Asked by: Lord Mawson (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
Her Majesty's Government who within the Cabinet Office has responsibility for monitoring (1) the overall impact of Government legislation, and (2) the burden of regulation, on small and medium-sized enterprises.
Answered by Lord Young of Cookham
This is no longer the responsibility of the Cabinet Office and is now the responsibility of the Depart for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.
Asked by: Lord Mawson (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
Her Majesty's Government what is their estimate of the average time period within which invoices issued by small and medium-sized enterprises are paid by public sector bodies in England; and what evidence they have for that estimate.
Answered by Lord Young of Cookham
This information is not held centrally, but public sector buyers are required to publish annually on their payment performance.
Central government departments are required to pay 80% of undisputed and valid invoices within 5 days, with the remainder paid within 30 days. Government departments publish performance against these targets on a quarterly basis on GOV.UK.
Data published in 2015-16 shows that by the final quarter all major departments, apart from one (at 76%), were meeting their 5 days target and that all departments were paying at least 96% of their invoices within the 30 day target, with several departments achieving 100%.
Asked by: Lord Mawson (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
Her Majesty's Government what guidance is given by HM Treasury to government departments, agencies and public bodies on the time by which those departments, agencies and bodies should pay the invoices of small and medium sized enterprises.
Answered by Lord Young of Cookham
Through the Public Contract Regulations 2015, public sector buyers must include 30-day payment terms in new public sector contracts; and require that this payment term be passed down the supply chain. Public sector buyers must also publish annually on their payment performance.
In addition, central government departments are required to pay 80% of undisputed and valid invoices within 5 days, with the remainder paid within 30 days.
Asked by: Lord Mawson (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they are conducting any reviews to examine any unintended consequences of the drive to create greater transparency in the public sector.
Answered by Lord Wallace of Saltaire - Liberal Democrat Lords Spokesperson (Cabinet Office)
It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.
Asked by: Lord Mawson (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what lessons for the localism agenda they have learnt from promoting the Big Society.
Answered by Lord Wallace of Saltaire - Liberal Democrat Lords Spokesperson (Cabinet Office)
Big Society hands people control in their local communities so that they can take action to shape where they live and help others. Volunteering is up 6% since 2010 and 80,000 young people have taken part in National Citizen Service since 2011, contributing over 2 million hours of social action to their local communities.
The Localism Act has resulted in over 1,200 assets of community value being listed and we have helped 150 organisations to acquire a community asset or obtain significant investment towards doing so. More than 900 neighbourhood planning areas have been designated, and all 28 plans which have reached referendum so far have passed with significant majorities in favour.
This Government is committed to opening up public services so that social enterprises and voluntary organisations can play an increased role in delivering local services. We are introducing legislation that will require the public sector to publish details on the value of new contracts awarded to VCSEs, as part of Lord Young's reforms to make public procurement more accessible to smaller businesses.
Asked by: Lord Mawson (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how the delivery of Big Society initiatives will inform future pilot schemes to promote innovation in local communities.
Answered by Lord Wallace of Saltaire - Liberal Democrat Lords Spokesperson (Cabinet Office)
Big Society hands people control in their local communities so that they can take action to shape where they live and help others. Volunteering is up 6% since 2010 and 80,000 young people have taken part in National Citizen Service since 2011, contributing over 2 million hours of social action to their local communities.
The Localism Act has resulted in over 1,200 assets of community value being listed and we have helped 150 organisations to acquire a community asset or obtain significant investment towards doing so. More than 900 neighbourhood planning areas have been designated, and all 28 plans which have reached referendum so far have passed with significant majorities in favour.
This Government is committed to opening up public services so that social enterprises and voluntary organisations can play an increased role in delivering local services. We are introducing legislation that will require the public sector to publish details on the value of new contracts awarded to VCSEs, as part of Lord Young's reforms to make public procurement more accessible to smaller businesses.
Asked by: Lord Mawson (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how the experience of promoting the Big Society will inform their future policy making.
Answered by Lord Wallace of Saltaire - Liberal Democrat Lords Spokesperson (Cabinet Office)
Big Society hands people control in their local communities so that they can take action to shape where they live and help others. Volunteering is up 6% since 2010 and 80,000 young people have taken part in National Citizen Service since 2011, contributing over 2 million hours of social action to their local communities.
The Localism Act has resulted in over 1,200 assets of community value being listed and we have helped 150 organisations to acquire a community asset or obtain significant investment towards doing so. More than 900 neighbourhood planning areas have been designated, and all 28 plans which have reached referendum so far have passed with significant majorities in favour.
This Government is committed to opening up public services so that social enterprises and voluntary organisations can play an increased role in delivering local services. We are introducing legislation that will require the public sector to publish details on the value of new contracts awarded to VCSEs, as part of Lord Young's reforms to make public procurement more accessible to smaller businesses.
Asked by: Lord Mawson (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what impact the promotion of the Big Society has had on competition between the social enterprise sector and local authorities; and what is the value of contracts transferred from the public sector to the independent sector since May 2010.
Answered by Lord Wallace of Saltaire - Liberal Democrat Lords Spokesperson (Cabinet Office)
Big Society hands people control in their local communities so that they can take action to shape where they live and help others. Volunteering is up 6% since 2010 and 80,000 young people have taken part in National Citizen Service since 2011, contributing over 2 million hours of social action to their local communities.
The Localism Act has resulted in over 1,200 assets of community value being listed and we have helped 150 organisations to acquire a community asset or obtain significant investment towards doing so. More than 900 neighbourhood planning areas have been designated, and all 28 plans which have reached referendum so far have passed with significant majorities in favour.
This Government is committed to opening up public services so that social enterprises and voluntary organisations can play an increased role in delivering local services. We are introducing legislation that will require the public sector to publish details on the value of new contracts awarded to VCSEs, as part of Lord Young's reforms to make public procurement more accessible to smaller businesses.
Asked by: Lord Mawson (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what they have learnt from promoting the Big Society.
Answered by Lord Wallace of Saltaire - Liberal Democrat Lords Spokesperson (Cabinet Office)
Big Society hands people control in their local communities so that they can take action to shape where they live and help others. Volunteering is up 6% since 2010 and 80,000 young people have taken part in National Citizen Service since 2011, contributing over 2 million hours of social action to their local communities.
The Localism Act has resulted in over 1,200 assets of community value being listed and we have helped 150 organisations to acquire a community asset or obtain significant investment towards doing so. More than 900 neighbourhood planning areas have been designated, and all 28 plans which have reached referendum so far have passed with significant majorities in favour.
This Government is committed to opening up public services so that social enterprises and voluntary organisations can play an increased role in delivering local services. We are introducing legislation that will require the public sector to publish details on the value of new contracts awarded to VCSEs, as part of Lord Young's reforms to make public procurement more accessible to smaller businesses.