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  • Margaret Hodge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Margaret Hodge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Hodge on 2016-03-03.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, for what reason no formal consultation was issued on the introduction of an anti-advocacy clause into grant agreements.

    Matthew Hancock

    At present there are insufficient checks and balances to make sure that taxpayers funds are not being diverted away from their intended purpose and wasted on political campaigning and political lobbying. This clause has been successfully piloted by the Department for Communities and Local Government for the last year, without any adverse effect on grant recipients’ ability to campaign using their own funds.

  • Margaret Hodge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Margaret Hodge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Hodge on 2016-03-03.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether local authorities will be required to seek specific permission from Ministers in the Department for Communities and Local Government if they wish to provide an exemption from the anti-advocacy clause in a grant agreement.

    Matthew Hancock

    The new clause applies to all central government grants. We expect that exemptions will be rare and these will need to be approved by the relevant Minister.

  • Charlotte Leslie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Charlotte Leslie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charlotte Leslie on 2016-03-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment the Honours Committee has made of the potential merits of granting an honorary knighthood to Muhammad Ali.

    James Duddridge

    Honours nominations are treated on a confidential basis to maintain the integrity of the honours system and the privacy of the individuals nominated. Honours Committees and Secretariats therefore do not comment on nominations. Anyone can nominate someone for an honour. Nominations are considered twice a year by a series of honours committees which consist of independent and official members.

  • Charlotte Leslie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Charlotte Leslie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charlotte Leslie on 2016-03-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many people of each (a) ethnicity, (b) religion and (c) occupation have received an honorary knighthood in each of the last 10 years.

    James Duddridge

    The following table provides the available information on all recipients of an honorary knighthood in each of the last ten years, including the range of their occupations and their nationalities.

    Nominators are given the opportunity to provide information on ethnicity of the person they are nominating, but rarely do. Information on the religion of honours nominees or recipients is not collected.

    [See attachment]

  • Tom Watson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Tom Watson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2016-03-03.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Government plans to introduce a statutory time limit for dealing with appeals under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

    Matthew Hancock

    I refer the hon Member to my Written Ministerial Statement of 1 March 2016 [Hansard reference HCWS566]

  • Tom Watson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Tom Watson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2016-03-03.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the cost to the public purse was of the Independent Commission on Freedom of Information.

    Matthew Hancock

    The total expenditure of the Commission will be published in due course.

  • Tom Watson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Tom Watson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2016-03-03.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Government plans to bring forward legislative proposals to extend the scope of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 to include private sector companies that deliver public services.

    Matthew Hancock

    I refer the hon Member to my Written Ministerial Statement of 1 March 2016 [Hansard reference HCWS566]

  • Tom Watson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Tom Watson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2016-03-03.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many officials of his Department have specific policy responsibility for freedom of information.

    Matthew Hancock

    I refer the hon Member to the Cabinet Office organogram: https://data.gov.uk/organogram/cabinet-office.

  • Tom Watson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Tom Watson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2016-03-03.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Government plans to bring forward legislative proposals to change the Cabinet veto over the release of information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

    Matthew Hancock

    I refer the hon Member to my Written Ministerial Statement of 1 March 2016 [Hansard reference HCWS566]

  • Tom Watson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Tom Watson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2016-03-03.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many officials of his Department provided support to the Independent Commission on Freedom of Information.

    Matthew Hancock

    The Commission was supported by a small secretariat which comprised of one full time secondee from the Cabinet Office and two secondees from the Ministry of Justice, all of whom are below the Senior Civil Service. In addition, adhoc administrative support was provided on request.