has commissioned the Royal College of Psychiatrists to deliver a national, all-age eating disorders audit. This aims to drive improvement in the identification and appropriate management of eating disorders, and the quality and consistency of services for all ages in England. This will help ensure that services across the country, including in rural areas, are safe, effective, patient centred, timely, efficient, and equitable.In addition, NHS England is currently refreshing the guidance on children and young people's eating disorders to highlight the importance of awareness and the early recognition of eating disorders within schools, colleges, primary care, and broader children and young peoples’ mental health services.

Pursuant to the Answer of 22 October 2024 to Question 8637 on Cabinet Office: Vacancies, whether Mission Senior Responsible Officers have been appointed at a higher salary compared to their previous roles in the civil service.

Senior Responsible Officers for each of the five Missions were selected by the Cabinet Secretary and relevant Permanent Secretary, in consultation with their Secretary of State, on the basis of their expertise and experience. They remain on their current salaries and have not received any increase.

For what reasons the National Security Technology and Innovation Exchange has been closed.

The functions of National Security Technology and Innovation Exchange will be taken forward within other national security teams, building on the capabilities, practices and networks successfully established since it was formed in 2021.

Pursuant to the Answer of 27 November 2024 to Question 13807 on Cabinet Office: Parliamentary Private Secretaries, if he will breakdown the number of staff in each ministerial private office, by named Minister.

There are 38 staff, at multiple grades, who support the 8 Cabinet Office ministers in private office roles. MinisterNumber of staff in Private OfficeChancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster8Minister for the Cabinet Office6Minister Oppong-Asare3Minister Reeves4Minister Gould6Minister Alexander1 (Cabinet Office portfolio only)Leader of the House of Lords3Leader of the House of Commons7

Whether information about each Department's (a) spending control data and (b) exemptions is held centrally.

A Prime-Ministerial directive, issued in 2010, mandated all departments to publish details of all spend approvals from the Advertising, Marketing and Communications, Commercial, Contingent Labour, Digital and Technology, and National Property controls on a quarterly basis. The Cabinet Office’s publications are at this link https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/cabinet-office-spend-data . HMT Treasury delegates authority to departments to enter into commitments and spend within predefined limits without specific prior approval. Agreements of any exemptions a body holds from the Spend Controls should be recorded in the department’s delegation letter and in the Framework Document, or similar relationship-defining document, between the body and its sponsor department.

Pursuant to the Answer of 31 October 2024 to Question 10987 on Public Sector: Pay, if she will list which non-statutory office holders are paid through the Cabinet Office’s HR and payroll department.

This information is not held centrally.