Tag: Louise Haigh

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-02-03.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, at which offices the 4,000 staff of HM Revenue and Customs who are expected to live outside the reasonable travel to work area after the Building Our Future reorganisation work.

Mr David Gauke

HM Revenue and Customs’ (HMRC) Location Programme is the result of an extended period of consultation and deliberation. The Department has taken account of a number of criteria in reaching its decisions, including the quality of local transport links, the local labour market and future workforce supply, the cost of buildings and asset value, and the need to retain the staff and skills it needs to continue its transformation. These changes will reduce HMRC’s estates costs by around £100 million a year by 2025.

HMRC conducted high level People Impact and Equality Assessments to inform its planning. The Department plans to update these once discussions have been held with its staff.

HMRC’s modelling estimates that the majority of staff live within Reasonable Daily Travel of a regional centre. Reasonable Daily Travel is calculated in line with established HR policies and procedures. Every worker at HMRC will have a one-to-one meeting with their manager to discuss their individual circumstances.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-02-10.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether a standard disclosure clause is included in Government procurement contracts.

Matthew Hancock

A standard disclosure clause is included in Government procurement contracts. This information is publicly available on www.gov.uk.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-02-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to ensure that transport trade unions retain confidence in his Department’s Senior Civil Servants’ impartiality.

Claire Perry

The standards of integrity, impartiality and honesty are set out in Departmental policies and guidance, as well as being set out in the Civil Service Code which applies to all Civil Servants.

The full text of the Civil Service Code can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-code/the-civil-service-code

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-03-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what the average cost of floor space is at his Department’s office at (a) St Paul’s Place, Sheffield and (b) 1 Victoria Street, London.

Joseph Johnson

We have committed to making changes to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) by 2020 that will result in a more flexible Department, reduced headcount and far fewer delivery bodies.

Our business needs to be designed in a way that works for this smaller workforce and more streamlined structures.

To support this direction of travel, we are moving towards seven or so centres by 2020, supported by a regional footprint for those whose work needs to be at a local level.

We want each of these centres to focus on a key business activity so that we can bring the relevant expertise together.

We are proposing that one of these centres will be a combined BIS headquarters and policy centre in London, close to our Ministers.

The average cost of floor space at each of the Department’s offices is:

a) £483.64 per sqm at St Paul’s Place

b) £686.20 per sqm at 1 Victoria Street

The annual rent paid by BIS over the last 5 years is:

Year	(a) 1 Victoria Street	(b) St Paul’s Place
2015-16	£11,004,000	£209,304
2014-15	£11,004,000	£209,304
2013-14	£11,004,000	£209,304
2012-13	£11,004,000	£209,304
2011-12	£11,004,000	£209,304

By the end of this reform programme in 2020, we will have fewer employees in London and BIS as a whole, and aim to save £350million in operating expenditure overall. The vast majority of employees within the BIS Group will continue to be based outside London.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-03-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what proportion of her Department’s (a) Senior Civil Servants and (b) core policy civil servants are based in London.

Andrea Leadsom

a) 99% of DECC’s Senior Civil Servants are based in London.

b) 99% of DECC’s core policy civil servants are based in London.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-03-15.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when he expects the report on electoral fraud by the Government’s Anti-Corruption Champion to be published.

John Penrose

Sir Eric Pickles will make his recommendations as soon as he is able. 66 written submissions are under consideration, as well as evidence provided in meetings with specific people and at a seminar of academics, stakeholder organisations and political parties.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-03-21.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Summer Diversity Internship Programme weekly training allowance is taxed.

Matthew Hancock

We have been working closely with the Civil Service Commission to provide a mechanism for fast tracking those who have been on the internship to the Fast Stream assessment centre, based on positive appraisal of the intern’s placement performance and completion of the initial internship selection testing.

This initiative is therefore for interns who are successful during the internship programme and we are currently working through the implementation plan.

In the last 5 years 778 have undertaken the programme (2011 – 73; 2012 – 115; 2013 – 161; 2014 – 173; 2015 – 256), with a further 300 anticipated this year. The estimated conversion rate into Fast Stream is 10-15%. Accurate tracking of success into Fast Stream will be achievable for 2016, using an updated applicant tracking approach.

A number of criteria are used to measure socio-economic status, however the metric that is now used to designate lower socio-economic background is parental occupation (aligning with Office of National Statistics methodology). This approach is currently under review following a recent social mobility research study by the Bridge Group.

This internship allowance is taxable and the amount of tax paid will depend on which tax code the intern is put on before they start.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-04-13.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department’s guidance for civil servants on acceptance of gifts or hospitality applies to special advisers.

Matthew Hancock

We publish details of gifts and hospitality received by the most senior civil servants on a quarterly basis.

The rules for civil servants, including special advisers, on the acceptance of gifts and hospitality are set out in the Civil Service Code, Civil Service Management Code and departmental staff handbooks.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-04-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, which bodies he met for his Department’s investigation into tips, gratuities, covers and service charges; and on how many occasions and when such meetings with such bodies took place.

Nick Boles

My Rt hon Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills launched the Call for Evidence into tips, gratuities, cover and service charges on 30 August 2016. This closed on 10 November 2016. The Government received a total of 183 responses from a range of sources during the investigation. In addition to this, officials of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills have met with the British Hospitality Association, UnitetheUnion and the Association of Licenced Multiple Retailers during the call for evidence period.

Departments publish details of Ministers’ meetings with external organisations. BIS transparency data is published online at www.gov.uk/government/collections/bis-quarterly-publications-april-to-june-2012.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-05-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of people who have decreased their working hours in order to remain eligible for the carers allowance since the introduction of the National Living Wage.

Justin Tomlinson

I have made no such estimate and I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to her on the 25 April 2016 to Question UIN34752

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