Tag: Tom Watson

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2016-07-20.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he plans to amend the Ministerial Code to include the full text of the rules on business appointments.

Ben Gummer

An updated Ministerial Code will be published in due course.

The business appointment rules already apply to former Ministers taking up any new or unpaid appointment within two years of leaving Ministerial office. The guidance can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/new-business-appointments-for-senior-public-servants

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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, who authorised provision under the Public Duty Cost Allowance for the right hon. Member for Sheffield, Hallam after he left office as Deputy Prime Minister.

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, how many members of staff he plans to recruit 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 2016-09-15.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many officials of his Department have responsibilities for cyber security.

Ben Gummer

Transparency data on Cabinet Office staffing can be found online at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cabinet-office-staff-and-salary-data-as-at-31-march-2016

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2016-02-25.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what shared platforms the Government is building or has commissioned to improve the delivery of Government services.

Matthew Hancock

The following platforms have been commissioned or built to improve the delivery of Government services:

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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 in his Department have responsibility for examining the resilience of the UK’s infrastructure.

Matthew Hancock

The Cabinet Office role on infrastructure resilience is focused on providing a co-ordination and assurance function for infrastructure resilience. Other departments have staff working directly on infrastructure resilience according to sector.

There are currently fifteen officials in the Cabinet Office who spend a significant amount of their time working on infrastructure resilience.

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

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many Freedom of Information requests have been refused by his Department in the last 12 months.

Matthew Hancock

Statistics in relation to Freedom of information requests are publically available on gov.uk at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/government-foi-statistics

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2016-06-28.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Prime Minister’s Oral Statement of 27 June 2016, Official Report, column 23, what the terms of reference are for 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 disabled members of staff in his Department are currently enrolled on the Accelerate talent programme.

Ben Gummer

The Accelerate scheme, launched in April 2016, is a new development programme for talented senior civil servants (SCS payband 1 and 2) from BAME backgrounds and those with a disability or long-term health condition. In the first cohort of the scheme, each department was allocated two spaces. The current number of Cabinet Office participants in the programme with either characteristic is too small to share, based on data protection and data sharing guidelines.

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

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, which ministerial responsibilities are held by the Office of the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.

Ben Gummer

The List of Ministerial Responsibilities will be published in due course.