The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2016-07-21.
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, whether he plans to employ any national security experts in his Department.
Mr Robin Walker
The overall size and scope of the new department, including staffing and budget, are now under consideration but we will have the right resources in place, including national security experts if appropriate.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what budget has been allocated under the Public Duty Cost Allowance for payments to the right hon. Member for Sheffield, Hallam.
Ben Gummer
The purpose of the Public Duties Cost Allowance is to assist former Prime Ministers with the costs of continuing to fulfil duties associated with their previous position in public life. Exceptionally, the then Prime Minister agreed that the former Deputy Prime Minister , the Rt Hon Member for Sheffield Hallam, should be able to have access to the allowance to recognise the special position he held in the Coalition Government. Other former Deputy Prime Ministers are not eligible for the allowance. The allowance is set at a maximum limit of £115,000 per annum. The amounts paid are a reimbursement of expenses, accounted for in the published Cabinet Office Annual Reports and Accounts. The former Deputy Prime Minister is eligible for the allowance from the date of leaving ministerial office for the duration of this Parliament.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2016-09-08.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he has appointed a new head of unit to oversee the audit to tackle racial disparities in public service outcomes.
Ben Gummer
Senior appointments to the new unit are currently being made from within the Civil Service. The size of the team will be determined over the coming weeks as the details of the work to undertake the Audit are completed.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2016-09-13.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the current work priorities are of the Infrastructure and Projects Authority.
Ben Gummer
The IPA was formed on 01 January 2016, merging the existing Cabinet Office Major Projects Authority and HM Treasury’s Infrastructure UK. The IPA reports jointly to HMT and the Cabinet Office – and brings together the strengths of both departments – increasing co-operation and alignment in the centre of government on infrastructure and major projects.
The Authority’s 6 key priorities are;
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2016-02-02.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many meetings Ministers and officials of his Department have had with representatives of Uber in the last 12 months.
Harriett Baldwin
Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery.
Details of ministerial and permanent secretary meetings with external organisations on departmental business are published on a quarterly basis and are available via the gov.uk website
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2016-03-03.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many officials in his Department have policy responsibility for deregulation.
Matthew Hancock
A cross cutting team has been established to lead delivery of Governments’ commitment to cut a further £10 billion of red tape over this Parliament. The joint team consists of 53 officials from both Cabinet Office and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2016-04-13.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what timetable he has set for publication of information on the cost to the public purse of the Independent Commission on Freedom of Information.
Matthew Hancock
The final costs for the Independent Commission on Freedom of Information are currently being assembled and I expect to be able to publish the information shortly.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2016-06-28.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many members of staff the Government plans to recruit to form the new EU Unit.
Mr Oliver Letwin
A new EU unit will be set up in Whitehall, bringing together officials and policy expertise from across the Cabinet Office, Treasury, Foreign Office and BIS. It will be based in the Cabinet Office and report to the Cabinet on delivering the outcome of the referendum, advising on transitional issues and exploring objectively options for our future relationship with Europe and the rest of the world from outside the EU. The funding for the unit is yet to be determined.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2016-07-12.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many staff there were in his Department with off-payroll engagements of more than £220 per day in the last six months; and what the job titles were of those staff.
Ben Gummer
From January to June 2016 there were 225 staff employed under the Cabinet Office’s mandated contingent labour framework supplied by Capita who were paid £220 per day or more. They worked on a range of roles across the areas listed below. Full data on pay costs is published monthly on .gov.uk https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/payroll-costs-and-non-consolidated-pay-data
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2016-07-19.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 19 July 2016 to Question 42775, what assessment he has made of progress to date towards meeting the target of 50 per cent of applicants for senior Civil Service posts being female.
Ben Gummer
Work is currently underway to monitor the diversity of applicants for SCS posts, including the male/female ratio. An analysis of this information will take place later in the year to help the department to understand what the barriers are for applicants what actions can be taken to overcome them.