The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-02-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what the rate of pay is for cleaners in her Department.
Mr Desmond Swayne
DFID has 2 headquarters in the UK, one in Whitehall and one in East Kilbride. The cleaning of both headquarter buildings is contracted out to MITIE Facilities Management. MITIE pay the cleaning staff the National Living wage in East Kilbride and the London Living wage in Whitehall.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2016-02-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many (a) publications, (b) consultation documents and (c) circulars her Department has issued since August 2012; and what the title was of each such publication, consultation document or circular.
Mr Desmond Swayne
All such materials can be found on the GOV.UK website, in line with our commitment to transparency which saw us ranked second globally in the 2014 Aid Transparency Index.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2016-02-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many consultants’ contracts were terminated early in each of the last six years for which figures are available; and what the cost of each such termination was in each of those years.
Mr Desmond Swayne
DFID does not hold specific information relating to termination of consultants’ contracts.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-02-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether the UK is intending to take steps to ensure that effective benchmarks for extractive-sector governance are included on the agenda for the Brussels Conference on Afghanistan.
Mr Desmond Swayne
The Brussels Conference on Afghanistan in October 2016 will consider progress against the Self Reliance through the Mutual Accountability Framework agreed between the National Unity Government and the international community in September 2015. This Framework includes an objective to improve the investment climate and a commitment on the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI).
Responsible development of the extractives sector is a UK priority. We are supporting the Government to strengthen legal frameworks, contract management and fiscal regimes, and to implement the Extractives Industries Transparency Initiative.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-02-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department has taken to ensure that the Afghan Minerals Law includes the strongest possible measures to strengthen transparency and reduce the risk of corruption in the Afghan extractive sector.
Mr Desmond Swayne
The UK proposed changes to the Minerals Law as part of a review commissioned by the Afghan Ministry of Mines and Petroleum in 2015; and supported the incorporation of recommendations from donors and transparency organisations into amendments. The Mining Advisory Council is reviewing the amendments before submission to the Ministry of Justice.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-02-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what political representations UK officials have made to the Afghan government with respect to the Afghan Minerals Law and amendments currently being considered by the Afghan government; and whether UK officials have provided technical assistance in the preparation of those amendments.
Mr Desmond Swayne
The British Embassy regularly consults the National Unity Government on improving the Minerals Law to encourage responsible investment into the extractives sector. The UK proposed revisions to the Minerals Law in a review commissioned by the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum and provided support for the incorporation of recommendations by transparency organisations and donor partners into amendments.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-02-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the annual cost was of the Youth Justice Board monitoring carried out at each secure training centre in each of the last five years for which figures are available.
Andrew Selous
A total annual cost of the Youth Justice Board’s (YJB) monitoring of each Secure Training Centre provided by the YJB is not held centrally.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-02-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Written Statement by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice, 25 February 2016, HCWS549, on offender management, what financial penalties were incurred by his Department as a result of terminating the contract to develop a bespoke tagging product with Steatite Limited; and how much his Department spent on that contract before its termination.
Dominic Raab
The relevant termination costs are subject to ongoing commercial discussions. We have spent approximately £21m on programme mobilisation to date. The majority of this was spent on investment in the telecommunications network, mapping software, monitoring service and other programme costs which the MoJ will be able to reuse for ongoing electronic monitoring work.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-02-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether Barnardo’s advocates are permitted to speak to children confidentially without G4S staff in attendance at Medway Secure Training Centre.
Andrew Selous
Yes. All young people have the opportunity to speak with a Barnardos advocate without a member of the Secure Training Centre staff being present. Both advocates and monitors can also speak to children confidentially without Secure Training Centre staff being present.
Young people can also contact an advocate directly by calling their helpline number, which is free and available to all children to call in privacy from their rooms.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2016-02-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many consultants’ contracts were terminated early in each of the last six years for which figures are available; and what the cost of each such termination was in each of those years.
Mike Penning
The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.