Asked by: Ashley Fox (Conservative - Bridgwater)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 27 November 2024 to Question 12890 on Department for Energy Security and Net Zero: Ministers’ Private Offices, what items were purchased to equip the office of the additional Minister.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
All furniture and AV equipment has been, and must be, sourced from the GPA's Approved Supplier's catalogue.
An itemised breakdown of spending is as follows (all costs are excluding VAT unless otherwise specified):
Furniture for existing Ministerial Offices:
Two of the chairs are in use within the Secretary of State's office and the other four are used in other areas of the office.
Furniture for new Ministerial Offices:
The number of Ministers in DESNZ increased by one following the general election, the result of which was a higher than usual spend to facilitate the creation of an additional office.
Cost of Other Refurbishment of Ministerial Offices including moves:
Porterage was carried out between 5-15 July. All other work was commissioned on, or after, 15 July and completed by, or before, 19 October.
The Floor Power Alterations were to install additional power boxes within the floor due to the increased space utilisation. Please note this item was not correctly identified and included in the response to PQ UIN 12890.
Asked by: Ashley Fox (Conservative - Bridgwater)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 27 November 2024 to Question 12890 on Department for Energy Security and Net Zero: Ministers’ Private Offices, if she will published an itemised breakdown of that spending.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
All furniture and AV equipment has been, and must be, sourced from the GPA's Approved Supplier's catalogue.
An itemised breakdown of spending is as follows (all costs are excluding VAT unless otherwise specified):
Furniture for existing Ministerial Offices:
Two of the chairs are in use within the Secretary of State's office and the other four are used in other areas of the office.
Furniture for new Ministerial Offices:
The number of Ministers in DESNZ increased by one following the general election, the result of which was a higher than usual spend to facilitate the creation of an additional office.
Cost of Other Refurbishment of Ministerial Offices including moves:
Porterage was carried out between 5-15 July. All other work was commissioned on, or after, 15 July and completed by, or before, 19 October.
The Floor Power Alterations were to install additional power boxes within the floor due to the increased space utilisation. Please note this item was not correctly identified and included in the response to PQ UIN 12890.
Asked by: Ashley Fox (Conservative - Bridgwater)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much was spent on (a) new furniture and fittings and (b) other refurbishment of Ministerial offices in his Department since the dissolution of the last Parliament; and on what items this was spent.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The total cost (excl. VAT) spent on refurbishments to ministerial private offices since the dissolution of the last Parliament is £2,954.67, of which £1,911.93 was for painting. The remainder was spent on television installations, three sets of coasters, and five standing mirrors. The majority of refurbishment costs were incurred before rooms were assigned to or occupied by current ministers.
Asked by: Ashley Fox (Conservative - Bridgwater)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 30 October 2024 to Question 9827 on Department for Science, Innovation and Technology: Ministers' Private Offices, how much the Government Property Agency spent on (a) new furniture and fittings and (b) other refurbishment of Ministerial offices of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology since the dissolution of the last Parliament; and on what items.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Government Property Agency has confirmed £18074.22 excluding VAT was spent since the dissolution of parliament on 30th May on new furniture and fittings plus other refurbishment (including moves) in relation to private offices for the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. This is broken down as follows;
New Furniture and Fittings - £9985.38
Other Refurbishment of Ministerial Offices including moves - £8088.84, of which £4,821.76 was incurred between 30th May and July 4th.
Asked by: Ashley Fox (Conservative - Bridgwater)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many and what proportion of desks were occupied in each Office for National Statistics office in the most recent four weeks for which figures are available; and how many staff attended each office in person in the same period.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
A response to the Hon Gentleman’s Question of 17 October is attached.
Asked by: Ashley Fox (Conservative - Bridgwater)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many civil servants are assigned to work in each office of the Office for National Statistics; and how many desks are available in each office.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
A response to the Hon Gentleman’s Question of 17 October is attached.
Asked by: Ashley Fox (Conservative - Bridgwater)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 25 October 2024 to Question 9615 on Department for Energy Security and Net Zero: Ministers' Private Offices, how much the Government Property Agency spent on (a) new furniture and fittings and (b) other refurbishment of Ministerial offices of the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, since the dissolution of the last Parliament; and on what items.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Government Property Agency has confirmed £42,095.42 excluding VAT was spent on new furniture and fittings plus other refurbishment (including moves) in relation to private offices for the Department for Energy, Security and Net Zero ministers. This is broken down as follows;
New Furniture and Fittings - £28,707.49
Other Refurbishment of Ministerial Offices including moves - £13,387.93
It should be noted that the number of Ministers in DESNZ increased by one following the general election, the result of which was a higher than usual spend to facilitate an additional office.
Asked by: Ashley Fox (Conservative - Bridgwater)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many civil servants are assigned to work in each of (a) his Department's and (b) Government Equalities Office offices; and how many desks are available in each office.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Owing to security considerations, I am unable to provide information specifically relating to the number of desks in each office for which you have requested information. However, the total full-time equivalent headcount of Civil Servants is provided in the table below:
Cabinet Office | 6,331 |
Government Equalities Office | 136 |
Sub Total | 6,467 |
ALB’s | 1,114 |
Total | 7,581 |
The Government publishes the monthly average number of staff working in Civil Service Headquarters (HQ) buildings, published on a quarterly basis at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-hq-occupancy-data
Asked by: Ashley Fox (Conservative - Bridgwater)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many and what proportion of desks were occupied in each of (a) his Department’s and (b) Government Equalities Office offices in the most recent four weeks for which figures are available; and how many staff attended each office in person in the same period.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Heads of Department have agreed that 60% minimum office attendance for most staff continues to be the best balance of working for the Civil Service. Office occupancy data for the period July - September has been published, with further publications to happen on a quarterly basis. The data is published here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-hq-occupancy-data
Asked by: Ashley Fox (Conservative - Bridgwater)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much was spent on (a) new furniture and fittings and (b) other refurbishment of Ministerial offices in 10 Downing Street since the dissolution of the last Parliament; and on what items this was spent.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
For management and staffing purposes the Prime Minister’s Office is a business unit of the Cabinet Office. No expenditure has been made since the dissolution of Parliament.