Tag: Louise Haigh

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

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent progress his Department has made on allowing interns who successfully complete the Summer Diversity Internship Programme to pass straight to the Fast Stream assessment centre on the basis of having successfully completed that internship.

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 Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what meetings (a) Ministers and (b) special advisers in his Department have had with Hanover Communications International Ltd in the last year on behalf of which clients.

Joseph Johnson

Departments publish details of Ministers’ and Permanent Secretaries’ meetings with external organisations, and Special Advisors’ meetings with senior media figures. BIS transparency data is published online at www.gov.uk/government/collections/bis-quarterly-publications-april-to-june-2012 and https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/bis-special-advisers.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-04-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the effect of the introduction of the new national living wage on (a) carers and (b) the eligibility of carers who work 16 hours per week for carer’s allowance.

Justin Tomlinson

The primary purpose of Carer’s Allowance is to provide a measure of financial support and recognition for people who give up the opportunity of full-time employment in order to provide regular and substantial care for a severely disabled person. It is not, and was never intended to be, a carer’s wage or a payment for the services of caring, nor is it intended to replace lost or forgone earnings in their entirety.

The earnings limit for Carer’s Allowance is a net figure which is the figure left once income tax, National Insurance contributions and half of any contributions to an occupational or personal pension are deducted from earnings. There are also a number of other deductions which can be made that mean that people can earn significantly more than £110 per week and still be eligible for Carer’s Allowance.

The Carer’s Allowance earnings limit is not linked to the number of hours worked. Instead, it is set at a level that aims to encourage those who give up full time work in order to undertake caring responsibilities to maintain a link with the labour market through part time work.

Whilst the Government does not link the earnings limit to any other particular factor (including the National Living Wage), we do keep it under regular review and increase it when it is warranted and affordable, and this will continue to be our approach. Most recently in April 2015 the earnings limit was increased by 8% to £110, far outstripping the general increase in earnings.

For those carers working around 16 hours a week on a low income and receiving Working Tax Credit, Carer’s Allowance is taken fully into account as income. That means that any loss in Carer’s Allowance is likely to be offset by an increase in Working Tax Credit, and this is one of the changes of circumstances that results in an immediate change to Tax Credits. Going forward the earnings taper in Universal Credit will help ensure that people are always better off in work.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-04-27.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will update guidance on the use of personal electronic communications to conduct official Government business to include the use of WhatsApp and other instant messaging services.

Matthew Hancock

All Government business must be conducted in line with the Ministerial Code, Civil Service Code, Special Adviser Code and HMG Security Policy Framework. Local records management and information security policies are in place across Departments.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-06-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many civil servants in his Department are paid through limited companies.

Mr Mark Francois

No civil servants in my Department are paid through limited companies.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-06-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much was spent on non-payroll staff in her Department in 2015-16.

George Eustice

Core Defra publishes Workforce Management Information on a monthly basis. This sets out the number of staff who are a) on payroll and b) off payroll and the published data covers financial years 2010-11 to 2015-16. It can be found at the following link: https://data.gov.uk/dataset/workforce-management-information-defra.

No civil servants within Core Defra are paid through limited companies.

The figure for spend on non-payroll staff in 2015-16 will be published in the 2015-16 Annual Report and Accounts.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-06-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how much was spent on non-payroll staff in her Department in 2015-16.

Mrs Theresa Villiers

My Department has not incurred any expenditure on non-payroll staff during this period.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-06-09.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 8 June 2016 to Question 39272, what proportion of the cohort of Civil Service Fast Streamers who joined in April 2013 have already undertaken a regional placement.

Matthew Hancock

The 2013 cohort for the Fast Stream joined over the course of 6 months between May and October with a final single joiner in December. At April 2016 there were 185 fast streamers on the first cohort of the Corporate Fast Stream Programme, 120 (65% of total) have completed a posting outside of London ‎to date. The Corporate Fast Stream programme lasts 4 years so full data for this cohort will not be available until the end of 2017 when all participants have completed the programme.

The Fast Stream aspiration is to have 100% of corporately managed Fast Streamers experience at least one posting outside of London during the 4 year scheme.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-09-15.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Urgent Question of 14 September 2016, on Concentrix, what processes and procedures he plans to put in place to learn lessons from that contract; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Ellison

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) critically reviews the performance of all contracts, appropriately evaluating the quality of performance, business benefits and value for money derived in order to inform HMRC strategy and procurement requirements going forward. As such, an appropriate evaluation of the contract with Concentrix will be conducted to inform HMRC strategic thinking for the future. In addition, such consideration will be informed by Parliamentary scrutiny resulting from select committee hearings.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-10-28.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of (a) which personal details and (b) how many individual profiles were hacked as a result of the cyber security breach of the Government Gateway system.

Matthew Hancock

To date the security reports on the Government Gateway system have shown no indication of a cyber security breach. We are continuously monitoring and managing the security risks to all HMG systems,taking appropriate action where necessary and ensuring we maintain the best possible level of security.

We are aware Government Gateway credentials stored outside government systems have been harvested by malware. This highlights the importance of users implementing and maintaining good security practices, for example, installing and updating anti-virus software, as well as never sharing or using a single password for all internet activities.

We will continue to increase our levels of security monitoring and management on all our systems.