Tag: Tom Watson

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2016-07-21.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he plans to take to improve performance in his Department of handling correspondence from hon. Members and Peers.

Ben Gummer

The prompt response to correspondence from both Members of Parliament/Peers and the public is of high importance to the Department, and is a personal priority for me. We aim to respond to all correspondence within 15 working days.

Our last published statistics for the calendar year 2015 were at 70%, far below our preferred level of 90%. We are trialling new reforms to improve our response rate, such as more comprehensive statistics per unit within the Department, and board-level scrutiny of monthly statistics.

The Guidance on handling correspondence from Members of Parliament, Peers, MEPs and Members of devolved Administrations was updated in March 2016

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/handling-government-correspondence-guidance

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2016-09-02.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, which former Deputy Prime Ministers have claimed expenses under the Public Duty Cost Allowance after leaving office.

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, pursuant to the Answer of 22 July 2016 to Question 43066, on Cabinet Office: Ministerial policy advisers, whether his Department has now calculated the information requested in that Question on severance pay.

Ben Gummer

This information will be published in due course, as part of the full and detailed list of special advisers, salary bands and total pay bill costs.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2016-09-13.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will take steps to ensure that parliamentary questions are answered in full where the requested information is already available.

Ben Gummer

Ministers are responsible for the answers they give to Parliamentary questions. The practice of providing links or references to published material is long standing. There are currently no plans to update the Guidance to Departments on drafting answers to Parliamentary questions given it was previously updated in the last Parliament.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2016-02-02.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many meetings Ministers and officials of his Department have had with representatives of Uber in the last 12 months.

Matthew Hancock

Details of Ministers’ meetings with external organisations, including senior media figures, are published routinely and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/ministers-transparency-publications on Gov.uk.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2016-03-03.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many officials work in his private office.

Matthew Hancock

The government publishes information on the job titles and pay grades of senior civil servants along with the numbers of staff they manage on a twice yearly basis. Information for all my office will be published in the next set of data.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2016-03-15.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much his Department spent on hosting ministerial receptions in each of the last five years.

Matthew Hancock

Information relating to official and charity receptions held at Downing Street are published on a quarterly basis and are available on the gov.uk website.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2016-06-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent estimate the Government has made of the cost to the public purse to date of the adaptation of the Voyager aircraft for the transport of senior ministers.

Mr Philip Dunne

To date the Departmental spend to convert one Voyager aircraft’s cabin into an enhanced configuration is £8.9 million out of a total estimated cost of £9.6 million.

The aircraft’s primary role will continue to be aircraft refuelling.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2016-07-12.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of how effective his Department has been in promoting the advancement of disabled members of staff.

Ben Gummer

Diversity and inclusion is a key priority for the Civil Service and for the Cabinet Office. The Executive Committee of the Cabinet Office recently commissioned work on a departmental diversity and inclusion strategy, which will be published this month. This strategy promotes a more inclusive culture in the department through key strands of work on leadership, declaration data, supporting those from under-represented groups and promoting the work of the employee diversity networks. A key aim of the strategy is to promote the advancement of those from all under-represented groups, including disabled members of staff.

The Cabinet Office promotes a number of cross Government talent schemes to disabled staff, to accelerate their promotion to Senior Civil Service roles. This includes Civil Service wide talent schemes such the Future Leaders Scheme (aimed at G6&7 staff) and the Senior Leaders Scheme (aimed at SCS Pay Band 1). Additionally, it promotes development schemes aimed specifically at BAME and disabled staff including the Accelerate talent programme (for SCS) and the Positive Action Pathway (for staff below SCS).

The Cabinet Office has a well established Disability Network staffed by volunteers, which promotes and supports the work of employees with disabilities. In addition, the Cabinet Office recently created the The Disability Action Group, which is a sub-committee of the Cabinet Office Executive Committee and reports to the Permanent Secretary and the Director General Disability Champion on disability confidence and inclusion in the Cabinet Office. The group ensures civil service wide initiatives are acted upon and that our people with a disability are considered in any building, technology or change projects.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2016-07-19.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the running costs of Chevening House were in the last 12 months.

Ben Gummer

Chevening House is not part of the government’s estate. The running costs are a matter for the Trustees