Written questions by Hobhouse.

What the cost to his Department was of ministerial severance payments in each year from 19 December 2019 to 30 May 2024; which Ministers received a severance payment; and how much each Minister received.

The department publishes details of all ministerial remuneration including compensation for loss of office in its Annual Reports and Accounts. The information can be viewed on gov.uk at this address: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/cabinet-office-annual-reports-and-accounts The Cabinet Office has published Annual Reports and Accounts for periods up to and including the financial year 2022/23. The 2023/2024 Annual Report and Account is due to be published in the Autumn. Information related to the financial year 2024/25 will be published after that year has closed.

What the cost to her Department was of ministerial severance payments in each year from 19 December 2019 to 30 May 2024; which Ministers received a severance payment; and how much each Minister received.

The details of severance payments made to former ministers can be found in our Annual Report & Accounts.Information for the 2024/25 financial year will be published in due course.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of means-testing the winter fuel payment on those no longer eligible for that payment.

This Government is committed to pensioners – everyone in our society, no matter their working history or savings deserves a comfortable and dignified retirement.Given the substantial pressures faced by the public finances this year and next, the government has had to make hard choices to bring the public finances back under control.Winter Fuel Payments will continue to be paid to pensioner households with someone receiving Pension Credit or certain other income-related benefits. They will continue to be worth £200 for eligible households, or £300 for eligible households with someone aged 80 and over. We know there are low-income pensioners who aren’t claiming Pension Credit, and we urge those people to apply. This will passport them to receive Winter Fuel Payment alongside other benefits – hundreds of pounds that could really help them. We will ensure that the poorest pensioners get the support they need. Over the next five years we expect over 12 million pensioners are likely to see their State Pensions increase by thousands of pounds as a result of our commitment to the Triple Lock. Protecting the Triple Lock even in the current economic climate shows our steadfast commitment to pensioners. We are also providing support through our Warm Homes Plan which pensioners will benefit from. This will support investment in insulation and low carbon heating – upgrading millions of homes over this Parliament. Our long-term plan will protect billpayers permanently, reduce fuel poverty, and get the UK back on track to meet our climate goals. The Household Support Fund is also being extended for a further 6 months, from 1 October 2024 until 31 March 2025.  An additional £500 million will be provided to enable the extension of the HSF, including funding for the Devolved Administrations through the Barnett formula to be spent at their discretion.

What the cost to his Department was of ministerial severance payments in each year from 19 December 2019 to 30 May 2024; which Ministers received a severance payment; and how much each Minister received.

In accordance with the Ministerial and Other Pensions and Salaries Act 1991, paid Ministers below the age of 65 are entitled to a loss of office payment of one quarter of their claimed annual ministerial salary when they cease to hold office.Details of ministerial severance payments can be found in the Scotland Office and Office of the Advocate General annual report and accounts.

What the cost to her Department was of ministerial severance payments in each year from 19 December 2019 to 30 May 2024; which Ministers received a severance payment in that period; and how much each Minister received.

The details of any ministerial severance payments can be found in our Annual Report & Accounts”., there were no severance payments made between December 2019 and 6th July 2022.Home Office annual reports and accounts - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

What the cost to his Department was of ministerial severance payments in each year from 19 December 2019 to 30 May 2024; which Ministers received a severance payment in that period; and how much each Minister received.

The details of any ministerial severance payments can be found in our Annual Report & Accounts. Payments made in 2023/24 and 2024/25 financial years will be released in due courseEach payment corresponds to the statutory entitlements as laid out in the Ministerial and other Pensions and Salaries Act 1991. The Ministerial and other Pensions and Salaries Act 1991 is available at the following link:https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1991/5/contents

What the cost to her Department was of ministerial severance payments in each year from 19 December 2019 to 30 May 2024; which Ministers received a severance payment in that period; and how much each Minister received.

Any severance payments made to former Ministers of HM Treasury are recorded in the Departmental Annual Report and Accounts.

What the cost to his Department was of ministerial severance payments in each year from 19 December 2019 to 30 May 2024; which Ministers received a severance payment; and how much each Minister received.

Ministerial severance payments in each year from December 2019 to May 2024 are published as part of the annual reportand accounts for the Department. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ministry-of-defence-annual-report-and-accounts-2023-to-2024

What the cost to her Department was of ministerial severance payments in each year from 19 December 2019 to 30 May 2024; which Ministers received a severance payment; and how much each Minister received.

Since 19 December 2019 to 30 May 2024 the cost of ministerial severance payments are as follows: 19 December 2019 – 31 December 2019: nil1 January 2020 – 31 December 2020: nil1 January 2021 – 31 December 2021: nil1 January 2022 – 31 December 2022: £41,5751 January 2023 – 31 December 2023: £7,9201 January 2024 – 30 May 2024: nil The following Ministers received a severance payment of the following value: Grant Shapps MP received a compensation payment of £16,876 when he left Government on 6 September 2022.Karl McCartney MP received a compensation payment of £5,593 when he left Government on 7 September 2022.Robert Courts MP received a compensation payment of £5,593 when he left Government on 18 September 2022.Kevin Foster MP received a compensation payment of £7,920 when he left Government on 25 October 2022.Katherine Fletcher MP received a compensation payment of £5,593 when she left Government on 26 October 2022.Jesse Norman MP received a compensation payment of £7,920 when he left Government on 13 November 2023.

Innovation and Technology, what the cost to his Department was of ministerial severance payments in each year from 19 December 2019 to 30 May 2024; which Ministers received a severance payment; and how much each Minister received.

The details of any ministerial severance payments can be found in the Department’s Annual Report and Accounts.The 2023/2024 Annual Report and Accounts for the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology are to be published in due course.

What the cost to her Department was of Ministerial severance payments during each year from 19 December 2019 to 30 May 2024; which Ministers received a severance payment; and how much each Minister received.

The provision of severance payments for Ministers is set out in legislation.Details of the severance payments made to ministers when leaving office are published in the Departments’ Annual Reports and Accounts.

Food and Rural Affairs, what the cost to his Department was of ministerial severance payments in each year from 19 December 2019 to 30 May 2024; which Ministers received a severance payment; and how much each Minister received.

The details of any ministerial severance payments can be found in our Annual Report & Accounts.

What the cost to her Department was of ministerial severance payments in each year from 19 December 2019 to 30 May 2024; which Ministers received a severance payment; and how much each Minister received.

The Office of the Leader of the House of Commons is part of the Cabinet Office. I refer the hon. member to the response to be provided by the Cabinet Office (3029).

What the cost to his Department was of Ministerial severance payments during each year from 19 December 2019 to 30 May 2024; which Ministers received a severance payment; and how much each Minister received.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero was created following a Machinery of Government change and the payroll entries were split from other Government Departments in September 2023. From the creation of the separate ledger for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero until 30 May 2024, there were no Ministerial severance payments made.

What the cost to his Department was of ministerial severance payments in each year from 19 December 2019 to 30 May 2024; which Ministers received a severance payment; and how much each Minister received.

Under the Ministerial and Other Pensions and Salaries Act 1991, eligible Ministers who leave office are entitled to a one-off payment equivalent to one quarter of their annual salary at the point at which they leave Government. Details of such payments are published in the departmental annual reports and accounts, and ministerial salaries are published on GOV.UK at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ministerial-salary-data

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what the cost to his Department was of ministerial severance payments in each year from 19 December 2019 to 30 May 2024; which Ministers received a severance payment in that period; and how much each Minister received.

The details of any ministerial severance payments can be found in the Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office's (FCDO) Annual Report & Accounts. For FY 2019-20, details of payments can be found in the separate Annual Report & Accounts of the then Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and the then Department for International Development (DfID).

What the cost to her Department was of ministerial severance payments in each year from 19 December 2019 to 30 May 2024; which Ministers received a severance payment in that period; and how much each Minister received.

Details of ministerial severance payments are published in the HM Procurator General and Treasury Solicitor Annual Report and Accounts. These can be found here: Transparency andfreedom of information releases - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).I confirm that over the period 19 December 2019 to 30 May 2024, the following payments were made:The Rt Hon Sir Geoffrey Cox KC MP – £23,612 (February 2020)The Rt Hon Alex Chalk KC – £14,490 (August 2022)Edward Timpson CBE KC – £14,490 (October 2022)The Rt Hon Sir Michael Ellis KC – £23,612 (November 2022)Information on any payments from 31 May 2024 will be released in due course.All severance payments were made under the Ministerial and other Pensions and Salaries Act 1991, which provides for severance payments to ministers who cease to hold office and are not re-appointed to government within three weeks. This reflects the lack of any notice period when ministers leave government.

Media and Sport, what the cost to her Department was of Ministerial severance payments during each year from 19 December 2019 to 30 May 2024; which Ministers received a severance payment; and how much each Minister received.

Under the Ministerial and Other Pensions and Salaries Act 1991, eligible Ministers who leave office are entitled to a one off payment equivalent to one quarter of their annual salary at the point at which they leave the government.This applies only where a Minister is under 65 and is not appointed to a ministerial office within three weeks of leaving government.Individuals may waive the payment to which they are entitled. That is a matter for their personal discretion, but this approach has been taken in the past.Details of such payments are published in departmental annual reports and accounts, and ministerial salaries are published on GOV.UK. Future disclosures for 2023/24 will be published in due course.

How many full-time permanent staff he (a) plans to recruit and (b) has recruited for Great British Nuclear; and what his planned timeline is for completing this recruitment.

GBN has grown rapidly as an organisation to deliver on its mission and now has well over 100 personnel working for it ahead of permanent recruitment to help drive forward the nuclear programme. Permanent recruitment for the Executive Team is actively underway and this will be followed by recruitment for the rest of the organisation.

When she plans to publish a response to the consultation on Plastic Packaging Tax - chemical recycling and adoption of a mass balance approach, published on 18 July 2023.

The government intends to publish a response to the Plastic Packaging Tax consultation on adoption of a mass balance approach by the end of the year.