Tag: Tom Watson

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.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, 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.

Dr Andrew Murrison

My Department does not hold records of duplicate supplier payments. The system currently operating in the Northern Ireland Office registers invoice numbers and will not allow two invoices with the same reference number to be paid. To manually search through the invoices received and paid from 2010 to date would incur disproportionate cost.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will place in the Library copies of the Property Data Survey Programme results for schools in Sandwell local authority area.

Mr David Laws

The Property Data Survey is due to complete by September 2014. We are currently sharing the initial findings with schools and responsible bodies to validate them.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2015-02-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the Strategic Defence and Security Review will address the issues identified in Joint Doctrinal Note 2/11, the UK Approach to Unmanned Aircraft Systems.

Michael Fallon

The next Strategic Defence and Security Review will be a matter for after the General Election.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, 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.

David Mundell

The Scotland Office has made no duplicate supplier payments since 2010.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Answer of 19 October 2013, Official Report, column 235W, on billing, what the value was of duplicate supplier payments identified by his Department’s audit; and what proportion of such payments have since been recovered.

Elizabeth Truss

The Department’s spend recovery audit contractor has identified a small number of duplicate payments (excluding Executive Agencies). In 2012/13 there were 12 duplicate payments and in 2013/14 there was one. Any duplicate payments that have been identified and already recovered in previous years would not have been picked up in this audit.

The value of these duplicate payments is £110,527 over the five years audited. The audit was completed in April 2014 and we have recovered £40,256 (36%) of the total amount, with the remainder being subject to an ongoing recovery process by the contractor. We expect the contractor to pursue the remaining recovery action quickly.

In addition to the recovery work currently being undertaken, the Department has brought in other measures to minimise the risk of duplicate payments. From August 2013, arrangements for grants payments are dealt with by a central grants payment team. More recently, we have implemented the use of a unique reference number (URN) to reduce the risk of inaccurate grant payments and improve management information. The Department also ensures that finance guidance is updated as appropriate to ensure risks are minimised and we have regular discussions with our shared service provider about continuous improvements, which includes measures such as routine supplier data cleansing and clear protocols.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2015-02-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether lethal targeting by UK armed forces in Iraq is limited to ISIL combatants.

Mr Mark Francois

It is Ministry of Defence policy not to comment on specific targets for reasons of operational security. As stated by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence (Michael Fallon) on 13 October 2014 (Official Report, column 9WS), military action in Iraq is part of the Government’s comprehensive strategy, working in consultation with our allies in the wider coalition, to tackle ISIL.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, 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.

Claire Perry

In 2011, £28,861 of duplicate supplier payments were identified by the Department and its agencies, and were all recovered. No duplicate payments have been identified in subsequent years.

In accordance with Cabinet Office guidelines, the Department commissioned a spend recovery audit in 2010. This reported that:

The quantity of payment errors identified during our review (0.0002%) highlighted that the internal controls used by DfT have been effective in limiting supplier overpayments. Overall the accounts payable function is well managed and controlled.

In view of this advice, the DfT decided that formal appraisal of potential duplicate payments, either internal or external, did not represent a good use of public money for the years after 2011.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2015-01-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 12 January 2015 to Question 219724, whether those Reapers have been relocated to the UK for maintenance, strategic or other reasons.

Mr Mark Francois

Reaper relocated to the UK have been placed in storage for routine fleet management purposes.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, 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.

Jo Swinson

The Department does not maintain a central register but an analysis of the Departmental financial system and records identified that since 2010, the following duplicate payments were made and recoveries undertaken:

10/11 nil

11/12 nil

12/13 £726 of which all was recovered

13/14 £1835.40 of which all was recovered