Tag: Tom Watson

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

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what arrangements have been made for the process of approval of expenses claims submitted 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 2016-09-12.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many staff in the Government Digital Service have left his Department since 13 July 2016.

Ben Gummer

Between 13 July 2016 and 13 September 2016, 71 staff left my Department. The majority of these departures, 50 in total, were planned exits (loans and fixed-term appointments ending, retirements, transfers out to other Departments, and voluntary exits).

Of those staff who left the Department, six were employed in the Government Digital Service. Over the same period, 67 staff joined the Government Digital Service.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2016-09-08.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, which Minister oversees the Policy Innovation Lab.

Ben Gummer

I have responsibility for Policy Innovation Lab. The Policy Lab sits in the Cabinet Office but works for all departments and reports to the Policy Profession Board.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2016-10-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent representations she has received on fixed odds betting terminals.

Tracey Crouch

The Government announced a review of Gaming Machines on 24 October which will look at evidence in regards to stakes and prizes of gaming machines; the number and location of gaming machines; and social responsibility measures to protect players and communities from gambling-related harm, including gambling advertising.

This review will include a close look at the issue of sub-category B2 gaming machines (more commonly known as Fixed Odds Betting Terminals – FOBTs) and specific concerns about the harm they cause, be that to the players themselves or the local communities in which they are located. This is the correct mechanism in which to look again at this issue.

There is now an opportunity for anyone with an interest in this matter to submit evidence for consideration. The Call for Evidence period ends on 4 December 2016.

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 2 February 2015 to Question 222434, what consideration his Department has given to deployment of the UK Reapers in storage for Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance in Iraq.

Mr Mark Francois

As with all platforms and capabilities not deployed on operations, the deployment of additional Reaper aircraft currently in storage in the UK is kept under constant review.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, 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.

Lynne Featherstone

Duplicate payments to suppliers are shown in the table below.

Value	Financial Year
£ 3,721,960.01	2010/11
£ 720,052.49	2011/12
£ 1,105,217.80	2012/13
£ 5,352,323.62	2013/14

The proportion of duplicate payments recovered over the last 4 years is 98.74%.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether a research analyst is advising his Department on the deployment of remotely piloted aircraft systems.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

No.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, 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 Shailesh Vara

In the financial years 2011/12, 2012/13 and 2013/14 no duplicate supplier payments were made; all duplicate invoices were stopped before payment and therefore no recovery action was necessary. In 2010/11 duplicate payments totalling £8,964.35 were made. This represents a small proportion, 0.039%, of the total number of duplicate payments invoiced over the four year period. It is possible that this entire amount was recovered, however, disproportionate cost would be incurred in determining this.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2014-06-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, on how many occasions ministerial authorisation has been granted for expenditure which exceeded his Department’s internal efficiency control thresholds for (a) advertising, marketing and communications, (b) consultancy and (c) external recruitment; and what the (i) purpose and (ii) value of any such agreed expenditure has been in the last 12 months.

Elizabeth Truss

The Department for Education has its own internal efficiency controls thresholds and complies with the Cabinet Office controls.

1. Advertising, Marketing and Communications expenditure above the Departmental threshold of £100,000 is submitted to Efficiency and Reform Group at Cabinet Office for final clearance.

2. Consultancy expenditure above £20,000 (and is a new contract expected to exceed 9 months, an existing contract to be extended beyond 9 months or is expenditure for procurement related consultancy) is submitted to Cabinet Office for final clearance.

3. Cabinet Office is not directly involved in recruitment approvals.

The approved expenditure requests which have exceeded Departmental thresholds are published on a quarterly basis on the Department’s website:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/approved-exemptions-to-the-efficiency-controls

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2015-02-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what guidance he has issued to local authorities about the use of (a) Twitter and (b) other social media to communicate with the public.

Kris Hopkins

Digital and social media are an effective and low-cost way of communicating with the public.

This Government has amended the law to strengthen the rights of the press and public to report and film council meetings using digital and social media. In August 2014, we published a plain English guide to help councils, the press and the public with these new rights.

We made clear that there is no prohibition on councillors from tweeting and blogging at meetings, and they should be able to do so provided it is not disruptive and does not detract from the proper conduct of the meeting.

Local authorities should have regard to the local government Publicity Code, which seeks to prevent the misuse of taxpayer-funded resources, including social media.

Notwithstanding, last June, Ministers challenged and criticised guidance to parish councils issued by the National Association of Local Councils (NALC) that sought to prevent elected councillors from issuing media comments without prior written permission of the council. NALC has now produced a new Media Policy Example that takes into account the new national rules on filming and recording at parish and town council meetings.

In December, we invited bids for local pilots to bring statutory notices into the 21^st Century. This could include supporting the increased use of digital and social media by councils and commercial partners, as one of the ways that such notices could be improved and reformed.