Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate she made of the cost to her Department of implementing the digital ID scheme since September 2024.
Answered by Josh Simons - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Costs in this Spending Review period will be met within the existing Spending Review settlement.
Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent assessment he has made of the beer and pub sector’s contribution to employment for 16- to 24-year-olds.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 7th July is attached.
Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of removing Fujitsu’s access to public sector contract opportunities, in the context of the Horizon IT failures.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
In January 2024, Fujitsu said it would withdraw from bidding for contracts with new Government customers until the Post Office Horizon inquiry concludes – it would only bid for work with existing Government customers where it already has a contract with them, or where there is an agreed need for Fujitsu’s skills and capabilities.
Fujitsu's bid approach is detailed in this letter, deposited in Parliament. For more details, please see here.
Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, If he will take steps to ensure the implementation of the Supreme Court judgment on biological sex in Government department workplaces.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
We welcome the ruling and the clarity it brings for women, and service providers.
We will review and update policy wherever necessary to ensure it complies with the latest legal requirements.
Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Propriety and Ethics Team has (a) carried out investigations into and (b) provided the Prime Minister with advice on (i) allegations of and (ii) the alleged involvement of Ministers in corruption in Bangladesh in the last 12 months.
Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare
Following a self-referral by the former Economic Secretary to the Treasury, the Hon Member for Hampstead and Highgate, the Independent Adviser on Ministerial Standards undertook a fact-finding process relating to recent media allegations about the former minister. Advice from the Independent Adviser was provided to the Prime Minister and published on gov.uk on 14 January 2025.
As has been the case under successive administrations, it is a long-standing principle that Civil Service advice is given and treated in confidence. This includes detailing whether or not advice has been given and by whom.