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 2015-02-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether any staff of her Department are engaged in considering the effects of drone strikes on civilian populations as part of her Department’s work in the Middle East and North Africa.
Mr Desmond Swayne
In countries where DFID has humanitarian programmes, we monitor the general humanitarian situation in close communication with partners on the ground.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2014-07-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what the value is of duplicate supplier payments identified by his Department since 2010; and what proportion of such payments have since been recovered in each of the last two financial years.
Mrs Helen Grant
The value of duplicate supplier payments detected by the Department in each financial year since 2010 was:
Financial Year £
2010-11 £38,815.22
2011-12 £17,976.00
2012-13 NIL
2013-14 £26,481.10
All of these duplicate payments were detected by the Departments own financial control processes and recovered in full in the same financial year at no cost to the Department.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2015-02-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether her Department will assess (a) the effect of drone strikes on civilian populations and (b) access to civilian compensation schemes as part of its humanitarian mission in Iraq and Syria.
Justine Greening
We are monitoring the impact of military operations on civilian populations in both Iraq and Syria and ensuring our humanitarian response is targeted to those most in need. To date, the UK has pledged £800 million in response to the humanitarian crisis in Syria and the region, and a further £39.5 million to the humanitarian crisis in Iraq. Access to civilian compensation schemes is an MoD lead and therefore does not form part of our humanitarian mission.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2014-07-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the value is of duplicate supplier payments identified by his Department since 2010; and what proportion of such payments have since been recovered in each of the last two financial years.
Mr Philip Dunne
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has been able to distinguish between duplicate payments and other types of overpayment made to suppliers from financial year 2013-14. In that year, the total value of duplicate payments identified was £4.1 million, 100% of which has been recovered. Over the first quarter of 2014-15, we have identified duplicate payments to the value of £0.5 million of which 60% has so far been recovered. Prior to 2013-14 we were unable to distinguish duplicate supplier payments from other types of overpayments. However all overpayments have been recovered since 2010.
The MOD processes over four million invoices a year totalling some £26 billion. We review our bill payment processes and controls periodically to ensure that we achieve the required high standards of performance and governance and seek to recover overpayments made to suppliers as quickly as possible.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2015-02-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what research her Department has undertaken on access of civilian victims of drone strikes in Afghanistan to civilian compensation schemes administered by troop contributing nations.
Justine Greening
Access to civilian compensation schemes is a Ministry of Defence lead. There is a system in place for handling all claims for compensation brought against the Ministry of Defence by Afghan civilians.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2014-07-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what the value is of duplicate supplier payments identified by his Department since 2010; and what proportion of such payments have since been recovered in each of the last two financial years.
Amber Rudd
The Department has identified and recovered the whole of two duplicate supplier payments totalling £1,000 in this period.