Tag: Jonathan Ashworth

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2016-04-27.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many families of deceased civil servants received death in service benefits in each of the last six years.

Matthew Hancock

Civil servants are eligible to be a member of either the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme (PCSPS) or the Public Service (Civil Servants and Others) Pension Scheme (CSOPS) subject to when they joined the Civil Service. Depending on which scheme they are in, a lump sum death benefit of either two or three times the civil servant’s final pay is payable on their death in service, plus a pension to a surviving spouse or civil partner and any eligible children. Details of the benefits payable are in the rules of the schemes which are available at http://www.civilservicepensionscheme.org.uk/about-us/scheme-rules

The lump sum payable on death in service is payable to whoever the scheme member has nominated to receive it (this can be an individual or a corporate body such as a charity). The number of death benefit lump sums paid in each of the last 6 years is as follows:

Scheme Year Number of death in service cases

2010/2011 1195

2011/2012 1119

2012/2013 1007

2013/2014 904

2014/2015 664

2015/2016 447

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2016-05-03.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the budget is for the Anti-Corruption Summit on 12 May 2016.

Matthew Hancock

The final costs of the Summit are still to be confirmed.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2016-05-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to the press release, PM holds major summit as part of global drive to expose, punish and drive out corruption, published on 12 May 2016, whether he plans to bring forward legislative proposals requiring foreign companies that own property in the UK to declare their real owners.

Anna Soubry

At the International Anti-Corruption Summit in London on 12 May, my Rt hon Friend the Prime Minister announced that we will require foreign companies that own or purchase UK properties or bid on UK Government procurement contracts to provide details of their beneficial owners to a public central register. This will be the first register of its kind in the world.

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills will consult with experts to develop the policy throughout the year and consult formally on the detail of the policy in due course. Implementation of the new register requirements is expected to require both primary and secondary legislation, which we intend to introduce when Parliamentary time allows.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2016-06-13.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Anti-Corruption Champion is paid a salary for that role.

Matthew Hancock

The Anti-Corruption Champion is not paid a salary for that role.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2016-07-20.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he plans that the new Anti-Corruption Strategy announced by the Government earlier this year will still be completed by the end of 2016.

Ben Gummer

Departments are working to progress the anti-corruption agenda, including work that was set out at the London Anti-Corruption Summit on May 12. However, the new government will wish to consider its approach to specific anti corruption policies, and the governance structures that will oversee this work.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2015-12-02.

To ask the Leader of the House, on how many occasions a special adviser in his Office accompanied a Minister on an overseas trip since May 2015.

Chris Grayling

No Ministers in my office have been on an offical overseas trip since May 2015.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2015-12-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, on how many occasions a special adviser in her Department accompanied a Minister on an overseas trip since May 2015.

Nick Gibb

On one occasion since May 2015 a special adviser employed by the Department for Education has accompanied the Minister for Childcare and Education on an overseas visit to France.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2016-02-23.

To ask the Prime Minister, how many times his ministerial office has been decorated in the last five years.

Mr David Cameron

Refurbishment and maintenance at 10 Downing Street is part of a continuing programme of work. The Downing Street complex is maintained to standards appropriate to its Grade 1/2 listed status in consultation with English Heritage.

The building also fulfils an important representational role.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2016-02-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many civil law suits have been brought against his Department based either wholly or partially on grounds provided by the Human Rights Act 1998; how many such suits were settled out of court before a court judgment was delivered; and how much such settlements have cost the public purse since 2010.

Joseph Johnson

The information requested is not available because separate data for cases based wholly or partially on the Human Rights Act 1998 are not recorded.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2016-02-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much his Department has paid to staff in overtime in each of the last 24 months.

Mr Edward Vaizey

Sums paid to Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) staff for overtime for the last 24 months, for which figures are available, were as follows:

£000s	January	February	March	April	May	June	July	August	September	October	November	December
2014	–	5.1	10.9	2.6	6.8	4.3	7.3	23.7	7.0	7.1	3.7	10.8
2015	2.2	3.9	28.0	6.2	31.0	5.8	4.3	8.3	6.6	4.3	8.6	7.1
2016	6.3	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–

DCMS is the smallest government department, with 509 full time equivalent (FTE) permanent employees (as of 31 January 2016). Overtime is a cost-effective way of managing peaks in workload in order to reduce the need for contractors or adding to the department’s headcount. Annual expenditure on overtime accounts for just under 0.3% of the DCMS paybill.

DCMS has responsibility for high profile policy, which includes staging national First World War commemoration events – this is reflected in our overtime figures for August 2014 and May 2015.

Recent machinery of government changes has also seen DCMS take on additional policy areas, including the digital economy unit, digital inclusion, data protection, the sponsorship of the National Archives and the Information Commissioner. The figure for March 2015 reflects the addition of the 2014-15 total overtime cost for the Digital Economy Unit following its Machinery of Government transfer to DCMS; monthly analysis of this sum is not available.