Tag: Tom Watson

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

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when his Department plans to respond to the letter sent to it by the Chair of the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments in November 2015.

Ben Gummer

As part of my introduction to the Cabinet Office, I plan to meet the Chairmen of the Cabinet Office sponsored NDPBs to discuss the workings of their respective Bodies and this will include the Chairman of the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments following which I will reply to the Chairman’s letter.

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

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, which expenses have been claimed by the right hon. Member for Sheffield, Hallam under the Public Duty Cost Allowance.

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, who the members of the committee that oversees special advisers’ pay are.

Ben Gummer

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Sheffield, Heeley on 2 November 2015 to UIN: 13720.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2016-09-15.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the estimated annual annual cost to the public purse is of the Office of the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.

Ben Gummer

The costs related to the Office of the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster will be accounted for in the usual way in the Cabinet Office Annual Report and Accounts.

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.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2015-02-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 4 February 2015 to Question 222429, whether any of the RAF personnel in Afghanistan support RPAS operations.

Mr Mark Francois

No RAF personnel in Afghanistan are supporting Remotely Piloted Air Systems operations.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2014-07-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the value is of duplicate supplier payments identified by her Department since 2010; and what proportion of such payments have since been recovered in each of the last two financial years.

Dan Rogerson

Core Defra has controls in place to prevent duplicate payments being made to suppliers. These include careful checking of each invoice against evidence of delivery and against any previous payments in respect of the relevant purchase order. External and internal audit reviews of key financial controls have found no evidence of weakness that would lead to duplicate payments. There are also regular reviews of expenditure against budgets which would quickly bring to light unexpected payments and would lead to immediate action for recovery.

Core Defra is carrying out a Spend Recovery Audit, as part of a Cabinet Office initiative on fraud and error which we expect to conclude by Autumn 2014.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2015-02-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which post or team in his Department is responsible for the application of remotely piloted aircraft systems.

Mr Mark Francois

There is no one person or team responsible for the application or deployment of Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS). The decision to deploy RPAS is taken by Ministers following advice provided by senior personnel, both military and civilian, across the Department.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2014-07-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, 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 David Lidington

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) does not hold all of the required data centrally and could not answer this question in full without incurring disproportionate costs. However, we recently investigated duplicate supplier payments for the eight month period from April to November 2013 and identified just one duplicate invoice, with a value of £2,501. Our financial control system prevented any payment being made. The FCO has several controls in place to prevent duplicate payments.