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Tag: Hilary Benn

  • Hilary Benn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Hilary Benn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2014-03-31.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what his Department’s (a) catering and (b) hospitality budget was in (i) 2012 and (ii) 2013.

    Brandon Lewis

    My Department has no separate budget for catering and hospitality in 2012 and 2013.

    To assist the rt. hon. Member, I would note that this Government has dramatically cut spending compared to the last Labour Government and put in place far tighter rules and restrictions on spending.

    · The Department spent £553,230 on catering and hospitality in 2008-09, and £456,142 in 2009-10.

    · By 2012-13, spending had been reduced to £58,882 (plus £16,727 of delayed billing from the year before).

    · We anticipate spending in the region of £36,000 in the year 2013-14 (the precise figure will be audited at financial year end).

    The expenditure undertaken is essentially for light refreshments for a large number of small official events such as:

    · European Regional Development Fund events (meetings with external visitors and Local Management Committee meetings);

    · Conferences and workshops with representatives of local government, housing, planning and local communities;

    · Public roadshows and Portas Pilot events;

    · All-day recruitment assessment centres, training and induction courses.

    We do not routinely incur any expenditure on refreshments for Ministers other than de minimis expenditure on tea and coffee for Ministers’ meetings with external visitors, or on the rare occasion when Ministers undertake overnight stays on official business outside London.

    Our Departmental savings has also been assisted by terminating Ministerial group spending on Government Procurement Cards, as practiced by the Labour Government at taxpayers’ expense at the likes of Sky City Casino, the Cinnamon Club, the Wolseley, Brasserie 44, Boisdales, Inn the Park, Mango Tree, Shepherds, Incognico, Buffalo Bar, Mr Chu’s China Palace, Tantric Jazz and Fat Tuesdays.

    We have showed that there is considerable scope for the public sector to generate significant savings in this area, as evident from the ongoing saving of up to half a million pounds a year.

    To place our savings in context, as noted in the answer of 8 April 2014, Official Report, House of Lords, Column 270WA, when the rt. hon. Member was Secretary of State, he spent £444,891 on catering, hospitality and refreshments in 2008-09 and £552,367 in 2009-10.

    I know that the rt. hon. Member has a particular interest in biscuits, so to help quantify this amount, his spending in his last year in office is equivalent today to buying 720,479 packets of Jamie Dodgers from Waitrose (albeit, with a free cup of coffee thrown in).

  • Hilary Benn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Hilary Benn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2014-04-25.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the Government’s target is for the proportion of (a) women, (b) people from black and minority ethnic communities and (c) disabled people in senior management posts in central government departments.

    Mr Francis Maude

    Appointments and promotion in the Civil Service should be made on merit through fair and open competition. To ensure our civil service delivers the best for Britain we must draw on the widest possible pool of talent. We want to ensure that the best people – irrespective of who they are – rise to the top of the Civil Service but are concerned that for too long the very top ranks do not reflect those further down. We have commissioned independent research to look at the blockages women face making it to the very top and will use this to drive a new strategy for managing talent.

  • Hilary Benn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Hilary Benn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2014-06-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, which organisations involved in reporting hate crime his Department has funded in each financial year since May 2010.

    Stephen Williams

    DCLG supports a series of organisations who tackle hatred in all its forms. Reporting forms only one part of this, complementing the work of organisations such as the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, Show Racism the Red Card and the Anne Frank Trust who DCLG support to tackle hate crime.

    DCLG has provided funding to the following organisations that report hate crime.

    Organisation

    Financial Year

    Amount of Funding

    Tell MAMA

    2011-12

    £91,567

    2012-13

    £223,517

    2013-14

    £80,457

    True Vision

    2012-13

    £75,000

    2013-14

    £25,000
  • Hilary Benn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Hilary Benn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2014-03-31.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the status is of the ICT Relet Project; what costs his Department has incurred; and if he will make a statement.

    Brandon Lewis

    As I outlined to the rt. hon. Member in my answer to him of 29 January 2014, Official Report, Column 600W, the programme replaces computers which are seven years old, and also upgrades the systems from Windows XP which is no longer being formally supported by Microsoft with security patches.

    The last Administration failed to get value for taxpayers’ money due to poor management of IT contracts. Indeed, the Department published a contract tender in December 2009 for a desktop IT programme costing up to £160 million. This was subsequently cancelled under this Government as part of our wider reduction in departmental spending and reconfiguration of IT procurement policy.

    The fact that we have delivered a 40 per cent saving on our IT costs is an example of how all parts of the public sector can deliver sensible savings through better procurement.

  • Hilary Benn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Hilary Benn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2014-04-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, which local authorities publish magazines or newsletters more than four times a year.

    Brandon Lewis

    [Holding Reply: Wednesday 30 April 2014]

    I refer the right hon. Member to my answer of 21 November 2013, Official Report, Column 980-981W and my answer to him of 16 December 2013, Official Report, Column 443-444W.

    I also refer him to the Written Ministerial Statement by my rt. hon. Friend, the Secretary of State (Eric Pickles) of 28 April 2014, Official Report, Column 35WS, which outlines the rationale for the steps taken on 17 April, and how we are prepared to take further action against other breaches of the Publicity Code.

  • Hilary Benn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Hilary Benn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2014-06-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance his Department has provided to local authorities (a) to help the understand the threat from extremism and (b) relating to statutory powers available to them to challenge extremist speakers.

    Karen Bradley

    The Home Office provides ongoing support for local authority Prevent
    coordinators funded by the Home Office in priority areas (currently thirty
    local authorities, based on assessment of risk), to ensure that they understand
    the threat of extremism and are equipped to deal with it effectively. This is
    done through regular regional events, issuing briefings on specific issues, and
    sharing best practice across different authorities. The police, including
    police Prevent co-ordinators, also work closely with local authorities and
    share appropriate information with them.

    The Home Office issued advice in 2013 to help local authority Prevent
    Coordinators manage the challenges posed by extremist speakers. This included
    an overview of the duties placed upon public bodies under the Equalities Act
    2010 and the regulations that events must comply with.

    Additionally, the Department for Communities and Local Government gave
    Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council and Luton Borough Council funding to lead
    a national Special Interest Group of local authorities across England affected
    by the activities of the English Defence League and similar groups, which has
    supported them in sharing knowledge about what works best in tackling extremist
    groups.

  • Hilary Benn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Hilary Benn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2014-04-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, when he expects to answer question number 193630 tabled on 25 March 2014 for Answer on 31 March.

    Brandon Lewis

    Question number 193630 was answered on 3 April, Official Report, Column 776W.

  • Hilary Benn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Hilary Benn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2014-05-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her policy is on the removal of asylum seekers to Somalia; and if she will make a statement.

    James Brokenshire

    I refer the Right Honourable Member to the answer I gave on 13 March 2014,
    Official Report, column 327W.

  • Hilary Benn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Hilary Benn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2014-06-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what research his Department has (a) commissioned and (b) published since May 2010 on citizenship and public attitudes towards extremism.

    Stephen Williams

    My Department has not commissioned any such research since 2010.

    We have not published any such work other than the legacy Citizenship Survey which was discontinued in 2011, as it represented poor value for money for its £4 million a year cost.

    Instead, we have focused on front line support for integration projects. A summary of our integration work can be found online at:

    https://www.flickr.com/photos/communitiesuk/sets/72157644380501531/

    “

  • Hilary Benn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Hilary Benn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2014-04-02.

    To ask the Attorney General, when he expects to answer question No. 191801 tabled by the Rt hon. Member for Leeds Central on 12 March 2014.

    Mr Dominic Grieve

    I have done so today.